English Stylistics. Стилистика английского языка

b) English Vocabulary in the Aspect of Time

Besides the vocabulary that is in current (present-day) use, we also find archaic or obsolete (устарелые) words, which belong to some previous stage of language development but can still be found in works of fiction (especially in the works of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Swift or other classical authors). Cf. the archaic words Behold! (= Look!), Hark! (= Listen!), methinks (= I think), Nay (= no), Wither are you going? (= Where are you going to?), hither and thither (= here and there), thou/to thee (= you/to you), whilst (= while), awhile (= for some time), yon (= this, that), yonder ( = there), etc.

Archaic words are frequently used in poetry and thus belong also to poetic vocabulary (poetic diction): cf. quoth (= said), woe (= sorrow), swain (= shepherd), foe (= enemy), steed/charger (= horse), realm (= kingdom), nought/naught (= nothing), ere (= before), albeit (= although); here also belong certain shortened variants of the currently used words, e.g. oft (= often), eve (= evening), morn (= morning), etc.

The vocabulary that has gone out of use also includes the so called 'historisms' (историзмы) — words which reflect some phenomena belonging to the past times, e.g. knight (рыцарь), yeomen (йомены, independent peasants in old England), archer (лучник), sling (праща), ram (таран); cf. also Russian historisms like городничий, городовой, бояре.

On the other hand, we can also find in English vocabulary the so-called 'neologisms', i.e. words that have recently come into the language and are still felt as rather new: allergy, computer, astronaut, isotope, quasar, laser, aliens, supermarket, chain-stores, bikini, mini/maxi/midi (of clothes), paperbacks, etc.

Comparatively new borrowings from other languages, which are not yet completely assimilated in the language (phonetically or grammatically), are stylistically marked as 'foreign' words (sometimes, as barbarisms); they usually belong to a lofty (bookish) style: e.g. prot`ege, a propos, bonjour, id'ee fixe, chic (= of very good taste, fashionable), alter ego (= one's second self), de facto (= in point of fact), status quo (= the existing state of things), ibid/ibidem (= by the same author), etc., viz. (= videlicet) (namely). 

Part 2 Functional Styles of Speech in Greater Detail

The Colloquial Style

This is the style of informal, friendly oral communication. The vocabulary of colloquial style is usually lower than that of the formal or neutral styles, it is often emotionally coloured and characterized by connotations (cf. the endearing connotation in the words daddy, kid or the evaluating components in 'trash', etc. in the examples of connotations above).

Colloquial speech is characterized by the frequent use of words with a broad meaning (широкозначные слова): speakers tend to use a small group of words in quite different meanings, whereas in a formal style (official, business, scientific) every word is to be used in a specific and clear meaning. Compare the different uses of the verb "get", which frequently replaces in oral colloquial speech its more specific synonyms: