Vocabulary in English examples. Vocabulary in English
There are huge dictionaries that contain large volumes of words. Of course, you don't have to teach them all. But trying to know as much as possible is necessary.
He runs every day. He runs every day.
She is always complaining of her health. She always complains about her health.
Reading, listening, speaking are very important parts of English language. Reading, listening, speaking are important parts of the English language.
Everyone has their own method of memorizing vocabulary. For some, it is enough to read it a couple of times and the level of vocabulary can be easily remembered, for others it is completely different. There is a general, widespread lexicology that is well used, for example, in colloquial speech, of course, you need to know it at a decent level.
Moreover, in the twenty-first century, there are still electronic dictionaries, which are also very effective and useful, and most importantly simple and convenient. They are also used by people, especially busy people.
To Meet - to meet
A producer - producer
To win - to win
A foot - foot
An exhibition - exhibition
To produce - produce
To retell - retell
Beautiful - wonderful
Strongly - strongly
Cold - cold
Snow - snow
This series can be continued endlessly. Improving a language means constantly learning something new, repeating the old, that is, moving forward. As far as vocabulary is concerned, this is quite possible.
But there is another factor. If you are still engaged in a certain type of activity and you need English there, then, of course, the advantage should be where you really need English-speaking speech. What a person does plays a role here. If this is a business, the main emphasis should be on the relevant material. If this is travel, then there is a completely different principle. Medicine requires its own, completely different approach, that is, everything is relative and individual. Depending on what area a person works in, this is what you need to build on. If this is a technique, then there will be its own specifics. It is also impossible to know everything. Therefore, in such cases, priorities are simply set and they proceed from them. Well, if a person is thinking about taking the help of an experienced teacher and understands that he himself cannot cope with the work of learning the language, then the tutor himself will build a plan, a system. The person will simply need to follow the teacher.
English lexis - English vocabulary
Vocabulary- a category of linguistics, the science of language that studies words and their meanings. Vocabulary covers the most variable part of the English language and the language in general - vocabulary. Words are constantly in a dynamic state and gradually replenish the language, become obsolete and fall out of use, and change. Vocabulary is influenced by various spheres of human activity: science, technology, cultures of other peoples, etc. Currently, information technology has a great influence on the vocabulary of the English language and subsequently many others.
Vocabulary can be divided into active and passive parts.
1. Active part- this is an active vocabulary, that is, one that is currently used in any speech sphere.2. Passive part- its use is limited:
A. Features of the designated phenomena
b. Known only to native speakers
V. Used only in special language styles: bookish, colloquial, etc.
Main classes of words in the lexicon:
1. Neologisms - new words.2. Archaisms- outdated words.
3. Synonyms- words similar in meaning, but different in spelling.
4. Antonyms- words with opposite meanings.
5. Homonyms- one word with several meanings.
6. Paronyms- words that are partially similar in sound, but different in meaning.
7. Monosemantic words - words that have the same meaning.
8. Polysemantic words - words that have more than one meaning.
How many words do you need to know in English? This is a very common question and the answer depends on your goal. Since TalkEnglish.com focuses on spoken language, the vocabulary in this section will contain the most common words for spoken communication.
- There are about 100,000 word families in the English language.
- A native English speaker knows between 10,000 (uneducated) and 20,000 (educated) word families.
- Professor Paul Nation found that a person needs to know about 8,000-9,000 word families to enjoy reading books.
- Results from studies of heritage language learners show that a vocabulary of 2,500 passive word families and 2,000 active word families allows them to communicate fluently.
GOOD NEWS: If your goal is to speak English fluently, you won't have to learn 10,000 words. For starters, 2,000 is enough.
Here is another list of tips that will be useful for you to successfully build your personal vocabulary
- As you learn vocabulary, understand the differences between individual words within a word family. Understanding the meanings of words will help you use them correctly and easily. A word family is a group of words that have a common base. For example: the words “active, actively, activities, activity” belong to the same word family.
- There is a difference between passive and active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary is used in reading and listening comprehension when you receive information. Active vocabulary is used in speech and writing when you communicate information. While reading, you have time to think. If you want to communicate fluently in English, you won't have time to think because fluent communication by definition should be easy and smooth, without delays.
- Your goal should be to increase the depth, not the breadth, of your vocabulary. Many people learning English know about 8,000 words, but cannot pronounce a single sentence. On the other hand, there are people who know only 2,000 words and can still communicate freely. The point is how deeply you know the words. A passive vocabulary of 10,000 words will not help you in speaking. First of all, focus on studying the first 2,000 words in depth.
- Expanding your vocabulary by memorizing definitions of words in your native language is not an effective way to learn. The best way to increase your vocabulary is by reading. Learn words from live sentences. Of course, you can find out the meaning of words in the dictionary, but it is worth studying them in sentences, and not by themselves.
1) top 3000 words of the British National Corpus;
2) top 5000 words of the Corpus of Contemporary American English; 3) Top 3000 most common words by Longman Communication.
Before you start studying, watch this video to learn how to study and improve your English Vocabulary.
So if you need a starting list of 2,000 words to study, our top 2000 list is the best option. The number next to the link displays the ordinal number of the word.
Of the 2,265 words in the list, a total of 1,867 word families were used.
The following list is divided by word type. All words in these lists are present in the top 2000 ratings. In total there are more than 2,000 of them, because Many words were included in the list both as nouns and verbs.
Finally, before you start mastering vocabulary, keep in mind that you will end up learning many more than 2,000 words. However, choosing the right first 2,000 words to actively study will help you become fluent in English much faster.
English vocabulary is divided into many types and categories, depending on certain factors. Today's topic will be devoted to their study. The bulk of the English dictionary is made up of the so-called Neutral lexis (neutral vocabulary), which does not belong to any type and has no classifications; it seems to penetrate almost all categories of vocabulary. Its main characteristics are neutrality, versatility and simplicity.
Classification of English vocabulary
Neutral lexis: neutral vocabulary
In essence, this is a clear, inter-style vocabulary, which consists of such parts of speech as:
nouns
- day - day
- table - table
- work - work
- sun - sun
- way - path
adjectives
- beautiful - beautiful
- sunny - sunny
- sweet - sweet
- happy - happy
- clear - clear
- sad - sad
verbs
- to be - to be
- to eat - there is
- to find - to find
- to stay - stand, stay
- to work - to work
- to smile - smile
adverbs
- mildly - gently, softly
- quickly - quickly
- strongly - strongly
- skillfully - skillfully
pronouns (pronouns)
- he - he
- my - mine, mine
- her (s) - her
- us - to us
- who - who
- which - which
- this - this, this
- those - those
numerals
- four - four
- seventeen - seventeen
- sixty - sixty
- the third - third
functional linking words(conjunctions, prepositions, particles) - link words (conjunctions, prepositions, particles)
- a - indefinite article
- in- in
- on - on, by
- out - outside, from
- but - but
- if - if
Common: standard vocabulary
Common (standard) vocabulary is another class of vocabulary that includes neutral, general formal and general informal vocabulary.
Standard lexis= neutral lexis+ common literary lexis+ common colloquial lexis
It is important to note that this very “standard English” is the basic vocabulary, the lexicological norm, valid in any English-speaking country. Ideally, this can be explained something like this: an Englishman, an American, an Irishman, a Scotsman and an Australian meet and start a conversation (in standard English) and... everyone understands each other! Wonderful!
However, in reality, this may not always be the case, since people in different countries communicate seemingly in English, but still in different ways, since there is no regulatory body that would “standardize” the English language. A lot depends on the accent, pronunciation, etc.
Also, vocabulary is divided according to stylistic characteristics into 3 registers:
- colloquial (informal)
- bookish (literary)
- high (official)
| colloquial (simple) | kid | daddy | go ahead | go on | be off/get away |
| book (literary) | child | father | begin | continue | leave |
| official (high) | infant | parent/ancestor | commence | proceed | retire |
| Russian translation | child | father, parent | go ahead, let's start | continue | leave, leave |
Formal and informal vocabulary
There is another main classification of vocabulary into two large groups - formal (book vocabulary) and informal (colloquial) vocabulary.
Formal vocabulary is vocabulary used in various types of documentation, in printed publications, television programs, documentaries, in schools and universities, and in government institutions. It is also a generally accepted category of words used in communication with certain social categories with which we have neither friendly nor family relations (bosses, teachers, strangers, clerks).
Informal vocabulary is those words that we use in communication with family and friends, which we hear in feature films and plays, and can also be found in a comic book or in a non-scientific magazine; it is replete with abbreviations and connecting words.
These two vocabulary groups are also divided into specific smaller subgroups, depending on the scope of use of a particular vocabulary.
Classification of vocabulary by area of use, with examples and Russian translation.
| literary (formal) lexis-book (formal) vocabulary | Examples Examples | Russian translation Russian translation | |
| common literary lexis | general formal vocabulary (written vocabulary) - used in formal communication, without it the existence of the English language is impossible. | culture | culture, education |
| expedition | expedition | ||
| treatment | treatment, treatment | ||
| calamity | disaster | ||
| antagonism | enmity, antagonism | ||
| with regard | in a relationship | ||
| lend assistance | provide assistance | ||
| professional & scientific vocabulary | professional words - officially accepted special vocabulary characteristic of many sciences and professions | analyze | analyze |
| build | build, create | ||
| calculate | count, count | ||
| audit | audit (accounting) | ||
| fabricate | produce | ||
| integrate | embed | ||
| inspect | inspect, check | ||
| install | install | ||
| ontogenesis | ontogenesis, development of the organism | ||
| neurosis | neurosis | ||
| DNA | DNA | ||
| volitional | strong-willed | ||
| business official lexis | official business vocabulary | buyer | buyer |
| subscriber | subscriber | ||
| quality | quality | ||
| pay | to pay | ||
| agreement | arrangement | ||
| standardization | standardization | ||
| negotiate | negotiate | ||
| comprise | include, contain, cover | ||
| approximate | approximate | ||
| income | income | ||
| venture | venture, dare | ||
| newspaper-publicistic lexis | newspaper and journalistic vocabulary is a vocabulary used for articles on social, political, socio-economic topics, as well as for various kinds of discourses, | social | social |
| democratic | democratic | ||
| ideology | worldview | ||
| crisis | a crisis | ||
| statesman | statesman | ||
| Minister | minister | ||
| Comitee | Committee | ||
| authority | authority (power holder) | ||
| pollution | pollution | ||
| activity | activity, activity | ||
| co-ordinate | coordinate, manage | ||
| capital punishment | capital punishment | ||
| Elevated lexis (high, poetic words) | High vocabulary (poetic words) are lexemes with a solemn, elevated, refined sound. This type of vocabulary is used in stilted speech. | afflict | disturb |
| realm | kingdom | ||
| wroth | angry | ||
| welcome | firmament | ||
| tenderness | tenderness | ||
| serenade | serenade | ||
| guiding | guiding | ||
| duth | do | ||
| wonderful | beautiful | ||
| vivacious | lively, animated | ||
| constancy | loyalty | ||
| archaisms-historisms | Archaisms are outdated equivalents of some modern words; they were forced out of general lexical circulation for extralinguistic reasons. Historicisms are words that have fallen out of use due to the fact that the objects and phenomena that they denoted disappeared or were replaced by new inventions. | thou (you) | You |
| hast (have) | have, have | ||
| betwixt (between) | between | ||
| thy (to you) | you | ||
| damsel (girl) | girl, girl | ||
| foe (enemy) | enemy, adversary | ||
| yon (there) | there | ||
| aye (yes) | Yes | ||
| halberd | halberd | ||
| galley | galley | ||
| visor | visor | ||
| musket | musket | ||
| archer | archer | ||
| visor | visor | ||
| goblet | cup | ||
| barbarisms &foreignisms | barbarisms and foreignisms are words that have passed from other languages and have not been sufficiently assimilated into the English language (i.e. they have retained their original form) | bon mot | witty expression |
| ad infinitum | to infinity | ||
| chic | chic, stylish | ||
| epatant | dandy, dandy (shocking) | ||
| solo | solo | ||
| blitzkrieg | blitzkrieg, surprise attack | ||
| gasoline engine | powerboat | ||
| Au revoir! | Goodbye! | ||
| Adios | Adios, goodbye | ||
| literary coinages (lit.neologisms) | formal (book) neologisms are new words that appear to denote new concepts, inventions, phenomena. | lightsaber | lightsaber from Star Wars |
| meritocracy | highly intelligent people | ||
| Islamophobia | Islamophobia | ||
| queercore | cultural punk movement | ||
| corporatocracy | literally: power is in the hands of corporations | ||
| vulturism | predation | ||
| omnishambles | total chaos | ||
| occasionalisms (nonce words) | Occasionalisms are new lexemes used occasionally, rarely. They are also called author's neologisms. | cotton-wool | cotton wool |
| twi-thought | ambiguity | ||
| witchcraftical | sorcery | ||
| touch -me-not-ishness | impatiens character | ||
| colloquial (informal) lexis- colloquial (informal) vocabulary | English examples | Russian translation | ||
| common colloquial lexis | general colloquial vocabulary - used in communication with well-known, close people (family, friends), involves communication in an informal setting. | cool | Cool | |
| what's up? | what's the matter? | |||
| unbelievable | incredible | |||
| hey! | Hey! | |||
| Coffee? | Coffee? | |||
| look at that! | Just look at this! | |||
| please | Please | |||
| bread basket (bread basket) | stomach | |||
| wet blanket (not interesting person) | boring, uninteresting person | |||
| cat's pajamas (cat pajamas) | just what you need, that's it | |||
| professional spoken lexis | professional colloquial vocabulary is a vocabulary created in circles of people of certain professions; it is somewhat different from the official professional vocabulary and is like professional slang. | outer (box) | knockout (boxing) | |
| build | build, create | |||
| righthander (box) | right-handed (boxing) | |||
| scope out (engineering) | check (engineering) | |||
| cookies (programming) | fragment of personal data (programming) | |||
| defrag (programming) | defragmentation (programming) | |||
| hot spot (IT) | wireless internet access points | |||
| bagged & tagged (medical) | corpse (medicine) | |||
| donorcycle (medical) | motorcycle (honey) is a dangerous means of transportation | |||
| blue pipes (medical) | veins (honey) - blue tubes | |||
| rat (car selling) | junk (car sales) | |||
| blower (trading) | buyer-braggart (trade) | |||
| dialects& regionalisms | dialects and regionalisms are vocabulary characteristic of a certain territory. They are partially or completely different from the original standard vocabulary (they may have similar sounds or morphology) Therefore, the dialect of one territory is often incomprehensible to the inhabitants of another. | cockneyKentish-West MidlandPenylvania DutchChicano | dog&bone (telephone) | (phone) dog with a bone |
| irish rose (nose) | (nose) Irish rose | |||
| lemon sqeezy (easy) | (easy) squeeze a lemon | |||
| better-most (best) | best | |||
| jawsy (gossip) | Chatterbox | |||
| scithers (scissors) | scissors | |||
| agen (again) | again, again | |||
| flics (film, cinema) | cinema, film | |||
| breffus (breakfast) | breakfast | |||
| make wet?(does it start raining?) | it's starting to rain? | |||
| red up (clean) | clean, remove | |||
| hurrieder (faster) | faster | |||
| doplich (clumsy) | clumsy | |||
| barrio (neighborhood) | neighborhood | |||
| bato (dude) | dude | |||
| huero (blonde man) | blond | |||
| slangjargonisms | slang, jargon - this is vocabulary characteristic of isolated social groups (students, pupils, musicians, ideological groups). This type of vocabulary is unstable and changes depending on the time and location of the group using it. | ace | ace, master | |
| abs | abdominal muscles | |||
| beat box | beat box (voice rhythm playback) | |||
| bling | bright, fake jewelry, trinkets | |||
| dead loss | loss, net loss, | |||
| donkey | dumbass, donkey | |||
| tad | slightly, slightly | |||
| scam | illegal earnings scheme | |||
| stag party | bachelor party | |||
| shaft | to bully, to mock | |||
| dummy | kettle | |||
| nerd (nurd) | botan, garlic | |||
| throg | drink (alcohol) | |||
| crackers | crazy people | |||
| vulgarisms | Vulgarisms are rude, uncultured colloquial vocabulary used by certain categories of people (gangs, criminal elements). It contains a lot of abbreviations and syntactically incorrect constructions. | dude | dude | |
| chick | chick | |||
| bros | bros | |||
| hang out | hang out | |||
| give smb wings (give someone wings) | get hooked on drugs | |||
| ratted | drunk | |||
| dotty | crazy | |||
| barker | barrel, pistol | |||
| colloquial coinages | generally accepted neologisms are new words that have appeared in the popular vocabulary. If they “take root” and are used quite often and extensively, they become informal colloquial vocabulary. | internet | Internet | |
| band-aid | adhesive plaster | |||
| linoleum | linoleum | |||
| Google (search engine) | ||||
| Kleenex | Kleenex, paper napkins | |||
| zipper | zipper, clasp | |||
| velcro | Velcro fastener | |||
| Walkman | portable audio player | |||
| hinky | nervous, difficult suspect | |||
| flabbygasted | plump | |||
| brainworm | a thought or sound that is etched in your memory and haunts you | |||
| assmosis | career growth thanks to sycophancy | |||
Watch the video.
Marketing, offshore, Internet, dress code - it seems that the Russian language will soon have no Russian words at all, only Anglicisms. It is not surprising that the English language also has quite a lot of “foreign friends”, borrowings from other languages, and many of them have entered so deeply into English usage that it can be difficult to distinguish borrowed words from native English ones.
The original vocabulary of the English language reflects the most ancient concepts: natural phenomena (“moon” - moon, “night” - night), animals common in a given region or that are important in the life of the English (“cat” - cat, “bull” - bull ), as well as the most frequently used verbs (“know” - to know, “work” - to work). These words are simple in form and mostly monosyllabic, which means that with the help of various suffixes and prefixes we can easily form their new forms (“know - knowledge - unknown”) and actively use them in stable phrases (“know the ropes” - thoroughly understand).
Where do borrowings come from in languages, and how did the English language, which was originally historically isolated from the mainland by a strait, receive foreign infusions into its structure? Like any other lands, Great Britain was subjected to attacks and conquests, and with its aggressive neighbors new words, concepts, and traditions arrived on the territory of the state, which gradually settled and mixed with national ones. Thus, with the Romans, Latin first came to Britain, and the Norman conquest brought with it French linguistic aspects, which were most firmly entrenched in English. The development of Britain into a superpower led the British to new territories, where, having encountered new concepts, they simply adopted the necessary words from the local peoples, for example, the English language took over the now irreplaceable Spanish “tomate”. At the present stage, the source of borrowing is international relations and tourism, because once an Englishman has tasted the refreshing Russian kvass, he will never forget the sonorous word “kvass”.
So, which languages have most influenced our beloved English?
Scandinavian languages
In the 10th-11th centuries, the harsh Scandinavians, along with their conquests, brought their hardened language to the British Isles. The socio-economic and cultural development of both countries at this stage was very close, so the exchange of words took place at the level of objects already known to the British. Due to the fact that Scandinavian and English belong to the same language branch, borrowings took root very easily, and many philologists even consider these borrowings as interdialectal exchange. Be that as it may, it was the Scandinavians who brought into English the so familiar “angry” (evil), “fit” (suitable), “get” (receive), “skill” (skill), “happen” (happen).
French
The French language came to Britain with the Normans, who brought with their warlike swords the north-eastern vernacular of French, which greatly influenced the English language as we know it today. Having completely seized power on the islands, the Normans made French the official language, which is why most borrowings from French are words from the sphere of public administration, military affairs, and the organization of city life, for example, “government” - government, “village” - village, “victory” - victory. There are many French words among everyday common vocabulary, for example, “face” - face, “money” - money, “minute” - minute. Also, the English owe many word-forming elements to the French language, for example, such a convenient suffix - able (“acceptable” - acceptable, “adorable” - charming). Thus, French loanwords account for 29% of the modern vocabulary of the English language.
Latin language
Borrowings from the Latin language passed into English peacefully - trade, the development of science and art at different stages of historical development brought with them new words from the mainland into English, so these were words of an everyday nature (“pepper” - pepper, “wine” - wine) , religious concepts (“school” - school, “priest” - priest), scientific, technical, and especially medical terms (“microscope” - microscope, “laboratory” - laboratory). As is known, words when borrowed lose their original form, however, as for Latin borrowings, many of them are fixed in the language as so-called “quotations”, for example, “alma mater” about universities, “ex officio” - according to position. In general, Latin borrowings occupy another 29% of the modern vocabulary of the English language, and these borrowings are even collected in entire dictionaries and reference books.
Russian language
Our native Russian language also brought diversity to English, because philologists date the first borrowings from Slavic languages to the 12th century, linking the modern word “milk” with the Old English “meolk”, which are the same roots as the Slavic word “milk”. An early borrowed word is also the word “sable” (sable), when sable fur was used as a product of exchange and a monetary unit in the 12th-13th centuries, it was simply necessary in the language. Later, Russian borrowings were associated with trade and economic relations, which brought the words “shuba”, “beluga”, “samovar” into English; they also appeared due to the interest of the British in the socio-political life of Russia (“Decebrist”, “nihilism” ). There are not so many Russian borrowings in the English language, but he also enriched English with new linguistic units and concepts.
Throughout the development of any language, it faces great influence from the languages of neighbors, trading partners, and conquerors. Many linguists advocate clearing the language of external interference. This trend is usually called purism. Of course, each language must develop according to its own characteristic rules, like a painting by a skilled artist, maintained in the same style, otherwise the language is doomed to fade, but borrowings can significantly diversify linguistic forms, concepts and add bright touches to an impeccable canvas.
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