Lecture 1. The reflection of the nationally - cultural peculiarities in the lexical system of the English language

Lecture 1. The reflection of the nationally - cultural peculiarities in the lexical system of the English language

(language as a tool of culture; the background knowledge of the user; “cumulative function of the language”; the cultural background knowledge of the world; words without equivalents; cultural component of the word; additional shades of word meaning; culturally marked, territorially determined words, referring to the natural environment, food & drinks, etc [the Yorkshire Dales, the Yorkshire Moors,Lancashire cheese, Lancashire hotpot, Yorkshire pudding,high tea, haggis,alumnus, public school, Scottish bagpipe]).

Plan

1. The function of language as a tool of culture. The cultural background of a language

2. The linguistic study of the country

3. The cultural component of lexical units

a) territorially determined words, referring to the natural environment;

b) culturally marked words, referring to food & drinks ethnographic realia; words without (full) equivalents;

c) functional differences of words in the sphere of education;

d) denotative realia, words without (full) equivalents.

 

The linguistic study of the country

A new and progressive way of teaching cultural studies to students of a foreign language is to give them the fullest possible information about the world of the language under study. This is, by the way, a new term for the subject introduced in the curriculum: the world of the language under study, the linguistic study of the country (at the faculty of foreign languages of Elabuga State Pedagogical University). Thus, the new way of teaching this new subject is to deliver the course by having two parallel courses presenting this world from two points of view: through the eyes of the native speaker and through the eyes of a representative of the world of the students. The studies of the world where the foreign language is naturally used as a means of communication are indispensable as an aid to understanding the peculiarities of speech production, additional shades of word meanings, their cultural, historical, political connotations, etc. Thus, the tasks of teaching a foreign language as a means of communication are closely intertwined with the tasks of studying the sociocultural aspects of the life of the peoples and countries where the foreign language is used.

LECTURE 2. Culture bumps: overcoming misunderstandings in cross – cultural communication

(the vision of the world of a nation, realia, words without equivalents, the function of language as a tool of culture, the vision of the world, the sociocultural component, the world of language, the world of reality, different speech communities, actual “equivalents” in the full sense of the word, mode of living, the moral code, relations between people, the system of values, determined by socio-historical factors)

Plan

1. Man – Language – World Relationship

2. Shattering the idea of word equivalence at the level of lexical units

 

LECTURE 3. National images and intercultural communication

( national image, mentality, national character, stereotype, the English national character, the Welsh national character, the Irish national character, the Scottish national character, the American national character, John Bull, Uncle Sam, Union Jack, St George, St Andrew, St David, St Patrick, Stars & Stripes; floristic symbols: leek, rose, thistle, shamrock, melting pot, etc.)

1. National image. Stereotype. National character. National mentality

2. What the British think of Americans (a humorous look at the stereotypes)

3. What Americans think of the British (a humorous look at the stereotypes)

4. The national character of the Welsh, the Irish

5. “Devils in skirts”, “ladies from hell”

6. Images of Great Britain, of the US

What the British think of Americans

(a humorous look at the stereotypes)

LECTURE 4. Nationally cultural peculiarities of the English, American onomastics

(the most common English / Welsh / Scottish / Irish surnames; traditions of American / British anthroponomastics; author’s inventions, typical Gaelic first names, typical Welsh first names, nicknames: Jock’ or ‘Mac’, ‘Paddy’ or ‘Mick’ ‘Taffy’,‘Yanks’ or ‘Yankees’, a ‘Roller’, ‘Marks & Sparks’, The Hammers, “The Golden State”, “The Lone Star State,” “The Equality State”).

Plan

1. The definition of onomastics. The subject matter of the science. The branches of onomastics

2.Nationally cultural peculiarities of the English / American anthroponomastics

a) English / American Christian (given) names

b) American first names and middle initial

c) Naming fashion

d) The development of the British surnames

e) Nicknames

3. Place names

Place names

Britain and the US have a rich variety of place names. Many names reflect the history of an area and of the people who once lived there. Many British towns take their name from a river. In Wales and Scotland many towns have names beginning with Aber – which means river mouth, e.g. Aberdeen, Aberystwyth. In England towns close to a river mouth often end with – mouth, e.g. Plymouth*. Plymouth – a city and port on the coast of Devon in south – west England. It has long been associated with ships and the sea.

A town beside a lake may, in Scotland, contain loch - or, in England, - mere, e.g. Lochinver, Windermere. In Scotland there are several place names beginning with Dun-, meaning “hill”, e.g. Dunbar. Any place whose name ends with - don (Swindon), - hurst (Sandhurst), - head (Gateshead) or, in Wales begins with pen - (Penarth), probably stands on or near a hill. Towns near passes may end in - gate, e.g. Harrogate, or, in Scotland, begin with Glen-, e.g. Glencoe.

American place names based on natural features are easier to recognize. Examples include Two Rivers, River Edge, Mirror Lake, Ocean City, Gulf Breeze, Seven Hills, Shady Valley, Twentynine Palms, Lookout, Little Rock, Round Rock, White Rock and Slippery Rock. French names include La Fontaine and Eau Clair. Some place names describe a product, e.g. Bean City, Cooper City.

 

Список лексикографических справочников

1. Ермолович, Д.И. Англо-русский словарь персоналий/ Д.И Ермолович. – М.: Русский язык, 1999. – 334c.

2. Подольская, Н.В. Словарь русской ономастической терминологии, 2 изд./ Н.В. Подольская. – М.:Флинта, Наука,1998. – 315с.

3. Поспелов, Е.М. Топонимический словарь/ Е.М. Поспелов. – М.: Астрель АСТ, 2002. – 328с.

4. Рыбакин, А.И. Словарь английских фамилий/ А.И. Рыбакин. – М.: Русский язык, 1986. – 576с.

5. Рыбакин, А.И. Словарь английских личных имен/ А.И. Рыбакин. – М.: Русский язык, 1989. – 222с.

6. Суперанская, А.В. Словарь русских личных имен/ А.В. Суперанская. – М.: ЭКСМО, 2003. – 544с.

7. Longman Dictionary of English Language & Culture. – London: Longman, 1994. – 1528с.

8. Urdang Laurence. A Dictionary of Names and Nicknames / Laurence Urdang. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. – 215с.

9. Hook, J.N. All Those Wonderful Names. A Potpourri of People, Places and Things: New York: John Winley & Sons, INC, 2001. – 420с.

 

CONTENTS

 

Preface…………………………………………………………………………

Lecture 1. The reflection of the nationally - cultural peculiarities in the lexical system of the English language ….………………………….….

Lecture 2. Cultural bumps: overcoming misunderstandings in cross – cultural communication ……………………………………………………..

Lecture 3. National images and intercultural communication…………

Lecture 4. Nationally cultural peculiarities of the English onomastics…………… ………………………………………………..………

Lecture 1. The reflection of the nationally - cultural peculiarities in the lexical system of the English language

(language as a tool of culture; the background knowledge of the user; “cumulative function of the language”; the cultural background knowledge of the world; words without equivalents; cultural component of the word; additional shades of word meaning; culturally marked, territorially determined words, referring to the natural environment, food & drinks, etc [the Yorkshire Dales, the Yorkshire Moors,Lancashire cheese, Lancashire hotpot, Yorkshire pudding,high tea, haggis,alumnus, public school, Scottish bagpipe]).

Plan

1. The function of language as a tool of culture. The cultural background of a language

2. The linguistic study of the country

3. The cultural component of lexical units

a) territorially determined words, referring to the natural environment;

b) culturally marked words, referring to food & drinks ethnographic realia; words without (full) equivalents;

c) functional differences of words in the sphere of education;

d) denotative realia, words without (full) equivalents.