Stylistic Classification of the English Vocabulary
The classification of the English vocabulary is discussed for purely stylistic purposes. Some stylistic devices are based on the interplay of different stylistic aspects of words. The word-stock of any language is a system, the elements of which are interconnected, interrelated and yet independent.
In accordance with the already-mentioned division of language into literary and non-literary (colloquial), we may represent the whole of the word-stock of the English language as being divided into three main layers: literary, neutral and colloquial. The literary and the colloquial layers contain a number of subgroups. The common property, which unites the different groups of words within the layer, may be called its aspect.
The aspect of the literary layer is its markedly bookish character. It is this that makes this layer more or less stable. The aspect of the colloquial layer is its lively spoken character. It is this that makes it unstable, fleeting. The aspect of the neutral layer is its universal character. This layer is the most stable of all, because it is unrestricted in use, it can be employed in all styles of language and in all spheres of human activity.
Neutral words form the bulk of the English vocabulary, they are used in both literary and colloquial language. Unlike these two groups, the neutral group of words does not have any special stylistic coloring, whereas both literary and colloquial words have a definite stylistic coloring. The following synonyms illustrate the relations which exist between the three layers: coll-daddy; neutral –father; literary-parent.
The literary vocabulary consists of the following groups of words:
1) Common literary.
2) Terms
3) Barbarisms and foreign words
4) Archaisms
5) Poetic words
6) Literary Coinages (including Nonce-words)
The colloquial vocabulary falls into the following groups:
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