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Presentation - Vocabulary
Presentation - Vocabulary
Presentation - Vocabulary
of English Vocabulary
Lesson 2
Stylistic Classification of the English
Vocabulary
• The whole word-stock of the English language is divided into three main
layers: the literary layer, the neutral layer and the colloquial layer.
• The neutral layer can be employed in all styles of language and in all
spheres of human activity. It is this that makes the layer the most stable of
all. The literary layer of words consists of groups accepted as legitimate
members of the English vocabulary. They have no local or dialectal
character. The colloquial layer of words as qualified in most English or
American dictionaries is limited to a definite language community or
confined to a special locality where it circulates.
The following synonyms illustrate the relations that exist between neutral,
literary and colloquial words in the English language.