Archaism - Definition and Examples

Archaism s An archaism is a word or phrase (or a particular meaning of a word or phrase) that is no longer in common use and is considered extremely old-fashioned. Etymology:  From the Greek, ancient, beginning Pronunciation:  ARE-kay-i-zem Also Known  As:  lexical zombie A  grammatical archaism  is a sentence structure or word order thats no longer in common use in most dialects.   Linguist Tom McArthur notes that literary archaism occurs when a style is modeled on older works, so as to revive earlier practices or achieve the desired effect. (Source: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language, 2005) Examples The old man raised the axe and split the head of John Joel Glanton to the thrapple.(Source: Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, 1985)[Nick Faldo] speaks in a jaunty, clipped, wised-up vernacular, mixing street-smart patter with solid analysis. His vocabulary is rich in curious archaisms- jeepers, crumbs, gee- and eccentric asides.(Source: Jason Cowley, Nicks Second Coming. The Guardian, Oct. 1, 2006) 19th-Century Archaisms We do not have to go back as far as Elizabethan English or the Middle Ages to encounter archaisms. Here are some from the Victorian and Edwardian eras: beastly (as in so beastly critical) blest, deuced (if I know) capital! (as an exclamation of delight) very civil (of you) confound you! damnable cheek guvnor luncheon pray (come in) (you) rotter spiffing And might we not say that daddy-o is an archaism, even though it was alive and well in the 1960s? (Source: David Crystal, Words, Words, Words. Oxford University Press, 2006) 20th-Century Archaisms Among the technological archaisms Ive had to explain to the Tuned In children- what a record is, why they call it dialing a phone, the fact that, once, you couldnt rewind TV shows- is the fact that, a long time ago, musicians used to make little movies of their songs, and people would watch them on TV. (James Poniewozik, Wake Up and Smell the Cat Food in Your Bank Account. Time magazine, May 2, 2007) Stuff It is rather odd to see that the OED [Oxford English Dictionary] defines the word care as some kind of stuff. This seems at first glance to be a rather nonspecific definition to find in what is arguably the greatest dictionary ever created. But it is actually very specific- just a bit archaic. The word stuff has had a variety of meanings through the ages, and at the time that this definition was written, in 1888, it referred to (among other things) a woollen fabric or material for the gown worn by a junior counsel.(Source: Ammon Shea, Dated Definitions. The New York Times, Aug. 12, 2009) Archaisms and Register It should be added . . . that there is a problem with the identification of archaism, since archaisms are  sometimes not archaic in the register in which they are used. For example, thee and thou are not archaic forms in a certain type of poetic register; they are archaic only in relation to our contemporary day-to-day speech. Thus the use of an archaism can be interpreted as either conforming to a register or looking back to the past (or both). . . . Only by using a dictionary such as the OED, which is a historical dictionary, giving the meanings of words over time, will you be able to find out whether certain words were current or archaic at the time of writing.​  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹(Source: Martin Montgomery et al.,  Ways of Reading: Advanced Reading Skills for Students of English Literature, 3rd ed. Routledge, 2007) The Lighter Side of Archaisms Frank Rossitano: Yo Tray, we got a problem. Tracy Jordan as President Thomas Jefferson: Pray, who be this Tracy Jordan thou speakest of? Frank: Eh, President Jefferson, we got a problem. Tracy: Speaketh. Frank Rossitano: That horse ate your wig. Tracy: Well, stand guard by his rump and await it in his droppings.(Source: Judah Friedlander and Tracy Morgan in Corporate Crush. 30 Rock, 2007)

Soldiers Home Essay Example

Soldiers Home Essay Example Soldiers Home Paper Soldiers Home Paper Soldier’s Home By Ernest Hemingway In the battlefield soldiers are experiencing war, death, loss – they kill and watch fellow soldiers getting killed. Being a soldier is in no way an easy life, and it is hard for people, who have not experienced war to understand. When these soldiers returns from war they need to adjust themselves to their old lives – adjust themselves to live in a place that has not change a tiny bit, even though they are in no way the same person as they were when they left. The main character in Hemingway’s short story â€Å"Soldier’s home† experiences the conflicts connected with returning from war. What strikes me the most when reading Ernest Hemingway is his style of writing. This short story is characteristic due to the few adjectives, adverbs and Hemingway does not tell us about the characters’ feelings and thoughts and one must interpret these from actions and conversations. His style is simple, direct and his grammar is almost grade school-like. When first reading the short story one might find the short story in lack of substance due to the missing direct statements and descriptions of emotions. The reader needs to be active to understand Hemingway’s stories. Harold Krebs went to take part in World War 1 immediately after finishing college. Although World War 1 ended in 1918 Krebs did not return to his hometown before 1919. After his arrival he is not greeted as a war hero like his fellow students. The hysteria was rampant in the area, but at the time he arrives the hysteria has passed. People find it difficult to understand why he returned as late as he did ( people seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late, years after the war was over. † (ll. 8-9)). It seems as though Krebs has returned so late, because he has a hard time interacting with â€Å"ordinary people† – people who has not experienced the war as he has. At first he does not want to talk about his experiences in the war, but when he feels the need to do it, people do not listen. Due to his desire to talk about it he starts lying to make his stories more interesting. I believe talking is an important part of the â€Å"healing process† when someone has experienced war – Krebs does not like talking to people due to the fact that they do not understand him. He would like to have a girlfriend, but the talking makes him change his mind, â€Å"now he would have liked a girl if she had some to him and not wanted to talk,† (l. 40). His mother pressurizes Krebs to find a girlfriend and she calls attention to the fact that the boys from his old school has settled down and â€Å"on their way to being really a credit to the community† (ll. 85-86). To Krebs this is a â€Å"hard slap in the face† – a veiled critic. The mother is very religious and she does not believe that going to war is the solution to anything – she does instead believe that a good job, a nice wife and children are the real â€Å"credit to the community†. Furthermore, the mother does not understand that Krebs is no longer like the boys he used to hang out with – he has seen death and death changes people. Death has made him incapable of loving something we are shown when the mother asks him â€Å"don’t you love your mother, dear boy? † (l. 97) and Krebs truthfully answers â€Å"no†. It was not his intention to hurt his mother, and he ends up promising her that he in fact loves her. This is yet another lie, and he realises that he has to move on. Krebs was once religious (â€Å"†¦ from a Methodist college in Kansas,† (l. 1)) but he has now lost his faith to God and he is no longer â€Å"in His Kingdom† (l. 4). His faith in religion has faltered due to his experiences in the war. Although he wants to break with the family’s religious values, but he cannot break with the authority he still feels religion is. Krebs feels sorry for his mother because she (and her religion) has made him lie – and made him feel guilty as well (â€Å"He had felt sorry for his mother she had made him lie. He would go to Kansas City and get a job and she would feel all right about it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (ll. 23-24)). I believe that isolation from society is an important theme in this short story due to the fact that it has such an impact on the main character. During the war Krebs felt important and useful but now no one even wants to listen to his story unless he lies. He has turned into a passive observer – he observes the girls walking by, but he does not want to interact with them – he just sits on the porch reading. Hemingway wanted the reader to believe that his short stories’ and novels’ reflected himself as person. In Soldier’s Home it is obvious that Krebs does not like his mother – Hemingway did as well detest his mother. Hemingway was raised in a very religious way but as he grew older he became more rebellious and wanted to break with his former religious believes, just like Krebs.

Etruscan - Byzantine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Etruscan - Byzantine - Essay Example It is also characterized by neighboring columns, superimposed and engaged, serves as an embellishment to the structure. Roman style is also characterized by an elevated high base steps rising to a deep portico which was a strong influence of the Etruscan style of architecture. Hagia Sophia, which is located in Istanbul formerly Constantinople, on the other hand, is one of the best examples of the Byzantine architecture. Although there are a lot of existing styles that concentrated on a religious theme, Byzantine architecture’s strong feature is that the structures built during this time were meant to glorify the church. This style is set apart by great domes, smaller domes and half domes supported with pedentive, huge columns, round arches and abundant use of color, decorative and glass mosaics. Both architectural styles have a distinct characteristic that distinguish it from others. Pantheon has a top heavy appearance and an imposingly large entrance like most temples in this era. Hagia Sophia, however, is somewhat inviting. Although Byzantine also uses columns in their architectural design, the Roman style has more columns that somewhat overlaps each other just by looking at it. Both structures made use of domes, the difference however was that Pantheon has only one while Hagia Sophia has several. Initially, Pantheon was believed to be created as a temple for the gods.