Exercise RC3-4, page CAN YOU understand this text? - English File Studetn's book, pre-intermediate, Oxford

CAN YOU understand this text?

a Read the article. How many different ways of making new words are mentioned in the text?

b Read the article again and answer the questions.

1 How often does the OED add words to its online dictionary?

2 How was the word vlog created?

3 What part of speech was text until the 20th century?

4 What language do barista and latte come from?

5 Why did we need to invent words like wi-fi?

6 Which came first: brunch, newspaper, or café?

900 new words in 3 months

Everyone knows the English language is changing. Every three months the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) publishes updates to its online dictionary. One recent update contained 900 new words, new expressions, or new meanings for existing words. But where do they all come from?

New words are created in many different ways. We can make a new word by combining two words, like gastropub (gastronomy + pub) or vlog (video + blog). Sometimes we put two words together in a new way, for example road rage or selfie stick.

We also find that nouns can change into verbs. Take the word text. Text was always a noun (from about 1369, according to the OED), but it is now very common as a verb, to text somebody. Other new words already existed but with a different meaning. For example, tweet was the noise that a bird makes, but now we use it more often (as a verb or a noun) for a message that people put on the social networking site Twitter.

Another way in which we make new words is by 'adopting' words from foreign languages, like barista or latte (imported from Italian when coffee bars became really popular in the UK in the 1990s).

A lot of new words come from the names of brands or companies, for example we Skype each other and we google information. We also need more general words to describe new technology or new gadgets: wi-fi, ringtone, and smartphone are some examples.

The invention of new words is not a new phenomenon. The word brunch (breakfast + lunch) first appeared in 1896, newspaper (news + paper) in 1667, and English speakers started to use the word café (from French) in the late 19th century. The difference now is how quickly new words and expressions enter the language and how quickly we start to use and understand them.

a. Прочитайте статью. Сколько разных способов образования новых слов упомянуто в тексте?

Ответ:

Six different ways of making new words are mentioned in the text. These are: combining two words (e.g., vlog), putting two words together in a new way (e.g., road rage), changing a noun into a verb (e.g., to text), an existing word getting a new meaning (e.g., tweet), adopting words from other languages (e.g., barista), and using brand names (e.g., to google).

В тексте упоминается шесть различных способов образования новых слов. Это: объединение двух слов (например, vlog), сложение двух слов новым способом (например, road rage), превращение существительного в глагол (например, to text), приобретение существующим словом нового значения (например, tweet), заимствование слов из других языков (например, barista) и использование названий брендов (например, to google).

b. Прочитайте статью еще раз и ответьте на вопросы.

Ответ:

1. Как часто Оксфордский словарь английского языка (OED) добавляет слова в свой онлайн-словарь?

The OED adds words to its online dictionary every three months.

Оксфордский словарь английского языка добавляет слова в свой онлайн-словарь каждые три месяца.

2. Как было создано слово vlog?

The word vlog was created by combining the words video and blog.

Слово vlog было создано путем объединения слов video и blog.

3. Какой частью речи было слово text до XX века?

The word text was a noun.

Слово text было существительным.

4. Из какого языка пришли слова barista и latte?

The words barista and latte come from Italian.

Слова barista и latte пришли из итальянского языка.

5. Почему нам понадобилось придумывать слова вроде wi-fi?

We needed to invent words like wi-fi to describe new technology or new gadgets.

Нам понадобилось придумывать слова вроде wi-fi, чтобы описывать новые технологии или новые гаджеты.

6. Что появилось раньше: brunch, newspaper или café?

The word newspaper came first.

Слово newspaper появилось первым.