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Latin Abbreviations
| Expression | Full form | Modern meaning |
| A.D. | Anno Domini | in the year of our Lord |
| a.m. | ante meridiem | before noon |
| cf. | confer | compare |
| e.g. | exempli gratia | for example |
| etc. | et cetera | and other things; and so on |
| i.e. | id est | that is to say |
| N.B. | nota bene | take note |
| p.m. | post meridiem | after noon |
Latin Expressions
| Expression | Meaning |
| a priori | reasoning that precedes the experience |
| a posteriori | reasoning based on past experience |
| ab ovo | from the beginning |
| ad infinitum | without limit; forever |
| errata | list of errors, misprints, etc. in a printed book |
| post factum | after something has happened |
New Lexical Tendencies in English
There are some new tendencies in the use of English you need to be aware of even though they affect the language in general. Knowledge of them is especially important for those who perform research in humanities and social sciences.
The first tendency considered here is the so-called politically correct language. This tendency, characteristic mostly of American English, consists in the use of euphemisms (mild, vague, and indirect words or phrases) that soften accurate meanings in accordance with sociopolitical values. Some examples of "politically correct" American English are as follows:
| Blacks, Negroes | Afro-Americans |
| Indians | Native Americans |
| foreign students | international students |
| poor | marginalized |
| handicapped or | differently abled |
| stupid | intellectually disadvantaged |
The second tendency consists in the avoidance of unnecessary distinctions based on sex in language use. These distinctions are called sexist language. The proper understanding of this important for the Western societies tendency may not be easy for Ukrainians and other speakers of Slavic languages, in which grammar is strongly affected by the category of gender. Thus, to avoid sexist language masculine pronouns sentences are transformed into the plural. Occasionally, if all else fails, he/she or him/her are used. Careful writers also avoid designating sex with suffixes like –man and –ess and substitute nonsexist terms, e.g.:
| Gendered | Gender-free |
| postman | postal agent |
| chairman | chairperson |
| landlord | landowner |
| manmade | synthetic |
| poetess | poet |
| air hostess | flight attendant |
| policeman | police officer |
Date: 2015-01-02; view: 884
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