Stylistically neutral vocabulary is a bridge across the gap between people of different professions and walks of life. It is it that is a universal, fixed in dictionaries, language of understanding, so it is important to pay attention to its study.
Definition of stylistically neutral vocabulary
The degree of imagery of a language is determined by the abundance of its vocabulary. The more diverse the layers of vocabulary, the richer the speech possibilities.
In Russian, colloquial, book and neutral vocabulary stand out - a fundamental layer of words that are not attached to any style of speech.
The words of interstitial vocabulary make up, according to scientists, three quarters of the wealth of the Russian language. In the dictionaries, such vocabulary, unlike, for example, the book, is not marked with special icons like (*), which immediately indicates the possibility of using such words in all styles without restriction.
- "In the autumn meadows, the golden sun went down over the horizon." Fiction. Of the 8 words of the sentence, 7 are neutral and only 1 word “golden” refers to the book, high style.
- "Petya, quickly scratch the bread store." Excerpt from the conversation. Of the 7 words, 6 are neutral. The word "cheshi" is also neutral, but in this text has a different meaning and refers to the colloquial style.
- “No catalyst is required to carry out the reaction of sodium with water.” Out of 10 words - 9 neutral and 1, “catalyst”, a special, scientific style.
Parts of neutral vocabulary speech
Interstyle vocabulary is represented by almost all parts of the speech of the Russian language - both independent and official. This once again confirms the fundamental nature of this layer in the language. Words of neutral vocabulary refer to parts of speech:
- Nouns: "field", "table", "house", "wind", "friendship", "strength", "hour".
- Verbs: "do," "go," "see," "experience," "create."
- Adjectives: "blue", "tender", "superfluous", "wooden", "northern".
- Adverbs: "good," "dog-like," "very," "visible."
- The pronouns: "ours," "he," "you," "who," "she."
- Numerals: "first," "five," "ten."
- Official words:
- unions: “as if”, “that is,” “a,” “but”;
- particles: “already”, “how”, “like”;
- prepositions: "for", "about", "in", "thanks."
Not common vocabulary
The only part of speech that cannot be a neutral word is interjection. Examples: great, wow, flop, hello. These words initially carry an emotional connotation.
There are also such concepts for the designation of which there are no words of neutral expression - these are cases of only high or only low speech style. For example: “dunce”, “talker”, “idiot” or “tribunal”, “oratorio”. It is impossible to imagine a scientific article with the word "fool" entered into the context. Such words are initially brightly colored, therefore they cannot be used in another style of speech. Neutral functions in all styles.
Where is neutral vocabulary used
Neutral tokens are used in all styles of speaking and writing, without exception. In scientific and journalistic articles, in textbooks, in fiction, in ordinary conversation, this vocabulary is the basis of the Russian language, the most stable part of its vocabulary. For example, the composition of an author’s literary text includes units for the most part from words of a neutral layer. For example, in the text of M. Prishvin words that are not related to neutral vocabulary are highlighted.
Example:
Here the guys do not go here and they don’t let anyone sing on the choir, and since I saw in one shop on the window the hooks are sold directly with the fishing line and for any fish that are very worthwhile, even there is one hook that will keep the pood catfish.
A. Chekhov "Vanka"
The word "let" - colloquial, "standing" - phonetic distortion of the token "standing", but fixed in this text on the letter, can also be considered colloquial.
Interstyle vocabulary has thematic associations that make up the active vocabulary of the language:
- Temporary meaning: “tomorrow”, “yesterday”, “century”, “month”, “morning”, “day”, “past”, “present”.
- The meaning of the place: "right", "back", "there", "where", "house", "country", "island".
- Negativity: "no," "no one," "no," "no," "neither."
- Emphasis on the face: "he," "she," "you," "I."
Neutral vocabulary helps protect spoken and written language from vulgarity, for example: "Girl, go to this box office."
The word “flip through” high style, it unnaturally fits into the context of everyday colloquial speech.
It is necessary to remember caution and rationality when combining words of different semantic colors in one text.
Background neutral vocabulary. Examples
Style differences in the language can be seen only against the background of words with a neutral coloring. Neutral vocabulary is a white sheet on which the smallest shades of other colors are visible. Speech can be expressive, figurative, but in comparison with the expression of the book and conversational style, the coloring of the inter-style vocabulary is not so noticeable. For example: “walk” is a neutral word, “step” is a high style, “wandering around” is a conversational style.
Authors of literary texts can achieve expressiveness and imagery without resorting to expressively-colored vocabulary. For example: "If in these rustling leafy forests you are silent and listening to the sounds around you, you can hear mysterious quiet steps ..."
In this passage, only neutral-style words are used, but imagery and colorfulness are not lost. True, the creation of a literary text only with the help of common vocabulary is not for everyone. The existence of emotionally saturated layers of speech makes it possible to create texts of special imagery.
Neutral vocabulary and semantics
Words should be treated with neutral style with caution. The same token may have different meanings depending on the context and relate to different stylistic layers of the language. For instance:
- "A terrible screech of brakes was heard nearby." - Here the word "brakes" in the meaning of "mechanism to stop" (neutral).
- "Well you guys and brakes!" - In this text, "brakes" are used in the figurative meaning - "people with a slow perception of information."
Neutral vocabulary in fairy tales
A fabulous text can be built on the basis of neutral vocabulary - this will not be a folk tale, but an author’s text.
For example: “In the kingdom of Far Far Away, in the kingdom of the fifties, there lived a tsar with a queen, and they had a beautiful daughter, who could not be described in a fairy tale or with a pen. She sat in the room all day.” There are obsolete words in the text: “king”, “queen”, “svetlitsa”, there are also stable expressions of a fairy tale epic: “in the far-away kingdom, in the far-off state”, “to tell in a fairy tale, not to describe with a pen”.
The canvas of a folk tale consists of words of increased imagery, the phenomena described in it are often not related to the real world, being the result of a person’s fantasy flight, a reflection of the sensory perception of the world. Neutral vocabulary is not capable of such imagery.
The prevalence of stylistically neutral vocabulary in author's tales is appropriate, since such texts are usually more calm, non-expressive and more speculative.
Conversational, stylistically neutral and book vocabulary complement each other. Stylistically colored words allow us to express the shades of feelings, the realities of knowledge of a narrow circle of people. Neutral vocabulary is what brings precision, certainty, and comprehensibility to everyone.