Information AboutArchaism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ARCHAISM | |
| lexicology | |
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USAGE Archaisms are most frequently encountered in Poetry , Law , and Ritual writing and speech. Their deliberate use can be subdivided into Literary archaisms, which seeks to evoke the style of older speech and writing; and Lexical archaisms, the use of words no longer in common use. Archaisms are kept alive by these ritual and literary uses and by the study of older literature. Should they remain recognised, they can be revived, as the word ''anent'' was in this past century. Some, such as academic and amateur Philologists , enjoy learning and using archaisms either in speech or writing, though this may sometimes be misconstrued as Pseudo-intellectual ism. Archaisms are frequently misunderstood, leading to changes in usage. One example is the use of the archaic familiar second person singular pronoun " Thou " to refer to God in English Christianity. Although originally a familiar pronoun, it has been misinterpreted as a respectful one by many modern Christians. Another example is found in the Phrase "the odd man out", which originally came from the phrase "to find the odd man out", where the verb "to find out" has been split by its object "the odd man", meaning the item which does not fit. The compound adverbs and prepositions found in the writing of of Historical Novel s in order to evoke the flavour of the period. Some may count as Inherently Funny Word s and are used for Humorous effect. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS In Anthropological studies of culture, archaism is defined as the absence of writing and Subsistence economy. In history, archaism is used to connote a superior, albeit mythical, "golden age." |
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