Obsolete English words that are still found in textbooks for Russian speakers
'12.01.2021'
There is a big gap between the vocabulary used in Russian textbooks and the modern speech of English-speaking people. The materials in the textbooks become outdated, they do not have time to refresh them - all because it is difficult to keep up with the constantly updated language. Here are some outdated words and phrases that have not been found in English and American speech for a long time. Study and Travel with Smapse on Yandex.Zen.
What a pity!
If you read English books and watch TV shows, you may have noticed that the expression "What a pity!" practically never occurs. Instead, you've probably heard more than once: I'm sorry or That's bad! You can express regret in another way - with the help of the words Unfortunately and Too bad.
Supper
Perhaps it was relevant to call the evening meal with the word Supper in the 70s of the last century. By 2020, English speakers are referring to dinner as Dinner. The changes affected not only the dinner:
- Breakfast - breakfast
- Brunch - snack
- Lunch - lunch
- Tea / tea time / afternoon tea - afternoon tea or afternoon tea (in the UK)
- Dinner - dinner.
The author recalls that they used to say this:
- Breakfast - breakfast
- Lunch - snack (second light breakfast)
- Dinner - lunch
- 5 o'clock tea - afternoon tea
- Supper - dinner.
To go in for sports
The outdated phrase has been supplanted by the more modern do sport or play sports.
Words that have been replaced by abbreviated forms
- television. Today they speak in abbreviated form - TV: probably to save time on chatter and start watching a new series sooner. Let's watch TV!
- Refrigerator... The word is used only in instructions, and in kitchen conversations - fridge.
- telephone. Shorter and more acceptable versions of an irreplaceable gadget: phone, cell phone or mobile phone. What's your phone number?
moreover
An outdated introductory word can be found in the fiction of the last century, and today the words besides and also are more common.
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Rather
The word with the meaning "quite" is still found in Russian textbooks, but in modern speech you can hear really and quite more often.
Form (class)
We've all been taught to say form when we need to ask, "What form are you in?" But in fact this word has other meanings: questionnaire, form, form, and has nothing to do with the class. What word should you use when talking about class? Grade and year would be much better: What grade (year) are you in?
Hall
Shall as a future tense verb after I / we has not been used for thirty years! They began to use will instead. And those who still say I shall go to the theater tomorrow sound very old-fashioned. It is common for natural speech to shorten the word will to 'll: I'll go to the theater tomorrow.
pupil
It doesn't matter what age you are - if you are in an educational institution, you will be called a student, even if you are only six years old. The word pupil has long gone out of use in this sense - in modern English, pupil means "pupil".
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How do you do?
Outdated greeting How do you do? it is used today except in the presence of Elizabeth II (By the way, it is customary to answer this greeting in a mirror - say How do you do? in response). In other cases, How are you?
