Cognitive Approaches to Specialist Languages

Cluster Equivalence, General Language, Language for Specific Purposes

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Register and stylistic variants

A range of senses corresponding to stylistic and slang variants of the
lexical meaning car (wóz(ek), bryka, gablota, fura) are also included in the
broad meaning of English motor, which extends one semantic area and
covers the sense ‘motor car’. The Polish slang expressions are typically
derived from the form ‘horsed cart’ in the process of apparent expressive
pejoration whose main objective though is to emphasise the value, etc. of
the object:

(13) Everyone keep an eye out for the motor

(13a) Wypatrujcie samochodu (lit.‘car’)

(14) A wean, a bird, a motor

(14a) Dziecko, kobieta, wóz

(15) Gant wants that motor.

(15a) Gant zagiąá parol na ten wózek.

(16) Where the f...k is the motor?

(16a) Gdzie k...a jest moja bryka?

(17) What the f...k is Johnny doing in Stubbs' motor?

(17a) Skąd Johnny w gablocie Stubbsa?

(18) I'm not leaving the motor unlocked round here.

(19) Nie zostawiĊ tu otwartej fury.

The interesting observation is that no similar stylistic varieties are
present in these English examples. The archaic form in Polish, automobil
‘automobile’, is used in the historical, particularly elevated, or else jocular
contexts:

(20) He was riding there with his Archduchess in a motor car.

(20a) Jechaá ze swoją arcyksiĊĪną w automobilu.

Apart from the range of senses involving types of motor vehicles as
above, both the superordinate classificatory categories (machine –
maszyna, carriage – pojazd - in both languages) as well as an extended
range of types are also applicable:

(21) Twój biedny motor

(21a) The machine you...