Understanding Morphology and Syntax in English Language
This content explores morphology and syntax in English language, covering topics like conversion, compounding, and the formation of words through various linguistic processes. It delves into examples of verb-noun conversions, productive word formation methods, and compound words. The discussion also touches on the classification of compounds based on constituents and syntactic properties. Additionally, it raises questions about recognizing bound morphemes in words like blackberry and strawberry.
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MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX Dr. Monira I. Al-Mohizea
Consider the following: Find examples: V=> N N=>V Adj=> V Adj=> N Adj=> Adv
(2) Conversion Conversion is a widely used method of forming words in English. When conversion occurs, the syntactic context is the only indicator that word class has changed. Conversion of N => V and to a lesser extent V=>N, is very productive. E.g. deriving a verb from the noun floor works, but with ceiling, it doesn't. Sometimes, we are unsure which way the derivation went historically, i.e. is plan a noun derived form a verb or a verb derived form a noun?
Consider the following: Schoolboy Gundog Undrsell Razorsharp Greenhouse Taxpayer
(3) Compounding Compounds arc complex words containing at least two bases that are themselves words. It has always been a highly productive process in English. Compounds are classified on the basis of the word class of their constituents and the class of the entire resulting word. As is the case with affixes, the concept of head is important in morphology in general, and in compounds too. Compounds always have a headword which assigns its syntactic properties to the entire word, based on the right-hand head rule, it is normally the right-hand-most word. But this is not always the case, (phrasal verbs??)
Consider the following: When the right-hand head rule applies and the last word in the compound assigns its class to the entire word as you can see in the tree in Figure 5.4 and 5.8 on page 102. Compounds can also include other compounds, some of which may have affixes, causing complexity (e.g. armchair, sportsman) It is very common for words formed by affixation to be part of a compound.
Compounds including affixed compounds
Consider the following Blackberry Blueberry Strawberry Raspberry Gooseberry Cranberry Huckleberry Mulberry Should we recognize them as bound morphemes? Should we do so even if the meaning is totally obscure?
Issues.. The words in RED are clearly compounds; they are made of the words black, blue and berry. Similarly, the words in BLACK also appear to be compounds. The problem is that most Present-day speakers of English do not comprehend the meaning and relevance of (straw, rasp and goose) in these words and view them simply as mono-morpheme words. The problem in the words in BLUE, as the bound morphs cran-, mul- and huckle- occur only in these words in the entire language. Their specific meaning is elusive, and it is not clear whether they are root morphemes or prefixes. If they are root morphemes, the words in BLUE are compounds. Otherwise, what we have is a prefix followed by a root.
Cranberry Words- Conclusion.. The difference between compounding and affixation is not always clear-cut. Reality is more complex, as the norm is to recognize affix morphemes as word-building elements that recur in many words for example, re-, -er, -ing, non- But sometimes the evidence is indeterminate. If a form appears in only one word as is the case with cranberry words.
Further Sources of English Words Coinage Eponyms Backformation Blending Clipping Hypocorisms Acronyms and abbreviations Borrowing
Consider the following: Nylon (Rayon??, cotton??) Haagen Dazs??
Coinage Definition: Word manufacturing without recycling existing words and morphemes is called coinage. This process is rare in English- Compare to that of Arabic? It is mostly found in names of companies and corporations and their commercial products. Nylon was coined in 1938 by the DuPont pharmaceutical company. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the fabricated stem (nyl- with the pseudo-suffix on) found in the names of textile fibers (e.g. rayon, cotton)
Consider the following: Boeing Dell Seattle Victoria Pasteurization
Eponyms Definition: Eponyms are created by widening the meaning of a personal name or product associated with that person. This makes this process very productive as new companies are created all the time.
Consider the following: Original word Beggar Peddlar Hawker Scavenger Editor ???? Beg Peddle Hawk Scavenge Edit
Backformation Normally word formation involves addition rather than subtraction. Affixes are added to a base, or two words are combined to form a word. Definition: it is the process of taking something away from the input. It arises from a reinterpretation of the structure of a word, so that a chunk that is reanalyzed as an affix is removed, leaving behind the assumed root There are interesting developments in the use of backformation in current journalistic writing, extending the process in an innovative way. E.g. in performance- enhancing drugs.
Consider the following: Insanity + mania => Smoke + fog=> Adolf Dassler Adidas
Blending Definition: Chunks of words may be blended to form new words. Less commonly and mainly in the field of IT, it is the initial chunks of two words that are combined (e.g. (modulator + demodulator) => modem) (Wireless+ Fidelity) =>Wi Fi. More commonly, the initial chunk of the first word is combined with the final part of the second word. (e.g. brunch => breakfast+ lunch), (insania => insanity + mania).
Consider the following: fab (from ?? ) Brill (from ?? ) => slang Bus (from ?? ) Gym (from ?? )
Clipping Definition: Shortening long words by dropping a part is called clipping. Some clipped forms (e.g. fab- from fabulous) (bus from- omnibus), and (gym from- gymnasium) are part of the standard language. Three types of clipping with regard to structure: First: fore clipping , that is, deleting the the final part (e.g. varsity from university ), and (phone from telephone ). Second: middle clipping , that is, deleting last part and keeping the middle part, which is rare, (e.g. flu - from influenza). Finally, back clipping that is deleting the second part and keeping the first part. (e.g. ad (from advertisment ). 1. 2. 3. Clipping may interact with compounding,& compounds can be clipped, public house (pub) Compounds can be created from hi-fi (high+ fidelity).
Consider the following: Johnnie (from ??), Mandy (from ??) Kiddy Bikkie Brownie bookie
Hypocorisms Definition: Hypocorism is used to refer to words formed by suffixing a vowel, (usually y or ie [i] ) to a monosyllabic root or by suffixing (-y or ie [i] ) after clipping has reduced a longer simplex or compound word to one syllable. It is used to create the familiar forms of names, (e.g. Johnnie - from John). It is also used for common nouns, (e.g. cbippy, mom, kiddy, bikkie. brownie). These contractions are usually referred to as diminutives. But this label is not always appropriate, especially in Australian English where this type of word-formation is most widely used. As well as being used in a diminutive sense, hypocorisms are used in Australian English for word play and for indicating empathy (e.g. bagie(large school bag).
Consider the following: EU (European Union) BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), NICE (National institute for Clinical Excellence), laser (light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation) radar (radio detection and ranging), sim (card) (Subscriber Identity Module (card
Acronyms and abbreviations Acronyms and Abbreviations (also called initialisms ). Definition: ln this type of word-formation, a group of words representing a concept or the name of an organization is reduced to their initial letters which are then treated as a word. ln the case of abbreviation, the reduced form does not result in well-formed syllables and so cannot be pronounced as a word. Rather, the letters are sounded out independently. ln the case of acronyms, contraction delivers initial letters that constitute well-formed syllables and the string forms a perfectly normal word.
