Word Formation: Processes, Neologisms, and Borrowing
Chapter Five
Word Formation
•
Example:
–
‘hoover’ – hovering (electric suction sweeper)
invented word, became familiar all over the world
–
Could have been :‘spangler, - spanglering,
spanglerish, spanglerism…
–
Why can we understand very quickly new words
and accept the usage of different forms of that
word?
–
Because there is a lot of regularity in word
formation processes in languages.
Word Formation
•
•
Neologism—a
new word in our language and the use
of different forms of that new word.
•
•
Etymology
– the study of the origin and history of a
word is known as its etymology– Latin and Greek.
•
Thee are many different ways in which new words can
enter a language.
•
Many words used today were considered once a
misuse of language, e.g.,
handbook
,
aviation
•
The constant creation of new terms and the new uses
of old terms are a sign of the vitality of language (alive)
which is shaped by the need of its users
Coinage
•
The
least
common process of word formation
•
Invention of totally new terms. Trade names
for commercial products that become general
terms or household names: kleneex, xerox,
google, ebay.
•
After their invention, they tend to become
everyday words in the language.
Cont..
•
•
Eponyms—
new words that are based on the
name of a person or a place e.g. hoover,
sandwich, jeans.
Borrowing
•
• one of the
most
common process of word formation.
•
English
language has adopted many words from other
languages such as:
croissant
(French),
piano
(Italian),
sofa
(Arabic).
•
•Other languages borrow words from English such as
suupaamaaketto
(Japanese), French saying
le stress
, and
le
weekend.
•
•
Calque– loan translation
(a special type of borrowing):
direct translation of the elements of a word into the
borrowing language. French term
gratte-ciel
–
scrape-sky
,
Dutch
wolkenkrabber
–cloud scratcher or German
Wolkenkratzer
(cloud scraper) all are calques of English
skyscraper
. Other examples:
perros
calientes
(
hot dogs
).
Compounding
•
Joining
two
separate words to form a single
form.
•
E.g. English compounds–
bookcase
,
sunburn
,
wallpaper
.
•
A very productive source of new terms
Blending
•
•Taking the beginning of one word and joining
it to the end of the other word.
•
•E.g.
gasoline + alcohol =
gasohol
;
smoke + fog =
smog
breakfast + lunch =
brunch
•
Also can be used to describe the mixing of
languages, e.g.,
Spanglish
Clipping
•
•Reduction of a word/ when a word of more than one
syllable is reduced to a shorter term
•
•E.g.
Fax
(facsimile);
ad
(advertisement);
fan
(fanatic);
flu
(influenza),
gym
,
lab
,
math
,
prof
•
• (a particular type of reduction) Australian and British
English produce forms known as
hypocorisms
. A longer
word is reduced to a single syllable then –y or –ie is
added, e.g.,
movie
(moving pictures)
telly
(television);
Aussie
(Australian);
barbie
(barbecue);
hankie
(handkerchief)
Backformation
•
•A special type of reduction is called backformation
•
•Typically a word of one type (usually a noun) is
reduced to form a word of another type (usually a
verb).
•
•E.g. the noun
Televison
– became the verb
televise
;
–
donation-donate,
–
babysitter—babysit;
–
(nouns ending in the –
er
sound can easily be turned to
verbs) e.g., sculptor—sculpt; burglars—burgle, peddlers—
peddle;
Conversion
•
•A change in the function of a word, e.g., when a noun becomes a
verb or vice versa;
without any reduction
.
•
Also known as ‘category change’ or ‘functional shift.’
•
•E.g. bottle, vacation, butter (nouns came to be used as verbs)
–
We
bottled
the jam last night.
–
Have you
buttered
the toast.
–
They’re
vacationing
in Florida.
•
• Or verbs can convert into noun, e.g.,
guess
,
spy
,
must
becomes:
a
guest
,
a must
,
a spy
•
• or Phrasal verbs into nouns: e.g. to
print out
; to
take over
becomes: printout; takeover
•
Verb combinations to a noun, e.g.,
want to be-- wannabe
Cont…
•
•Verbs into adjectives: e.g.
see through, stand up
–
see-through material
or
a stand-up comedian
.
•
•Adjectives into verbs/nouns: e.g. a
dirty
floor, an
empty
room, becomes:
to dirty
,
to empty
(verbs)
•
•Compound nouns become adjectival or verbal
functions e.g. the
ball park, carpool
,
microwave
•
•Up and down used as verbs–
up the price
or
downed
a few cokes
Acronyms
•
•Formed from the initial letters of a set of
other words; e.g. CD (compact disk) we
pronounce each single letter,
•
or pronounced as new single words : NATO,
NASA, UNESCO, laser (light amplification by
stimulated emission of radiation), ATM
9automatic teller machine), PIN (personal
identification number)
Derivation
•
•the
most common
word formation process in the production of
new English words
•
Derivation— by joining small ‘bits’ of the language which do not
have separate listing in the dictionaries. These small bits are called
affixes
. E.g. (
un, mis, pre, ful, less, ish, ism, ness) in words like:
–
Unhappy, misrepresent, prejudge, joyful, careless, boyish, terrorism,
sadness
•
•
Prefixes
—added at the beginning of the word. (un-, mis-)
•
•
Suffixes
—at the end of the word. (-less, -ish)
–
E.g. mislead, disrespectful, foolishness
•
•
Infixes
– when an affix is incorporated inside a word, not normally
used in English but when used indicate aggravating circumstances –
e.g absogoddamlutely, godtripledammit, Singabloodypore
Kamhmu
•
•A language spoken in South East Asia (Better example
for ‘infixes’)
•
They follow a regular pattern whereby the infix –
rn-
is
added to verbs to form nouns.
•
Verb
Noun
•
see (to drill)
srnee (a drill)
•
toh (to chisel)
trnoh (a chisel)
•
hiip (to eat with a spoon)
hrniip (a spoon)
•
hoom (to tie)
hrnoom (a thing with
which to tie)
Multiple processes
•
•
Deli
– borrowing,
delicatessen
(German) an then
clipped.
•
•
Snowballed—
compounding (snow and ball) and then
converted from noun to a verb
•
•
Lase
– acronyms and then bacformation (laser into
lase);
•
waspish
attitude, comes from WASP (white Anglo-
Saxon Protestant) lost the capital letters and gained a
suffix, -
ish
in the derivation process
•
•
Yuppie
– young urban professional + -ie (hypocorism)
Delve into the fascinating world of word formation processes, from coinage and eponyms to borrowing and compounding. Explore how new words enter languages, the study of word origins (etymology), and the dynamics of creating and adopting new linguistic terms.
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Presentation Transcript
Chapter Five Word Formation
Example: hoover hovering (electric suction sweeper) invented word, became familiar all over the world Could have been : spangler, - spanglering, spanglerish, spanglerism Why can we understand very quickly new words and accept the usage of different forms of that word? Because there is a lot of regularity in word formation processes in languages.
Word Formation Neologism a new word in our language and the use of different forms of that new word. Etymology the study of the origin and history of a word is known as its etymology Latin and Greek. Thee are many different ways in which new words can enter a language. Many words used today were considered once a misuse of language, e.g., handbook, aviation The constant creation of new terms and the new uses of old terms are a sign of the vitality of language (alive) which is shaped by the need of its users
Coinage The least common process of word formation Invention of totally new terms. Trade names for commercial products that become general terms or household names: kleneex, xerox, google, ebay. After their invention, they tend to become everyday words in the language.
Cont.. Eponyms new words that are based on the name of a person or a place e.g. hoover, sandwich, jeans.
Borrowing one of the most common process of word formation. English language has adopted many words from other languages such as: croissant (French), piano (Italian), sofa (Arabic). Other languages borrow words from English such as suupaamaaketto (Japanese), French saying le stress, and le weekend. Calque loan translation (a special type of borrowing): direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language. French term gratte-ciel scrape-sky, Dutch wolkenkrabber cloud scratcher or German Wolkenkratzer (cloud scraper) all are calques of English skyscraper. Other examples: perros calientes (hot dogs).
Compounding Joining two separate words to form a single form. E.g. English compounds bookcase, sunburn, wallpaper. A very productive source of new terms
Blending Taking the beginning of one word and joining it to the end of the other word. E.g. gasoline + alcohol = gasohol; smoke + fog =smog breakfast + lunch = brunch Also can be used to describe the mixing of languages, e.g., Spanglish
Clipping Reduction of a word/ when a word of more than one syllable is reduced to a shorter term E.g. Fax (facsimile); ad (advertisement); fan (fanatic); flu (influenza), gym, lab, math, prof (a particular type of reduction) Australian and British English produce forms known as hypocorisms. A longer word is reduced to a single syllable then y or ie is added, e.g., movie (moving pictures) telly (television); Aussie (Australian); barbie (barbecue); hankie (handkerchief)
Backformation A special type of reduction is called backformation Typically a word of one type (usually a noun) is reduced to form a word of another type (usually a verb). E.g. the noun Televison became the verb televise; donation-donate, babysitter babysit; (nouns ending in the er sound can easily be turned to verbs) e.g., sculptor sculpt; burglars burgle, peddlers peddle;
Conversion A change in the function of a word, e.g., when a noun becomes a verb or vice versa; without any reduction. Also known as category change or functional shift. E.g. bottle, vacation, butter (nouns came to be used as verbs) We bottled the jam last night. Have you buttered the toast. They re vacationing in Florida. Or verbs can convert into noun, e.g., guess, spy, must becomes: a guest, a must , a spy or Phrasal verbs into nouns: e.g. to print out; to take over becomes: printout; takeover Verb combinations to a noun, e.g., want to be-- wannabe
Cont Verbs into adjectives: e.g. see through, stand up see-through material or a stand-up comedian. Adjectives into verbs/nouns: e.g. a dirty floor, an empty room, becomes: to dirty, to empty (verbs) Compound nouns become adjectival or verbal functions e.g. the ball park, carpool, microwave Up and down used as verbs up the price or downed a few cokes
Acronyms Formed from the initial letters of a set of other words; e.g. CD (compact disk) we pronounce each single letter, or pronounced as new single words : NATO, NASA, UNESCO, laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), ATM 9automatic teller machine), PIN (personal identification number)
Derivation the most common word formation process in the production of new English words Derivation by joining small bits of the language which do not have separate listing in the dictionaries. These small bits are called affixes. E.g. (un, mis, pre, ful, less, ish, ism, ness) in words like: Unhappy, misrepresent, prejudge, joyful, careless, boyish, terrorism, sadness Prefixes added at the beginning of the word. (un-, mis-) Suffixes at the end of the word. (-less, -ish) E.g. mislead, disrespectful, foolishness Infixes when an affix is incorporated inside a word, not normally used in English but when used indicate aggravating circumstances e.g absogoddamlutely, godtripledammit, Singabloodypore
Kamhmu A language spoken in South East Asia (Better example for infixes ) They follow a regular pattern whereby the infix rn- is added to verbs to form nouns. Verb see (to drill) toh (to chisel) hiip (to eat with a spoon) hoom (to tie) which to tie) Noun srnee (a drill) trnoh (a chisel) hrniip (a spoon) hrnoom (a thing with
Multiple processes Deli borrowing, delicatessen (German) an then clipped. Snowballed compounding (snow and ball) and then converted from noun to a verb Lase acronyms and then bacformation (laser into lase); waspish attitude, comes from WASP (white Anglo- Saxon Protestant) lost the capital letters and gained a suffix, -ish in the derivation process Yuppie young urban professional + -ie (hypocorism)
