Asst. Prof. D

r. Emrah G

örgülü

1

LING507 Linguistics The Nature of Language LECTURE 6: WORD FORMATION

2A Joke

c

3Word Formation

Though the Dutch were only a passing political presence in America, their linguistic legacy is immense. From their earliest days of contact, Americans freely appropriated Dutch terms – blunderbuss (literally “thunder gun”) as early as 1654, scow in 1660, sleigh in 1703.

By the mid-eighteenth century Dutch words flooded into American English: stoop, span, coleslaw, boss, pit in the sense of the stone of a fruit, bedpan, bedspread (previously known as a counterpane), cookie, waffle, the distinctive American interrogative how come? (a literal translation of the Dutch hoekom)… Bryson (1994)

4Word Formation (cont’d)

Around 1900, in New Berlin, Ohio, a department-store worker named J. Murray Spangler invented a device which he called an electric suction sweeper. This device eventually became very popular and could have been known as a spangler. People could have been spanglering their floors or they might even have spanglered their rugs and curtains…. However, none of that happened.

Instead, Mr. Spangler sold his new invention to a local businessman called William H. Hoover, whose Hoover Suction Sweeper Company produced the first machine called a “Hoover.” Not only did the word hoover become as familiar as vacuum cleaner all over the world, but in Britain, people still talk about hoovering (and not spanglering).

5Word Formation (cont’d)

Etymology The study of the origin and history of a word is known as its

etymology. Etymology is a term which, like many of the technical words, comes to us through Latin, but has its origins in Greek. (e´tymon “original form” + logia “study of”).

When we look closely at the etymologies of words, we discover that there are many different ways in which new words can enter the language.

A lot of words in daily use today were, at one time, considered barbaric misuses of the language: aviation and handbag

6Word Formation (cont’d)

Rather than act as if the language is being debased, we might prefer to view the constant evolution of new words and new uses of old words as a sign of vitality and creativeness of a language. One of the distinctive properties of language is creativity Vast amount of new inventions made in the 20th and 21st century Language is dynamic

Language is not a static thing. It is always changing from generation to generation, situation to situation.

7Word Formation (cont’d)

Coinage The least common processes of word-formation in English is

coinage. Coinage is the invention of totally new terms. The most typical sources are invented trade names for

commercial products that become general terms for any version of that product. Kleenex, Teflon, Xerox, Robotics, nylon, aspirin, zipper, Internet… The most salient contemporary example of coinage is: google.

Originally a misspelling for the word googol (= the number 1 followed by 100 zeros). The term google has become a widely used expression meaning “to use the internet to find information”. The name of a company (Google)

8Word Formation (cont’d)

Borrowing One of the most common sources of new words in English is the

process simply labeled borrowing, that is, the taking over of words from other languages. alcohol (Arabic), croissant (French), robot (Czech), bass (Dutch),

piano (Italian), yogurt (Turkish), tattoo (Tahitian), tycoon (Japanese)…

Other languages have taken many English words into their dictionaries: okay, Internet suupaa, suupaamaaketto, taipuraitaa (Japanese) le stress, le whisky, le weekend (French)

9Word Formation (cont’d)

Borrowing A special type of borrowing is described as loan-translation or

calque. In this process, there is a direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language. English: the flea market / French: marché aux puces "market of

fleas« English: moment of truth / Spanish: el memento de la verdad

English: skyscraper French: gratte-ciel that literally translates as ‘scrape-sky’ Dutch: wolkenkrabber ‘cloud-scratcher’ German: Wolkenkratzer ‘cloud scraper’

10Word Formation (cont’d)

Compounding The joining of two seperate words to produce a single form is

called compounding. It is very common in English and German but less common in French, Spanish. bookcase = book + case, fingerprint, sunburn, wallpaper… good-looking, low-paid fast-food, full-time

Hmong (spoken in South East Asia) hwj ‘pot’ + kais ‘spout’ = hwjkais ‘kettle’ paj flower + kws ‘corn’ = pajkws ‘popcorn’ hnab ‘bag’ + rau ‘put’ + ntawv ‘book’ = __________

11Word Formation (cont’d)

Blending Blending is typically accomplished by taking only the beginning

of one word and joining it to the end of the other word. smoke + fog smog emotion + icon emoticon breakfast + lunch brunch web + seminar webinar

In a few blends, we combine the beginnings of both words. teleprinter + exchange telex modulator + demodulator modem

12Word Formation (cont’d)

Clipping Clipping is a process in which a word of more than one syllable is

reduced to a shorter form, often in casual speech. gasoline gas advertisement ad, advert mathematics math examination exam gymnastics gym

Hypocorisms: In this process, a longer word is reduced to a single syllable, then -y or -ie is added to the end. movie (moving pictures), telly (television), brekky (breakfast), barbie

13Word Formation (cont’d)

Backformation A word of one type of (usually a noun) is reduced to form another

word of a different type (usually a verb). editor edit television televise donation donate option opt

14Word Formation (cont’d)

Conversion A change in the function of a word, as for example, when a noun

comes to be used as a verb (without any reduction), is generally known as conversion.

This process can also be called as category change and functional shift. butter (n) Will you butter (v) the toast please? paper (n) He is papering (v) the bedroom walls. bottle (n) Have they bottled (v) the water yet? chair (n) The professor will chair the conference.

15Word Formation (cont’d)

Conversion (cont’d) Conversion can involve verbs becoming nouns.

guess (v) a guess spy (v) a spy must (v) a must print out (v) print out take over (v) a take over

Conversion can involve verbs becoming adjectives. see through (v) a see through dress stand up (v) a stand up comedian

16Word Formation (cont’d)

Acronyms Acronyms are formed from the initial letters of a set of other

words. Compact Dick: CD Video Cassette Recorder: VCR Federal Bureau of Investigation: FBI Automatic Teller Machine: ATM Radio Detecting and Ranging: RADAR Personal Identification Number: PIN North Atlantic Treaty Organization: NATO Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: AIDS

17Word Formation (cont’d)

Derivation Derivation is a widely used word formation process and it is

accomplished by means of a large number of small bits of English. These small bits are generally described as affixes. Prefixes: They are added to the beginning of a word: prefix + root.

un-, mis-, dis, ir-, pre-, non-, re-. Ex. unhappy, misrepresent, disagree, redo Suffixes: They are added to the end of a word: root + suffix.

-ish, -ism, -less, ful, -ness, -ity. Ex. boyish, terrorism, careless, tactful, clarity

Infixes: They are inserted inside the word itself: r + infix + oot. see ‘to drill’ srnee ‘a drill’ (Kamhmu, a language of Sout East

Asia) toh ‘to chisel’ trnoh ‘a chisel’

18Word Formation (cont’d)

Derivation Circumfixes: They are added to the beginning and end of a word:

circumfix + root + circumfix. chokma ‘he is good’ (Chickasaw, language of Oklahoma) ik-chokm-o ‘he is not good’

lakna ‘it is yellow’ ik-lakn-o ‘it is not yellow’

palli ‘it is hot’ ________ ‘it is not hot’