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Chapter 6

This document discusses various word formation processes in linguistics including: 1. Etymology - the study of the origin and history of words. 2. Borrowing/loanwords - taking words from other languages like café from French. 3. Compounding - combining words to form new words like bookcase or well-to-do. It provides examples of processes like clipping, blending, conversion, backformation, derivation using affixes, acronyms, and cases where multiple processes are used to form a single word. Homework questions at the end ask the reader to identify processes used to form specific words.

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132 views24 pages

Chapter 6

This document discusses various word formation processes in linguistics including: 1. Etymology - the study of the origin and history of words. 2. Borrowing/loanwords - taking words from other languages like café from French. 3. Compounding - combining words to form new words like bookcase or well-to-do. It provides examples of processes like clipping, blending, conversion, backformation, derivation using affixes, acronyms, and cases where multiple processes are used to form a single word. Homework questions at the end ask the reader to identify processes used to form specific words.

Uploaded by

sibtain hassan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 6

Words and word-formation processes

Introduction to Linguistics – LANE 321 Lecturer: Haifa Alroqi


Etymology

>>> Hamburger

Hamburg, Germany <<<


Etymology

Etymology: The study of the origin & history of words

 when they entered a language


 from what source
 how their form and meaning have changed over time
Word-formation processes

o Coinage
o Borrowing
o Compounding
o Blending
o Clipping
o Backformation
o Conversion
o Acronyms
o Derivation
Coinage (Neologism)

Coinage: The Invention of totally new words

Types of coinage:
 Extension of a name of a product from a specific reference to a more general
one
e.g. Kleenex, nylon
 Eponyms: new words based on the name of a person or a place.
e.g.
 sandwich (Earl of Sandwich (1718-92), who ate sandwiches so that he could continue
gambling without leaving the table)
 Fahrenheit (the German, Gabriel Fahrenheit)
 Volt (the Italian, Alessandro Volta)
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
Borrowing (Loanwords)

Borrowing: the taking over of words from other languages

Examples:
Café
 French
Croissant
 French
Satan
 Arabic
Saffron, monsoon, camphor, jasmine
 Arabic
Pajamas
 Hindustani
Yogurt
 Turkish
Piano
 Italian
Borrowing (Loanwords)

 Other languages borrow terms from English


Examples:
 Arabic
 ‫ موطور – سوبرماركت – تلفزيون (التلفزيون – تلفزيونات) – راديو – رسيفر – دش – تلفون – إنترنت‬- ‫موتر‬
 Japanese
 suupaamaaketto, taipuraitaa

 Hungarian
 klub, sport, futbal

 French
 Le stress, le weekend

 Other examples of loanwords in Arabic:


‫الديموقراطية – جيولوجيا – فيزياء – البيروقراطية – اإلستراتيجية – التقنية‬
Borrowing (Loan translation/ Calque)

 A special type of borrowing is described as


loan translation or calque
 In loan translation, it is the meaning or idiom that is
borrowed rather than the lexical item itself.
 Example:
 The Arabic ‫ناطحة سحاب‬, the German Wolkenkratzer (cloud scraper), &
the French gratte-ciel (scrape sky) are all calques for skyscraper
 The Arabic ‫وجهة نظر‬, the English Point of view, the French point de vue
 The English an eye for an eye, the Hebrw ,‫ עין תחת עין‬ayin tahat ayin,
the Arabic ‫العين بالعين‬
 The English wisdom tooth calques Latin dēns sapientiae
Compounding

Examples (compound nouns):


 bookcase, doorknob, fingerprint, sunburn, textbook, wallpaper,
wastebasket, waterbed, lunchbox. (n.)

Compounding: Forming new words by combining or putting together


old words

 The meanings of the words interrelate in such a way that a new


meaning comes out which is different from the meanings of the words
in isolation.

 very common in English & German


 Less common in French & Spanish.
Compounding

Examples (compound adjectives):


 Good-looking, handmade,..

Other examples:
 stay-at-home (e.g. stay-at-home mom)
 well-to-do (e.g. a well-to-do businessman)
 Fast-food
 Full-time
Blending

Examples:
 motel = motor + hotel
 brunch = breakfast + lunch
 sitcom = situation + comedy

 Blending: Combining 2 separate forms to produce a single new term.


 Blinding is similar to compounds, but in blending only parts of the words are
combined.

 In Arabic:
‫ركمجة = ركوب األمواج‬ 
ً‫ليش = ألي ش‬ 
)‫لسع = لسه = لهذه الساعة (حتى اآلن‬ 
‫بسملة = بسم الـله‬ 
Clipping

Clipping: Shortening a word by deleting one or more syllables

Examples:
 Facsimile >> fax
 Hamburger >> burger
 Gasoline >> gas
 Advertisement >> ad
 Influenza >> flu
Clipping

Examples (Education):
 Examination >> Exam
 Gymnasium >> Gym
 Laboratory >> Lab
 Mathematics >> Math
 Professor >> Prof

English speakers like to clip each other’s names )nicknames):


e.g. Al, Ed, Liz, Mike, Ron, Sue, Tom,
Clipping (hypocorism)

 In hypocorism, a longer word is reduced to a single syllable, then –y


or –ie is added to the end.
Examples:
 movie (moving pictures)
 telly (television)
 Aussie (Australian)
 hankie (handkerchief)
Examples (nicknames)
 Lizzie
 Tony
 Susie
 Gabby
Backformation

Backformation: reducing a word of one type (usually a noun) to form a


word of another type (usually a verb).

Examples:
 Television (n.)  televise (v.)
 Donation (n.)  donate (v.)

 One of the regular sources of backformed verbs in English is based on the


pattern worker – work
 If there is a noun ending in –er then we can create a verb for what the noun –er
does.

 Editor (n.)  edit (v.)


 babysitter (n.)  babysit (v.)
 sculptor (n.)  sculpt (v.)
Conversion

Conversion: assigning an already existing word to a new syntactic


category.

Conversion can also be defined as a change in the function of a


word, as for example when a noun comes to be used as a verb
(without any reduction).

Examples:
butter (n.)  (v.) she buttered the bread
permit (v.)  (n.) You can't park here unless you have a permit
empty (adj.)  (v.) Paul emptied the glass and washed it
must (v.)  (n.) Doing your homework is a must
Acronyms

Acronyms: New words formed from the initial letters of a set of other words

Examples:
Some acronyms are pronounced by saying each separate letter:
 CD = compact disk
 USA = The United States of America/ US = the United States
 UN = The United Nations
 KAU = King Abdulaziz University

Some acronyms are pronounced as new single words:


 UNICEF = United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
 UNESCO = United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
 NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Agency
Acronyms

 Acronyms such as NASA, UNESCO, & UNICEF have kept their capital
letters.

 Many acronyms simply become everyday terms


Examples:
 laser = light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

 radar = radio detecting and ranging

 scuba = self-contained underwater breathing apparatus


Derivation

 The most common word formation process in English.


 Affixes (prefixes, suffixes, & infixes)
 e.g.
un-, mis-, pre-, -ful, -less, -ish, -ism, -ness.
unhappy, misrepresent, prejudge, joyful, careless, boyish, terrorism,
sadness.

 mislead
 disrespectful
 foolishness
 lead, respect, fool are called stems
Derivation

 There is a 3rd type of affix but it is not normally used in English.

 An infix is an affix inserted inside a stem (an existing word)

 Tell him I’ve gone to Singabloodypore!


 absobloodylutely
 Godtrippledammit
 un*&%$#*#believable!
Multiple Processes

 The creation of a particular word might involve more


than one formation process.

Example:
 Delicatessen (German)

1. Delicatessen (English) loanword – borrowing


2. Deli (English) Clipping
Identify the different word-formation processes involved in the following:

1. automatic  Auto  clipping


2. information, entertainment  Infotainment  blending
3. modulator, demodulator  Modem  blending
4. International, police  Interpol  blending
5. A comb  To comb conversion
6. fire ,man  fireman compounding
7. Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott  Boycott  coinage
(Eponym)

8. brainwashing  ‫غسيل دماغ‬ borrowing


(loan translation)
Homework: p. 59 (1, 2, 3, 4, & 6)

Thank you

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