Word Formation

Chapter 5
Word formation in English
Acronyms & Derivation

English constantly adds new words to its vocabulary.

Modern technology has changed how we check word usage:
- "Traditionally, we would check in a dictionary to be sure that we were using the right word, with
correct spelling"
- Now, programs check for us and sometimes even choose words, though not always appropriately.

An anecdote about J. Murray Spangler's invention (electric suction sweeper) illustrates potential
word formation:
- Could have led to words like "spangler," "spanglering," "spanglerish," "spanglerism"
- Instead became known as a "Hoover" after William H. Hoover bought the invention
- "Not only did the word hoover (without a capital letter) become as familiar as vacuum cleaner all
over the world, but in Britain, people still talk about hoovering (and not spanglering) their carpets."
Word formation in English
Acronyms & Derivation

The anecdote demonstrates our ability to understand and adapt to

new words (neologisms):
- "We really had no difficulty coping with the new words: spangler,
spanglerish, spanglerism, spanglering or spanglered.”

This ability stems from regularity in word-formation processes:

- "This ability must derive in part from the fact that there is a lot of
regularity in the word-formation processes in a language.”
Etymology
Study of word origins and history

Etymology of etymology
- From Greek: "étymon" (original form) + "logia" (study of)
- Not to be confused with entomology (study of insects)

Major sources of English words:

- Greek: e.g., "mono-" in "mono-cycle"
- Latin: e.g., "uni-" in "uni-cycle"
- Germanic: e.g., "one-" in "one-wheeled cycle"
Etymology
Study of word origins and history

New words enter the language in various ways

- Many once-controversial words are now common:
Example: "handbook" was once considered a "tasteless innovation"
Example: "aviation" caused "horror" in a 1909 London newspaper

Language evolution:
- New words often face initial resistance
- The text suggests viewing this as "a reassuring sign of vitality and creativeness
in the way a language is shaped by the needs of its users" rather than language
debasement
Borrowing
Taking words from other languages

Borrowing: A common source of new English words

- Examples: "dope" (Dutch), "jewel" (French), "yogurt" (Turkish), "zebra" (Bantu)
Sound borrowing:
- The voiced fricative /3/ came from French words like "measure" and “rouge"

• English loanwords in other languages:

- Japanese: "suupaamaaketto" (supermarket), "taipuraitaa" (typewriter)
- Finnish: "sekki" (check)
- French: "le stress", "le whisky", "le weekend"
Borrowing
Taking words from other languages

Novel uses of borrowed words:

- Brazilian Portuguese: "upar" (to upload), "nerdear" (to surf the internet)
- German: "im Partnerlook" (two people wearing similar clothing)

• Loan-translation or calque:
- French "gratte-ciel", Dutch "wolkenkrabber", German "Wolkenkratzer" (all for "skyscraper")
- English "superman" from German "Übermensch"
- "moment of truth" from Spanish "el momento de la verdad"

• Adaptation of borrowed concepts:

- Spanish "perros calientes" (hot dogs)
- Japanese "boyifurendo" (boyfriend)
- Chinese "nan pengyu" (male friend, calque for boyfriend)
Compounding
Joining two separate words to produce a single form

Common in German and English, less so in French and Spanish

- Examples:
- Nouns: "bookcase", "doorknob", "fingerprint"
- Adjectives: "good-looking", "low-paid"
- Adjective + Noun: "fast-food", “full-time"

Also found in unrelated languages like Hmong:

- "hwikais" (kettle) = "hwi" (pot) + "kais" (spout)
- "paikws" (popcorn) = "pai" (flower) + "kws" (corn)
Compounding
Joining two separate words to produce a single form

• Blending: Combining parts of two words to create a new term

- Usually beginning of one word + end of another
- Examples:
- "smog" (smoke + fog)
- "brunch" (breakfast + lunch)
- "motel" (motor + hotel)
- Some blends use beginnings of both words:
- "telex" (teleprinter + exchange)
- "modem" (modulator + demodulator)
• Special blends:
- Language mixing: "Franglais" (Français + Anglais), "Spanglish" (Spanish + English)
- TV-related: "telethon", "infotainment", "simulcast"
Clipping
Reducing a word of more than one syllable to a shorter form

Clipping: Reducing multi-syllable words to shorter forms

- Examples:
- "fax" (from facsimile)
- "gas" (from gasoline)
- "ad" (from advertisement)
- "bra" (from brassiere)
- Common in names: Al, Ed, Liz, Mike
- Frequent in educational settings: chem, exam, gym, lab
- "choreograph" (from choreography)
Clipping
Hypocorisms: Reduction favored in Australian and British English

Process: Reduce word to single syllable, add -y or -ie

- Examples:
- "movie" (from moving pictures)
- "telly" (from television)
- "Aussie" (from Australian)
- "barbie" (from barbecue)
Clipping
Backformation: Creating new words by removing affixes

- Usually creates verbs from nouns

- Examples:
- "televise" (from television)
- "donate" (from donation)
- "emote" (from emotion)
- Recent creations:
- "automate" (from automation)
Clipping
Work-worker pattern backformations

- Assumption: If there's a noun ending in -er, create a verb for what

that noun-er does
- Examples:
- editor → edit
- sculptor → sculpt
- babysitter → babysit
Conversion
Changing word function without changing form

Conversion: Changing a word's function without reduction

- Also known as "category change" or "functional shift"
- Common examples:
- Nouns to verbs: "bottle", "butter", "chair", "vacation"
- Verbs to nouns: "guess", "must", "spy"
- Phrasal verbs to nouns: "printout", "takeover"

• Productivity in Modern English:

- New conversions occur frequently
- Complex conversions: "want to be" → "wannabe" (noun)
Conversion
Types of conversions

1. Noun → Verb:
- "dust", "glue", "referee", "water"
2. Verb → Noun:
- "cheat", "doubt", "hand out", "hire"
3. Verb → Adjective:
- "see-through material", "stand-up comedian"
4. Adjective → Verb/Noun:
- "dirty", "empty", "crazy", "nasty"
Conversions
Compound noun conversions and other conversions

Compound noun conversions:

- "ball park" → "ball-park figure" (adj), "to ball-park" (verb)
- Others: "carpool", "mastermind", "microwave", "quarterback"

Other conversions:
- Prepositions to verbs: "up", "down" (e.g., "to up the price",
"downed a few beers")
Conversions
Meaning shifts in conversion

- Some words change meaning significantly:

- "doctor" (noun) → "to doctor" (verb, often negative)
- Reanalysis of meaning:
- "total" (noun) → "to total" (verb, negative in context of cars)
- "run around" (verb) → "runaround" (noun, negative)
Coinage
Inventing totally new terms

Coinage: Invention of totally new terms

- Not very common in English
- Often from trade names becoming general terms
- Older examples: aspirin, nylon, vaseline, zipper
- Recent examples: granola, kleenex, teflon, xerox
- May have obscure technical origins (e.g., te(tra)-fl(uor)-on)
- Contemporary example: "google"
- Originally misspelling of "googol"
- Became company name, then verb ("to use internet to find information")
Coinage
Eponyms: New words based on names of people or places

- Examples:
- hoover, spangle
- teddy bear (from Theodore Roosevelt)
- jeans (from Genoa, Italy)
- sandwich (from Earl of Sandwich, 1762)
Coinage
Acronyms and Initialisms

• Acronyms: Words formed from initial letters of other

words
- Pronounced as separate letters: CD, SPCA
- Pronounced as new single words: NATO, NASA, UNESCO
- Some become everyday terms:
- laser, radar, scuba, sim card, zip code
- Organizations design acronyms as appropriate terms:
- MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
- WAR (Women Against Rape) Redundant use of acronyms:

- PIN number (Personal Identification Number

• Initialisms: Similar to acronyms, but pronounced as letters number)
- Example: ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)
- ATM machine (Automatic Teller Machine
machine)
Derivation
Using affixes to create new words

Derivation: Most common word-formation process

- Uses affixes: small "bits" of language not usually listed separately in dictionaries
- Examples: un-, mis-, pre-, -ful, -less, -ish, -ism, -ness

• Types of Affixes:
1. Prefixes: Added to the beginning of words
- Examples: un-, mis- (unhappy, misrepresent)
2. Suffixes: Added to the end of words
- Examples: -less, -ish (careless, boyish)
3. Words can have both prefixes and suffixes
- Example: disrespectful
Derivation
Quantity of Affixes, Infexes, and Circumfix

Quantity of Affixes:
- English has about 200 derivational affixes (Dixon, 2014)
- 90 prefixes
- 110 suffixes
• Infixes: Affixes inserted inside words
- Not normally used in English
- Informal English examples:
- "Expletive insertion": Hallebloodylujah!, Absogoddamlutely!
- Formal example from Khmu language:
- Infix -m- added to verbs to form nouns
- see (to drill) → srnee (a drill)
- toh (to chisel) → trnoh (a chisel)
Circumfix: Another type of affix (mentioned but not explained in the text)
Multiple Processes
Many words are formed through a combination of processes

Multiple Word-Formation Processes:

- Words can be created through multiple processes
- Examples:
- "deli": borrowing (delicatessen from German) + clipping
- "snowballed": compounding (snow + ball) + conversion (noun to
verb)
- "lase": acronym (laser) + backformation
Multiple Processes
Acronyms and Analogy

Acronyms in Word Formation:

- Can undergo further processes
- Example: WASP → waspish (lost capitalization + suffix -ish)

• Analogy in Word Formation:

- New words formed similar to existing words
- Example: "yuppie" (young urban professional + -ie)
- Formed by analogy with "hippie" and "yippie"
- Further analogy: "yappie" (from "yap")
Multiple Processes
Recent Word Additions

- app (clipping from "application")

- vape (clipping from "vaporizer")
- blog (blending from "web log")
- sexting (blending from "sexual texting")
- unfriend and mint (conversion)
Multiple Processes
Dictionary Inclusion

- Considered a test of a new word's "arrival" in language

- Can lead to controversy
- Example: Noah Webster's 1806 dictionary criticized for including
"vulgar" words like advisory and presidential
Thanks