Лекции по "Английскому языку"

Word-formation in Modern English (continued)

Conversion is a highly productive way of coining new words in Modern English. Conversion is sometimes referred to as an affixless way of word-building, a process of making a new word from some existing root word by changing the category of a part of speech without changing the morphemic shape of the original root-word. The transposition of word from one part of speech into another brings about changes of the paradigm.

Conversion is not only highly productive but also a particularly English way of word-building. It is explained by the analytical structure of Modern English and by the simplicity of paradigms of English parts of speech. A great number of one-syllable words is another factor that facilitates conversion.

Typical semantic relations within a converted pair

I. Verbs converted from noun (denominal verbs) denote:

1. action characteristic of the object ape (n) - to ape (v) butcher (n) - to butcher (v)

2. instrumental use of the object screw (n) - to screw (v) whip (n) - to whip (v)

3. acquisition or addition of the object fish (n) - to fish (v)

II. Nouns converted from verbs (deverbal nouns) denote:

1. instance of the action

to jump (v) -jump (n)

to move (v) - move (n)

2. agent of the action

to help (v) - help (n)

to switch (v) - switch (n)

3. place of action

to drive (v) - drive (n)

to walk (v) - walk (n)

4.object or result of the action

to peel (v) - peel (n)

to find (v) - find (n)

The shortening of words involves the shortening of both words and word-groups. Distinction should he made between shortening of a word in written speech (graphical abbreviation) and in the sphere of oral intercourse (lexical abbreviation). Lexical abbreviations may be used both in written and in oral speech. Lexical abbreviation is the process of forming a word out of the initial elements (letters, morphemes) of a word combination by a simultaneous operation of shortening and compounding.

Clipping consists in cutting off two or more syllables of a word. Words that have been shortened at the end are called apocope (doc-doctor, mit-mitten, vet-veterinary). Words that have been shortened at the beginning are called aphaeresis (phone-telephone). Words in which some syllables or sounds have been omitted from the middle are called syncope (ma'm - madam, specs - spectacles). Sometimes a combination of these types is observed (tec-detective, frig-refrigerator).

Blendings (blends, fusions or portmanteau words) may be defined as for-mation that combine two words that include the letters or sounds they have in common as a connecting element (slimnastics < slim+gymnasttcs; mimsy < miserable+flimsy; galumph < gallop+triumph; neutopia < new+utopia). The process of formation is also called telescoping. The analysis into immediate constituents is helpful in so far as it permits the definition of a blend as a word with the first constituent represented by a stem whose final part may be missing, and the second constituent by a stem of which the initial part is missing. The second constituent when used in a series of similar blends may turn into a suffix. A new suffix -on; is, for instance, well under way in such terms as nylon, rayon, silon, formed from the final element of cotton. This process seems to be very active in present-day English word-formation numerous new words have been coined recently: Reaganomics,. Irangate, blacksploitation, workaholic, foodoholic, scanorama etc.

Back formation is a semi-productive type of word-building. It is mostly active in compound verbs, and is combined with word-composition. The basis of this type of word-building are compound words and word-combinations having verbal nouns, gerunds, participles or other derivative nouns as their second component (rush-development, finger-printing, well-wisher). These compounds and word-combinations are wrongly considered to be formed from compound verbs which are nonexistent in reality. This gives a rise to such verbs as: to rush-develop, to finger-print, to well-wish.

Onomatopoeia (sound-imitation, echoism) is the naming of an action or thing by a more or less exact reproduction of a natural sound associated with it (babble, crow, twitter). Semantically, according to the source of sound onomatopoeic words fall into a few very definite groups. Many verbs denote sounds pro-duced by human beings in the process of communication or in expressing their feelings (babble, chatter, giggle, grumble, murmur, mutter, titter, whisper). There are sounds produced by animals, birds and insects (buzz, cackle, croak, crow, hiss, howl, moo, mew, roar). Besides the verbs imitating the sound of water (bubble, splash), there are others imitating the noise of metallic things (clink, tinkle) or forceful motion (clash, crash, whack, whip, whisk).

Sentence - condensation is the formation of new words by substantivising the whole locutions (forget-me-not, merry-go-round).

Sound and stress interchange (distinctive stress, the shift of stress). The essence of it is that to form a new word the stress of the word is shifted to a new syllable. It mostly occurs in nouns and verbs. Some phonetic changes may accompany the shift of the stress (export - to export, increase - to in-crease, break - breach, long -length).

 

Exercise 1.

Study the following passage and be ready to discuss denominal verbs in Modern English.

The meanings of ordinary denominal verbs, is seems clear, bear at least an approximate relationship to their "parent" nouns, from which they were historically derived. The verb bottle bears some relation, at last diachroni-cally, to its parent noun bottle. To illustrate the major relationships, we will present classification of more than 1300 denominal verbs collected from newspaper, magazines, novels, television. To make our task manageable, we have included only those verbs that fit these four guidelines:

(a) Each verb had to be formed from its parent noun without affixation (though with possible final voicing, as in shelve). This is by far the com-monest method of forming denominal verbs in English.

(b) The parent noun of each verb had to denote a palpable object or property of such an object, as in sack, knee, and author - but not climax, function, or question, (c) Each verb had to have a non-metaphorical concrete use as far as possible. This again was to help keep our theory of interpretation within limits, although in some cases we couldn't avoid examining certain extended meanings.

(d) Each verb had to be usable as a genuine finite verb. This excluded ex-pressions like three - towered and six - legged, which occur only as denomi-nal adjectives. (E. Clark and H. Clark. When nouns surface as verbs).

 

Exercise 2.

Comment on the formation of the words given below: to burgle, to spring-clean, to typewrite, to beg, to note.

 

Exercise 3.

Explain the formation of the following blends: flush, glaze, good-bye, elec-trocute, pomato, twirl, dollarature, cablegram, galumph, frutopia drink.

 

Exercise 4.

Give verbs corresponding to the nouns that have been underlined. Compare the place of the stress in the noun and the verb.

1. He looked up; all among the trees he saw moving objects, red like poppies, or white like May-blossoms. 2. I am not sure that I can define my fears: but we all have a certain anxiety at present about our friends. 3. Accent is the elevation of the voice which distinguishes one part of a word from another. 4. Her conduct was deferential.

 

Exercise 5.

Abbreviate the following nouns to the first syllable.

Mitten, doctor, grandmother, cabriolet, public, house, gymnasium, proprietor, fraternity, labouratory, margarine, sister, mathematics, trigonometry, veterinary, gladiolus.

 

Exercise 6.

Comment on the way the underlined words are formed.

1. After dinner, the woman cleared the table. 2. Finally, to quiet him, she said uneekly, she hadn't really meant it. 3. The differences are now being narrowed 4. Her face, heated with his own exertions, chilled suddenly. 5. Warmed by the hot tea, he warmed to the argument. 6. She came dressed up to the nines. 7. A win in this match is a must. 8. Turn your ought into shalls.