words and word formation

Words and word formation

Dr. Jessie Grace U RubricoFacilitator

etymology: studies of the history of words, their origin, and how their form and meaning changed over time

coinage, borrowing, compounding, clipping, blending, backformation, conversion, acronyms, calque, onomatopoeia, derivation

**Note: The words and word formation processes here use the English language as an example.

PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

Guido (Guy) Fawkes, the leader of a plot to blow up the English Houses of Parliament in 1605

> a person of grotesque appearance – after the burning of Fawkes’ effigy

> 20th century, general reference for a man

> replaced "fellow," "bloke," "chap" and other such words throughout the English-speaking world

> both genders : “I like being with you guys!” (refers to a group of men and women).


neologism; invention of new terms--happens in rapidly changing cultures; speedy dissemination of information

--mass media, internet, etc.

Ex: robotics (1941), genocide (1943), black hole (1968)blog, internet, googleemoticon


e-stalk -to stalk someone using internet searches and email.

flame war - rude and angry exchange of email messages

mailbomb -to intentionally disrupt a computer system by bombarding it with email

e-cruitment - online recruitment of employees; online submission of resumes and cover letters


snail mail - standard system of delivering mail which is very slow in contrast to electronic mail.

tweet - send short messages via Twitter netbook –small laptop computer which

weighs less than 3 pounds and has a 7 to 10 inch screen

hotspot –places where wireless internet access is available like airports, hotels, train stations, etc.

notspot -an area where there is slow internet access or no connection at all.


slumdog -very poor, underprivileged person who lives in an overcrowded a slum

viral marketing -marketing strategy that encourages people to pass along information to friends, family and colleagues through e-mail messages, blogs, video-sharing, etc., so that the marketing message spreads like a virus.

freemale -a woman who prefers to stay single and independent to do things she wants when she wants


noughties- the years between 2000 and 2009 which contain a 'nought' (zero), as other decades are called the 'thirties', 'sixties', etc .

road rage -aggressive habits often resulting in violence against other drivers

sandwich generation - generation of people who care for the needs of their children as well as those of their own elderly parents

meritocracy - the idea that merit and individual effort determine one’s success rather than wealth or birth.


--new words based on names of persons/place

sandwich [the Earl of sandwich] jeans [from Genoa, Italy where the cloth was

first made Genoa (ˈdʒɛnəʊə) ] fahrenheit [Gabriel Farenheit, German

scientist] volt [ Alessandro Volta, Italian] watt [James Watt, Scot scientist] boycott [Charles Boycott, Irish]


Latin: interim, memorandum, agenda,p.m. and a.m., sponsor, etc.

Greek : pneumonia, panorama, psychoanalysis, psychology, python

French: bureau, café, chauffeur, coup d'état, abattoir, attaché, á la carte

Sanskrit : chakra, cashmere, mahatma, nirvana, musk


sago, kapok, gong, orang-utan, gutta-percha, sarong, batik

kampong (trading stations) > compound

amuk > amok or amuck

kati (container for tea) > caddy

padi (Malay, harvested rice) > paddy

Source: World Wide Words, Michael Quinion, 1996–2009

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/malay.htm


http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/malay.htm

boondocks -rural or back country

cogon -type of grass used for thatching; from Tagalog kugon

abaca -hemp fiber made from abaká, a plant in the banana family

jeepney

manila paper -light brown cardboard material used for folders and paper


Turkish- yogurt; Bantu- zebra

Tahitian –tattoo; Japanese-tycoon

Hindi -avatar, bungalow, jungle, karma, pajamas, verandah, sentry, shampoo yoga, pundit, bangle, cheetah

Tamil: cash, catamaran, curry


combining two words to create a single word

compounds –independent words that can occur by themselves.

-handbag; wallpaper, fingerprint, sunburn, photograph, buzzword


–shortening of a poly-syllabic word

facsimile > fax fanatic > fan gasoline > gas influenza > flu condominium > condo gym, lab, exam, math, prof, typo


– combining the initial part of one word and the final part of another

brunch < breakfast+ lunch spam < spice + ham motel < motor + hotel smog < smoke + fog transistor < transfer + resistor emoticon < emotion and icon webinar < web + seminar


smirt <smoke + flirt; smirting- smokers getting to know each

burkini or burquini <burqa + bikini; swimsuit which covers the whole body, hair and neck

sitcom < situation + comedy; television series based on humorous everyday situations

netiquette <network + etiquette netizen < internet + citizen


-- nouns > verbs: reduction of nouns to form verbs

television > televise donation > donate option > opt emotion > emote enthusiasm > enthuse editor > edit


- changing the category of words

zero derivation – no affixes are added

nouns > verbs: bottle, butter, chair, vacationverbs > nouns: guess, spy,

print out > printoutverbs > adjectives : see through

adjectives > verbs: empty, dirtyadjectives > nouns: the poor; the weak


shift of stress: verb > noun: presént – présentsubjéct - súbjectcontést - cóntest


– word from initials of a set of words

scuba -Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

radar - RAdio Detection And Ranging

laser – Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

PIN - Personal Identification NumberPBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

Captcha : Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers andHumans Apart

- distorted image of letters and numbers used to ensure that a response is notgenerated by a computer, in order to prevent spamming.

Source: http://www.learn-english-today.com/New-words/new-words-in-english.html


Onomatopoeia : creating words from the sounds they represent

buzz, hiss, sizzle, cuckoo, crash, bang, hush, ticktack, etc.


word-for-word translation of a phrase borrowed from another language

Spanish from Englishperros calientes – dog hot > hot dog

Bahasa Malay from Englishpasar malam – market night

> night market nasi ayam – rice chicken

> chicken ricePBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

- word formation by affixes prefixes: un-usual

mis-pronounce/demeanor; mis-leadpre-departuredis-respect

suffixes : care-less, child-ishmarx-ism, faith-ful, red-ness

prefix and suffix: dis-loyal-tyun-erring-ly


O'Grady, W.D., Archibald, J., [eds.] (2009). Contemporary Linguistic Analysis: An Introduction, 6th edition. Ontario: Pearson Education Canada.

Yule G. 2006. The study of language. Cambridge: CUP.

Online:

A Sampling of new words and senses from the new 2006 update of Merriam-Webster'sCollegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Retrieved 12 August 2010 fromwww.merriam-webster.com/info/new_words.htm

English words of Indian Origin. Retrieved 12 August 2010 fromhttp://www.ratnasagar.co.in/language/71English_words_of_Indian_Origin.doc

New words in English. Retrieved 12 August 2010 fromhttp://www.learn-english-today.com/New-words/new-words-in-english.html


http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/new_words.htm



http://www.ratnasagar.co.in/language/71English_words_of_Indian_Origin.doc

http://www.learn-english-today.com/New-words/new-words-in-english.html











