The Lexicon Words: How We Make Them and Use Them

Innovation New words must fill a lexical gap –Can be filled by new word formation processes, borrowing, or calques New word processes –Systematic and predictable processes

Combining Processes Use existing morphological resources to make new words Compounding—binding of free morphemes –Common in Germanic and other Indo-European languages Served poetic purposes in Old English (Beowulf) Compounds can also be “relic forms” —cranberry—or apparently single forms can develop from compounds Prefixing—attaching a bound prefix to the front of a free form; many are borrowed Suffixing—attaching to the rear

Shortening Processes Create new words from existing word stock, often with an accompanied change in meaning Alphabetism- words formed from abbreviations, but still pronounced in letter form –IOU, OK, URL, ATM Acronymy—shortened phrases where the letters are pronounced as words (radar, sonar, scuba)

Shortening Processes, con’t Clipping—shortening, often at primary morpheme boundary (although not necessarily retaining the main morpheme) –Foreclipped (beginning clipped off): bus>omnibus –Hindclipped (end clipped off): cell>cellular –Innovative clippings disregard morphemic boundaries and clip instead at syllabic boundaries Backformation—new words created by removing an apparent or reanalyzed suffix: burgle>burglar; conversate>conversation

Other New Word Processes Blending: attachment of a clipped morpheme to a free morpheme: smog, motel (also called “portmanteau words”) Shifting: functional shifts allow for words to change functional categories– n. > v. ; n. Facebook > v. Facebook Taboo Deformation: reversal of sounds at morpheme initial points to avoid taboos: doggone > goddamn

Borrowing English is a porous language –Borrowings reflect linguistic history > 500 AD borrowings from Latin, a few from Celtic (street, town) AD Latin, Scandinavian Languages AD French, Scandinavian Languages French, Italian, Dutch, Greek All that and more…Native American, Russian, Aboriginal Austronesian, W. African

Word Categories and How We Use Them Lexical Categories (parts of speech) are the building blocks of syntax Open Lexical Classes– Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs –All can be described semantically (according to their frames of meaning), morphologically (according to their patterns of combination with other morphemes), and syntactically (how they appear in utterances) –All open categories appear as the main component of a phrase named after them (Noun Phrase, Adjective Phrase, Verb Phrase, Adverbial Phrase)