Chapter 3 Lexicon Word The formation of word Lexical change

1. Word 1.1 three senses of “word” 1.2 identification of words 1.3 classification of words

1.1 Three senses of “word” A physical definable unit: a cluster of sound segments or letters between two pause or blank The common factor underlying a set of forms A grammatical unit

1.2 identification of words Stability Relative uninterruptibility A minimum free form

1.3 classification of words Variable vs. invariable words Grammatical words vs. lexical words Closed-class words vs. open-class words Word classes

2. The formation of word Morphology：is a branch of linguistics, which studies the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed. The two fields (p88) Inflectional morphology: the study of inflections Derivational morphology: the study of word-formation

2.1 Morpheme The minimal unit of meaning Morpheme is the smallest meaning-bearing unit.

2.2 Types of morphemes morpheme free: free root bound bound root root affix inflectional derivational prefix suffix

Free morphemes: morphemes which may constitute words by themselves Bound morphemes: morphemes which can not be used by themselves, but must be combined with other morphemes to form words

Inflectional morpheme: a kind of bound morphemes which manifest various grammatical relations or grammatical categories such as number, tense, degree and case. e.g. workers, children; walking, walked; biggest ; John’s Derivational morpheme: a kind of bound morphemes , added to existing forms to create new words. There are three kinds according to position: prefix, suffix and infix. prefix: change meaning dis-; un-; mis- suffix: change part of speech -ly; -ness; -tion infix: some languages also have infixes, affix morphemes that are inserted into root or stem morphemes to divide them into two parts.

2.3 Morpheme and honeme A morpheme is a linguistic abstraction; it is a concept. It needs to be represented in certain phonological and orthographic forms. Those forms are called morphs. In morphemic transcription, morphemes in the abstract notion are put between braces like / /. Allomorph: A morpheme may have alternate shapes or phonetic forms. The variant forms of the same morpheme are called its allomorphs.

3.1 Lexical change proper Major ways to create new words: Compounding Derivation Blending Abbreviation Clipping Acronym Back-formation Borrowing Coinage

Compounding: a process of combining two or more words into one lexical unit. blackboard godfather baby-sit cross-cultural

Derivation: the process by which new words are formed by the addition of affixes to the roots or words. Finalize Widen Hospitalize Clockwise

Blending : a process of forming a new word by combining parts of other words. Smog (smoke + fog); Brunch (breakfast + lunch); Smaze (smog + haze); Telecast (television + broadcast); Motel (motor + hotel).

Abbreviation: a shortened form of a word or phrase which represents the complete form. TV(television) Dr(doctor) hr(hour) ft(foot or feet)

clipping: a kind of abbreviation of longer words or phrases telephone---phone memorandum---memo electronic mail---e-mail high fidelity---hi-fi

Acronym: a word created by combining the initial letters of a number of words. UNESCO APEC Sars CD laser radar (radio detecting and ranging) Cf. Initialism: VOA BBC WTO

Back-formation: a process by which new words are formed by taking away the suffix of an existing word. televise (from television) donate (from donation) enthuse (from enthusiasm)

Borrowing: the taking over of words from other languages Loanwords: encore, coup d’etat Loanblend: Chinatown Loanshift: bridge (card game) Loan translation: almighty (from Latin omnipotens)

Coinage : the invention of a new word Kodak Coke nylon Xeros frigidaire

3.2 Phonological change Changes in sounds lead to changes in form (1)vowel sound change: Great Vowel Shift in history (2)sound loss (3)sound addition (4)metathesis

3.3 Morpho-syntactical change Morphological change Thou, ye  you Thy  your ’s form  “of phrase” Syntactical change I love the not, therefore pursue me not. Ever and anon + now and then  every now and then

3.4 Semantic change The change of meaning of a word Broadening Narrowing Meaning shift: a process in which a word loses its former meaning and acquires a new, sometimes related meaning. Class shift (conversion): Elevation and degradation

Homework Self-study guide Questions and Exercises 1,2,3,5,13 Further reading Adams,V. 1973. An Introduction to Modern English Word-Formation. Dai Wei-dong, 2002 A New Concise Course On Linguistics For Students Of English Chapter 3 Morphology