English Morphology and Lexicology

English Morphology and Lexicology Shaoguangqing@gmail.com www.windofspring.weebly.com

Chapter 4 • Word formation 2 • 4.5 Clipping • 4.6 Acronymy • Initialisms • Acronyms • 4.7 Back-formation • 4.8 Words from proper names

4.5 Clipping • omnibus-bus; aeroplane-plane; examination-exam • automobile; taximeter cabriolet • economics; gymnastics; mathematics; trigonometry • luncheon; hamburger; coca cola-coke

4.5 Clipping • 1. front clipping • earthquake • helicopter • telescope • telephone

4.5 Clipping • 2. back clipping • dormitory • memorandum • stereophonic • gentleman • fanatic • discotheque

4.5 Clipping • 3. front and back clipping • influenza • refrigerator (fridge)

4.5 Clipping • 4. phrase clipping • public house • zoological garden • popular music • permanent waves

4.5 Clipping • Changes in spelling and (or) sound • refrigerator (fridge) • bicycle (bike) • Coca cola (coke) • perambulator (pram) • television (telly)

4.6 Acronymy • 4.6.1 Initialisms • Initialisms are words pronounced letter by letter, such as VOA (Voice of America). • 4.6.2 Acronyms • Acronyms are words formed from initial letters but pronounced as a normal word, such as radar (radio detecting and ranging).

4.6.1 Initialisms • 1. letters represent full words • A. D. (Anno Domini) =in the year after the birth of Jesus Christ • B. C. (Before Christ) • C. O. D. (cash on delivery) • BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) • c/o (care of) • p.c. (post card) • UFO (unidentified flying object)

4.6.1 Initialisms • 2. letters represent parts of a word • TV (television) • ID (identification; identity card) • TB (tuberculosis) • GHQ (General Headquarters)

4.6.2 Acronyms • 1. formed from initial letters • WAVES (Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service) • NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) • AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) • BASIC (beginner’s all-purpose symbolic instruction code)

4.6.2 Acronyms • 1. formed from initial letters • CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) • laser (lightwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) • TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language)

4.6.2 Acronyms • 2. initial letter of the first word + another word • N-bomb (nuclear bomb) • D Notice (Defense Notice) • G-man (Government man) • D Day (decimalization day) • V-Day (Victory Day)

4.7 Back-formation • Suffixation vs. Back-formation • Suffixation=base+ suffix (work+ er=worker) • Back-formation=word– suffix (edit=editor- or)

4.7 Back-formation • 1. Abstract nouns • diagnose=diagnosis– is • donate=donation– ion • enthuse=enthusiasm- iasm • gloom=gloomy- y • greed=greedy- y

4.7 Back-formation • 2. Human nouns • loaf=loafer– er • sculpt=sculptor– or • burgle=burglar- ar • beg=beggar- ar

4.7 Back-formation • 3. Compound nouns and others • eavesdrop=eavesdropping– ing • merrymake=merrymaking– ing • babysit=babysitter- er

4.7 Back-formation • 4. Adjectives • drowse=drowsy- y • laze=lazy- y • frivol=frivolous- ous

4.8 Words from proper names • 1. names of people: scientists/inventors • ampere (French physicist Ampere) • farad (British physicist Faraday) • ohm (German physicist Ohm) • volt (Italian physicist Volta) • watt (Scottish inventor Watt) • diesel (German inventor Diesel) • mackintosh (Scottish inventor Mackintosh) • bloomers (Mrs Bloomers in New York)

4.8 Words from proper names • 1. names of people: characters in mythology • cherub (a charming pretty little male child) • Cherub, a winged little attendant of God • protean (able to assume different forms or characters; versatile) • Proteus, a sea deity with the gift of prophecy and the power to assume different forms

4.8 Words from proper names • 1. names of people: historical figures • bobby (BrE. policeman) • Sir Robert Peel, founder of London police in early 19th century • cynic (one always suspicious of people’s motives); quisling (traitor) • Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian army officer who betrayed his country to the Nazis

4.8 Words from proper names • 1. names of people: characters in literary works • quixotic (extravagantly romantic, idealistic, chivalrous) • Don Quixote in the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes • sadism (getting sexual pleasure from hurting other people) • Count Donation (Marquis) de Sade • robot (a humanoid mechanical creature) • The mechanical monsters in the play R.U.R. by Karel Capek

4.8 Words from proper names • 2. names of places • china (porcelain) • from the homeland China • afghan (a kind of knitted rug) • first made in Afghanistan • jersey (sweater) • from Jersey Island in the US • champagne (a kind of wine) • From Champagne in France where the wine champagne was first produced • rugby (a sort of ball games) • From a British Rugby school, which used to be known for the game

4.8 Words from proper names • 3. names of books • utopia (a imaginary perfect society) • from Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia • odyssey (an extended journey) • From Homer’s epic The Odyssey • Babbit (a person concerned mainly with business and position, caring little for art or culture) • from the novel Babbit by Sinclair Lewis

4.8 Words from proper names • 4. trade names • nylon, orlon, dacron, rayon (4 types of fabric) • Originally trade names • frisbee (a plate-like toy) • deep-freeze (a deep freezer) • Omega (a kind of cigarette) • xerox (photocopier)

4.8 Words from proper names • 4. trade names • boycott (refusal or refuse to do business with, as a way of disapproval or opposition) • From the 19th century Landlord Captain Boycott • cabal (a clique or make secret plans for political action) • From the initial letters of the five ministers Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale

4.8 Words from proper names • Words that are commonized from proper nouns have rich cultural associations, and thus stylistically vivid, impressive and thought-provoking.

4.8 Words from proper names • I want to be TV’s czar of script and grammar. • the Roman Emperor Caesar • any one with great or unlimited power; authority

4.8 Words from proper names • Churchill, a bent Pickwick in blue uniform, looked up at him with majestic good humor, much older, more dignified, more assured. • A naïve, benevolent character in Charles Dickens’s The Pickwick Papers • The word Pickwick not only describes the outward appearance of Churchill, but also depicts his inward personality, building up an amiable image…

4.8 Words from proper names • It is with procrustean thoroughness that the Soviet government squelches all dissent. • From Procrustes, a giant of Attica who tortured travelers by stretching or cutting off their limbs to make them fit his bed, hence ‘ruthless in trying to force conformity’ • The Soviet government treats the dissent with the same cruelty as Procrustes did with the travelers…

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English Morphology and Lexicology