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English

English. Word Formation. Word Formation. To this point, we have looked at affixation There are other, less rule governed, methods of creating new words. Shortening. Many ways to shorten a phrase that sometimes will become a word Acronym

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English

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  1. English

  2. Word Formation

  3. Word Formation • To this point, we have looked at affixation • There are other, less rule governed, methods of creating new words

  4. Shortening • Many ways to shorten a phrase that sometimes will become a word • Acronym • Using the first letter of each word to create a new word • Abbreviation • Pronouncing the first letter of each word

  5. Acronyms

  6. Abbreviations

  7. Backformation • Another example of shortening • A word with a recognizable structure is stripped of an affix • television > televise • These argue that the rules that we have explored are real

  8. Backformation

  9. Clipping • The converse of backformation • Clipping does not assume a rule but deletes material while obeying the phonological rules of the language

  10. Clipping

  11. Blends • Blends are the compression of two words into one • smoke + fog = smog • They will obey the phonological rules of the language • smoke + fog ≠ sfog

  12. Blends

  13. Blends • Some blending patterns become so common that they seem to create new morphemes • Watergate • Nannygate • Monicagate • -gate looks like a suffix meaning ‘scandal’

  14. Zero Derivation • In English, it is possible to change grammatical category without a suffix • Is ‘love’ a verb or a noun? • Formally, there are two lexemes • But, practically, it is not possible to tell until it is used

  15. Ambiguity • Sentences can be ambiguous for two reasons • Structural ambiguity • Lexical ambiguity

  16. Structural Ambiguity • Recall ‘unfoldable’ • ‘John watched the boy with the telescope’

  17. Lexical Ambiguity • Because words can have more than 1 meaning or grammatical category, they can make a sentence ambiguous in surprising ways • ‘Time flies like an arrow’

  18. Lex Lex ⇒ + ∅ N V Zero Derivation • Consider ‘impact’ • It is a past participle, so it must originally have been a verb • But it is often used as a noun

  19. Brand Names • Every product needs a name • A patent restricts who can produce that product • So, the name becomes associated with the product • e.g. Kleenex • This is an example of generization

  20. Brand Names • Some products are so successful that their name becomes generic • In the 2005 report to stockholders, Google predicted that it would lose its trademark • “google” is now a verb • Other search engines are just search engines

  21. Examples

  22. Brand Names • Companies are required to protect brand names • Listen to Johnson & Johnson band-aid ads • “I’m stuck on band-aid brand because band-aid’s stuck on me” • Emphasizes the difference between bandage and band-aid

  23. Quality Inn vs McDonalds • Quality Inn proposed to establish a franchise of hotels called McSleep • McDonalds sued claiming that it had the trademark of “Mc + noun” • McMuffin, McNuggets

  24. Mc + noun

  25. What does Mc mean? • Two linguists • “basic, convenient, inexpensive and standardized” • “That’s McDonalds!” • McDonalds wins

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