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Structure of English Words

Structure of English Words.

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Structure of English Words

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  1. Structure of English Words I fell in love — that is the only expression I can think of — at once, and am still at the mercy of words, though sometimes now, knowing a little of their behavior very well, I think I can influence them slightly and have even learned to beat them now and then, which they appear to enjoy.— Dylan Thomas,"On the Words in Poetry" (Early Prose Writings)

  2. What’s special about English? Three extraordinary features: • most widely spoken • largest vocabulary • structurally flexible

  3. Spread of Englishhttp://www.sterlingtimes.org/memorable_images36.htm

  4. Vocabulary size • Russian: 130,000 words

  5. Vocabulary size • French: 150,000 words • Russian: 130,000 words

  6. Vocabulary size • German: 200,000 words • French: 150,000 words • Russian: 130,000 words

  7. Vocabulary size • English: 450,000 words • German: 200,000 words • French: 150,000 words • Russian: 130,000 words

  8. The flexibility of English: • One word leads to another … • Endings acquire new life • Parts of speech gain new roles

  9. 1. clique = French ‘club, gang’ OED: • cliquish, a. hence, cliquishly • cliquism • cliquy, -ey, a. hence, cliquier, cliquiest, cliquiness Also: “to clique”

  10. 2. -ee • employee • advisee • amputee • draftee (see -Frenchfiancee, etc.)

  11. Words in –ee that French couldn’t (or wouldn’t) have • absentee • standee • donee • devotee

  12. -ista • fashionista • barista

  13. Flexibility • Inventiveness:, or fiddling with rules • Nouns as verbs • Nouns as adjectives • Prepositions (adverbs?) as adjectives • Predicate phrases as adjectives

  14. 1. Nouns as verbs Memo from a colleague: Please calendar this important event and encourage your colleagues to attend.

  15. 2. Nouns as adjectives • “I love its streetness.” • “It’s so niche.” • “This is so last year.”

  16. 3. Nouns as “adjectives” • paper towels • plant disease diagnosis • plant disease diagnosistechnology

  17. 4. Verb phrases as adjectives Bill Bryson's Walk in the Woods [is] choke-on-your-coffee funny. -Washington Post book review

  18. The Richness of English Puns: • auto dentist • entreprenerd

  19. CrackBerry

  20. metrosexual

  21. The Richness of English Images (Metaphors): • reveal • divulge • depend • subject • Vermont • California • dilapidated • volume

  22. Ambrose Bierce,Devil’s Dictionary, 1911) • Dilapidated for Ruined. Said of a building, or other structure. But the word is from the Latin lapis, a stone, and cannot properly be used of any but a stone structure. • Donate for Give. Good American, but not good English.

  23. The Richness of English Exercise: Make a list of all the verbs in English containing the root press.

  24. verbs in press: • compress • depress • express • impress • oppress • suppress • repress • re-press • decompress • re-express • immunosuppress • bench-press

  25. Using familiar wordsto learn new ones • opposite = ‘placed against’ • apposite = ‘placed near’ • “I stumbled on this apposite quote …” (SF Chronicle, 7/27/2004)

  26. Novel Prefixesand Suffixes

  27. -gate Watergate Irangate Nannygate Enrongate

  28. Mc- Mcmansion McJob McBullies (school officials who forced kids to attend a McDonald's event)

  29. -holic workaholic TiVoholic

  30. -rama: • panorama • Futurama (1939 World’s Fair) • Cinerama (1950’s) • smellorama

  31. Creative Uses of Existing Prefixes • prebuttal • prequel

  32. Blends smog, smaze, motel, …

  33. cosmeceutical

  34. Jamerican: International Jamerican Film & Music Festival, 2003 Nuyorican: Nuyorican Poets' Cafe

  35. infotainment infomercial mockumentary crockumentary

  36. your smileage may vary --NY Times 12/30/07

  37. starchitect --NY Times 12/30/07

  38. New coinings bling bling phish

  39. blogosphere

  40. fatosphere‘blogs written by fat people’ --NY Times, 1/23/08

  41. The following completely new entries from PU to QU alphabetically were added to OED Online , 12/2007

  42. purry, adj. purt, v. pus-gut, n. pus-gutted, adj. push and shove, n. push-back, adj. and n. pustulated, adj. pustulent, adj. puttanesca, n. putt-putt, n. putu, n. putu pap, n. put-up-or-shut-up, adj. putz, v. puy lentil, n. py, n. pycnodysostosis, n. pycnogenol, n. Pynchonesque, adj. pyoderma gangrenosum, n. pyribole, n. pyridinium, n. pyritified, adj. pyro, n.2 pyro, n.3 pyroelectrical, adj. pyroelectrically, adv. pyrograph, n. que sera sera, int. and adj. Quetzalcoatlus, n. queued, adj.2 quibbing, n. quibbing, adj. quick cut, n. and adj. quick-march, v. quick-set, adj.2 quick smart, adv. quidding, n.1 quidding, n.2 quidlibet, n. quilombo, n. Quimper, adj. and n. quinaldine, n. quince, n.2 quinceañera, n. Quinkan, n. quinolizine, n. quinolone, n. quinovose, n. Quinquatria, n. quinquertium, n. quintuplicate, v. quinzhee, n. Quirites, n.

  43. j. pyrolithic, adj.2 pyrophyte, n. Pyrosoma, n. pyrothere, n. pyrotoxin, n. Pyrrhonical, adPyrrhonically, adv. pyrrhuloxia, n. pysanka, n. Pythagoras, n. Pythagorico-Platonic, adj. Pyu, n. Pyx, n.2 Qallunaaq, adj. and n. Qallunaat, n. QALY, n. qawwal, n. qawwali, n. qigong, n. Qin, n.1 and adj. qin, n.2 qindar, n. qindarka, n. Qing, n. and adj. qipao, n. Q-tip, n. qtr., n. quad, n.9 quad, n.11 Quadi, n. quadplex, n. quadrans, n. Quadrans Muralis, n. quadrantally, adv. quadrathlon, n. quadringenary, n. quadringentenary, adj. quadringentennial, adj. quadrominium, n. quadrupedalism, n. quadruplicated, adj.

  44. quadruply, v. quagging, adj. quagmired, adj. quahogger, n. quailed, adj.2 Qualitätswein, n. quangoland, n. quant, adj. and n.3 quantifiability, n. quantitative analyst, n. quanton, n. quantum valeat, adv. quantum valebant, n. and adj. quantum valebat, n. Quapaw, n. and adj. quar, v.3 quarter pipe, n.1 quarter pipe, n.2 -quarterth, comb. form quarter time, n. and adv. quartzine, n. quashable, adj. quasilinear, adj. Quasimodo, n.1 quasiperiodicity, n. quasispecies, n. quattrino, n. qubit, n. queanie, n. quebrachitol, n. Quechan, n. and adj. queek, v. queek, int. (and n.) Queen Alexandra, n. Queenborough mayor, n. queer-bash, v. queercore, n. Queer Nation, n. quel, adj. (and adv.) Quelle, n. quelle surprise, int. quena, n. quenchant, n.

  45. The following completely new entries from across the alphabet were added to OED Online , 12/2007

  46. adelic, comb. form alfoil, n. bap, n.2 blankie, n. blind copy, n. breathability, n. Cabrales, n. Cahita, n. and adj. Chicana, n. and adj. Chicanismo, n. cholent, n. clap skate, n. contestability, n. cooch, n. coochie, n. coochie-coochie, n. coochy coo, int. cooze, n. coozie, n. cosmo, n. cotch, n. cotch, v. crabstick, n.2 cranachan, n. depleter, n. diphone, n. dogging, n.2 droit de suite, n. Earl Grey, n. fembot, n. fiend, v. fiqh, n. flambé, n.2 flambé, v.

  47. funt, n. galactically, adv. gearhead, n. ginch, n. Godzone, n. green goddess, n. hawala, n. hawaladar, n. helmer, n. humbucker, n. ichthus, n. -istan, comb. form jack, v.3 jandal, n. JAP, n.2 jit, n.3 kabloona, n. kabloonat, n. ka-boom, int. and n. khula, n. ki, n.2 lockdown, n. mis-, prefix1 ozone, n. populate, v.2 power, n.1 shagadelic, adj. snagging, n.3 Srimati, n. -stan, comb. form sunbake, n. sunbake, v. sunbaking, adj. -tastic, comb. form Usui, n. valiha, n. wakizashi, n. webmistress, n. wet room, n. whippit, n. zindabad, int. (and n.) Zoque–Mixe, adj. and n.

  48. Also, a number of new subordinate entries were added to existing entries. Here is a very small sampling:

  49. (Under push-, comb. form) push broom push factor push mower push-penny push poll push-polling push-to-talk (Under pusher, n.) pusher propeller (Under puss, n.1) puss caterpillar puss caterpillar moth (Under put, v.) to put aback to put about to put it about to put across to put it across to put apart to put away to put down to put the phone down

  50. to put forth to put it forth to put forward to put in to put in the leather to put in a (good) word for to put in a word for to put in a good word for to put on to put it on to put on the pot to put the pot on to put out to put together to put this (also that) and that together to put this and that together to put that and that together to put under to put up to put it up to a person put 'em up put them up to put up (big, good, etc.) numbers to put up numbers to put up big numbers to put up good numbers to put up with to put up a job to put up an (also †one's) appearance to put up an appearance to put up one's appearance to put up or shut up

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