LING 200 Lecture 3: 3
Wednesday, September 27th, 2017
Morphology (Continuation):
Expanding the lexicon• Recall that a lexicon is the inventory of words of a language
• Lexicon’s aren’t static – they are dynamic and can expand and change
- New words are are created- Old words gain, lose, or change meanings- Existing morphemes
combine to create new words
Coined words
• A straightforward for new words to enter the lexicon of a language is for them to just be
created.
• nerd and noob are two good examples of English coined words • Words that you may not
expect• Example: blatant (first used by poet Edmund Spenser in 1596)
Acronyms, Abbreviations, Clippings
• New words can enter the lexicon through shortening of words or phrases
• Acronyms are created from the first letter of each of word in a sequence, and pronounced as
a new word
- GUI (graphical user interface)- GIF (graphics interchange format) - SAD (seasonal affective
disorder)
Acronyms, Abbreviations, Clippings
• New words can enter the lexicon through shortening of words or phrases
• (Alphabetic) Abbreviations are created from the first letter of each of word in a sequence,
and each letter is pronounced on its own.
- IT (information technology interface) - LCD (liquid crystal display)- POV (point of view)
Acronyms, Abbreviations, Clippings
• New words can enter the lexicon through shortening of words or phrases
• Clippings are created by shortening an existing. - prof (professor)- totes (totally)- abbreve
(abbreviation/abbreviate)
- [juʒ]* (usually)
Acronyms, Abbreviations, Clippings
• New words can enter the lexicon through shortening of words or phrases
• Clippings are created by shortening an existing. - prof (professor)- totes (totally)- abbreve
(abbreviation/abbreviate)
- [juʒ]* (usually) *I have no idea how to spell this
Blends• Words can be created by blending words together.
• Examples of this process in English- camcorder < camera + recorder- infomercial <
information + commercial- edutainment <education + entertainment
Generified words
• There are many examples of specific brand names expanding their use to refer to an entire
product in general
• kleenex to refer to any type of tissue
• jacuzzi to refer to any type of hot tub
• xerox to refer to the process of photocopying
• google to refer to the acting of performing an online search (“I googled that on Bing last
night”)
Borrowing
• An especially important way of introducing new words into a language is borrowing
• Borrowing occurs when speakers of a language use words from a different language
• Speakers of English are especially notorious for this
Direct borrowing
• Direct borrowing occurs when a word is taken wholesale from one language and used in
another
- kindergarten < German Kindergarten - tsunami < Japanese tsunami- croissant < French
croissant- moose < Eastern Abenaki mos
• Often results in changes to a word’s pronunciation to accommodate the phonology of the
language that is borrowing the word
- croissant = English [kɹəsant] vs. French [kʁwasɑ̃]
Direct borrowing
• Often, words will be borrowed through other languages
• English algebra is directly from Medieval Latin algebraica, which was borrowed from Arabic
al-jabr
• English maize is directly from Spanish maíz which was borrowed fromTaino mahís (Taino is a
native language of the Caribbean)
Indirect borrowing (calquing)
• Indirect borrowing occurs when a word or phrase of one language is translated literally into
another language
- loanword < German Lehnwort - earworm < German Ohrworm - brainwashing < Chinese x
no
- < Latin advocatus diaboli• This type of borrowing is also referred to as a
calque
Changing the meanings of existing words
• New meanings can also come to be associated with existing words. There are several ways
this can happen
- metaphorical extension – the vocabulary of one domain is extended to a new
domain
- broadening – the meaning of a word broadens in scope
- narrowing – the meaning of a word narrows in scope
Document Summary
Expanding the lexicon recall that a lexicon is the inventory of words of a language: lexicon"s aren"t static they are dynamic and can expand and change. New words are are created - old words gain, lose, or change meanings - existing morphemes combine to create new words. Acronyms, abbreviations, clippings: new words can enter the lexicon through shortening of words or phrases, acronyms are created from the first letter of each of word in a sequence, and pronounced as a new word. Gui (graphical user interface) - gif (graphics interchange format) - sad (seasonal affective disorder) Acronyms, abbreviations, clippings: new words can enter the lexicon through shortening of words or phrases, (alphabetic) abbreviations are created from the first letter of each of word in a sequence, and each letter is pronounced on its own. It (information technology interface) - lcd (liquid crystal display) - pov (point of view)
