Yule《语言研究》第五章

5 Word Formation构词

5.1 Neologisms新词new words

5.2 Etymology词源学

Etymology is the study of the origin and history of a word.关于词的起源和历史的研究。

5.3 Borrowing借用

The taking over of words from other languages is borrowing.从其他语言中取词

5.3.1 Loan-Translation/Calque借译/仿译

In the process of loan-translation, there is a direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language.借译过程中，词的各个成分一一直译成借译该词的语言。

5.4 Compounding复合（常考）

The process of making a joining of two separate words to produce a single form is called compounding.把两个独立的词连接起来产生一个一体形式的过程。

5.4.1 Blending混合

Blending is the process of combining the beginning of one word and the end of another word to form a new word.取一个词的头，将其和另一个词的尾连接起来。

5.5 Clipping截短

The element of reduction that is noticeable in blending is even more apparent in the process described as clipping.混合过程中可见到的缩减掉的成分，在被称为截短的过程中更明显。

5.5.1 Hypocorisms昵称词

The process of reducing a longer word to a single syllable, then -y or -ie is added to the end is called hypocorisms.较长的词精简为一个音节，再在末尾加一个y或ie。

5.5.2 Backformation逆向构词

The process of reducing a word such as a noun to a shorter version and using it as a new word such as a verb is called back-formation.特殊的一类缩短过程，例如一类词（通常是名词），通过缩短而构成另一类词（通常是动词）。

5.6 Conversion词性转换

A change in the function of a word, as for example when a noun comes to be used as a verb (without any reduction), is generally known as conversion.

词的功能的改变，如名词用作动词（不发生任何缩短），通常称为词性转换。

5.7 Coinage新造

Coinage is the invention of new words发明并普遍使用全新的词

5.7.1 Eponym专名词

New words based on the name of a person or a place are called eponyms.以人名或地名为基础的新词。

5.7.2 Acronyms首字母缩略词

Acronyms are new words formed from the initial letters of a set of other words. More typically, acronyms are pronounced as new single words.由一系列其他词的首字母构成的新词。

5.7.3 Initialism 首字母词

An initialism is a type of acronym in which the individual letters are pronounced. 一种缩写，其中每个字母都发音。

5.8 Derivation派生（常考）

Derivation is the process of forming new words by adding affixes

派生是添加词缀构造新词

5.8.1 Affixes词缀

Affixes are bound morphemes such as un- or -ed which are added to a word. 词缀是添加到单词中的黏着词素，如 un- 或 -ed。

5.8.2 Prefixes and Suffixes前缀和后缀

Prefixes are affixes added to the beginning of the word.

词缀加在词的开头

Suffixes are affixes added to the end of the word.

词缀加在词的结尾

5.8.3 Infixes中缀
An infix is an affix that is incorporated inside another word.融入其他词内部的词缀。

5.9 Multiple Processes多重过程

It is possible to trace the operation of more than one process at work in the creation of a particular word.在某一具体词的造词过程中，多种过程同时发挥作用。

5.9.1 Analogy类推

Analogy is the process in which new words are formed that are similar in some way to existing words.造出与已有词在某些方面相似的新词。

习题：

1 When is an eponym a neologism? 专名词何时会成为新词？

When an eponym (a word based on the name of a person or a place) is used as a new word in the language, it is a neologism. When the Earl of Sandwich’s friends started calling his new snack “a sandwich,” they created a neologism with an eponym

2 Which word-formation process is the source of the English word modem?

Blending（modem这个单词是宽带那个“猫”，也就是路由器，是调制器（modulator）+调节器（demodulator））

3 Which two processes were involved in the creation of the verb google, as in Have you ever googled yourself?

Coinage新造 (to create the noun) and conversion词性转换 (changing noun to verb)

4 Which process is clearly involved in creating the new term selfie?

Hypocorism昵称词

5 What do we call the process whereby a new word is formed to be similar to an existing word?

Analogy 类比

6 Which of the following pairs contains an example of calque仿译? How would you describe the other(s)?

(a)    footobooru (Japanese) – football (English)

(b) tréning (Hungarian) – training (English)

(c) luna de miel (Spanish “moon of honey”) – honeymoon (English)

(d) jardin d’enfants (French “garden of children”) – Kindergarten(German “children garden”)

(c) and (d) are examples of calque; (a) and (b) are borrowings

7 Can you identify the different word-formation processes involved in producing each of the underlined words in these sentences?

(a) Don’t they ever worry that they might get AIDS?

(b) That’s really fandamntastic!

(c) These new skateboards from Zee Designs are kickass.

(d) When I’m ill, I want to see a doc, not a vet.

(e) The house next door was burgled when I was babysitting the Smiths’ children.

(f) I like this old sofa – it’s nice and comfy.

(g) I think Robyn said she’d like a toastie for brekky.

(h) You don’t need to button it because it’s got velcro inside.

(a) acronym (“Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”)

(b) infixing (“damn” inside “fantastic”)

(c) compounding (“skate” + “board”) and compounding (“kick” + “ass”) and conversion (verb “kick” + noun “ass” adjective “kickass”)

(d) clipping (“doctor”) and clipping (“veterinarian”)

(e) backformation (verb “burgle” from noun “burglar”) and backformation (verb “babysit” from noun “babysitter”, which is a compound (“baby” + “sitter”).

(f) borrowing (from Arabic “suffa”) and hypocorism (from “comfortable”)

(g) two examples of hypocorism from “toasted sandwich” and “breakfast.”

(h) conversion of the noun (“a button”) to a verb and blending of two words (“velours croché”), borrowed from French

8 Identify the prefixes and suffixes used in these words:

misfortune, terrorism, carelessness, disagreement, ineffective, unfaithful, prepackaged, biodegradable, reincarnation, decentralization

mis- + fortune; terror + -ism; care + -less + -ness; dis- + agree + -ment; in- + effect + -ive; un- + faith + -ful; pre- + pack + -age + -ed; bio- + de- + grade + -able; re- + in- + carn + -ation (Latin root carn (“flesh”)); de- + cent(e)r + -al + -ize + ation

9 In Khmu, the word kap means “to grasp with tongs,” and tiap means “to fold a small package.” What would be the words for “tongs” and “a small package”?

krnap and trniap

10 Why are the expressions my PIN number and the ATM machine slightly odd？

They contain unintended repetitions: Personal Identification Number number and Automatic Teller Machine machine.

11 The English phrase road rage has become the expression vejvrede (“way anger”) among Danish speakers. What is this process called?

Calque

12 More than one process was involved in the creation of the forms underlined in these sentences. Can you identify the processes involved in each case?

(a) Can you FedEx the books to me today?

(b) Police have reported an increase in carjackings in recent months.

(c) Jeeves, could you tell the maid to be sure to hoover the bedroom carpet?

(d) I had to temp for a while before I got a real job.

(e) Is your friend Ian still blogging?

(f) Would you prefer a decaf?

(a) blending (from Federal Express) plus conversion (noun → verb)

(b) blending (car + hijack) plus conversion (verb → noun)

(c) eponym (from William Hoover) plus conversion (noun → verb)

(d) clipping (from temporary worker) plus conversion (noun → verb)

(e) blending (web + log) plus conversion (noun → verb)

(f) decaf is (usually) a reduced version of “a cup of coffee made with decaffeinated coffee,” so clipping is the most obvious process. The longer word decaffeinated is a derivation via a prefix (de-) and two suffixes (-ate + -ed) from caffeine, which was originally a borrowing from French. Conversion from noun (caffeine) to adjective (decaffeinated) to noun (decaf) has also taken place.

作业题

A What are “initialisms”首字母词? Were there any examples in this chapter?

An initialism is a type of acronym in which the individual letters are pronounced. Examples are BBC, UFO, MP, UK and USA (not pronounced “yoosa”). Examples in this chapter were CD, SPCA, ATM.

For more, read:

Minkova, D. and R. Stockwell (2009) English Words: History and Structure (2nd edition) Cambridge University Press

B Who invented the term “portmanteau words”? How many examples were included in this chapter?

According to Geoffrey Nunberg (2001: 85), the term “portmanteau word” was invented by Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland.

“We owe it to none other than Lewis Carroll, who based the notion on a rather large leather suitcase with two compartments. The term comes up in Through the Looking Glass, just after Humpty Dumpty has recited “Jabberwocky,” when he’s explaining to Alice how he formed the word slithy out of lithe and slimy. “It’s like a portmanteau,” he says, “there are two meanings packed up into one word.”

The term blending is used more generally for this type of word-formation. Examples included in this chapter: smog, smaze, smurk, vog, bit, brunch, motel, telecast, Chunnel, telethon, infotainment, simulcast, Franglais, Spanglish, telex, modem, velcro)

For more, read:

Nunberg, G. (2001) the way we talk now (85-86) Houghton Mifflin

C Using a dictionary with etymological information, identify which of the following words are borrowings and from which languages they were borrowed. Are any of them eponyms?

assassin, clone, cockroach, denim, diesel, frisbee, horde, kayak, kiosk, nickname, penguin, robot, shampoo, sherry, slogan, snoop, taboo, tea, tomato, tuxedo, umbrella, voodoo

assassin: Arabic (hashishin)

clone: Greek (klón)

cockroach: Spanish (cucaracha)

denim: French (serge de Nîmes)

diesel: German (Rudolf Diesel)

frisbee: American English coinage

horde: Polish (horda)

kayak: Inuit or Eskimo (qayaq)

kiosk: Turkish (kös̜k)

nickname: Old English (an eke name)

penguin: Welsh (pen gwyn)

robot: Czech (robota)

shampoo: Hindi (champo)

sherry: Spanish (Xeres, Jerez)

slogan: Gaelic (sluaghghairm)

snoop: Dutch (snoepen)

taboo: Tongan (tabu)

tea: Chinese (dé)

tomato: Nahuatl (tomatl)

tuxedo: Algonquin (tuksit)

umbrella: Italian (ombrello)

voodoo: Ewe (vódũ)

The words “frisbee” and “nickname” are not borrowings.

The words “denim” (from a place), “diesel” (from a person) and “sherry” (from a place) are eponyms. The use of the word “tuxedo” for a jacket originates in Tuxedo Park, New York, in the 1880s, so it can also be considered an eponym.

For more, read:Hoad, T. (ed.) (1996) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford University Press

See also:

www.etymonline.com

后面的题都好难敲哦。。。但是都很有趣！G题提到了“环缀”（circumfix）

Derivation of abstract nouns from adjectives through the use of a specific prefix + suffix combination (i.e. a circumfix).看看书中例子就理解了

参考

Yule, G. (2020). The Study of Language (7th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108582889