Лекция № 7. Второстепенные способы словообразования

Some Other Types of Word-Formation

Affixation, compounding and conversion are the three major types of word-formation. They play a crucial role in forming new words. Apart from these there are ways of forming new words:

• back-formation or disaffixation (baby-sitter – to baby-sit). This process creates words by not adding but removing an affix from another word. For example, denotation – to denote, orientation – to orient, to orientate, liposuction – to liposuct and so on.

• sound interchange (speak-speech, blood-bleed) and sound imitation (to giggle, to gargle)

• distinctive change (conduct – to conduct, subject – to subject)

• blending: These words are created from pasts of two already existing words: brunch from breakfast and lunch; smog from smoke and fog; infomercial from information and commercial; motel from motor and hotel; modem from modulator and demodulator.

• clipping is a processing of shortening words by deleting one or more syllables: prof from professor, burger from hamburger, zoo from zoological garden, fax from facsimile. Names: Liz, Bob, Sue, Beth. Some other examples: bike, phone, doc, auto, lab.

• acronymy: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), UNESCO. Acronyms are formed by taking the initial letters of the words.

• onomatopoeia: it is formation of words from sounds that resemble the object or action of the word: to hiss, to buzz, to meow, to cuckoo.

Лекция № 8. Система словарного запаса языка

The Vocabulary of a Language as a System

Words and phrases can enter into a variety of semantic relations with each other. There may be different ways of grouping and classifying words.

Homonyms

From Greek ‘homos’ means ‘similar’ and ‘onoma’ means ‘name’. These are words which have identical sounding or spelling but have nothing in common in their meanings. For example,

cent – scent – sent

buy – by

hair – hare

one – won

pair – pear

steal – steel

wait – weight

Homonymy is the result of various processes which take place in a language. Loan words were adapted to the English standards in their pronunciation and spelling: fair (‘market’) was borrowed from Latin ‘feria’, and fair (‘light color’) from ‘fǽger’. Homonyms can be crated by shortening words: flu from ‘influenza’ is the homonym to flew (from ‘to fly). Homonyms may be formed through the changes in the meaning of the words: flower – flour, sea – see. Homonyms can be formed by means of conversion: water – to water.

A detailed classification of homonyms is given by I.Arnold in “The English Word”

Synonyms

A synonym (from Greek ‘same’ + ‘name’) is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. Fast and quick are synonyms. Synonyms are words that can be interchanged in some contexts but there is usually a slight but important difference. English is very rich in synonyms.

Each synonymic group comprises the most general word in it. Such word is called the synonymic dominant. In the group work, toil, drudgery, labour, grind, job, task; famous, celebrated, distinguished, eminent; fashionable, chic, dressy, elegant, modish, smart, stylish, trendy.

Synonyms are divided into different groups:

1. ideographic or denotational: the difference in the meaning concerns the notion expressed: change – alter – vary; understand – realize; to walk – to pace – to stroll – to stride.

2. Stylistic synonyms have the same denotational components but differ in connotational components of meaning: hearty – cordial; imitate – monkey; terrible – horrible – atrocious. Among stylistic synonyms we find archaic and modern (oft – often), neologisms and common words (baby-moon – artificial satellite), British and American (post – mail), euphemisms (to die – to pass away).

English scholars also distinguish between absolute synonyms (exactly the same meaning) and phraseological synonyms (used in different collocations). F.e. language – tongue (only mother tongue). There are also contextual synonyms that are similar in meanings under specific conditions (to get and to buy).