Conversion

Conversion is a combined morphological and syntactic (paradigmatic and syntagmatic) way of word-building, by which a new word is formed through the change of the paradigm and distribution of its prototype.

E.g., swim V→N

Fish swim. We shall go swimming. The white clouds swam across the sky. The heat and noise made my head swim. He swims a couple of miles every morning.

I’ll go for a swim. An active person likes to be in the swim.

Conversion Versus Historical Loss of Endings

Conversion is a synchronic way of word-building. Words formed by conversion should be distinguished from those formed through the historical loss of endings of nouns, verbs, etc.

conversion	loss of endings
E.g., swim, v.i. & t., & n.	own adj. [OE āgen]
[OE swimman]	own v. [OE āgnian]

Source Word Versus Target Word

Source word (origninal word; prototype derivational source) is a member of the pair of words whose lexical meaning is compatible with its grammatical meaning.

Target word is a member of the pair of words whose lexical meaning is in conflict with its grammatical meaning.

E.g., swim v. a) lexical meaning: action, process

b) grammatical meaning: action,

process

swim n. a) lexical meaning: action, process

b) grammatical meaning: the act or

period of swimming.

Swim v. – source word

Swim n. – target word

The source word is more polysemantic (has more meanings) than a target word.

E.g., swim v.

1) move through, on or in the water by using arms, legs, fins, etc.

2) cross by swimming

3) float; be covered with; or as if floating in

4) overflow

5) feel giddy or dizzy

6) seem to move or go round and round before one’s eyes

swim n.

1) the act of swimming

2) the main current of affairs (social or public) (sg. with def. art.)

Source word has a higher word-building and phrase-forming potential than a target word:

swim-in n. (wade-in) swimmy adj.

swimmable adj. in the swim adj. phr.

swimmer n. out of the swim adj. phr.

swimmeret n.

swimmingly adv.

swimming pool

swimming crab

swim bladder n.

swim fin n.

swim-suit n.

swim-wear n.

swim against the current (stream)

sink or swim

Lexico-Grammatical Character of the Source Word

1) Noun bottle → bottle v.

2) Verb retreat → retreat n.

3) Adjective dirty → dirty v.

daily → daily n.

4) Adverb out → out n.

5) Pronoun my → my interj.

6) Numeral second → second v.

7) Preposition plus → plus n.

8) Conjunction and → and v.

9) Interjection haw → haw v.

Lexico-Grammatical Character of the Target Word

1) Noun cheat v. → cheat

daily adj. → daily

plus prep. → plus

2) Verb corner n. → corner

dirty adj. → dirty

and conj. → and

haw interj. → haw

out adv. → out

3) Adjective no go phr. → no-go

off prep. → off

4) Adverb that pron. → that

Morphological Structure of a Source-Word

1) root word swim v. → swim n.

2) derived word natural adj. → natural n.

3) compound word honeymoon n. → honeymoon v.

4) abbreviation fax n. → fax v.

scuba n. → scuba adj.

5) affix - ism → ism n.

6) phrase go between → go-between n.

White knuckle →white-knuckle adj.

Partial Conversion

A target word acquires only some of the characteristics of its word class,

i. e. incomplete paradigm.

E.g., The handicapped are (* a handicapped is, * two handicapped are)

To be in the know (* in know, * in a know, *in knows)

To get (give) a wash (* washes)

It is a must (* the must, * musts)

Complete Conversion

A target word acquires complete paradigm of its word class.

E.g., circular n. (pl. circulars)

frequent v. (frequented, frequenting, frequents)

race v. (races, raced, racing)

Ellipsis + Conversion

Adjective → noun conversion can be explained in terms of a well-established adjective + noun phrase from which the noun has been ellipted.

E.g., a professional (man, person, actor, politician, sportsman, etc.)

Ellipsis of adjective-noun phrases with unique (restricted) valency gave rise to a number of completely substantivized (converted) words.

E. g., prophylactic n. (fr. prophylactic device) [a condom]

nuclear n. (fr. nuclear power)

zoo n. (fr. zoological garden)

Conversion is simultaneous with compounding in the case of phrase source.

E.g., cash-limit v. (to impose a cash limit on): “As with all our budgets, the fund from which we pay consultants for socially necessary operations is cash-limited.” (Ayto)

As a rule, only one (rarely more) meaning of a polysemantic word is a source of conversion.

E.g., vital adj. 1) relating to, connected with, necessary for, animal life

2) full of life and vigour; lively

♥ 3) necessary to the existence of something; essential

Vitals n. those organs of the body which are essential to life.

If you can visualize a bulldog which has just been kicked in the ribs and had its dinner sneaked by the cat, you will have Hildebrand Glossop as he now stood before me. “Stap my vitals, Tuppy, old corpse,” I said, concerned, “you’re looking pretty blue round the rims.” (Wodehouse. Life…)

Semantic Relationship by Conversion

N→V

1) action characteristic of the object; agential [to act as N with respect to

…]: to nurse, to judge

2) instrumental use of the object [to … with N as instrument]: to fork, to

spoon

3) acquisition or addition of the object [to get/give/have N; to provide with

N]: to coat, to frost (a cake)

4) deprivation of the object [to deprive of N]: to dust (furniture), to skin

(alive)

5) locative [to put in/on N; to get/go in/to N]: to bottle, to corner

6) transformation of the object [to make/change into … N]: to cripple

7) transportation [to send/go by N]: to fax, to ship, to phone

8) resultative [to give birth to N]: to fox

V→N

1) state: doubt, (in the) know

2) subject of V: a bore, a cheat, a look-alike

3) object or result of V: a fall, a catch

4) instrument of V: a cover, a wrap

5) instance of action; process: a swim, a wash

6) place of V: retreat, slant

Adj → V

1) (v. t.) to make (more) Adj.: to dirty

2) (v. i.) to become Adj.: to dry, to calm (down)

Adj → N

1) person of Adj. quality: a comic

2) object of Adj. quality: a daily