22. The notion of a w-b Meaning.

We can possibly create a new word only if we are aware of a certain relationship between two objects one of which is starting with its own 1ge name already and the other one appears on the basis of both plains of the original primary word.

Every sec. word thanks to its reference to the meaning and form of a certain primary word appears to be motivated. As it derives, its semantics from smth already in existence and commonly known and modifies the primary meaning in the associative way which is the meaning of the underline WB pattern. This known part of the semantics of the secondary word is called the inner form of a word.

WB meaning differs from lex.meaning in that it provides a pattern of association for new object names and is more general than lex.meanings, less abstract than gram.meanings. their sphere of activity is smaller than gr.meanings.

The meaning of WB expresses the most typical connection between the base and the affix in a regular way. To represent generalized relations between derived and basic words as those between two substances, two actions, substance and action etc.

E.G. 1) to be the doer of an action characterized by the action – driver, teacher.

2) to be the doer of an action characterized by the instrument of the action – a pianist, a guitarist.

3) to be the object of an action who is subjected to it – a trainee, an employee.

25. the notion of motivation in W-B

Productivity is supported by a powerful psychological factor-clarity of the structure and meaning of the pattern. In other words the clearer the type of the WB meaning and the meanings of derivational affixes, the more productive the pattern. The property of a word to be made up and understood on the basis of the meanings of the derivational units is called motivation, i.e. the inner form of a word. It is perceived and recognized by the speaker as an explanation to the meaning of a new word.

Languages as often as not make use of dif. inner forms of equivalent words, i.e. they utilize dif.motivation in naming the same objects of reality.

Word creation gives rise to dif. degrees of motivation, complete, partial and lacking in motivation.

1) Complete motivation. Words which can be interpreted through their component and can be predicted or forseen. (waterproof, lifeproof, loveproof – they all belong to the pattern “a means against smth”). We should note that the 2nd component is the semantic centre while the 1st one modifies its meaning as a peculiar of the class. Another semantic feature is that both elements combine in one of their multiple meanings as polysemantic words.

2) Partial motivation is due to the preservation of the meaning of a constituent morpheme in the semantic result while the semantic relationship between the morphemes is obscure. (handbag – a woman’s handbag fo money, paper etc. A flowerbed is a plot of land in which flowers grow)

3) Lack of motivation or ideomaticity is characteristic of those words in which the components fuse so closely that neither their meaning nor relations between them appear distinct. They may become metaphorically transferred. (Blackmail is payment of money for not making known smth discredible about a person).

26. Occasional W-B

The ability of W-B ways, individual derivational patterns and derivational affixes of making new words which all who speak English find no difficulty in understandeing; in particular their ability to create, what are called occasional words or nonce-words. The term suggests that a speaker creates and uses such words when he needs them. If on another occasion the same word is needed again, he coins it afresh. Nonce-words are built from familiar language material after familiar patterns. Needless to say dictionaries do not as a rule record occasional words. Many examples are found in nonsense verse, such as “Jabberwocky” from Alice in Wonderland. Nonce words may also disobey the phonotactics, such as fnord (fn- does not occur in modern English), or be barely pronounceable or unpronounceable nonsense, such as kwyjibo.