11. Shortening (types, classification)

Word building process involves not only qualitative but also quantitative changes. Quantitative more often then all come as a result of different kinds of shortening. Shortening of words is a very productive mean of forming new words in modern english. Modern english is known for a great many shorten words, which are used in all spheres of human activities. Special dictionaries are composed to explain and dicipher (расшифровать) shortenings used nowadays. Shortening of words consists in (заключается в) using a part for a whole. (Ex: exam from examination; pop from popular music). Aspecially rich in shortening the american variant (mo – for a moment; cert – for certainly; circs – for circumstances). The most peculiar feature is that the shortened and the full forms off the given word usually exist side by side. In most cases the shorten form expresses exactly the same meaning as the full one, differing only in stylistic colouring (teach – teacher; sis - sister). The question naturally arises whether the shorten forms and the original foms should be considered separate words. In some cases when shortening results in the creation of a semantically new word, thr two forms are considered separate words. (Ex: amend – исправить ошибку в документе, mend – чинить, ремонтировать – both are formed from the word amendment). In some cases semantic structures of a word and its shortened form do not coinscide. (Ex: doc – from doctor refers only to one who practices medicine, wheras soctor denotes the highest degree given by a university and a person, who has received such a degree – doctor of law).

Some linguists hold the view that as the shortened and the original words do not differ in meaning, but only in stylistic application it would be wrong to apply the term word to the shortened variant. They consider the shortened word to be a word variant. Professor Smernitski is of that view. The difference between affixation and shortening and even compounding. The words built by affixation and compounding are of a more complex character, both structurally and semantically. It’s not the case with word shortening. Shortened words are structurally simple words. And in most cases have the same lexical meaning as the longer words from which they are derived. Another pecularity of word shortening if treated as a derivational process is that there are no structural patterns after which new shorten words could be formed.

Distingtion should be made between shortening of words in written speech and in sphere of oral communication. Shortening of words in written speech results in graffical abbreviation which are in fact signs representing words & word groups. (Ex: RD – road, ST – street, Mr, Ms, Mrs – represent different titles which are always written in their shorten form and are always pronounced in their full form). English graffical abbreviations include rather numerous shortened variants of latin & french words. (Ex: e.g. – for example, i.e. – that is, P.S., a.m., p.m. – post/antimeridien). They are used in their shorten form in english in writting but with the exception of P.S. substituted (замещаются )in pronunciation by english word combinations. Lexical abbreviations are formed from the inicial sounds or syllables of the words in a set expression of a terminalogical character or from the components of a compound word functioning as a term. Words form the initial letters of words of composite(составные) terms are called acronyms (M.P. – member of parlament, UNO, UFO). There’re 2 ways of reading or pronouncing such abbreviations: 1)as a succession of the alphabetical readings of the constituent letters. (BBC, TV); 2)as a succession of sounds, denoted by the constituent letters as if abbreviations were ordinary words (SOS, UFO). There is one more type of abbreviation in which the 1^st component of a two-member word group is shortened , the second undergoing no change at all. (A-bomb, H-bomb). As a general rule lexical abbreviations first make their appearance in written speech mostly in newspaper style and the style of scientific litterature gradually find their way in the sphere of oral communication.

Shortening of spoken words is called clipping. Clipping consists in the cutting of one or several syllables of a word. More often than not the stressed syllable is preserved and unstressed syllables may be cut off. (Ex: pram – perambulator коляска, doc - doctor). Sometimes however it’s the unstressed syllable that is pressed (phone – telephone, plane - airplane). Traditionally clippings are classified into several types depending on which part of the word is clipped. 1)words that have been shortened at the end – final clipping, apocapi (photo – photograph, lab – laboratory, vet - veterinary); 2)This type gives the bulk of the shortened words. It’s the most productive class of clippings. Words that have been clipped at the beginning – initial clipping, aphaeresis (car – motocar, chello - violichello); 3)Words in which some syllables have been omitted from the middle, the so called syncopi. (hols – holydays, spects – spectacles, maths - mathematics); 4)Words that have been clipped both at the beginning and at the end (flu – influensa, tec - detective); 5)ellipsis which is the omittions of the word or words. Ellipsis always results in a change of lexico-grammatical meaning. A new word belongs to a different part of speech (daily – daily paper). Ellipsis often combines with substantivisation of the first element (mods – modern jazz, pop – popular music, pub – public house).

Shortening is aspecially productive among nouns. Shortened verbs are very rare and are mostly formed by means of conversion from corresponding shortened noun.