Lecture 7. Conversion (2 hrs)

Objective. To inform the students of the key features of the semantic relationships in conversion; to raise the historical development of conversion; to develop cognitive skills of analyzing & summarizing the information, distinguishing between major & minor aspects, categorizing & estimating relevant facts.

Glossary: paradigm, non-affixal way of word-forming, zero-morpheme, denominal verbs, deverbal substantives, semantic derivation, frequency of occurrence, reconversion, productivity restrictions, semantic restrictions, morphological restrictions

Plan

1. Definition

2. Conversion in present-day English

3. Semantic relationships in conversion

4. Basic criteria of semantic derivation

5. Diachronic approach to conversion

6. Productivity. Traditional & occasional conversion

7. Conversion & sound interchange

7.1. Definition

Conversion = of the principal ways of forming Ws in ME = phonetic identity of W-forms of 2 Ws belonging to different parts of speech: work – to work; love – to love; paper – to paper; brief – to brief; wireless – to wireless.

Doctor – to doctor; water – to water; brief – to brief are root-words. 1 of them should be referred to derived Ws, as it belongs to a different part of speech & is motivated by the other. The N is formed from the V (& vice versa) without any morphological change, but the 2 Ws differ in the paradigm. The paradigm is a W-building means → conversion = the formation of a new W through changes in its paradigm. A paradigm is a morphological category → conversion is a morphological way of forming Ws.

2 cases of conversion: 1) Vs from Ns, rarely from other parts of speech; 2) Ns from Vs, rarely from other parts of speech.

H. Sweet, New English Grammar, 1891, 1st used the term. The treatment of conversion as a morphological way of forming Ws was suggested by A. Smirnitsky.

Other linguists:

a) a non-affixal way of forming Ws; a stem is used for the formation of a different W of a different part of speech without a derivational affix. Does not distinguish between conversion & sound-interchange;

b) the formation of new Ws with the help of a zero-morpheme;

c) a morphological-syntactic W-building means, involving a change of the paradigm & of the syntactic function of the W. The syntactic factor is irrelevant to the processes of W-formation;

d) a purely syntactic approach (a functional approach). Certain GB a& the USA linguists & lexicographers: conversion in ME is a kind of functional change. In ME a W may function as 2 different parts of speech at the same time. → In ME we no longer distinguish between parts of speech. But: the distinct difference between Ns & Vs = the number & character of the categories reflected in their paradigms. → The functional approach is inadequate.

7.2. Conversion in present-day English

Synchronically we deal with pairs of Ws related through conversion that coexist in ME. The 2 Ws (to break & a break) are phonetically identical, the question: whether they have the same / identical stems.

The stem carries a part-of-speech meaning. → The stems of 2 Ws of a CP cannot be regarded the same / identical. The stem hand- of the N hand carries a substantival meaning together with the system of its meanings: 1) the end of the arm beyond the wrist; 2) pointer on a watch / clock; 3) worker in a factory; 4) source of information. The stem hand- of the V hand has a different part-of-speech meaning of the V & a different system of meanings: 1) give / help with the hand, 2) pass. → The stems of W-pairs related through conversion have different part-of-speech & denotative meanings → homonymous stems.

The essential difference between affixation & conversion: affixation = semantic & structural derivation (friend – friendless, dark – darkness); conversion = only semantic derivation (hand – to hand, fall – to fall, taxi – to taxi); the difference between the 2 classes of Ws in affixation is marked by a special derivational affix & a paradigm, in conversion – only by paradigmatic forms.