People have always been interested in language. First records of Sanskrit grammar, morphology and word-formation rules were written down by Panini over 2500 years ago. So it is not surprising that especially now with all the possibilities technology offers, linguists are determined to identify THE word-formation-theory. In the last century there has been a boom in publishing, creating enormous corpora that allow linguists to study a far wider range of written language. Due to the technological possibility of sound and video recording, there are also numerous spoken accounts of language available now (Bauer 1994, 9). In the last decades however, according to Bauer, word-formation is a rather “confused area of study“(2002, xiii), mostly because of its various terminology as well as different methodological and theoretical approaches. Therefore this paper will concentrate on and use the standard terminology Bauer agreed on in English Word-formation.
Bauer notes furthermore the confusion in the field of productivity in word-formation. The fact that word-formation processes are in fact productive and create new lexemes can be proved by consulting any dictionary of neologisms or updates in other dictionaries. Nevertheless, linguists dispute over the extent to which word-formation is productive generally. Here the dispute between transformationalist and lexicalist positions to productivity should be mentioned (2002, 62 f., 75). But since this paper will focus on specific neologisms added to the Oxford English Dictionary, the decision of what is listed as a new and independent lexicon entry was made by someone else and should not be of any concern here.
This paper will deal with the subject of words, especially newly formed words. What exactly are neologisms and how do they come about? What word-formation processes are involved in the creation of new words? How productive are the different types of word-formation? This paper attempts to answer these questions to a certain extent and furthermore picture the contemporary productivity of word-formation patterns by analysing the new word entries of the March 2013 update in the Oxford English Dictionary as a case study.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. New Words
2.1. What is a word?
2.2. Inflection v. Derivation
2.3. Neologisms
2.4. Lexicalization
3. Word-formation
3.1. Productivity
3.2. Word-formation processes
3.2.1. Derivation
3.2.2. Conversion
3.2.3. Compounding
3.2.4. Shortening
3.2.4.1. Blending
3.2.4.2. Clipping
3.2.4.3. Acronyms & Initialisms
3.2.4.4. Back-formation
4. Case Study: OED Analysis
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This paper examines the productive mechanisms of word-formation in contemporary English by analyzing the new word entries from the March 2013 update of the Oxford English Dictionary. The study investigates how new lexemes are created and aims to provide empirical data on the frequency and productivity of various word-formation processes.
- The theoretical distinction between inflection, derivation, and neologisms.
- Core word-formation processes including compounding, conversion, and shortening.
- A quantitative analysis of new dictionary entries based on their morphological origin.
- The impact of borrowing and colloquialization on modern English vocabulary.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.3. Compounding
A 'compound' is built up of more than one potential stem (and thus at least two roots). The stems that built up a compound can be complex themselves, e.g. have undergone a derivational process before (example 3):
(3) dry-cleaning, workmanship
There is a special type of compounding, when two bound roots are combined to form a new word. These bound root morphemes do not occur freely in the English language and are mostly Latin or Greek of origin. The OED calls them combining forms. The resulting compound is therefore called 'neo-classical' (Jackson et al. 2000, 82) as can be seen in example 4a. Another special type of compound is one that is phonologically motivated as in example 4b (Bauer 2002, 212 f.):
(4) a. astronaut, bibliography
b. teeny-weeny, zig-zag
Bauer further distinguishes four types of compounds according to semantic criteria: endocentric, exocentric, appositional and dvandva (2002, 30 f.): In endocentric compounds the first element modifies the second one, which constitutes the head of the compound. So the first part is a hyponym of the second part, the grammatical head. Exocentric compounds consist of elements, that do not modify each other, but refer to an external head (person, concept, thing) and are therefore not directly analysable and metaphorical. The elements in an appositional compound modify each other mutually. In a dvandva or copulative compound the elements name independent entities which are connected to generate a new entity. In this instance it is not clear which part is the modifier and which one is the head.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the study, the significance of word-formation in modern linguistics, and the methodology of using OED updates for analyzing contemporary word productivity.
2. New Words: Defines fundamental linguistic concepts such as lexemes, morphemes, neologisms, and the process of lexicalization.
3. Word-formation: Discusses the theoretical framework of productivity and details specific morphological processes like derivation, conversion, compounding, and shortening.
4. Case Study: OED Analysis: Presents empirical findings from the March 2013 OED update, evaluating the statistical dominance of compounding and other formation patterns.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes findings, noting the continued high productivity of compounding and the influence of borrowing on the English lexicon.
Keywords
Word-formation, Neologisms, Morphology, Lexicology, Productivity, Compounding, Derivation, Conversion, Shortening, Oxford English Dictionary, Lexicalization, Nonce formation, Linguistic change, Borrowing, Affixation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The paper focuses on identifying productive word-formation processes in English, specifically analyzing how new words are created and successfully integrated into the lexicon.
What are the primary thematic areas?
The study covers morphology, lexical productivity, dictionary update analysis, and the historical context of how new words enter the English language.
What is the main goal of this analysis?
The goal is to determine the current productivity of various word-formation patterns by statistically analyzing 98 new word entries from the March 2013 OED update.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The author uses a corpus-based case study approach, evaluating the morphological structure of new dictionary entries and comparing them with established linguistic theories by scholars like Bauer and Jackson.
What is addressed in the main body?
The main body defines the technical terminology of word-formation, details specific processes like blending and back-formation, and provides a quantitative breakdown of these processes found in the OED data.
Which keywords characterize this paper?
The work is defined by terms such as productivity, neologism, compounding, derivation, and lexicalization.
What does the OED case study reveal about word productivity?
The study reveals that compounding remains the most productive process, accounting for nearly half of all new word-formation instances, while conversion is significantly less productive than previously assumed.
How does the author explain the rise of colloquialisms in the OED?
The author suggests that the inclusion of colloquial and slang terms reflects a trend where standard English is becoming increasingly informal and aligned with spoken language usage.
- Quote paper
- Dorothea Wolschak (Author), 2013, Productive word-formation processes in neologisms, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/275967
