The usage of "-wise" as a suffix within adverbial constructions such as in "crabwise" or "weatherwise" has clearly increased over the last decades and became progressively more popular in the mid-twentieth century.
Although it is mostly used in spoken discourse, its usage is not restricted to speech but expands to the
written word as for example in newspapers or scholarly journals. This stems from the fact that this kind of genre quickly picks up new trends.
However, while -wise has been accepted in the adverbial sense, "-wise" as a suffix for new words with the meaning 'with regard to' is criticized.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. An Empirical Study towards the Interpretation of Adverbial Forms with the Suffix -wise
2.1 Introduction to the Suffix -wise
2.2 Outline and Realization of the Empirical Study
2.3 Interpretation of the Results
3. Conclusion and Discussion
Research Objectives and Key Themes
The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate that while lexicalized adverbial constructions with the suffix -wise possess a fixed meaning, newly created neologisms containing this suffix are highly ambiguous and require contextualization for accurate interpretation. The study investigates how non-native speakers process these forms through an empirical survey.
- Linguistic analysis of the productivity of the suffix -wise in modern English.
- Distinction between lexicalized forms and creative nonce-words.
- The role of pragmatic enrichment and context in speech comprehension.
- Empirical evaluation of speaker interpretations regarding adverbial forms.
- Cognitive storage of lexicalized versus newly created constructions.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
The usage of -wise as a suffix within adverbial constructions such as in crabwise or weatherwise has clearly increased over the last decades and became progressively more popular in the mid-twentieth century. Although it is mostly used in spoken discourse, its usage is not restricted to speech but expands to the written word as for example in newspapers or scholarly journals. This stems from the fact that this kind of genre quickly picks up new trends. It “[...] made considerable progress toward establishing itself as a generally accepted part of the language” (Houghton 1968:213). However, while -wise has been accepted in the adverbial sense, -wise as a suffix for new words with the meaning 'with regard to' is criticized (cf. Houghton 1968:179).
Furthermore “[...] -wise seems freely combinable with any nominal base” (Sicherl 2009:173) both in adverbial constructions as a suffix and in compound words in which -wise appears as an adjective. Therefore, these constructions seem to be highly versatile given the fact that any noun could be added to the suffix -wise. The question arises whether these newly created words using -wise could be interpreted without prior knowledge of the context or if they have to be contextualized due to their ambiguity.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the historical development and increasing productivity of the suffix -wise, establishing the research question regarding the necessity of contextualization for non-lexicalized forms.
2. An Empirical Study towards the Interpretation of Adverbial Forms with the Suffix -wise: This section details the methodology of an online survey conducted with non-native speakers, aiming to test how different -wise constructions are paraphrased and understood.
3. Conclusion and Discussion: The final chapter synthesizes the study findings, confirming that lexicalized forms are stored and understood independently, whereas new constructions rely heavily on pragmatic enrichment and situational context.
Keywords
Suffix -wise, Adverbial constructions, Lexicalization, Neologisms, Pragmatic enrichment, Nonce words, Empirical study, Contextualization, Speech comprehension, Mental lexicon, Viewpoint adverb, Adverb of manner, Ambiguity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research paper?
The paper examines the usage and interpretation of the English suffix -wise, specifically focusing on the difference between established, lexicalized words and newly created, productive neologisms.
What are the central themes discussed in this work?
The work focuses on linguistic productivity, the classification of adverbial forms, the role of context in language comprehension, and the differences in how speakers store and interpret lexicalized versus creative linguistic constructions.
What is the primary research goal?
The main goal is to prove that while fixed, lexicalized constructions with -wise (like percentage-wise) are understood in isolation, creative neologisms (like chairwise) are ambiguous and necessitate external context for comprehension.
Which methodology is applied to answer the research question?
The author conducted an empirical study via an online survey, involving a group of non-native English speakers who were asked to paraphrase and contextualize various -wise constructions.
What topics are covered in the main body of the text?
The main body covers the theoretical background of the suffix -wise, the setup of the empirical survey, and a detailed analysis of respondent performance regarding three specific terms: percentage-wise, chairwise, and crabwise.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include lexicalization, pragmatic enrichment, nonce words, adverbial constructions, suffix -wise, and linguistic ambiguity.
Why are nonce words specifically difficult for the study participants?
Nonce words lack a fixed definition in dictionaries, forcing the respondents to rely on their individual speech comprehension and creativity to infer meaning based on the provided context.
What is the significance of the distinction between 'adverbs of manner' and 'viewpoint adverbs'?
The classification determines the paraphrase logic—manner adverbs relate to "how" an action is performed, while viewpoint adverbs function as connectors meaning "with respect to," which directly influences how readers interpret the ambiguity of a term like crabwise.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding the mental lexicon?
The author concludes that while lexicalized constructions are stored in the mental lexicon, highly ambiguous neologisms likely do not have a fixed entry, requiring active pragmatic processing during communication.
- Quote paper
- M.Ed. Christopher Domke (Author), 2016, The interpretation of adverbial constructions with the suffix "-wise". An empirical study, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/431049
