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English Structures
Morphology
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Other Processes of Word Formation
| Affixation is only one way that words are made
Other processes include:
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A Compound Word is one whose stem
contains more than one root, not just a root with an affix.
Examples:
- view = root (not a compound)
- views = root + -s affix (not a compound)
- points = root + -s (not a compound)
- viewpoint = root + root (compound)
- viewpoints = root + root + -s affix (compound)
- place = root (not a compound)
- kicks = root + -s affix (not a compound)
- kicker = root + -er affix (not a compound)
- kickers = root + -er affix + -s affix (not a compound)
- placekick = root + root (compound)
- placekicker = root + root + -er affix (compound)
- placekickers = root + root + -er affix + -s affix (compound)
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The head of
a compound word is the morpheme that determines the syntactic category of the entire
word.
Examples:
waterfall = noun; water = noun, fall = verb so water is the head
greenhouse = noun; green = adjective, house = noun, so house is the head
waterski = verb; water = noun, ski = verb, so ski is the head
In English the head of a compound word is usually, but not always, the second
root.
Compounds can be represented in English with an intervening space, a hyphen,
or no break at all between the roots.
oil can, twenty-six, fiddlesticks
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Endocentric compounds are those
that denote a subtype of the head.
- An oil can is a type of can
- A policeman is a type of man
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Exocentric compounds are those
that denote a semantic category different from the head.
- A walkman is not a type of man but a type of machine
- A redhead is not a type of head but a type of person
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A change is made in material already present in the stem instead of adding
something to the stem
kinds of mutation.
a) Ablaut is
a change in vowel quality to mark grammatical contrasts.
- e.g irregular pasts in English
- sing becomes sang, not singed
b) Umlaut is when vowel
quality in one syllable affects the vowel quality of another syllable
(usually preceding)
- e.g. this is how irregular plurals in English originally formed,
but the evidence has been lost for individual words.
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A wholly different morpheme is used to replace and show grammatical contrast
with another morpheme.
- be becomes is and are to show contrasts of
subject
- good becomes well to contrast the adverb with adjective
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| Contrasts are marked by changes to the suprasegmental (pitch, tone, stress) aspects of a morpheme.
Shift of stress:
- English verb-noun contrasts
- Permit me to
help
- I have a permit.
- Subject this
word to analysis
- He was the subject of a book.
Shift of tone (in tonal languages)
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A clitic is half-word, half-affix.
Aspects that make them like words
- behave like words in meaning
- behave like words in function
From grade school English, it's a contraction. |
Examples of Clitics in English
- He’s my husband. =’s
- The cat’s in here. =’s
- What’s that noise? =’s
- The cat’s pajamas are in here. =’s
- The head of department’s position is vacant. =’s
- The policeman on the left’s badge =’s
- Look at the lady in red’s shoes. =’s
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A clitic behaves like a word because:
- It functions as verb of sentence in the first examples.
- It is completely regular, there are no other changes to the
form
- It can attach to a variety of words (promiscuous attachment)
- It carries the meaning of the copula (be verb) in 1
- It carries the meaning of possessive in 2.
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A clitic behaves like an affix because:
- It is never pronounced in isolation.
- It is never preceded by a pause.
- It does not contain a vowel.
- It undergoes devoicing after a voiceless segment.
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Kinds of Clitics
- Proclitics are clitics that attach to the front of a stem (e.g.
l’= in French l’enfant)
- Enclitics are clitics that attach at the end of a stem (e.g.
=’s in English)
- Bound Words are words that are phonologically bound and are
thus clitics because they can’t be pronounced in isolation
- Phrasal Affixes are clitics that attach to whole phrases and
are more like affixes than words
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A contrast is marked by partial or whole repetition of the stem
- itsy-bitsy (partial repetition)
- [bəħɛl] means “like,” [bəħɛl
bəħɛl] means “exactly like” in Moroccan Arabic
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Conversion
Clipping
Blends
Backformation
Acronyms
Onomatopoeia
Coinage/word manufacture
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Conversion: an existing word is assigned to a new category without undergoing
any change.
- Ice: Don’t slip on the ice (noun).
- Ice: Ice that bruise to keep it from swelling (verb).
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Clipping: abbreviating or shortening
a word by deleting one or more syllables
- Phone for telephone
- Fridge for refrigerator
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Blends:Nonmorphemic
parts of two words are combined to form a new word
- Brunch from breakfast and lunch
- camcorder from camera and recorder
- smog from smoke and fog
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Backformation: An
affix or what looks like one is removed to create a new word
- liposuct from liposuction
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Acronyms: The initial letters of each word or a phrase are taken to create a
new word
- SCUBA (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus)
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Onomatopoeia: Words
created from sounds that represent those sounds
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Coinage: Words are
created willfully from scratch
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| Page 7 - Teaching |
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American Sign Language The sign language used by the deaf community in the United States.
Test of English for International Communication. A standardized exam for Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English to conduct business. It is used by some businesses, predominantly in Asia, in hiring.
Test of English as a Foreign Language. A standardized exam from Educational Testing Services that is intended to determine the general capability of an NNSE to use English as the language of insruction .It is used as an admissions requirement by most US universities and colleges for international students.
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. A term that encompasses both TEFL and TESL. It is the name of the professional organization to which many teachers belong. TESOL the organization has many regional affiliates both in the US and abroad.
Teaching English as Second Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as a tool necessary for some daily task like instruction, shopping, or interpersonal interactions.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Refers to the activity of teaching the English language as an intellectual, academic pursuit to non-native speakers of English.
Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who acquired English in infancy and young childhood as a first language.
Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a language is that it was encountered in infancy and young childhood as the dominant language of the environment.
Non-Native Speaker of English. Refers to a person who didn't acquire English as a first language, but came to it after another language was established.
Non-Native Speaker. Refers to a person whose relationship to a particular language is that he/she didn't encounter it while initially acquiring language, but came to it after another language was established.
Limited English Proficient. An adjectival phrase used to refer to the same students as ELL refers to. LEP is falling into disuse as it focuses attention on student deficiency rather than on the positive attribute of learning. Is being replaced by ELL.
Second Language. Refers to any language gained subsequent to the first or native language. It is acquired or learned secondarily to the native language. Doesn't refer to the ordinal numbering of languages, only to the relationship of a particular language to a persons native language.
First Language. Refers to the language that an individual encounters as an infant and young child; a persons native language.
English for Specific Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it for highly focused activity, such as for business or for aviation communication.
English as a Second Language Program. refers to a school program that is purposefully structured to provide instruction on the English language to NNSEs. An ESL program does not typically include instruction in any other subjects than English. An ESL program may be a component of a larger ELL program at a school.
English as a Second Language. Refers to the subject matter of the English language and the methodology for teaching the English language to non-native speakers. ESL makes no reference to the subjects other than English, but it is not methodology alone either, it refers to teaching the English language as content area. Typically, ESL refers to the study of English in a country where it is used for at least one daily task, such as instruction, interpersonal relations, or shopping.
English Langauge Learner Program. Refers to a school program that is purposly structured to provide instruction on the English language and instruction in other content areas to English Language Learners.
English Language Learner. Refers to students who are in the process of learning English, whether they are in ESL classes exclusively or a combination of ESL classes and other subject area classes.
English as a Foreign Langauge. Refers to the study of English as an intellectual, academic pursuit, not a a language whose use is necessary or desirable for daily life, although it may be used as a research tool. Typically, EFL is the study of English in a country where English is not a language of instruction or daily interactions, such as in Italy or in Saudi Arabia.
English for Academic Purposes. Refers to the goal of learning English to use it as the language of instruction for other subject areas.
Refers to a school program that is purposely structured so that students will use two languages on a daily basis.
Refers to the use of two languages in any capacity on a daily basis. A bilingual person uses two languages on a daily basis--for work and at home, perhaps, or for different subjects at school. Can also refer to the ability to use two languages, even if not used daily.