Back-formation (reversion)

Back-formation or reversion, by which we mean the derivation of new words, mostly verbs, by means of subtracting a suffix or other element resembling it, is a source of short words in the past and an active process at the present time [Kveselevich, 2000: 47; Rayevska, 1979: 96].

The earliest examples of this type of word-building are the verb to beg that was made from the French borrowing beggar, to burgle (совершать кражу со взломом) from burglar (вор-взломщик, ночной грабитель), to cobble (чинить, латать обувь) from cobbler (сапожник, занимающийся починкой обуви), to edit from editor, to peddle (торговать вразнос) from peddler (коробейник, разносчик), etc. In all these cases the verb was made from the noun by subtracting what was mistakenly associated with the English suffix –er/-or. The pattern of the type to work > worker, to write > writer, to paint > painter was firmly established in the subconsciousness of English-speaking people at the time when these formations appeared, and it was taken for granted that any noun denoting profession or occupation is certain to have a corresponding verb of the same root. So, in the case of the verbs to beg, to burgle, to cobble, to edit, to peddle the process was reversed: instead of a noun made from a verb by affixation (as in painter from to paint, writer from to write, worker from to work), a verb was produced from a noun by subtraction. That is why this type of word-building received the name of back-formation or reversion [Antrushina, 1999: 119].

Back-formation or reversion may be found in the formation of words belonging to different parts of speech:

a) verbs made from names of agent with the suffixes -er, -or, -our/-eur, -ar, -rd, e.g, broker > broke; wafter > waft (нести, нестись, доносить); hawker > hawk (разносчик, уличный торговец – торговать вразнос); sculptor >sculpt; benefactor >benefact (благодетель – благодетельствовать);

b) verbs made from nouns with the suffix -ing, e.g. kittling > to kittle (детеныш – приносить детенышей); awning > to awn (навес из холста – укрывать навесом); quisling > to quisle (квислинг, предатель – быть предателем, предать родину);

c) verbs made from nouns with abstract suffixes - ence, -tion, -sion, -is, -y, -ment,

-age, -ery, e.g. reminiscence > to reminisce, infraction > to infract (нарушение правила, закона – нарушать правила, закон); television > to televise, emplacement > to emplace;

d) verbs made from adjectives, e.g. luminescent > to luminesce (светящийся – светить); frivolous > to frivol (пустой, легкомысленный – бессмысленно растрачивать [время, деньги]);

е) nouns made from adjectives, e.g. greedy> greed; nasty >nast; cantankerous (сварливый, придирчивый) > cantanker (сварливость, придирчивость) [Rayevska, 1979:96-97]. It is to be remarked that the most active type of back-formation in Modern English is derivation of verbs from compounds that have either -er or -ing as their last element, e.g.:

to air-conditon < air-conditoner, air-conditioning;

to force-land < forced-landing;

to finger-print < finger-printing;

to straphang < straphanger;

to babysit < baby-sitter;

to house-break < house-breaker (взломщик, громила);

to house-clean < house-cleaner;

to house-keep < to house-keeper;

to bootleg < bootlegger (торговец контрабандными спиртными напитками);

to wirepull < wirepuller (лицо, держащее нити в своих руках; политический интриган).

Here we have the merging of two types of word-building: compounding and back-formation.

The process of back-formation may easily be paralleled in other languages. Cf. the Russian: садить > cад; видеть > вид.

7) Reduplication – Удвоение (повторение звукового состава слова)

Reduplication is a very interesting type of English word-building because of its national specificity. It is the most wide-spread type among the semi-productive types of word-formation in Modern English. In reduplication new compound words are made by doubling a stem (often a pseudo-morpheme), e.g. bye-bye, ta-ta, goody - goody (xaнжa), din-din, riff-raff (подонки общества, отбросы), tick-tack (тиканиe; часики; биение сердца), clitter-clatter (болтовня), fuddy-duddy (ворчун), hokey-pokey (дешевоe мороженое), hoity-toity (шум, беспорядок), willy-nilly (волей-неволей), dilly-dally, wishy-washy, tip-top, teeny-weeny, see-saw, etc.

According to D.I. Kveselevich, reduplicative compounds fall into three main subgroups;

1) Reduplicative compounds proper whose ICs are identical in their form, e.g. murmur, frou-frou (шуршание шелка), thump-thump (тук-тук), blah-blah (чепуха, вздор), pooh-pooh (v., относиться с пренебрежением), willy-willy (ураган), etc.

2) Ablaut [ ] (gradational) compounds whose ICs have different root-vowels, e.g. ping-pong, chit-chat, bibble-babble (болтовня), dilly-dally (v., колебаться), nid-nod (v., кивать), knick-knack (n., безделушка, украшение), zigzag (v.,делать зигзаги), flimflam (n., вздор,ерунда; трюк), tiptop (a., превосходный), fiddle-faddle (n., пустяки), flip-flop etc.

3) Rhyme compounds whose ICs are joined to rhyme, e.g.: helter-skelter (суматоха, беспорядок), walkie-talkie (переносная рация), namby-pamby (сентиментальность), higgledy-piggledy (полныйбеспорядок), holus-bolus (залпом), hanky-panky (обман, проделки), nolens-wollens (волей-неволей), etc.

This type of word-building is greatly facilitated in Modern English by the vast number of monosyllables. Stylistically speaking, most words made by reduplication represent informal groups: colloquialisms and slang, they are stylistically and emotionally colored.

In the Russian language there are also words made by reduplication, e.g.: дурак-дураком, чин-чином, давным-давно, кишмя-кишит, ревмя-ревет, нос к носу and so on. These Russian words are also stylistically and emotionally colored.

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