Time axis differentiation

REGISTER, TIME AXIS AND REGIONAL DIFFERENTIATION OF THE VOCABULARY

BACKFORMATION

Blending Mechanism

1. Telescoping Non-ClippedStems

E.g., cinemActress = cinemA + Actress

2. Juxtaposing ClippedStems

a). apocopated stem+ aphaeretic stem

E.g., spam = SPiced + hAM

b). non-clippedstem+ aphaeretic stem

E.g., toytoon = toy + cartoon

3. Overlapping ClippedStems

a). apocopated stem + aphaeretic stem

E.g., smog = SMOke + fOG

b). non-clippedstem+ aphaeretic stem

E.g., beefalo = beeF + bufFalo

Back-formation is the formation of a new word by the removal of (real or apparent) affixes etc. from an existing word; a word that is an instance of this.

A back-formation is revealed by the fact that the date of its first use is later than that of its apparent derivative. The majority of back-formations in English are verbs.

E.g., to typewrite fr. typewritER

to beg fr. beggAR [ME beggen fr. AF begger fr. OF begard fr.

Mdu beggaert mendicant monk]

Back-formation results in the following Morphemic Composition Types:

1. rootwords beg

2. derived words sanitate (fr. sanitation)

3. compoundwords (verbs, as a rule, with asyntacticpremodification of the

verbal stemby noun): to housebreak (to commit the crime of housebreaking)

fr. housebreaker; to housebreak (to train a dog, a cat, etc. to live in the house

with clean habits) fr. housebroken.

Obsolete Words (outdated, no longer in active use): Archaic words (archaisms) and Historisms.

Archaisms:

Lexical archaism, a word that denotes a thing or idea which continues to exist but which is generally named differently nowadays.

E.g., plight – to pledge

ween – to think

betide – to happen to

Grammatical archaism, an archaic grammatical form or structure.

E.g., kine – cows

dost – do

hath – has

Historism, a word that denotes an outdated thing or phenomenon.

E.g., lyre – a stringed instrument of the harp family used in ancient Greece;

musket – a smoothbore shoulder gun used from the late 16th through the 18th century.

Neologism, a new word or word equivalent formed according to the productive structural patterns or borrowed from another language; a new meaning of an established word.

E.g., E-mail, laptop, glasnost, bag lady, etc.

Neologisms may be the result of:

1. Abbreviation: comms fr. Communications; SAD – seasonal affective depression.

2. Affixation: to deselect – to remove from participation;

clothesaholic – a person obsessed with clothes;

genderist – involving unfair discrimination between male and female.

3. Back-formation: to explete – to use an expletive, swear.

4. Blending: magalog (magazine + catalog) – a large magazine-format catalog advertizing mail-order goods.

5. Borrowing: pryzhok (fr. Russian); visagiste (fr. French), intifada (fr. Arabic).

6. Compounding: flesh-pressing – large-scale hand-shaking, especially as a political campaign ploy.

7. Conversion: to Velcro – to be fastened by means of Velcro; to stiff – to be a commercial failure; flop.

8. Semantic change: brilliant (of a weapons system) – capable of extremely precise self-guidance to target individual enemy sites [metaphor]; pink collar – working in a job traditionally held by women of the middle class [metonymy]; to disimprove – to make or become worse [euphemism].

Nonce-word, a word coined and used for a single occasion.

E.g., Every time he gets to the fourth whisky-and-potash [whiskey and soda], he always becomes maudlin about this female. (Wodehouse. Life…) Register (functional style), a system of expressive means peculiar to a specific sphere of communication, related to a level of formality, anywhere on a scale from the extremely formal or ceremonial to the colloquial or slangy, and manifested in syntax, vocabulary, and, possibly, pronunciation.

Vocabulary:

Formal (learned, official, literary, bookish), used in official documents, business correspondence, etc. (officialese, journalese, etc.).

E.g., feasible, commence, whereof, proceed, commodities, repudiate, etc.

Informal (colloquial), used in everyday, informal talk or writing, conversational.

E.g., That was a close shave; you nearly ran over the dog! (Barnhart)

I put down the receiver. The buck had been passed, I thought. (Francis. Dead…)

The intercom buzzed. “Miss Collins returning Mr. Marron’s call.” (Clark. I’ll Be…)

Neutral words form the bulk of the English vocabulary; they are independent of the register and can be used in both formal and informal communication.

Terminology, the system of terms used in a specific field of art, science, etc.

Special terminology: linguistic terminology, medical terminology, radio engineering terminology, etc.

Term, a word or word-group used to name a notion characteristic of some special field of knowledge, industry or culture.

E.g., Linguistic terms: word, syntax, phoneme, suffix, borrowing, polysemy, metaphor, hyponymy.

Scientific terms: proliferation, tractable, trapezium, bacillus, chemical laser, chaology.

Technical terms: quantum, tenon, transmission, ring gear.

Slang, a vastly developed subgroup of non-standard (sub-standard) colloquial words and phrases used in familiar discourse. Slang words are expressive, mostly ironical words serving to create fresh names for some things that are frequent topics of discourse. General slang includes words that are not specific for any social or professional group.

E.g., four-eyes – a person who wears eye-glasses; goosy – touchy, jumpy, sensitive; schmendrick – a stupid person, esp. an awkward and inert nonentity; ratted (Brit.) – drunk; duke it out (U.S.) – to fight with one’s fists.

Rhyming slang (London’s East End cockney slang) – substitutes a rhyme for the word in mind.

E.g., cod’s roe – dough (money)

custard and jelly – telly (television)

bacon and eggs – legs

In speech the actual rhyming word is often omitted.

E.g., I like me glass of pig’s. [Pig’s ear – beer]

That’s worth a lot o’ bees. [Bees and honey – money]

Slanguage (special slang, professional and/or social jargon) is peculiar for some social or professional group.

E.g., U.S. teenage slanguage: newbs – new boys; moon-man – a person not like us; butter – a student who fawns on others, especially on teachers; grungy – shabby, dirty.

College/University student slanguage: to ace – to do very well on a test; rack – female chest, a bed; to scope – to look over at a classmate’s exam paper; frat – a college fraternity.

Afro-American slanguage: a – yes, correct; to zap – to move quickly; a handkerchief head – an Uncle Tom; ripped – intoxicated.

Hauliers’ slanguage: anchor – a brake; Chinese dominoes – a load of bricks; pimple – a steep hill; pipe – a telephone.

Moving-picture slanguage: niggers – blackboards used to ‘kill’ unwanted reflections from the powerful lights; inkies (fr. incandescent) – lights; Gertrude – a giant steel crane with a camera at its head.

Underworld slanguage: to flag – to arrest; dime – a ten-year prison sentence; to make – to rob, steal; rod – a pistol.

Vulgar word (vulgarism), a phrase or word characterizing (used in) coarse, ignorant speech. Vulgar terms are to be used only when one is aware of and desires their strong effect.

E.g., □ shit-all □ – not any; none at all

□ to come □ – to have an orgasm

□ cock □ – the penis

Taboo words, forbidden, prohibited, banned. For the most part these are four-letter words, names or abusive terms. Taboo terms are never to be used.

E.g., ■ nigger ■ – a black person

■ slant-eye ■ – an Asian person

■ fuckhead ■ – a despicable person

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