Chapter
Language change
Lexicon Change
Lexical change
• Formation of new words
• Semantic change
3.1 Word-formation through lexical
change
• nylon, orlon, dacron, rayon
• 尼龙 奥纶 涤纶 人造丝
• Invention/Coinage
– Mostly brand names:
– Kodak, Coke, nylon, Xerox
Blending （混成法 / 拼缀法） :combing parts of two words
– 网络朋友 网络恋爱
网友 网恋
head + word
head + tail
medical+care>medi
smoke+fog>smog care
motorist + hotel>motel telephone+quiz>tel
head + head word + tail
equiz
teleprinter+exchange>telex
situation+comedy>sitcom
tour+automobile>to
Abbreviations/clipping
• Clipped words are created by clipping part of a word, leaving
only a piece of the old word. This way of word-formation is
called clipping ( 截断法 ).
• Four types of clipping:
• i. Front clipping: The deletion occurs at the beginning of the
word.
• phone=telephone, chute=parachute, copter=helicopter
• ii. Back clipping: The deletion occurs at the end of the word.
• ad=advertisement, photo=photograph, lab=laboratory
• gym=gymnastics
iii. Front and back clipping: the
deletion occurs at the both the
end and the beginning
flu=influenza, fridge=refrigerator
v. Phrase clipping: the deletion
occurs in the phrase
zoo= zoological garden
jet=jet propelled plane
pub= public house 酒吧
• Acronymy 首字母缩略法
• Acronymy is the process of word formation by
joining the initial letters of names of social and political
organizations or special noun phrases and technical
terms
acronyms 首字母拼音词
TEFL/tefl/=Teaching English as a Foreign Language
TEFL
TOEFL
TOEFL /toufl/ = Test of English as a Foreign Language
OPEC
OPEC/oupek/=Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Initialisms 首字母缩略词
V.O.A = Voice of America
ID = Identification Card
MIT = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
C.I.D= Criminal Investigation Department
• Acronym 缩略语 : 首字母拼音词
– Acronyms are pronounced as words.
– AIDS, Aids: Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome
– dink(y): double income, no kids
• Initialism 首字母缩略词
• Acronyms are pronounced as sequence of letters.
– AI: artificial intelligence
– a.s.a.p.: as soon as possible
– HIV: human immunodeficiency virus
– PC: personal computer
– RSVP: répondez s’il vous plait (‘please reply’ in
French)
Back-formation 逆构词 :
the opposite process of suffixation.
to peddle peddler
to orate orator
to laze lazy
to greed greedy
to cose cozy
• Back-formation a type of word-formation by which a
shorter word is coined by the deletion of a supposed
affix from a longer form already present in the
language.
• Back-formation 逆构词 :
• the opposite process of
suffixation.
– diagnose < diagnosis
– enthuse < enthusiasm
– laze < lazy
– liaise < liaison
– statistic < statistics
– televise < television
Borrowing
• Activity 1:
• Do you know the meaning of the following
Chinese?
• 布拉吉， 喂得罗， 瓦斯，布丁
Types of loan words
• Loanwords 借词
– au pair, encore [ɔŋ'kɔ:] , kungfu
• Loanblend 混合借词
– coconut: coco (Spanish) + nut (English)
• Loanshift 转移借词
– bridge: meaning as a card game borrowed from
Italian ponte
3.3 Semantic change
• Broadening: (specific to general):
– holiday: holy day (religion) > day for rest
– bird: young bird > any kind
– task: tax > work
– Broadening is a process to extend or elevate
from its specific sense to a relatively general one
3.2 Semantic change
• Narrowing: (general to specific):
– meat: food > special kind of food
– girl: young person > young woman
– deer: beast > a special kind of animal
– Narrowing is a process in which the original
meaning of a word is narrowed to a specific one.
• Meaning shift: as a result of its
metaphorical usage
– bead: prayer > the prayer bead >
small, ball-shaped piece of glass,
metal or wood
• Class shift: conversion to other
word classes
– engineer: person trained in
engineering > to act as an
engineer (N>V)
• Folk etymology: a kind of folk etymology
– Manhattan: man with hat on
– MBA: married but available
– PhD: perhaps have divorced
– golf: Gentlemen Only; Ladies Forbidden
