CHAPTER 2.

BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES

Main issues: A. Affixation; Prefixation Suffixation B. Compounding C. Blending D. Telescoping E. Reduplication Learning objectives By the end of this chapter you will be able to: describe the word building mechanisms creating new words or lexical formations through an addition of (a) letter(s) to already existing words; recognize types of affixes, classify them and distinguish between affixes and possibly similar groups of phonemes; distinguish compound from blended, telescoped or reduplicative words and use them knowledgeably; Introduction This chapter describes the processes through which words enrich or expand their stem or base so as to produce new words to unfold new meanings and uses (seen from the grammatical perspective). These new patterns resulting from the various types of associations are the most numerous at the level of the English lexicon. That is why, their description will be fairly detailed: a knowledgeable acquisition of prefixes and suffixes will provide both for a better understanding of the meaning of words and for their correct use. Words can become structurally richer by means of affixation or derivation, by way of compounding or composition, by blending and telescoping as well as by repetition or reduplication. This is a particular word creating pattern whereby lexical formations join one and the same word through lexical repetition with or without any phonetic change within the repeated elements of the compound. Its particularity lies in its being equally a sort of compounding as well as a sort of phonetic alteration (where either vowels or consonants are substituted on account of rhyming purposes). A. AFFIXATION Affixation is the process by means of which new words are yielded by adding a prefix or a suffix to another word - named base from now on with or without a change of its word-class. This process was proven to have been among the solutions to which speakers resorted as early as the Old English period in order to express subtler shades of thought or feeling (Baugh and

CHAPTER 2. Cable 1991:64). The language of that period showed great flexibility and a capacity for bending old words to new uses. The previously mentioned two authors demonstrate how complicated things were as from the same root more than a hundred words were formed by means of suffixes and prefixes (Baugh and Cable 1991: 65).
Base word + Base word prefix md (n) spirit mind pride boldness Base word + suffix mdig (adj) spirited high-minded arrogant bold mdfull (adj) mdleas (adj) Base word + infix + suffix mdiglic mdignes mdigian

Unmd despondency

The single root md is shown to yield a variety of derivatives, whose range is greatly extended by the ease with which compounds are formed. The stem md becomes a base to which the suffix ig is added, thus forming a new base to which a new suffix, -nes is added, thus producing the abstract noun mdignes. The reapplication of the same patterns shows that even nowadays it is possible to derive words of considerable morphological and semantic complexity. The productivity of the English vocabulary is almost unlimited either if the base takes all types of affixes or if one root accepts just prefixes, which will be shown, for a simple demonstration. For the former statement the examples suggested by Quirk et al. (1978): (1) friend (2) friend-ly (3) un-[(friend)-ly] (4) {un-[(friend)-li]}-ness noun noun adjective adjective adjective adjective noun

With the help of three affixes more than three new words, belonging to different lexical classes were created. Wood (1969: 116), on the other hand, is interested in demonstrating the productivity of one stem to which he adds as many different suffixes as possible. Thus, the simple Latin root vert- (to turn), was recorded with the following variants: convert, pervert, retrovert, controvert, introvert, extrovert, invert, revert, advert, subvert, divert, etc. The author emphasizes that many of the suffixed words belong to the learned vocabulary since they represent the creation of scholars, but in the course of time many of them have been assimilated by the general word stock.

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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES Types of affixes Affixes mainly fall into two major groups, the prefixes and the suffixes, with two minor categories of morphemes, the infixes and the interfixes. Out of these four specific terms, the last, interfix, is hardly used in lexicology, for the simple reason that it has no semantic meaning; it more frequently known as a linking element, for example in galvanoscope < Galvani + the interfix o - + scope). Interfixes may be illustrated by a-, -i- and s-, in addition to that already presented. Infixes are those meaningful letters or groups of letters found in the middle of a word (inserted within the root). Due to our highly practical purposes only prefixes and suffixes will be considered. The literature of specialty frequently describe affixes to provide general information, as Bill Bryson (1980: 74) does it, when he refers to the affixal flexibility of English: English has more than one hundred common prefixes and suffixes pre-, dis-, anti-, -able, -ness, -ment, and with these it can form and re-form words with a facility that yet again sets it apart from other languages. Take, for example, the French word mutin (rebellion) and turn it into mutiny, mutinous(ly), mutineer, and many others, while the French have still just one form, mutin. 1. Prefixation Prefixes are defined as (Richards, Platt, Platt, 1993: 286) a letter or sound or group of letters or sounds which are added to the beginning of a word, and which change the meaning or the function of the verb. Wood (1969: 116) mentions that beginning with second half of the 19th century, prefixes have been employed much more extensively than suffixes. A classification of prefixes may be based on their origin, as well as on the meaning or the impact (or the effect they exercise) on the base they are added to. In point of their origin, present-day English prefixes may be of Greek, Germanic, Latin or Anglo-Saxon extraction. Prefixes of Latin origin include, among others: - ambi- both : ambivalence, ambidextrous, - ante- 1. a) prior: antedate; b) anterior: anteroom; 2. a) prior to: earlier than: antediluvian; b) in front of: antechoir - pre- 1. earlier than, prior to; 2. in advance, beforehand; 3.in front of, anterior to, prehistoric, premedical, premodern, premodification, preaxial - post- 1. after, subsequent, later; 2. subsequent to, later than ; 3. posterior to postcolonial, postdate, postatomic, postorbital, precaution, preliminary, prerequisite - ex- 1. out of, outside ; 2. not ; 3. former : exclave, exstipulate, ex-president - con- with, together, jointly (com- before b, p, m and col before l) concentrate, collaborate, commingle - per- 1. throughout, thoroughly: 2. a: containing the largest possible or a relatively large proportion of a (specified) chemical element b: containing an element in its highest or a high oxidation state: perchloroethylene, perchloric acid - inter- 1: between : among : in the midst: intercrop, interpenetrate, interstellar; 2: reciprocal interrelation, 3: located between: interface, 4: carried on between
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CHAPTER 2. international, 5: occurring between interborough, 6: shared by, involving, or derived from two or more interfaith; 7: between the limits of: within intertropical, 8: existing between: intercommunal - extra- outside, beyond extrajudicial - super- 1 a (1): over and above: higher in quantity, quality, or degree than : more than superhuman (2): in addition: extra supertax b (1): exceeding or so as to exceed a norm superheat; (2): in or to an extreme or excessive degree or intensity supersubtle c: surpassing all or most others of its kind superhighway; 2 a: situated or placed above, on, or at the top of superlunary; specifically : situated on the dorsal side of b: next above or higher supertonic; 3: having the (specified) ingredient present in a large or unusually large proportion superphosphate; 4: constituting a more inclusive category than that specified superfamily; 5: superior in status, title, or position superpower; superabsorbent, superactiv - sub- 1: under: beneath: below: subsoil, subaqueous; 2 a: subordinate: secondary: next lower than or inferior to substation, subeditor; b: subordinate portion of: subdivision of subcommittee, subspecies; c: with repetition (as of a process) so as to form, stress, or deal with subordinate parts or relations sublet, subcontract; 3: less than completely, perfectly, or normally: somewhat subacute, subclinical; 4a: almost: nearly suberect; b :falling nearly in the category of and often adjoining bordering on subarctic - circum- around, about circumpolar - a-, ab-, abs-, from: abuse, abnormal - bi- twice: bilingual, bipartition - co-, com-, con- with: co-ordinate, commute, connect - de- down, separation, depriving of: depend, depart, deform - non- negative meaning: non-sense - sub- under: subdue, support, subject, sub-technical Prefixes of Germanic origin: - a- on, in, off, from ashore, away, asleep - be- about, over in besprinkle; thoroughly in bewitch; denominative in behead, belittle, cover with in besnow - for- off, away: forget, forbid, forsake - mis- badly: mistake, mislead - out- out of: outcome outrun, more than, exceed: outnumber, outlive - with- against: withdraw, withstand Prefixes of Greek origin: - a-, an- (not): anarchy, - di- twice: diphthong, dilemma; (two): bicycle, bifocal, bilingual, dichotomy, diode, dioxide - ec- (out from): eccentric, ecstatic - poly-, multi- (many): polychomotous, polygyny, polysulfide, polyethylene, polymer - semi-, 1. a) precisely half of semidiameter; b) half in quantity or value semiannual, semiliterate, semimonthly; 2. to some extent, partly, incompletely semiindependent, semidry. 3. a) partial, incomplete, semidarkness, b) having some of
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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES the characteristics of semiporcelain; c) quasi: semigovernmental, semimonastic. - demi-, (less productive hemi-, chiefly scientific) (half): demijohn - tri- (three) : trimester, triangle, tripod - uni-, mono-, (one): unilateral, unisex, monolith - extra- (exceptionally): extraordinary - extra- (outside, beyond): extrajudicial, extracurricular - neo- (new, revived): neo-classical, neonatology - paleo-/pale- a) involving/dealing with ancient forms/conditions paleobotany; b) early, primitive, archaic paleolithic - pan- (all, worldwide) pan-Slavic, pan-orthodox - proto- (first, original) : proto-language, prototype - syn-(with, along with, together): synclinal, syntax - tele- (distant): telephone, television, - vice- (deputy): vice-president, vice-king Some of the Greek and Latin prefixes are extensively used in the scientific and technical terminologies: inter(action), super(vision), auto(matic), macro(molecule), micro(structure), mono(cellular), poly(chrom), syn(chronic). Prefixes of Anglo-Saxon origin are very few and they include un- which means in, or non, as in the cases of unambitious, unskilled, undressed and contrary to, as in unconstitutional ; the intensive for-, which at one time was attached to a fairly large number of words, has now disappeared almost completely, surviving only in a few cases like forlorn (=completely lost), forbid, forgive, forget, forgo, the last of which sometimes appears as forego, a misspelling due to confusion, false etymology or mistaken analogy. The prefixes of Anglo-Saxon include:
Prefix forMeaning from, out of, away Examples beran (to bear), risen (to arise), settan (to pace), wakan (to awake) galan (to sing) an intensifier which forbrnan (to burn up), fordn (to fordo, to kill, to usually indicates destroy), forsettan (to obstruct), forheard (very hard) destruction reinforcing meaning ofslan (to stike off, to slay), ofton (to take away) negative meaning mislcian (to dislike) negative meaning onbindan (to unbind), onlcan (to unlock), deprivative ormd (without courage), oreald (of great age), orieldu (extremely old age) separation tbrecan (to break to pieces), tdrfan (to drive apart, to scatter), negative/pejorative uncrrft (evil practice, guile), unhold (unfriendly), meaning unweder (bad weather) deprivative/negative wanhl (unhealthy), wanhoga (thoughtless man) meaning around ymbgang (circuit, circumference)

ofmisonortunwanymb-

Many of the Old English prefixes lose their force and they cease to create new combinations in Middle English. Out of the few active Old English prefixes
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CHAPTER 2. in Middle English for- forhang = to put to death by hanging, forcleave=to cut to pieces, forshake= to shake off. Combined with words borrowed from French (such as: forbar, forcover, fortravail), none of these formations lived long and the prefix has become obsolete. With- (against) was productive in Middle English: withdraw, withgo, withsake. Withdraw and withhold have survived together with the Old English withstand, but other formations were replaced by later borrowings from Latin, as withsay was replaced by renounece, withspeak by contradict and withset by resist. Semantically, prefixes may be classified into several classes, suggesting: a) negative meaning
prefix aanmeaning lacking in-of lacking in/of (chiefly used in learned and scientific lexicon) not, the converse of not, the converse of example amoral, atemporal, agnostic anion, anhydrous

disinil- (before /l/) im- (before labial consonants) ir- (before /r/)

disclose, discover, disregard inconsistent, inconvenient illiterate, illegal, illegitimate immeasurable, immature, immaculate irresponsible, irreparable

b) reversative or privative meanings

prefix dedisunmeaning (i)reversing the action + verbs/deverbal nouns (ii)depriving of + verbs/deverbal nouns (i)reversing the action (ii) lacking (i) reversing the action (ii) depriving of, releasing from example decentralize, defreeze decapitate, deforestate, disconnect, disinfect discolour undo, unzip, uncover unseat, unhorse,

c) locative meaning prefix foreinterintrasubsupertransmeaning front part of, front between, among in, within under above across

example forepick, foreword interrelate, international intraorganizational, subway, subcontract, subclynical superordinate, superstructure transatlantic, transorient
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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES d) orientation and attitude

prefix anticounterpromeaning against + denominal adjectives/nouns against, in opposition to for, in favour of, on the side of example anti-unionist, anti-semite counterpart, counterexample proactive, pro-American

e) time and order prefix exforeremeaning former before again, back

example ex-communist, ex-king forego, forearm, foretop, foreleg rewrite, reread

f) pejorative meaning prefix malmispseudomeaning bad, badly wrongly false, imitation

example malfunction mislead, misjudge pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-scientific

g) degree or size meaning prefix most, supreme archcohyperminioutoversupermay have a pejorative effect on equal footing extreme, beyond, excessive sometimes with a pejorative meaning little (combines freely and especially informally) surpassing + nouns/verbs excessive (hence pejorative) + verb more than, very special, on top, hierarchically superior

example archbishop /archangel archenemy, archfascist co-editor, co-author hypermarket, hyperaesthetic, hyperacute, hyperendemic mini-skirt, minicourse, minibus, outnumber, outlive, outcast overdo, overflow supervisor, superintendent

Finally, some prefixes are productively limited and are mainly used in literature:
prefix abePrefix meaning + predicative adjectives: (i) along with ed: wearing, surrounded by (ii) intensifies the force of verbs (iii) + nouns transitive verbs + nouns verb to put into + nouns verb to put into example asleep, aloud, afloat bespectacled, bespattered berate, bedevil bewitch, befriend, belittle, endanger embitter, empower

enem(before b, p, m)

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CHAPTER 2.

Exercises 1. Consider the following text: Like her father, she caused her intimates untold pain; unlike him, she fully intended to this inability to put up with imperfection and unresponsiveness from a theatre manager, a critic, an audience or a lover surely derived from her fathers obstinate energy. (TLS, January 11, 2002, p. 17)
a) translate the text into Romanian b) give two examples of prefixes expressing direction and quantity;

2. From the list below select your examples to fill in the table: Semi-, per-, inter-, extra-, pan-, proto-, super-, sub-, paleo-, intra-, di-, dis-, un-, fore-, mini-, co-, dys-, en-, re-, transPrefixes With two meanings

With one meaning

With more meanings

3. Anti- is a prefix with two meanings, (a) opposed to and (b) preventing from happening. Read the sentences below and write A or B, depending on the meaning the prefix has in its context. Drivers use antifreeze in their radiators to prevent the water from freezing in colder seasons. [ _ ] None of the anti-government manifestations has been successful so far. [ _ ] Avon produces an impressive number of antiaging products. [ _ ] The General took control of the army at the height of the anti-Ceausescu protests. (CollisCobuilt English Guides Word Formation, 1991: 197) [ _ ] An antibiotic is a semisynthetic substance derived from a microorganism and able to inhibit or kill a microorganism. [ _ ] 4. Out- is a prefix with two meanings, (a) out of and (b) more than, exceed. Read the sentences below and write A or B, depending on the meaning the prefix has in its context. Common output formats are printed paper, sound, video and on-screen documents. They let the computer communicate with the user. The most common output device is the monitor or VDU (or Video Display Unit). (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/hardware/0inputandoutp utdevicesrev4.shtml, accessed April 2013)
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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES If you outdo someone, you are a lot more successful than they are at a particular activity. accessed (http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/outdo, April 2013) Max Lucados newest book Outlive Your Life is an attempt to answer some of these concerns. http://blog.prodigalpaul.com/2010/11/11/review-outlive-your-life-bymax-lucado/ accessed April 2013) 5. Several prefixes have a negative meaning. Look at the words in the list and match them with their appropriate prefixes: dis-, il-, non-, un-, in-, imSecure, capacity, happy, polite, do, sense, obey, like, regard, legitimate, friendliness, reliable, compressible, possible, smoker 6. Pre- is a prefix with two meanings, (a) one thing happens before another and (b) something has already been done. Pre- may also appear in words without being a prefix. Read the sentences below and write A, B or C, depending on the meaning the prefix has in its context. Pre-Christmas is my favourite time of the year. [ _ ] I have rarely used the print preview function, whenever printing my documents. [ _ ] Prefixes may be of help in learning new words. [ _ ] The jury were supposed to decide, on the provided evidence, whether the murder was premeditated in his actions. [ _ ] His family wanted him to be a preacher. [ _ ] Preparations ready, hey headed for the taxi. [ _ ] Papers were requested to include a preamble. [ _ ]
7. Select the prefixes which express pejorative overtones: 1. a. fore2. a. anti3. a. malb. interb. counterb. misc. intrac. proc. pseudo-

8. Select the prefixes which express locative meanings: 1. a. fore2. a. ex3. a. disb. interb. preb. dysc. intrac. postc. hypo-

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CHAPTER 2. 2. Suffixation The force of a language is given by its capacity to form new words and meanings on the basis of internal resources and patterns. Use of traditional word creation patterns is of prime importance for the encoder and decoder of a message to recognize and use many terms without having to learn them separately, one by one. Suffixation is nearly as old as the English language, for the Anglo-Saxons made fairly extensive use of it, taking a simple root-word (usually a noun or an adjective) and adding a suffix to express a related idea. Wood (1969: 115) Suffixes may be represented by one or more letters or sounds which are added to the end of a word, and which result in a change of the meaning or of the function of the word. Since two purposes are assigned to suffixes meaning change and function change they may be divided into meaning-changing or lexical suffixes and function-changing or grammatical suffixes. Grammatical suffixes are also known as inflections, which are those letters or groups of letters conveying morphological information. In the table below you will find examples of lexical and grammatical suffixes:
Lexical/derivational suffixes worker: -er (noun-forming suffix) Grammatical/inflexional suffixes He works here. (-s: 3rd person singular ending for present tense indicative of main verbs) He asked for water. (-ed past tense) He had his works published in q new edition last year. (-s: plural inflection) He is working now. (-ing present participle + be = progressivity) Johns (possession) children (irregular plural inflection)

organize: -ize (verb-forming suffix) Upwards: -wards (adverb-forming suffix) mountaineer: -eer (noun-forming suffix) cupful: -ful (noun-forming suffix) Ibsenism: -ism (noun-forming suffix)

The parenthetical explanation is familiar in grammar books where rules dealing with (regular or irregular) plural of nouns, tense or aspect forms, possession relationships exemplify such suffixes. They will hardly be relevant to lexicological approaches. The suffix function of interest to lexicology is that of changing the grammatical function of the base. Thus, according to the word class that results after suffixation, there exist noun forming suffixes, verb forming suffixes, etc. Unlike prefixation, suffixation may also produce stress shifts, like in /simultaneous/, /simultaneity/. In terms of their productivity, suffixes may be divided into productive or living ones (-less, -ish, -y, -ling, -ness, -ate, -ous, -mentist/-ism, -ette), and nonproductive or obsolete (-dom, -ship, -th), which are either very rarely or no longer used to make new words. Many of the living suffixes are of French origin, though by analogy they are often attached to Saxon roots.
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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES The most frequently used of all at the present time is probably ee, from the French past participle termination, -. Employee and nominee are two of the earlier examples, but others are being made almost daily and not always with strict regard to the grammatical significance of the termination. Examples may also include referee, refugee, evacuee, internee, examinee, consignee, payee, drawee, devotee. Unlike prefixes, suffixes may carry on several meanings which accounts for their polysemantic character. This is the case with ate which is pronounced either [eit] or [t] noun: 1. product (of a specified process), distillate, condensate, 2. chemical, compound or complex ANION: ferrate, phenolate noun of 1. office, function or rank of consulate, doctorate; 2. group of people holding a specified office or rank) or having (a specified function) electorate adjective 1. being in or brought to (a specified state) passionate, inanimate; marked by, having craniate; resembling, having the shape of foliate, primate verb1. act (in a specified way) pontificate; 2. act (in a specified way) upon: insulate, assassinate; cause to become; cause to be modified or affected by: activate, pollinate; provide with: substantiate, aerate One and the same word may be pronounced differently, depending on the position it holds at sentence level: John is a good advocate. [it] John advocates for the cause of the dismissed. [eit] Other examples of this type include graduate, candidate and estimate. In terms of parts of speech they form, suffixes are: i. Noun-forming suffixes In Old English noun-forming suffixes were closely connected to gender, some of them being used in the creation of masculine nouns ( -ere to express occupations fiscere=fisher, wrtere=writer, scribe), some others beprodicung feminine nouns to describe occupations (-estre: spinnestre=woman who spins, bcestre=woman who bakes). The suffix hd (present-day hood) produces masculine nouns: childhd. A few present-day suffixes were initially independent words, such as dm (judgment, law) and lc (gift) in wedlc (wedlock). a. denominal nouns: abstract. This category of suffixes provides the noun bases a value of uncountable abstract nouns, or aggregate nouns of status or activity.
suffix -age -age -al -ate meaning state of action of, instance of action/result of condition of a
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Example(s) bondage, butlerage leverage removal, acquittal, arrival vicarate, emirate, khanate

CHAPTER 2.
-ation exploration, starvation, translation foundation, translation (ii) the product of stardom, freedom state of, condition of (i) the condition, behaviour associated slavery with bakery, nunnery, stationery (ii) location of cutlery, machinery (iii) uncountable concrete aggregate nouns cupful, bottleful, glassful the amount contained in spinsterhood, womanhood, the condition associated with childhood (i) abstract count nouns referring to the wedding, christening occasion of the activity expressed by the base verb farming, cricketing, bowling (ii) activity connected with Innings (durata unui mandat) (iii) abstraction referring to a position validation, installation (i) (result of an) act or process hydration, inflation (ii) state or condition Hinduism, Taoism doctrine of, practice of rapidity, cupidity + (i) adjective of neoclassical or French origin variability + (ii) adjective ending in able, -al, -ar eternity, humility borrowed with the word equipment, development, result of happiness, correctness, state, condition, quality, degree completeness, abstractness, goodness meritocracy, khakiocracy governed by partnership, leadership, the condition associated with (i) the process or state of

-dom -ery, -ry

-ful -hood -ing

-tion -ism -ity

-ment -ness -ocracy -ship

b. denominal nouns: concrete.

suffix -age -ant -ard -eer -ee -er meaning a collection of one that performs a specified action having as dominant characteristic skilled in, engaged in * exception having as dominant characteristic person occupationally concerned with person or thing belonging to or associated with one that does or performs (a specified action) native of, resident of (i) compact (ii) imitation
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Example(s) baggage, prissage claimant, braggard, coward, sluggard, puppeteer, charioteer, engineer to commandeer absentee, guarantee, trustee teenager lawyer, hatter, furrier header, old-timer reporter, film-maker cottager, New Yorker kitchenette leatherette

-ette

BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES

(iii) feminine marker of the type *exceptions: insist, resist, exist, desist, jurist small, unimportant minor, offspring of one that performs a specified action involved in * avocat clandestin (SUA) (i) concrete noun referring to what results from the action of the base verb (ii) concrete nouns in the plural only (iii) uncountable concrete aggregate nouns (iv) occasional uncountable nouns suffragette, usherette communist, economist leaflet, starlet princeling, weanling actor, activator gangster, gamester, mobster shyster filling (in tooth), opening, building earnings, savings, outgoings tubing, piping clothing

-ist -let -ling -or -ster -ing

When a suffix is added to a verb, countable concrete nouns may be produced and they usually have a personal reference. Few examples of productive suffixes will be considered under this heading, and these are: ant, ee, -er/or. Informant and participant will illustrate the first suffix, while addressee and addresser, examinee and examiner, testee and tester, trustee and truster will exemplify the next two formations. Both the suffixes or and er are used to produce animate and inanimate nouns: governor, actor, visitor, administrator, radiator, ventilator, and teacher, heater, dryer, mixer, etc. ii. Noun/adjective-forming suffixes Some suffixes which are active in English may produce both nouns and adjectives
suffix -ese -(i)an meaning (i) member of(nationality / race) (ii) n the language/style of (i) adherent to (ii) relating to (iii) citizen of (iv) n the language of skilled in, practising adherent to, member of Example(s) Panamese, Burmese officialese, legalese, Johnsonese Darwinian Shakespearean Parisian Armenian, Koreean cyclist, stylist, economist, Luddite, shamanite, toxophilite

-ist -ite

iii. Adjective-forming suffixes A number of suffixes were used to form adjectives from nouns as early as Old English: -ede (hocede= hooked), -ihte (stnihte = stony, dyrnihte=thorny)), -en wyllen=woolen), -isc (mennisc= human, natural, folcisc=popular, Welisc=Welsh), -full (carfull, synnfull=sinful). The suffix able/-ible usually suggests a passive meaning (a portable CD player is a kind of player which can be carried or moved about); in some cases it may involve an active or a quasi-active meaning as in perishable able to perish, variable able to vary, comfortable able to comfort; in even fewer case the suffix may suggest both active and passive senses, as is the case with survival, meaning able to be survived a survivable war and able to survive a
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CHAPTER 2. survivable military installation. The suffix able is used both with Anglo-Saxon words readable, drinkable, and with Latin words demonstrable, questionable. The suffix ible, allomorph of the preceding suffix, occurs with words borrowed from or based on Latin, such as audible, credible, edible (< Latin edere to eat), legible (< Late Latin legibilis, < Latin legere to read). It is interesting to show that some fairly uncommon words show two spellings in use: collectable/collectible, discussable / discussible and processable / processible.
suffix -able/ -ible meaning (i) fit for, able to, liable to, worthy to (ii) marked by, providing or possessing (iii) which can be + verb of, related to, which pertains to/comes from one belonging to/having to do with one of such a kind or quality dear little one which is related to having the feature of of the kind that can + verb characterized by related to Example(s) portable, variable, fusible, responsible, compressible breakable, survivable, knowledgeable changeable, degradable atomic, oceanic townie toughie birdie patriarchal, axial, hierarchical

-ic -ie

-al/ial,-ical -(i)ous -ive -ative -ed -esque -ester -ful -ish

-less -like -ling -ly -y

one that is associated with participates in full of, providing (i) somewhat like (ii) approximation when used with ages (iii) with names of races, peoples and languages (vi) not very without, often an antonym of -ful like having the qualities of somewhat like, characterized by dear little one

virtuous, vivacious attractive, creative, inquisitive affirmative, talkative, imaginative aged, crooked romanesque, burlesque, arabesque, statuesque or gamester, youngster, mobster resourceful, hopeful, thoughtful boyish, girlish childish, tallish sixtyish Polish, Finnish, Irish clearish hopeless, helpless, jobless ladylike, weanling, dingaling friendly, monthly cloudy, windy, sony

iv. Verb-forming suffixes Unlike the preceding lexical classes, in the case of verb-forming suffixes there is little to say about productivity. Yet, they were active in Old English, as the examples below show it:
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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES -ettan (bliccetan= to sparkle, cohhettan = to cough, lpettan = to hate, lcettan = to pretend, srettan (to lament) -sian (clnsian = to clean, cleanse, bletsian = to bless, rcsian = to reign) The suffixes which from verbs are quite few (actually, they are four in number) and they are most frequently used in the creation of specialized terminologies, particularly physics, chemistry, physiology, surgery, psychology, etc. The more frequently used are the suffixes ize and ise, the former being derived from the Greek izein, which has a Latin derivative, -izare, while the latter being derived from the French iser (probably used by the majority of people in Britain). The two suffixes are accepted and used by many publishing houses and newspapers nowadays, and in many of the instances they are interchangeable (see, for instance to civilise/civilize; organise/organize; standardise/standardize); some hundred years ago ize was preferred in American English and ise in British English. In fact, present-day dictionaries do mention the ise version of verbs as accepted in British (CCED, 2001). The same inconsistency was found in Samuel Johnsons Dictionary (1755), which included both verbs as baptize, realize and modernise and recognise. Nevertheless, some of the verbs even if ending in ise were not etymologically related to the suffix and they cannot be spelt by replacing it with ize, as is the case with advertise, advise, exercise, improvise, surprise. The yze suffix is purely American in verbs as analyze and paralyze, which are spelt in British yse (analyse, paralyse). The formation of new verbs ending in ize came into being in the 16th century and, derivatives as formalize, economize and popularize are more than 300 years old. The early 19th century witnessed a proliferation of the ize including verbs, which stirred violent criticism on various grounds i.e., they were inelegant, malformed and looked too American. After an interval of castigation, terms as jeopardize or deputize turned into respectable English words; time and practice will tell whether newly created finalize and prioritize will have the same future or they will prove ephemeral and one would hardly know of them in the years to come.

suffix -ize, -ise

1.

2.

-ify -en

1. 2.

meaning a) cause to be, conform to, or resemble b) subject to (a specified action) c) impregnate, treat, combine with d) treat like, make into, treat according to the method of a) become, become like b) engage in (a specified activity) c) experience (a specified feeling) make, form into cause to be, cause to have come to be, come to have
28

example to liquidize, popularize to criticize, hypnotize oxidize, aluminize lionize, proselytize, bowdlerize crystallize philosophize sympathize classify, verify, simplify sharpen, lengthen, steepen, lengthen

CHAPTER 2.
-ate a) act on (in a specified way) b) cause to be modified or affected by c) cause to become d) furnish with insulate camphorate pontificate capacitate

v. Adverb-forming suffixes Unlike the preceding lexical classes of nouns and adjective, adverbs resulting from suffixation are quite reduced in number, as obvious from the table below, which quotes the adverb-forming suffixes mentioned by Quirk et al. (1985: 1556-7):
suffix -ly meaning adjective + -ly adverb + -ly adjective/adverb + -ly adjective in ic + -al + -ly BUT whole, sole involves direction (i) in relation to manner (ii) in relation to dimension (iii) so far as the [+the meaning of the base - noun] is concerned Example(s) carefully, cautiously, prudently hardly, dearly, cleanly scenically, politically, economically, psychologically, physiologically wholly, solely backward(s), forward, onward, clockwise, anticlockwise crosswise education-wise, money-wise, slantwise

-ward(s) -wise

Stylistic values of suffixes Suffixes are used to suggest or to mean positive or negative attitudes on the part of the speakers whose lexical knowledge allows them to appeal to such instruments. Diminutive suffixes emphasize the idea of smallness: -ie or y in birdie, doggy, kiddy, and puppy. -let in budlet, booklet, leaflet. Milder tones and a caressing attitude are also expressed by means of diminutives such as dad, daddy, granny, sonny, auntie, or personal names Nikky, Annie, Betty, etc. Negative feelings as contempt, disapproval, and detachment are associated with the following suffixes: -ard in coward, drunkard, -ism in gangsterism, hooliganism, -ster in gamester, gangster, mobster -ling in princeling, priestling, foundling, weanling. As old as the hills, affixation has largely contributed to the enrichment of the vocabulary of the English language, yielding words which cover the most various registers of the language starting from the direct and rigid terminology of the scientists and going down to the subtleties of the daily formal or informal communication.
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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES Parasynthetic formations. Some words result from a complex process of affixation which exemplifies both prefixes and suffixes. These affixes may have attached to the base simultaneously or the necessity for new terms describing certain processes, notions, etc. may have created them in a certain chronology. The examples below illustrate the simplest pattern, prefix + base + suffix: unforgettable = [[un- + [forget] + -able]] irretrievable = [[[ir- + [re + [trieve < Fr. trouver]] +-able]] deforestation = [[de- + [forest] + -ation]] Nevertheless, English may still provide other more complicated formulae, such as: prefix + infix + base + infix + suffix unforgivingness = [[[un- +[-for +[give] + -ing-] + -ness]]] overindebtedness = [[[over- + [-in- +[debt ]+ -ed-] + -ness]]] decentralization = [[[de- + [[centre] + -al] + -ization]]] The patterns account for the process of simultaneous multiple affixation named parasynthesis. Summary The first part of our lexicological approach to the English language considers affixation, one of the most productive processes which contributes to the enrichment of the vocabulary. The presentation starts from a highly general presentation of affixation, to continue with a classification and brief definition of the basic terms to be used hereafter, prefix, suffix, infix and interfix. This chapter consists of two major subsections: - prefixation, which focuses on etymological and semantic taxonomies, - suffixation, which considers a taxonomy based on the resulting lexical formation. Etymologically, prefixation is based on Greek, Latin, Germanic and a few Anglo-Saxon elements. Semantically, these elements are grouped into several groups out of which the more frequently used are those suggesting such meanings as: - negative - reversative or privative - location - orientation - pejorative Suffixes fall into the following categories: - noun-forming - noun/adjective-forming - adjective-forming - verb-forming - adverb-forming suffixes Very few ideas were mentioned about parasynthesis, which was nevertheless mentioned due to its productivity.
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CHAPTER 2.

Exercises

1. Distinguish between affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes, interfixes) in the examples below: interface, spectrometer, prerequisite, postmodernism, oscilloscope, sportsman, decentralization, statesman, unwillingly, disintegration, disruption, spoonerism. 2. Select of the examples below those suffixes which form abstract nouns:

1. a. -age 2. a. -ard 3. a. -age 4. a. -ocracy

b. -ful b. -eer b. -al b. -ship

c. hood c. ette c. ation c. ism

3. Select of the examples below the noun/adjective-forming suffixes: 1. a. -ed 2. a. -ly 3. a. -ese 4. a. -ist b. -ful b. -y b. -ist b. -ism c. ish c. less c. ite c. -ie

4. Use the following derived words in sentences of your own to illustrate the difference between the words in the pairs: childish childlike, stylist stylish, historic historical, ape-like apish, handy handful, clearly- clearlish. 6. a) Match the definition in column B with the term in column A in the table: A demonarcy binarcy corpocracy foolocracy gerontocracy autarchy hagiocracy adhocracy kakistocracy albocracy B government by the aged government by fools government by two people; diarchy government by an absolute ruler government by corporate bureaucrats government by holy men government by a demon government by white people government by the worst men in the state government in an unstructured fashion; an unstructured organization

6. b) Use two of the above terms in sentences of your own.

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BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES

7. Translate into Romanian and discuss the meanings of the suffix in one of the words below: They moved like monstrous marionettes and made gestures like living things. 9. Add ine, -(i)a or ette to create feminine names from: Paul, Joseph, Gerald, Yves, Cole, Victor, Ulric. 9. Read the explanation below and provide your own examples to fill in the blanks: Latin numerical prefixes normally attach to - mathematical bases -al.. - adjectives of relation -ary .. - groups of musicians -tet . - words for multiples of something -uple - number of years between two events -ennial - number of sides of something -lateral .. - words for large numbers/exponents -ilion - less common categories: o number of leaflets/petals on a leaf/flower -foliate .. o chemical valences; -valent. o division into parts -partite.. 12. Give four examples of parasynthetic formations and describe their structure in terms of lexical elements.

a) c)

b) d)

13. a. Distinguish the pairs of adjectives in the list below:

Logic, historical, economic, magical, economical, historic, electric, electrical, logical, politic, radical, politic, panic, strategical, political, nautical, pontific, ethnic, mimic, magic, ethnical, ludic, pontifical, spheric, stylistic, statistical, mimical.

b. Make four sentences to illustrate the differences in each pair.

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CHAPTER 2.

B. COMPOUNDING Compounding is the coining of new words process by way of combining linguistic elements on the basis of a determinant/determinatum relationship called syntagma. (Marchand 1969). Compounding is an ancient word building process, mentioned even by the Sanskrit grammarians and it was active in all Indo-European languages, and particularly in the Germanic ones. Out of the compounds which were part of the Old English language, linguist historians most frequently exemplify the eighth-century text of Beowulf, which in only a few lines supplies compounds as war-like, war-deeds, walker-in-shaddow, giver-of-rings (Iarovici 1972). The terms of a compound. The determinant/determinatum relationship will be illustrated by the compound sunbeam: the first element performs the determination of beam and it stands for the determinant, while the second element undergoes a semantic restriction or determination and it represents the determinatum. Grammatically, the determinatum is that element of a syntagma which is dominant because, on the one hand, it undergoes inflection and, on the other, it may stand for the whole syntagma. The orthography with compounds. Compounds may be written either solid or open or hyphened and exemplifies flower pot and prize fighter as having all the three variants. Even if the lexicological literature has not established unanimously accepted firm rules concerning the orthography of compounds, yet some famous dictionaries include in their preliminary information some mentions about this aspect. By and large, orthographically, compounds may be grouped into: solid-styled compounds a) compound nouns consisting of two nouns, such as pineapple, typewriter, bookcase b) compound pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions whoever, whenever, whatever, somebody, nowhere, whereon, whereupon, notwithstanding hyphened compounds may also be exemplified with North-American, lighthearted, down-cast. the open-styled compounds grandfathers clock Classification of compounds. These lexical formations may be classified according to the type of composition to be the result of: juxtaposition the mere joining of the elements headache, heartache, etc. composition with a linking element (vowel/consonant) speedometer, statesman preposition- or conjunction-linking son-in-law, up-to-date According to the lexical class compounds belong to, they may be
33

BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES compound nouns, compound adjectives, compound verbs, etc. In what follows the main lexical classes will be considered in general terms without focus on particular cases. Compound nouns are extremely numerous in present-day English and, structurally, they show an impressive number of possible lexical associations intended to make wording as appropriate as possible. Structure of compound nouns: Noun + noun: motor boat, turban stone (headstone) Adjective + noun: blackboard, blackbird Verb + noun: pickpocket, playboy Verb + verb: make-believe Adverb + noun: through train Verb + adverb: drawback Adverb + past participle: by-gones Other combinations are also possible: editor-in-chief, forget-me-not, mother-in-law, merry-go-round, stick-in-the-mud, grandfathers clock, grandmothers clock. Recent creations: weather wear, sit-down strike Particularly productive are the fields of the scientific and technical terminologies, where more than two elements are quite frequent, as in: highway truck loader, drilling rig unit, printed circuit board, Compounding is more productive in the USA, affixation in UK. Compound nouns may be grouped into countable or uncountable or only used in the singular or in the plural. Countable compound nouns include: alarm clock, burglar alarm, heart attack, tea bag, assembly line, contact lens, package holiday, windscreen, blood donour, credit card, pedestrian crossing, windscreen wiper, handcuffs, and youth hostel. Uncountable compound nouns include: data processing, income tax, birth control, family planning, junk food, blood pressure, food poisoning, mail order, cotton wool, pocket money, hay fever (allergy to pollen). Singularia tantum compound nouns or compound nouns always accompanied by the verb in the singular include: arms race (cursa inarmarii), generation gap, mother tongue, human rights, greenhouse effect, death penalty, labour force, sound barrier, welfare state. Pluralia tantum compound nouns or compound nouns always accompanied by the verb in the plural include: grass roots, race relations, luxury goods, road works, kitchen scissors, sunglasses, traffic lights. Compound adjectives are not as numerous as compound nouns, but they are also described by means of various structures, some of them more frequent than the others: Adjective + adjective: dark blue, light crimson Numeral + noun: first-hand (knowledge), second-hand (goods), first-born, second-class ticket, Verb + particle: broken-down (bike), hard-up (/poor immigrant), drive-in, well-off (people), burn-out (house), run-down (/in poor condition area), wornout (boots), built-up (/with lots of buildings neighbourhood) Verb + noun: cut-price
34

CHAPTER 2. Noun + adjective: colour-blind, duty-free, world-famous, sugar-free, interestfee, bullet-proof Adverb + adjective: evergreen Adverb + indefinite participle: easy-going, record-breaking Adverb + past participle: far-fetched Adjective + indefinite participle: good-looking Adjective + noun: long-distance,last-minute Adjective + past participle: remote-controlled Noun + past participle: air-borne, hand-made, air-conditioned, battlehardened, Noun + present participle: self-sacrificing, back-breaking, time-consuming, Adjective + noun + -ed: blue-eyed, stiff-necked, public-spirited, dry-lipped, bright+eyed and bushy-tailed (full of energy, verve and enthusiasm) Compound verbs This category of compounds is less numerous Adjective + verb: whitewash Adverb + verb: broadcast Noun + verb: waylay Verb + verb: drip-dry Stylistic values of compound words. - unidiomatic their meaning constitutes the sum of the meanings of the constituent elements: river-bank, sea-shore, sun-ray, sun-beam, sun flower, etc. - idiomatic their meaning does not equate the sum of the meanings of the constituent elements: a stick-in-the-mud is actually a slow, old-fashioned, unprogressive person - onomatopoeic reduplications: compounds based on repetition, alliteration, assonance, rhyme, etc: quack-quack, bow-wow, cluck-cluck, moo-moo, oink-oink, baabaa.

Exercises 1. Analyze the structure of the following words, and decide whether compound or derived words: Lightheadedness, hypersensitivity, radiculoneuritis, immunodefiency, meningoradiculitis, microhemagglutination, dysrhythmia, dysfunction, undersell, underspend, bionanotechnology, biomolecular, biomedicine, geosciences, microdomain, cyanobacteria 2. Find the compound adjectives in the text below and describe their structure: Tom was a curly-haired, sun-tanned, blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked, thinlipped, broad-shouldered, left-handed, slim-hipped, long-legged, flat-footed, young man, wearing an open-necked shirt, brand-new tight-fitting jeans and opened-toed sandals. (Excerpt from English in Use, page 24)
35

BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES

3. Match the compound adjectives in the text below with their synonyms (in the list under the text) Melissa was an absent-minded, easy-going, good-tempered, warmhearted, and quick-witted if perhaps a little big-headed, two-faced, self-centered and stuck-up at times. Forgetful, relaxed, cheerful, kind, intelligent proud of herself, hypocritical, egotistical and snobbish. (Excerpt from English in Use, page 24) 5. Translate the texts below and draw a list of English and Romanian words which have a similar structure (derivatives, compounds, or reduplications): He shows how intensively they haunted the conceptualization of both authorship and literary text in the late 18th and the early 19th centuries. Groom presents his encounter as a delicate, extra-legal and triumphantly creative negotiation between forgery, authenticity, inspiration and authorship. (The Life of Rowley, Paul Ellis, TLS, April, 26, 2002, p. 36) Jane is not such a weakling as you would make her, he would say. (Charlotte Bront Jane Eyre) You must get as far away as possible from the beach side bus terminals where vast numbers of hoi polloi fetch up from distant and un-cool Rio suburbs. (A Tale of Beauty and the Beach, Financial Times. Travel, Sept. 29-30, 2001, p. 1)

C. BLENDING Blending is a term which originates in Old English (blandan related to blenden to deceive) and which is used in lexicology in relation to words formed by joining together the beginning and the end of two other words. The term blend used in linguistics was recoded early in the 20th century; also blend word, word blend, amalgam, fusion. It is the word building process by means of which a word is produced by combining part of one word with part of another in order to form a new word, carrying with it the ideas behind both the original terms. The result of this type of combination is known as a portmanteau word (because they were like a two-part portmanteau bag) or a blend. There are
36

CHAPTER 2. some very old words that are blends (scratch 15th century), but it seems likely that these were created accidentally. The deliberate formation of new blends is a prominent feature of modern English, which accounts for an increasingly large number of new words, although probably a low proportion of gain lasting/wide currency. Some blends, such as smog (< smoke + fog) and motel (motor + hotel) have become firmly established in the general language, and others (e.g. animatronics, transputer, urinalysis) have become standard in scientific and technical use; they have proved to be useful in expressing something for which no word previously existed, and have the advantage of being quite readily comprehensible to an experienced user of English who has never encountered them before. Although accounted for as a relatively unproductive process, blending has been used to create combination place names: Calexico and Mexicali combine California and Mexico in forms appropriate to the side of the border on which each is found. Business names are created in the same way: a guest-house created Kenricia that is owned and run by a Kenneth and a Patricia. The elements of blends are sometimes presented separately in print: for example, contractions of high technology are commonly hyphenated as high-tech, hi-tech, high-tec, hi-fi. Wood gives examples of blends created by writers who needed specific terms for special situations. Thus, he stated that when he wished to find a name for that part of humanity in his day who considered themselves socially superior because they possessed a gig, Carlyle coined the term gigmanity; to suggest the idea of galloping in triumph, Lewis Carroll invented the verb to galumph. Neither has become part of the English wordstock, but a certain number of others have Wood (1969:123). Lunch is said to have originated in a combination of lump + hunch, brunch (<breakfast + lunch), stagflation (first recorded in 1965, < stagnation + inflation), camcorder (< camera + recorder, which is a video camera combined with a recorder in a portable unit), while vog resulted from volcano + fog. Blending has produced terms which denote hybrids of the English language as a consequence of its position as a global language (which has come into contact with other languages of the world and which shows signs of contaminations). Thus, more flexible linguists admit the existence of Spanglish (Spanish + English), Franglish (French + English), Japglish (Japanese + English), Singlish (Singapore + English), Hunglish (Hungarian + English), Cloglish (< the Clog shoe, the symbol for the Netherlands + English), Netglish (internet + English), etc.

D. TELESCOPING In the 1870s telescope was recorded as a verb. Within telescoping the following mechanism is considered: c) the reduction of a series of words to some of their component syllables
37

BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES (or syllable-like elements) creates new usages as sitrep (< situation report), pixels (< picture + elements) (Trigger, Encyclopedia of Applied Physics, Vol 3, p.60), Saceur (<Supreme Allied Commander Europe), NAVFORKOR (Naval Forces Korea). Wood (1969: 121) considered telescoping to be akin to syncopation (i.e., medial clipping), but here two or more words are combined into one. The verbs to don and to doff are the result of the telescoping of do on and do off. The earliest example of the expression quoted by the Oxford Dictionary is one used adverbially and dated 1300. By 1557, telescoping had taken place and the single word atone had resulted and it was still adverbial in force. Such terms are common in military, industrial and technical usage. Some options are more telescopic than others. The computer language SNOBOL comes from the capitalized elements of StriNg Oriented symBOlic Language. A variety of factors, such as convenience, ease of memorization, suitability of meaning and whimsy, all contribute to the form to be finally adopted. The literature on lexicology, in a wide variety of sources, refers to blending and telescoping under one chapter, i.e., the restructuring of words by omissions, irrespective of the losses at syntagm level. Our distinction favours that part of literature which starts from the literal interpretation of blending (as an association based on two words only, wherein the first half of the first element joins the second half of the second element, as in motel <motor + hotel).

Exercises 1. Match the definitions below with the following words. Give details about their etymology: Bollywood, netizen, docudrama, docusoap, screenager a) a young person who spends a lot of time using computers or surfing the World Wide Web b) a television programme series about the life of real people c) the Indian film industry d) a person who spends a lot of time surfing the World Wide Web e) a television programme or film based on events that really happened ex. Bollywood (<Bombay + Hollywood) 2. Read the parenthetical explanation and distinguish between portmanteau words [B] and telescoped words [T]. Add these capital letters: Oxbridge (<Oxford + Cambridge) [_] Reaganomics (Reagan + economics [_] Amoco (< American oil Company) [_]
38

CHAPTER 2. amatol (<ammonium nitrate and trinitrotoluene) [_] tragi-comedy (<tragedy + comedy), melodrama (<melody +drama) [_] radiogram (< radio-set + gramophone) [_] electrocute ( < electro- + execute) [_] comintern (< communist international - borrowed as such from Russian) [_] camelopard (<camel + leopard, the archaic term used for giraffe) [_] sitcom (<situation + comedy) [_] agitprop (< Russian: office of agitation and propaganda, the word is a noun used to denote political propaganda, especially pro-communist, through literature, drama, music, art, etc.). [_] 3. Distinguish between acronyms (A) and telescoped words (T), paying attention to the parenthetical explanations:
G.R.E.P. (<Globally search for the Regular Expression and Print) CAT (<Computer Assisted Teaching) A.S.C.I.I. (< American Standard Code for Information Interchange) TOPOCOM (<U.S. Army Topographic Command) RINEX (< Receiver Independent Exchange)

Further reading: Hauben, Michael & Ronda (1996) THE NET AND NETIZENS: On the History and Impact of the Net. Chapter one, in wesite http://w2.eff.org/Net_culture/netizen.paper.txt Kolloch, Peter & Smith, Mark (1998) COMMUNITIES IN CYBERSPACE, in wesite http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/csoc/vcommons.htm Paolillo, John (1999) THE VIRTUAL SPEECH COMMUNITY: Social Network and Language Variation on IRC, in wesite http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol4/issue4/paolillo.html

E. REDUPLICATION Reduplication (an act or instance of doubling or reiterating) is a threemeaning term, being used in relation to a word building process, to its result as a whole as well as its elements. The rhyme between the two elements one of which may not even be an independently existing form in English, is the major motivating factor in the formation of new words. Some of them are used in motherese, such as goodiegoodie or no-no, some others in everyday speech: hush-hush, hula-hula, win-win. Established examples reveal repetitions where the consonant in the second element changes: higgledy-piggledy, hob-nob, hubble-bubble, hokey-pokey, hoity-toity, roly-poly, boogie-woogie, willy-nilly, razzle-dazzle, hurdy-gurdy, helterskelter, and teeny-weeny. Recent examples are all nouns: brain-drain, culturevulture, flower-power, gang-band, nitty-gritty, stun-gun and brain drain (highly educated persons leaving their native country to work abroad). Reduplicative words may be the result of vowel change/alteration between the two elements.
39

BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES [i] : riff-raff, shilly-shally, zig-zag, wishy-washy [ii] short /o/: flip-flop, tick-tock, ping pong, dingdong. In their great majority, reduplications are hyphened. There have been noted instances when phonetically similar structures may be taken for reduplications, but their etymology accounts for the coincidence. Consider, for instance, wigwam, wigwag and kowtow. This last example (meaning to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in token of homage, worship, or deep respect) is a verb borrowed from Chinese. These final examples were provided to emphasize that if in the case of many of the reduplications their meaning is easily inferable from the sum of the two elements, in the wigwam-type of words, the meaning of the composing elements is different. Some reduplications may be used as nouns, verbs, and/or adverbs/adjectives: hoity-toity (noun and adjective), flip-flop (noun and intransitive verb), roly-poly (noun and adjective), shilly-shally (noun, adjective, adverb and verb).

CONCLUSIONS
This chapter describes the mechanisms of the English language to enrich its vocabulary through affixation, the addition of prefixes and suffixes which may or may not change the grammatical function of the base they are added to. Compounding joins together two or more bases through juxtaposition (by connecting vowels or consonants), or through a hyphen, to create/associate new meanings to old base words. Combinations of parts of words which lose their first or last syllables result in blending and telescoping, other mechanisms through which new lexical products are produced to fill in lexical gaps. In addition, an extremely high productive mechanism which creates new words by means of compounding is reduplication, a variant of compounding, where the base is repeated in its unaltered form or with a vowel or consonant change.

Exercises 1. Translate into Romanian paying attention to the reduplicative terms: The provenance and quality of the chicken of which he spoke were unquestionably tip-top (The Whole Bird and Nothing But, Philippa Davenport, Financial Times. Travel, Sept. 29-30, 2001, XIII) Heres luck, but chin-chin I do refuse, laughed Fielding, who detested the phrase. Heres to India! (O. Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray, p.167)
40

CHAPTER 2. 2. Match the following reduplications with their definitions: a) b) c) d) helter-skelter namby-pamby bling-bling topsy-turvy

1. ostentatious, over-the-top (jewelry or dress, usually used to demonstrate the wearers wealth) 2. childish and weakly sentimental 3. upset, with the top where the bottom should be 4. in chaotic and disorderly haste 3. Distinguish between onomatopoeia and adjectives. Use two of these examples in sentences of your own. lovey-dovey, moo-moo, shilly-shally, quack-quack, hush-hush 4. Use the following reduplications to produce correct sentences: helter-skelter, shilly-shally, willy-nilly, nitty-gritty, win-win, hocus-pocus, touchy-touchy.

41