1、Lecture SixOther Word-formation ProcessesConversionBlendingshorteningConversionA change in word class without the addition of an affix is known as conversion.In other words,conversion is a process by which a word belonging to one word class is transferred to another word class without any change in
2、form.It is a productive device for the creation of new words since there is no restriction on the form.As the distinction between conversion and functional shift(the extension of an existing word to take on a new syntactic function)is not well-defined,conversion is also called functional shift.There
3、 are four major kinds of conversion:from noun to verb,from verb to noun,from adjective to noun and from adjective to verb.Noun verb:to air,to arm,to bottom,to cup,to fish,to mouth,to tooth,e.g.We hold meetings where the residents problems can be aired.They quickly armed themselves with sticks.Prices
4、 are stilling falling,but show no signs of bottoming out.Verb noun:a call,a command,a count,a go,a guess,a look,a walk,e.g.Dont try to eat the whole thing in one go.Hold your breath for a count of ten.Can you wait while I make another call?Adjective verb:to better,to blind,to bold,to brave,to dirty,
5、to empty,e.g.The low sun blinded her as she drove up the hill.You can use your bold to make the information stand out a little more.It was time to brave the rush hour traffic again.Adjective noun:best,poor,rich,blind,convertible,daily,double,e.g.Ill do my best to help you.You can adjust the blinds t
6、o keep out the glare.Id booked two single rooms,but they gave us a double.Auxiliary verbs,adverbs,modal verbs,prepositions,conjunctions,interjections and even affixes can all act as bases for conversion,e.g.He downed his beer and left.The company has had its share of ups and downs.Good binoculars ar
7、e a must for any serious birdwatcher.Are you outout to your parents?Among the different types of conversion,the formation of a verb by converting a noun,adjective or other word is very common.For example,the noun chair becomes the verb to chair,as in chair the meeting.This process is known as a type
8、 of verbification.This type of verbification often involves simple conversion of a non-verb to a verb.Verbified words are often found in colloquial English,where the speaker needs to describe common actions or experiences.Some of the most common words include access,aim,bed,beer,brave,clean,cup,deck
9、,e-mail,fool,impact,pension,ship,train and so on.The formation of a noun by converting a verb,adjective or other word is also very common.This process is often referred to as a type of nominalization.For example,the verb run is used as the noun run,as in I went for a run after work.This type of nomi
10、nalization is widely used as one of the most flexible and creative linguistic devices in English.Although it is very difficult to tell which form arose first,these two types of conversion do exist.Sometimes when a word consisting of two or more syllables undergoes conversion,there is a change in the
11、 stress pattern.BlendingBlending refers to the process of combining parts of two words to form a third word which contains some of the meaning of each part.Blends are compounds that are less than compounds.Among the better-known blends are smog(from smoke and fog),fruice(from fruit and jiuce),glasph
12、alt(from glass and asphalt),modem(from modulator and demodulator)and urinalysis(from urine and analysis).In the formation of a blend,the first part of the first element is added to the second part of the second element.Most blends are nouns,but a few are adjectives such as glitzy(from glitter and ri
13、tzy),and verbs such as skyjack(from sky and hijack).Structurally,there are four common types of blends.The first type of blends is a full word followed by a splinter,e.g.wintertainment(from winter+entertainment),chatire(from chat+satire).Blends can also begin with a splinter,followed by a full word,
14、e.g.cinemenace(from cinema+menace).The second type of blends consists of two splinters.There are two subtypes.In some cases,the beginning of one word is followed by the end of another word,e.g.psychergy(from psychic+energy).In other cases,both splinters are the beginnings of words,e.g.sitcom(from si
15、tuation+comedy).The third type of blends consists of complete overlap,in which a part of the blend belongs to both words,e.g.sexploitation(from sex+exploitation),palimony(from pal+alimony).The fourth type of blends is involves the embedding of one word in another,e.g.entreporneur(from entrepreneur+p
16、orn).A very small number of blends consist of three source words,e.g.intelevisionary(from Intel+television+visionary).Blends are often found in advertising,product names,and magazine and newspaper headings.Blending often results in the creation of new morphemes or in the addition of new meanings to
17、old ones.For example,automobile was originally a combination of Greek autos(self)and Latin mobilis(movable).The element auto became productive as in the words autobiography,autodidact,autograph,autocar and autobus.The second element of automobile also acquired a combining function as in bookmobile(library on wheels)and bloodmobile(blood bank on wheels).
