Blending
Blending
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Examples:
flush (flash + blush)
beefburger (beef + hamburger)
Eurasia (Europe + Asia)
Blending is the formation of new words by
combining parts of two words or a word
plus a part of another word or vice versa.
Blending
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Names of such words:
blends
pormanteau words
Blending
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Patterns of blending
1. head + tail
autocide (automobile + suicide)撞车自杀
motel (motor + hotel) 汽车旅馆
cremains (cremate + remains) 骨灰
Blending
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2. head + head
comsat (communications + satellite)
通讯卫星
Amerind (American + Indian) 美印地安人
sitcom (situation + comedy) 情景喜剧
fansub (fanatic + subtitle) 影迷字幕
Blending
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3. head + word
medicare (medical + care)医疗照顾制度
telequiz (telephone + quiz)电话测试
autocamp (automobile + camp) 汽车野营
Blending
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4. word + tail
netizen (net + citizen) 网民
lunarnaut (lunar + astronaut)登月宇航员
bookmobile (book + automobile)
流动书店
workfare (work + welfare) 劳动福利
Blending
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autocide (automobile + suicide)撞车自杀
sitcom (situation + comedy) 情景喜剧
autocamp (automobile + camp) 汽车野营
workfare (work + welfare) 劳动福利
All the examples are nouns.
Blending
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A few verbs:
guestimate (guess + estimate)估猜
breathalyse (breath + analyse)
对呼吸测酒分析
Words of such are less than formal.
Clipping
Clipping
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Definition
plane (aeroplane)
exam (examination)
taxi (taximeter cabriolet)
Clipping is to shorten a word by cutting a
part off the original and using what
remains instead.
Clipping
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Types of clipping:
1. Front clipping
quake (earthquake)
scope (telescope)
2. Back clipping
memo (memorandum)
disco (discotheque)
Clipping
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3. Front and back clipping
flu (influenza)
fridge (refrigerater)
4. Phrase clipping
pub (public house)
zoo (zoological garden)
Clipping
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Changes:
fridge (refrigerator)
bike (bicycle)
coke (cocoa cola)
telly (television)
pram (perambulator)
Clipping
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The changes are made to conform to the
English ways of spelling and
pronunciation.
Such words are informal, generally used in
conversations.
Acronymy
Acronymy
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Definition:
Acronymy is the process of forming new
words by joining initial letters from
names of social and political organizations
or technical terms.
Words made as such are initialisms
(alphabetism)or acronyms.
Acronymy
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Initialisms
Initialisms pronounced letter by letter
A.D. (Anno Domini)
B.C. (Before Christ)
VOA (Voice of America)
WTO (World Trade Organization)
Acronymy
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Exceptions:
TV (television)
TB (tuberculosis)
ID (identification card/ identity card)
Acronymy
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Acronyms
Acronyms pronounced as normal words
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency
syndrome)
CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)
One letter from each of the words.
Acronymy
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WAVES (Women Appointed for Voluntary
Emergency Service)
TOEFL (teaching of English as a foreign
language)
laser
(lightwave amplification by
stimulated emission of radiation)
radar (radio detecting and ranging)
Acronymy
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Taking one or more letters from one word
and leaving out others.
Hybrid words:
G-man (Government man)
D-Day (Decimalization Day)
V-Day (Victory Day)
Acronymy is very productive.
Sound Reduplication
Sound Reduplication
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Examples:
goody-goody
好好先生
willy-nilly
乱七八糟/不管怎样
shilly-shally
优柔寡断
Sound reduplication is a repetition of a
word form with a little or no change.
Sound Reduplication
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Four types of reduplication:
1. Words imitating natural sounds (equal to
onomatopeic words)
tick-tuck
滴答滴答
ha ha ha
哈哈哈
bow-wow
汪汪汪
cock-a-doodle-doo 喔喔喔
Sound Reduplication
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2. words suggesting alternating movements
ping-pang
乒乓
seesaw
跷跷板/上下起伏
flip-flop
啪嗒啪嗒
Sound Reduplication
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3. Words suggesting ‘instability, non-sense,
insincerity, vacillation’, etc.
fingle-fangle
标新立异
miz-maze
迷津/头脑混乱
higgledy-piggledy 杂乱无章
dilly-dally
三心二意/浪费时间
Sound Reduplication
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4. Words for intensifying
teeny-weeny
小小的
tip-top
顶尖的/出色的
super-duper
了不起/出色
Sound Reduplication
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汉语重叠
1. AABB
热热闹闹 哭哭啼啼 吃吃喝喝
2. ABB/BBA
红希希 黑乎乎 梆梆硬 滚滚圆
3. ABAB
哗啦哗啦 讨论讨论
Sound Reduplication
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4. A里AB
俗里俗气 傻里傻气 莽里莽撞
5. AA
个个 张张 迢迢 堂堂 声声 项项
想想 看看 走走 读读 问问 写写
Backformation
Backformation
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Examples:
editor
edit
butler
butle
laser
lase
diagnosis
diagnose
Backformation is to make new words by
removing the so-called suffixes.
Backformation
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Source words for backformation:
1. Abstract nouns
enthusiasm
enthuse
donation
donate
emotion
emote
Backformation
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2. Human nouns
sculptor
sculpt
author
auth
loafer
loaf
Backformation
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3. Adjectives
drowsy
lazy
drowse
laze
Backformation
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4. Compound nouns and others
merrymaking
merry-make
eavesdropping
eavesdrop
mass-production
mass-produce
Backformation
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Almost all the back-formed words are
verbs.
They are all informal.
Commonization of
Proper Nouns
Commonization
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Definition
Commonizaton is formation of new words
by changing proper names into common
words.
banting = reducing weight by going on a
diet 节食减肥疗法
Banting = a doctor who developed this
cure, hence his name
Commonization
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Types of proper names:
1. Names of people
ampere
French physicist Ampere
farad
British physicist Faraday
ohm
German physicist Ohm
volt
Italian physicist Volta
watt
Scottish inventor Watt
Commonization
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protean
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meaning:
Proteus, a sea deity with the
power to assume different
forms
able to assume different
forms or characters; versatile
Commonization
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quixotic
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meaning:
Don Quixote in the novel
Don Quixote de la Mancha
by Cervantés
extravagantly romantic,
idealistic, chivalrous
Commonization
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bobby
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meaning:
Sir Robert Peel, founder of
London police in early 19th
century
policeman (BrE)
Commonization
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2. Names of places
china
from China
meaning:
porcelain
champagne from Champagne in France
meaning:
wine (of that name)
rugby
from a British Rugby School
meaning:
ball game of rugby
Commonization
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3. Names of books
utopia
from Sir Thomas More's book
Utopia
meaning: an imaginary perfect society
odyssey
from Homer's epic
The Odyssey
meaning: a long journey full of
hardships
Commonization
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4. Tradenames
nylon
尼龙
orlon
奥纶
dacron
的确良
rayon
人造丝
frisbee
飞碟
(音译)
(音译)
(音译)
(义译)
(义译)
Commonization
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Form and part of speech:
boycott (n & v) 19th century Landlord
Captain Boycott
meaning:
refusal or refuse to do
business with
Commonization
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cabal (n & v)
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meaning:
Clifford, Ashley,
Buckingham,
Arlington, lauderdale
(British Ministers)
clique or make secret
plans for political action
Commonization
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Adding suffixes
adjective suffix: -ic, -an, -al, -ist, -ese,
-ish, -esque
Examples: colossal, irenic, stentorian,
Micawberish, picaresque
Noun suffix: -ism, -(i)ne, -age, -ade, -ia,
-ity, -ry
Examples: solecism, morphine, sabotage,
pasquinade, magnolia
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