Transcript Development of English 8

New lexical items
How and why does the language
expand?
Sources:
• new phenomena (e.g. technology)
cyber-space, computer, telephone
• changes in thinking, movements
politically correct, fascism, meritocracy,
environmental ‘green’
• mass media: news, literature, songs,
entertainment
bollywood, synthesizer, saxophone,
movie, teaser, blurb, trailer
• Jargon (p.68), slang (p.67), slogans(p.66)
• other?
1. Single words
Affixation (prefixes and suffixes)
• disinformation
• megabucks
• understandable
• downsize
• outsource
Borrowing / Loan words + loantranslation (calque)
Loan words
• déjà vu
• kibbutz
• yoghurt
Loan-translation (calque)
• superman
• worldview
• brainwashing
Eponymy: brand-names, names of
people, mythological references,
places
• hoover
• kleenex
• sandwich
• herculean task
• a babel of voices
Blending
• pictionary
• brunch
• chocaholic
Acronyms and initials
Initials
• e.g
• BBC
Acronyms
• radar
• asap
• scuba
• NATO
Clipping (p.70)
• bus
• pub
• fridge
• cute
• movie
Compounding
• snowshoe
• housewarming
• brainstorm
Functional shift
(noun to adjective – universal)
• impact (n to v)
• produce (v to n)
• pioneer (n to v)
• good (adj to adv)
Onomatopeia
• grunt
• cackle
• growl
• murmur
• bang
• ring
• click
Meaning shift or extension
• Similarity in form or function
mouse, docking, search engine, site
• Metaphorical extension or metonymy
cut and paste, negotiating table, arms
• Euphemism
bathroom, restroom, pass away, make love
Coinage
• googol
• blurb
• cyber
Chunks
Phrasal verbs
• copy in
• send up
• take over
• take off
Pairs (x and x, x or x)
• prim and proper
• cut and paste
• bright and early
fixed collocations
• couch potato
• spotted kingfisher
• juggling act
• chief of staff
• free market
• force of gravity,
Loss of items
• Because:
– The referent has disappeared (old-fashioned
clothes, horse-drawn vehicles)
– Unacceptable / distasteful (cripple, backward
child)
– Replaced by something more fashionable
(rucksack / backpack, singer / vocalist)
– Their original meaning has been taken over
by something sex-related (intercourse, gay)
‘Stagnation’ of items
• Cliché (phrases, often metaphorical, which
have lost their impact because of over-use
(p.71)
– each and every
– goes without saying
– to have something up one’s sleeve
– in this day and age / at the present time
Grammar
Distinctive aspects of English
morphology and syntax
• very little inflection  significance of word order
• ’s possessive vs. of
• No grammatical gender
• Aspect in verbs (progressive, perfect)
• operator verbs be, do, have
• inversion for question forms
• negative verb forms with do
• modal verbs
Changes in PDE
• the use of get for possessive and passive
…but will such trends continue? Or reverse?
Punctuation
How would you punctuate the
following:
• honorifics (mister, doctor, professor…)
• dates
• addresses
• entries in bibliographies
• lists
• direct speech
Possibilities:
•
Honorifics:
– Mr. / Mr
•
Dr. / Dr Prof. / Prof
Dates
– May 31st 2007, May 31, 31st May, 2007,
31/5/07, 5/31/07
• Addresses
– 21, Green Street,
LONDON N.W.3.
– The Edinburgh Building
Shaftesbury Road
Cambridge CB2 2RU
• Entries in bibliographies
– Titles of books: italics or underlined?
– Articles: in quotation marks or not?
• Lists
I need to buy salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar
You can get in touch with people in various ways: by
writing a letter; by sending an email; by talking on the
telephone; by ‘chatting’ on the Web….
• Direct speech:
“Oh yes!” she said. ‘Oh yes!’ she said.
She said: “Oh yes!” She said: ‘Oh yes!’
- Oh yes!
For next time
• Do the assignment at the bottom of p.64
• Optional: read the chapter on the comma
by Lynn Truss