Transcript 16.1 how meanings are created

Say, what?
L/O: to explore the processes that allow new
meanings to emerge
Key terms:
Neologism – a new word (generally through science and
technology) (iphone, ipad)
Acronym – a word made of the initial letters of all the words in
a name or a phrase (NASA)
Initialism – a phrase often abbreviated to initial letters used on
a regular basis (NQT)
Trademark erosion/antonomasia – when a company name
or product name takes the place of the object (Hoover)
Portmanteau – another word (and a fancier one!) for blends
(shopping + alcoholic = shopaholic)
Last lesson, we considered some of the languages that have fed into
the English languages. Which languages have highly influenced
English?
Old English
Ask
Eat
Fight
Rise
Folk
French
question
consume
combat
mount
people
Greek/Latin
interrogate
ingest
hostilities
ascend
nation
Write a sentence in Old English, then change it to
French, then Greek/Latin
What can you say about the effects these
languages have had on modern English?
By what processes do meanings emerge?
1. Look at the Coco Chanel example and the
commentary.
Look at how the commentary explains how the use of
language reflects the topic and the function.
Challenge: What about the audience and register?
2. Look back at the Regan and King speeches and
write a brief paragraph about the difference in
language choice alters the register between the texts
and how this might relate to purpose and/or implied
audience?
•Reagan’s speech has a higher Latinate or Greek-derived wordcount; King’s speech has more words of Old English/Norse
origin.
•Does one sound more formal than the other?
•Does the higher frequency of Latinate or Latin loan words
affect the apparent complexity of the text?
•Why might each speaker have adopted his chosen register?
Using appropriate terminology, discuss how
these made-up words might have entered into,
or altered their meanings in, English:
• Spide (verb): To move like a spider; derivational suffixes affect wordclasses. For example, -er usually converts a verb into a noun.
Therefore, removing the –er suffix from concrete noun “spider” could
lead to the verb “spide.”
•
•
•
We’re going to shift our
attention, now, from
etymology and its relation to
Bookaholic (portmanteau/blend word; noun):
register, to processes by which
words and meanings are
Buscar (con. noun):
introduced, changed,
developed… We’re going to
neologists!
Busc (verb;become
derive from buscar):
Using appropriate terminology, discuss how
these made-up words might have entered into,
or altered their meanings in, English:
• PIMAD (acron.):
• SLFR (initialism):
• Clegg (antonomasia/Trademark erosion):
Can you think of any words that have entered the
language via any of the routes/processes
mentioned?
How much do you know about common portmanteau words???