A new word or expression or a new meaning of a word

Britannica Dictionary definition of NEOLOGISM

[count]

1)General
features of word-compounding.

2)Structural
and semantic peculiarities of English compounds.

3)Classification
of compounds.

4)The
meaning of compounds.

5)Motivation
of English compounds.

6)Special
groups of compounds.

Word-compounding
is
a way of forming new words combining two or more stems. It’s
important to distinguish between compound words and
word-combinations, because sometimes they look or sound alike. It
happens because compounds originate directly from word-combinations.

The
major feature of compounds is their inseparability
of various kinds: graphic, semantic, phonetic, morphological.

There
is also a syntactic
criterion which helps us to distinguish between words and word
combinations. For example, between the constituent parts of the
word-group other words can be inserted (a
tall handsome
boy).

In
most cases the structural and semantic centre of the compound word
lies on the second component. It shows what part of speech the word
is. The function of the first element is to modify, to determine the
second element. Such compounds (with the structural and semantic
centre “in” the word) are called endocentric.

There
are also exocentric
compounds where the centre lies outside (pickpocket).

Another
type of compound words is called bahuvrihi

– compound nouns or adjectives consisting of two parts: the first
being an adjective, the second – a noun.

There
are several ways to classify compounds. Firstly, they can be grouped
according to their part of speech. Secondly, compounds are grouped
according to the
way the stems are linked together:
morphological compounds (few in number); syntactic compounds (from
segments of speech, preserving articles, prepositions, adverbs).

The
third classification is according to the combinability of compounding
with
other
ways of word-formation:
1) compounds proper (formed by a mere juxtaposition of two stems);

2)
derived or derivational compounds (have affixes in their structure);

3)
converted compounds;

4)
contractive compounds (based on shortening);

5)
compounds based on back formation;

Beside
lexical meanings the components of a compound word have
distributional
and
differential
meanings.
By distributional
meaning
we understand the order, the arrangement of the stems in the word.
The differential
meaning
helps to distinguish two compounds possessing the same element.

The
structural
meaning
of a compound may be described through the interrelation of its
components. e.g. N + Adj (heart-sick
– the relation of cpmparison).

In
most cases compounds are
motivated.
They can be completely motivated, partially motivated, unmotivated.
In partially motivated compounds one of the components (or both) has
changed its original meaning. The meaning of unmotivated compounds
has nothing to do with the meanings of their individual parts.

As
for special groups of compounds, here we distinguish:

a)
reduplicative compounds;

b)
ablaut combinations;

c)
rhyme combinations.

There’s
a certain group of words that stand between compounds and derived.
These are words with so called semi-affixes:
kiss proof
(about
lipstick), fireproof,
foolproof.

Conversion

1)General
problems of conversion in English.

2)Semantic
relations between conversion pairs.

3)
Sources and productivity of conversion.

In
linguistics conversion
is
a type of word-formation; it is a process of creating a new word in a
different part of speech without adding any derivational element. The
morphemic shape of the original word remains unchanged. There are
changes in the syntactical function of the original word, its part of
speech and meaning.

The
question of conversion
has been a controversial one in several aspects. The term conversion
was first used by Henry Sweet at the end of the 19^th
century. The nature of conversion has been analyzed by several
linguists. A number of terms have been offered to describe the
process in question.

The
most objective treatment of conversion belongs to Victoria Nikolaevna
Yartseva. According to her, it is a combined morphological,
syntactical and semantic way of word-formation.

The
process was called “non-affixal
derivation”
(Galperin) or “zero
derivation”.
These terms have drawbacks, because there can be other examples of
non-affixal or zero derivation which are not connected with the
process described at the beginning of the lecture.

The
term “functional
change”
(by Arthur Kennedy) also has short-comings. The term implies that the
first word merely changes its function and no new word appears. It
isn’t possible.

The
word conversion
we
use talking about this way of word-formation is not perfect as well.
It means the transformation of something into another thing, the
disappearance of the first word. But the old and the new words exist
together.

The
largest group
related through conversion consists of verbs
converted from nouns.
The relations of the conversion pair in this case can be of the
following kind:

1)
instrumental relations;

2)
relations reflecting some characteristic of the object;

3)
locative relations;

4)
relations of the reverse process, the deprivation of the object.

The
second major division of converted words is deverbial
nouns
(nouns converted from verbs).

They
denote:

1)
an instance of some process;

2)
the object or the result of some action;

3)
the place where the action occurs;

4)
the agent or the instrument of the action.

Conversion
is not only a highly productive but also a particularly English way
of word-building. There are a lot of words in the English language
that are short and morphologically unmarked (don’t indicate any
part of speech). By short words we mean monosyllables, such words are
naturally more mobile and flexible than polysyllables.

In
English verbs and nouns are specially affected by conversion.
Conversion has restrictions. It’s impossible to use conversion if
verbs cannot represent some process as a succession of isolated
actions. Besides, the structure of the first word shouldn’t be
complicated.

Conversion
is typical not only of nouns, verbs and adjectives, but other parts
of speech as well, even such minor elements as interjections and
prepositions or shortened words.

Shortening

1.
General problems of shortening.

2.
Peculiarities of shortenings.

Shortening
stands apart from other ways of word-formation because it doesn’t
produce new words. It produces variants of the same word. The
differences between the new and the original word are in style,
sometimes in their meaning.

There
are two major groups of shortenings (colloquial and written
abbreviations). Among shortenings there can be polysemantic units as
well.

Shortenings
are classified a) according to the position of the shortened part of
the word (clipped words), b) into shortened word combinations, c)
into abbreviations, d) into blendings.

Among
clipped words there are cases of apocope, aphaeresis, and syncope.
Abbreviations can be read as in the alphabet, as one word.

The
Semantic Structure of English Words

1.General
problems of semasiology. The referential and the functional
approaches to the meaning of English words.

2.Types
of meaning.

3.Change
of meaning.

4.Polysemy.

5.Homonymy.

6.Synonyms,
antonyms and other semantic groupings.

The
branch of linguistic which specializes in the study of meaning is
called semantics or semasiology. The modern approach to semantics is
based on the fact that any word has its inner form which is called
the semantic structure.

There
are two main approaches to the meaning of a word: referential and
functional.

The
referential approach is based on the notion of the referent (the
object the word is devoted to). It also operates the notions of the
concept and word. The word and the referent are related only through
the concept. The drawback of the approach is in the fact that it
deals with psychology mostly.

According
to the functional approach the meaning of a word depends on the
function of the word in a sentence. The approach is not perfect
because it can help us only to compare the meanings of words.
Speaking about the meaning of a word both approaches should be
combined.

The
meaning of a word can be divided into grammatical
and
lexical.
The latter is divided into denotational
and
connotational
meanings. The denotational meaning gives the general idea which is
characteristic of a certain word. The connotational meaning combines
the emotive colour and the stylistic value of a word.

The
smallest elements of meaning are called semes.

There
are words with either only the denotational or the connotational
meaning.

Causes
of semantic changes can be extra
linguistic and
linguistic.
Extra linguistic causes are historical in their nature. Among
linguistic causes we distinguish discrimination of synonyms,
ellipsis, linguistic analogy.

As
for the nature of semantic changes, it is connected with some sort of
association between the old and the new meanings. These associations
can be of two types: of similarity (linguistic metaphor), of
contiguity (linguistic metonymy).

The
result of semantic changes can be seen in denotational and
connotational meanings. The denotational meaning can be generalized
or specialized. The connotational meaning can be worsened or
elevated.

Most
words are polysemantic. Monosemantic words are usually found among
terms and scientific words. The ability of words to have more than
one meaning is called polysemy.
Polysemy exists only in the language system.

The
semantic structure of a polysemantic word may be described as a
combination of its semantic variants. Each variant can be described
from the point of view of their denotational and connotational
meaning.

Polysemy
is closely connected with the notion of the context
(the minimum stretch of speech which is sufficient to understand the
meaning of a word). The main types of context are lexical and
grammatical.

Homonyms
are words identical in sound and spelling or at least in one of these
aspects, but different in their meaning. According to Profesor
Smirnitsky homonyms can be divided into two groups: full homonyms
(represent the same part of speech and have the same paradigm),
partial homonyms (don’t coincide either in their spelling or
paradigm).

Another
classification of homonyms deals with homophones
and homographs.

The
sources of homonyms are phonetic changes, borrowing, word-building
(especially conversion), shortening.

There
are several classifications of various word groups. The semantic
similarity and polarity are connected with synonyms and antonyms.

Synonyms
are words different in sound-form but similar in meaning. According
to Vinogradov synonyms can be divided ideographic, stylistic and
absolute. A dominant
synonym
(in any row of synonyms) is more frequent in communication and
contains the major denotational component of the synonyms in
question.

Antonyms
are words belonging to the same part of speech with some opposite
meaning.

As
for other groups of words, there are hyponyms, hyperonyms, semantic
fields, thematic groups.

The
development of the English vocabulary

1.The
development of the vocabulary. Structural and semantic peculiarities
of new vocabulary

units.

2.Ways
of enriching the vocabulary.

If
the language is not dead, it’s developing all the time. The items
that disappear are called archaisms.
They can be found among numerous lexical units and grammatical forms.

New
words or expressions, new meanings of older words are called
neologisms.
The introduction of new words reflects developments and innovations
in the world at large and in society.

Apart
from political terms, neologisms come from the financial world,
computing, pop scene, drug dealing, crime life, youth culture,
education.

Neologisms
come into the language through

1)productive
ways of word formation;

2)ways
without any pattern;

3)semantic
changes of old words;

4)borrowing
from other languages.

There
are numerous cases of blending, compounding, conversion. Borrowed
words mostly come from French, Japanese, the American variant of the
English language.

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Chapter 8 how words develop new meanings

It has been mentioned that the systems of meanings of polysemantic words evolve gradually. The older a word is, the better developed is its semantic structure. The normal pattern of a word’s semantic development is from monosemy to a simple semantic structure encompassing only two or three meanings, with a further movement to an increasingly more complex semantic structure.

In this chapter we shall have a closer look at the complicated processes by which words acquire new meanings.

There are two aspects to this problem, which can be generally described in the following way: a) Why should new meanings appear at all? What circumstances cause and stimulate their development? b) How does it happen? What is the nature of the very process of development of new meanings?

Let us deal with each of these questions in turn.

Causes of Development of New Meanings

The first group of causes is traditionally termed historical or extra-linguistic.

Different kinds of changes in a nation’s social life, in its culture, knowledge, technology, arts lead to gaps appearing in the vocabulary which beg to be filled. Newly created objects, new concepts and phenomena must be named. We already know of two ways for providing new names for newly created concepts:

making new words (word-building) and borrowing foreign ones. One more way of filling such vocabulary gaps is by applying some old word to a new object or notion.

When the first textile factories appeared in England, the old word mill was applied to these early industrial enterprises. In this way, mill (a Latin borrowing of the first century В. С.) added a new meaning to its former meaning «a building in which corn is ground into flour». The new meaning was «textile factory».

A similar case is the word carriage which had (and still has) the meaning «a vehicle drawn by horses», but, with the first appearance of railways in England, it received a new meaning, that of «a railway car».

The history of English nouns describing different parts of a theatre may also serve as a good illustration of how well-established words can be used to denote newly-created objects and phenomena. The words stalls, box, pit, circle had existed for a long time before the first theatres appeared in England. With their appearance, the gaps in the vocabulary were easily filled by these widely used words which, as a result, developed new meanings.1

New meanings can also be developed due to linguistic factors (the second group of causes).

Linguistically speaking, the development of new meanings, and also a complete change of meaning, may be caused through the influence of other words, mostly of synonyms.1

Let us consider the following examples.

The Old English verb steorfan meant «to perish». When the verb to die was borrowed from the Scandinavian, these two synonyms, which were very close in their meaning, collided, and, as a result, to starve gradually changed into its present meaning: «to die (or suffer) from hunger».

The history of the noun deer is essentially the same. In Old English (O. E. deor) it had a general meaning denoting any beast. In that meaning it collided with the borrowed word animal and changed its meaning to the modern one («a certain kind of beast», R. олень).

The noun knave (O. E. knafa) suffered an even more striking change of meaning as a result of collision with its synonym boy. Now it has a pronounced negative evaluative connotation and means «swindler, scoundrel».

The Process of Development and Change of Meaning

The second question we must answer in this chapter is how new meanings develop. To find the answer to this question we must investigate the inner mechanism of this process, or at least its essential features. Let us examine the examples given above from a new angle, from within, so to speak.

Why was it that the word mill — and not some other word — was selected to denote the first textile factories? There must have been some connection between the former sense of mill and the new phenomenon to which it was applied. And there was apparently such a connection. Mills which produced flour, were mainly driven by water. The textile factories also firstly used water power. So, in general terms, the meanings of mill, both the old and the new one, could be defined as «an establishment using water power to produce certain goods». Thus, the first textile factories were easily associated with mills producing flour, and the new meaning of mill appeared due to this association. In actual fact, all cases of development or change of meaning are based on some association. In the history of the word carriage, the new travelling conveyance was also naturally associated in people’s minds with the old one: horse-drawn vehicle > part of a railway train. Both these objects were related to the idea of travelling. The job of both, the horse-drawn carriage and the railway carriage, is the same: to carry passengers on a journey. So the association was logically well-founded.

Stalls and box formed their meanings in which they denoted parts of the theatre on the basis of a different type of association. The meaning of the word box «a small separate enclosure forming a part of the theatre» developed on the basis of its former meaning «a rectangular container used for packing or storing things». The two objects became associated in the speakers’ minds because boxes in the earliest English theatres really resembled packing cases. They were enclosed on all sides and heavily curtained even on the side facing the audience so as to conceal the privileged spectators occupying them from curious or insolent stares.

The association on which the theatrical meaning of stalls was based is even more curious. The original meaning was «compartments in stables or sheds for the accommodation of animals (e. g. cows, horses, etc.)», There does not seem to be much in common between the privileged and expensive part of a theatre and stables intended for cows and horses, unless we take into consideration the fact that theatres in olden times greatly differed from what they are now. What is now known as the stalls was, at that time, standing space divided by barriers into sections so as to prevent the enthusiastic crowd from knocking one other down and hurting themselves. So, there must have been a certain outward resemblance between theatre stalls and cattle stalls. It is also possible that the word was first used humorously or satirically in this new sense.

The process of development of a new meaning (or a change of meaning) is traditionally termed transference.

Some scholars mistakenly use the term «transference of meaning» which is a serious mistake. It is very important to note that in any case of semantic change it is not the meaning but the word that is being transferred from one referent onto another (e. g. from a horse-drawn vehicle onto a railway car). The result of such a transference is the appearance of a new meaning.

Two types of transference are distinguishable depending on the two types of logical associations underlying the semantic process.

Transference Based on Resemblance (Similarity)

This type of transference is also referred to as linguistic metaphor. A new meaning appears as a result of associating two objects (phenomena, qualities, etc.) due to their outward similarity. Box and stall, as should be clear from the explanations above, are examples of this type of transference.

Other examples can be given in which transference is also based on the association of two physical objects. The noun eye, for instance, has for one of its meanings «hole in the end of a needle» (cf. with the R. ушко иголки), which also developed through transference based on resemblance. A similar case is represented by the neck of a bottle.

The noun drop (mostly in the plural form) has, in addition to its main meaning «a small particle of water or other liquid», the meanings: «ear-rings shaped as drops of water» (e. g. diamond drops) and «candy of the same shape» (e. g. mint drops). It is quite obvious that both these meanings are also based on resemblance. In the compound word snowdrop the meaning of the second constituent underwent the same shift of meaning (also, in bluebell). In general, metaphorical change of meaning is often observed in idiomatic compounds.

The main meaning of the noun branch is «limb or subdivision of a tree or bush». On the basis of this meaning it developed several more. One of them is «a special field of science or art» (as in a branch of linguistics). This meaning brings us into the sphere of the abstract, and shows that in transference based on resemblance an association may be built not only between two physical objects, but also between a concrete object and an abstract concept.

The noun bar from the original meaning barrier developed a figurative meaning realized in such contexts as social bars, colour bar, racial bar. Here, again, as in the abstract meaning of branch, a concrete object is associated with an abstract concept.

The noun star on the basis of the meaning «heavenly body» developed the meaning «famous actor or actress». Nowadays the meaning has considerably widened its range, and the word is applied not only to screen idols (as it was at first), but, also, to popular sportsmen (e. g. football stars), pop-singers, etc. Of course, the first use of the word star to denote a popular actor must have been humorous or ironical: the mental picture created by the use of the word in this new meaning was a kind of semi-god surrounded by the bright rays of his glory. Yet, very soon the ironical colouring was lost, and, furthermore the association with the original meaning considerably weakened and is gradually erased.

The meanings formed through this type of transference are frequently found in the informal strata of the vocabulary, especially in slang (see Ch. 1). A red-headed boy is almost certain to be nicknamed carrot or ginger by his schoolmates, and the one who is given to spying and sneaking gets the derogatory nickname of rat. Both these meanings are metaphorical, though, of course, the children using them are quite unconscious of this fact.

The slang meanings of words such as nut, onion (= head), saucers (= eyes), hoofs (= feet) and very many others were all formed by transference based on resemblance.

Transference Based on Contiguity

Another term for this type of transference is linguistic metonymy. The association is based upon subtle psychological links between different objects and phenomena, sometimes traced and identified with much difficulty. The two objects may be associated together because they often appear in common situations, and so the image of one is easily accompanied by the image of the other; or they may be associated on the principle of cause and effect, of common function, of some material and an object which is made of it, etc.

Let us consider some cases of transference based on contiguity. You will notice that they are of different kinds.

The Old English adjective glad meant «bright, shining» (it was applied to the sun, to gold and precious stones, to shining armour, etc.). The later (and more modern) meaning «joyful» developed on the basis of the usual association (which is reflected in most languages) of light with joy (cf. with the R. светлое настроение; светло на душе).

The meaning of the adjective sad in Old English was «satisfied with food» (cf. with the R. сыт(ый) which is a word of the same Indo-European root). Later this meaning developed a connotation of a greater intensity of quality and came to mean «oversatisfied with food; having eaten too much». Thus, the meaning of the adjective sad developed a negative evaluative connotation and now described not a happy state of satisfaction but, on the contrary, the physical unease and discomfort of a person who has had too much to eat. The next shift of meaning was to transform the description of physical discomfort into one of spiritual discontent because these two states often go together. It was from this prosaic source that the modern meaning of sad «melancholy», «sorrowful» developed, and the adjective describes now a purely emotional state. The two previous meanings («satisfied with food» and «having eaten too much») were ousted from the semantic structure of the word long ago.

The foot of a bed is the place where the feet rest when one lies in the bed, but the foot of a mountain got its name by another association: the foot of a mountain is its lowest part, so that the association here is founded on common position.

By the arms of an arm-chair we mean the place where the arms lie when one is sitting in the chair, so that the type of association here is the same as in the foot of a bed. The leg of a bed (table, chair, etc.), though, is the part which serves as a support, the original meaning being «the leg of a man or animal». The association that lies behind this development of meaning is the common function: a piece of furniture is supported by its legs just as living beings are supported by theirs.

The meaning of the noun hand realized in the context hand of a clock (watch) originates from the main meaning of this noun «part of human body». It also developed due to the association of the common function:

the hand of a clock points to the figures on the face of the clock, and one of the functions of human hand is also that of pointing to things.

Another meaning of hand realized in such contexts as factory hands, farm hands is based on another kind of association: strong, skilful hands are the most important feature that is required of a person engaged in physical labour (cf. with the R. рабочие руки).

The adjective dull (see the scheme of its semantic structure in Ch. 7) developed its meaning «not clear or bright» (as in a dull green colour; dull light; dull shapes) on the basis of the former meaning «deficient in eyesight», and its meaning «not loud or distinct» (as in dull sounds) on the basis of the older meaning «deficient in hearing». The association here was obviously that of cause and effect: to a person with weak eyesight all colours appear pale, and all shapes blurred; to a person with deficient hearing all sounds are indistinct.

The main (and oldest registered) meaning of the noun board was «a flat and thin piece of wood; a wooden plank». On the basis of this meaning developed the meaning «table» which is now archaic. The association which underlay this semantic shift was that of the material and the object made from it: a wooden plank (or several planks) is an essential part of any table. This type of association is often found with nouns denoting clothes: e. g. a taffeta («dress made of taffeta»); a mink («mink coat»), a jersy («knitted shirt or sweater»).

Meanings produced through transference based on contiguity sometimes originate from geographical or proper names. China in the sense of «dishes made of porcelain» originated from the name of the country which was believed to be the birthplace of porcelain.

Tweed («a coarse wool cloth») got its name from the river Tweed and cheviot (another kind of wool cloth) from the Cheviot hills in England.

The name of a painter is frequently transferred onto one of his pictures: a Matisse = a painting by Matisse.1

Broadening (or Generalization) of Meaning.

Narrowing (or Specialization) of Meaning

Sometimes, the process of transference may result in a considerable change in range of meaning. For instance, the verb to arrive (French borrowing) began its life in English in the narrow meaning «to come to shore, to land». In Modern English it has greatly widened its combinability and developed the general meaning «to come» (e. g. to arrive in a village, town, city, country, at a hotel, hostel, college, theatre, place, etc.). The meaning developed through transference based on contiguity (the concept of coming somewhere is the same for both meanings), but the range of the second meaning is much broader.

Another example of the broadening of meaning is pipe. Its earliest recorded meaning was «a musical wind instrument». Nowadays it can denote any hollow oblong cylindrical body (e. g. water pipes). This meaning developed through transference based on the similarity of shape (pipe as a musical instrument is also a hollow oblong cylindrical object) which finally led to a considerable broadening of the range of meaning.

The word bird changed its meaning from «the young of a bird» to its modern meaning through transference based on contiguity (the association is obvious). The second meaning is broader and more general.

It is interesting to trace the history of the word girl as an example of the changes in the range of meaning in the course of the semantic development of a word.

In Middle English it had the meaning of «a small child of either sex». Then the word underwent the process of transference based on contiguity and developed the meaning of «a small child of the female sex», so that the range of meaning was somewhat narrowed. In its further semantic development the word gradually broadened its range of meaning. At first it came to denote not only a female child but, also, a young unmarried woman, later, any young woman, and in modern colloquial English it is practically synonymous to the noun woman (e. g. The old girl must be at least seventy), so that its range of meaning is quite broad.

The history of the noun lady somewhat resembles that of girl. In Old English the word (hlxfdiZq)denoted the mistress of the house, i. e. any married woman. Later, a new meaning developed which was much narrower in range: «the wife or daughter of a baronet» (aristocratic title). In Modern English the word lady can be applied to any woman, so that its range of meaning is even broader than that of the O. E. hlxfdiZq. In Modern English the difference between girl and lady in the meaning of woman is that the first is used in colloquial style and sounds familiar whereas the second is more formal and polite. Here are some more examples of narrowing of meaning:

Deer: | any beast | > | a certain kind of beast |

Meat: | any food | > | a certain food product) |

Boy: | any young person of the male sex | > | servant of the male sex |

It should be pointed out once more that in all these words the second meaning developed through transference based on contiguity, and that when we speak of them as examples of narrowing of meaning we simply imply that the range of the second meaning is more narrow than that of the original meaning.

The So-called «Degeneration» («Degradation») and «Elevation» of Meaning

These terms are open to question because they seem to imply that meanings can become «better» or «worse» which is neither logical nor plausible. But, as a matter-of-fact, scholars using these terms do not actually mean the degeneration or elevation of meaning itself, but of the referent onto which a word is transferred, so that the term is inaccurate.

But let us try and see what really stands behind the examples of change of meaning which are traditionally given to illustrate degeneration and elevation of meaning.

I. «Degeneration» of meaning.

These examples show that the second meaning, in contrast with the one from which it developed, denotes a person of bad repute or character. Semantically speaking, the second meaning developed a negative evaluative connotation which was absent in the first meaning.

Such a readjustment in the connotative structure accompanying the process of transference can be sometimes observed in other parts of speech, and not only in nouns.

E. g. Silly: | happy | > | foolish |

II. «Elevation» of meaning.

Fond: | foolish] > | loving, affectionate |

Nice: | foolish] > | fine, good |

In these two cases the situation is reversed: the first meaning has a negative evaluative connotation, and the second meaning has not. It is difficult to see what is actually «elevated» here. Certainly, not the meaning of the word. Here are two more examples.

Tory: | brigand, highwayman | > | member of the Tories |

Knight: | manservant | > |»noble, courageous man]

In the case of Tory, the first meaning has a pronounced negative connotation which is absent in the second meaning. But why call it «elevation»? Semantically speaking, the first meaning is just as good as the second, and the difference lies only in the connotative structure.

The case of knight, if treated linguistically, is quite opposite to that of Tory: the second meaning acquired a positive evaluative connotation that was absent in the first meaning. So, here, once more, we are faced with a mere readjustment of the connotative components of the word.

There are also some traditional examples of «elevation» in which even this readjustment cannot be traced.

In these three words the second meaning developed due to the process of transference based on contiguity. Lord and lady are also examples of narrowing of meaning if we compare the range of the original and of the resultant meanings. No connotations of evaluation can be observed in either of the meanings. The fact that in all these three cases the original meaning denoted a humble ordinary person and the second denotes a person of high rank is absolutely extralinguistic.

All that has been said and the examples that have been given show that the terms «degradation» and «elevation» of meaning are imprecise and do not seem to be an objective reflection of the semantic phenomena they describe.

It would be more credible to state that some cases of transference based on contiguity may result in development or loss of evaluative connotations.

Exercises

I. Consider your answers to the following.

1. What causes the development of new meanings? Give examples.

2. What is the basis of development or change of meaning? Explain what we mean by the term transference.

3. What types of transference can you name?

4. What is meant by the widening and the narrowing of meaning?

5. Give examples of the so-called «degradation» and «elevation» of meaning. Why are these terms imprecise?

II. Read the following extracts and explain the semantic processes by which the italicized words acquired their meanings

1. ‘Bureau’, a desk, was borrowed from French in the 17thc. In Modern French (and English) it means not only the desk but also the office itself and the authority exercised by the office. Hence the familiar bureaucracy is likely to become increasingly familiar. The desk was called so because covered with bureau, a thick coarse cloth of a brown russet.

(From The Romance of Words by E. Weekley)

2. An Earl of Spencer made a short overcoat fashionable for some time. An Earl of Sandwich invented a form of light refreshment which enabled him to take a meal without leaving the card-table. Hence we have such words as spencer and sandwich in English.

(From The Romance of Words by E. Weekley)

3. A common name for overalls or trousers is jeans. In the singular jean is also a term for a durable twilled cotton and is short for the phrase jean fustian which first appeared in texts from the sixteenth century. Fustian (a Latin borrowing) is a cotton or cotton and linen fabric, and jean is the modern spelling of Middle English Jene or Gene, from Genes, the Middle French j name of the Italian city Genoa, where it was made and shipped abroad.

(From The Merriam-Webster Book of Word Histories)

4. Formally barn meant «a storehouse for barley»; today it has widened to mean «any kind of storehouse» for animals or equipment as well as any kind of grain. | The word picture used to refer only to a representation ;:: made with paint; today it can be a photograph or a representation made with charcoal, pencil or any other ; means. A pen used to mean «feather» but now has become generalized to include several kinds of writing implements — fountain, ballpoint, etc. The meaning of sail as limited to moving on water in a ship with sails has now generalized to mean «moving on water in any ship».

(From Teaching English Linguistically by J. Malmstrom, J. Lee)

III. Read the following extract and criticize the author’s treatment of the examples. Provide your own explanations.

Words degenerate in meaning also. In the past villain meant «farm labourer»; counterfeiter meant «imitator» without criminal connotations, and sly meant «skilful». A knave meant a «boy» and immoral meant «not customary», and hussy was a «housewife».

Other words improve in meanings. Governor meant «pilot» and constable meant «stable attendant». Other elevations are enthusiasm which formally meant «fanaticism», knight which used to mean «youth», angel which simply meant «messenger» and pretty which meant «sly». No one can predict the direction of change of meaning, but changes occur constantly.

(From Teaching English Linguistically by J. Malmstrom, J. Lee)

IV. Explain the logical associations in the following groups of meaning for the same words. Define the type of transference which has taken place.

1. The wing of a bird — the wing of a building; the eye of a man — the eye of a needle; the hand of a child — the hand of a clock; the heart of a man — the heart of the matter; the bridge across-the-river — the bridge of the nose; the tongue of a person — the tongue of a bell; the tooth of a boy — the tooth of a comb; the coat of a girl — the coat of a dog.

2. Green grass — green years; black shoes — black despair; nickel (metal) — a nickel (coin); glass — a glass; copper (metal) — a copper (coin); Ford (proper name) — a Ford (car); Damascus (town in Syria) — damask; Kashmir (town in North India) — cashmere.

V. Analyse the process of development of new meanings in the italicized words in the examples given below.

1.I put the letter well into the mouth of the box and let it go and it fell turning over and over like an autumn leaf. 2. Those v/ho had been the head of the line paused momentarily on entry and looked around curiously. 3. A cheerful-looking girl in blue jeans came up to the stairs whistling. 4. Seated behind a desk, he wore a light patterned suit, switch from his usual tweeds. 5. Oh, Steven, I read a Dickens the other day. It was awfully funny. 6. They sat on the rug before the fireplace, savouring its warmth, watching the rising tongues of flame. 7. He inspired universal confidence and had an iron nerve. 8. A very small boy in a green jersey with light red hair cut square across his forehead was peering at Steven between the electric fire and the side of the fireplace. 9. While the others were settling down, Lucy saw Pearson take another bite from his sandwich. 10. As I walked nonchalantly past Hugo’s house on the other side they were already carrying out the Renoirs.

VI. Explain the basis for the following jokes. Trace the logical associations between the different meanings of the same word.

1. Father was explaining to his little son the fundamentals of astronomy.

«That’s a comet.»

«A what?»

«A comet. You know what a comet is?» «No.»

«Don’t you know what they call a star with a tail?»

«Sure — Mickey Mouse.»

2. «Pa, what branches did you take when you went to school?»

«I never went to high school, son, but when I attended the little log school-house they used mostly hickory and beech and willow.»

3. What has eyes yet never sees? (Potato)

4. H e (in telephone booth)’. I want a box for two.

Voice (at the other end): Sorry, but we don’t have boxes for two.

He: But aren’t you the box office of the theatre? Voice: No, we are the undertakers.

VII. In the examples given below identify the eases of widening and narrowing of meaning.

1. While the others waited the elderly executive filled his pipe and lit it. 2. Finn was watching the birds. 3. The two girls took hold of one another, one acting gentleman, the other lady; three or four more pairs of girls immediately joined them and began a waltz. 4. He was informed that the president had not arrived at the bank, but was on his way. 5. Smokey had followed a dictum all his life: If you want a woman to stick beside you, pick an ugly one. Ugly ones stay to slice the meat and stir the gravy.

VIII. Have the italicized words evaluative connotations in their meanings? Motivate your answer and comment on the history of the words.

1. The directors now assembling were admirals and field marshals of commerce. 2. For a businessman to be invited to serve on a top-flight bank board is roughly equivalent to being knighted by the British Queen. 3.1 had a nice newsy gossip with Mrs. Needham before you turned up last night. 4. The little half-starved guy looked more a victim than a. villain. 5. Meanwhile I nodded my head vigorously and directed a happy smile in the direction of the two ladies. 6.1 shook hands with Tom; it seemed silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child.

IX. Read the following. Find examples of «degeneration» and «elevation» of meaning. Comment on the history of the words.

1. King Arthur invented Conferences because he was secretly a Weak King and liked to know what his memorable thousand and one knights wanted to do next. As they were all jealous knights he had to have the memorable Round Table made to have the Conferences at, so that it was impossible to say which was top knight.

(From 1066 and All That by C. W. Sellar, R. J. Yeatman)

2. Alf: Where are you going, Ted?

Ted: Fishing at the old mill.

Alf: But what about school?

Ted: Don’t be silly. There aren’t any fish there!

X. Try your hand at the following scientific research. Write a short essay on the development of the meanings of three of the following words. Try to explain each shift of meaning. Use «The Shorter Oxford Dictionary» or «The Merriam-Webster Book of Word Histories».

Fee, cattle, school, pupil, nice, pen, gossip, coquette, biscuit, apron, merry, silly, doom, duke, pretty, yankee.

A neologism () (from Greek νέο- néo(=»new») and λόγος /lógos, meaning «speech, utterance») is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted into mainstream language.^[1] Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology.^[2][3] In the process of language formation, neologisms are more mature than protologisms.^[4] A word whose development stage is between that of the protologism (freshly coined) and neologism (new word) is a prelogism.^[5]

Popular examples of neologisms can be found in science, fiction (notably science fiction), films and television, branding, literature, jargon, cant, linguistics, the visual arts, and popular culture.

Former examples include laser (1960) from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation; robot (1941) from Czech writer Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots);^[6] and agitprop (1930) (a portmanteau of «agitation» and «propaganda»).^[7]https://books.google.com/books?id=I3FDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT7%7Cdate=December

BackgroundEdit

Neologisms are often formed by combining existing words (see compound noun and adjective) or by giving words new and unique suffixes or prefixes. Neologisms can also be formed by blending words, for example, «brunch» is a blend of the words «breakfast» and «lunch», or through abbreviation or acronym, by intentionally rhyming with existing words or simply through playing with sounds. A relatively rare form of neologism is when proper names are used as words (e.g., boycott, from Charles Boycott), guy, Dick, and Karen.

Neologisms can become popular through memetics, through mass media, the Internet, and word of mouth, including academic discourse in many fields renowned for their use of distinctive jargon, and often become accepted parts of the language. Other times, they disappear from common use just as readily as they appeared. Whether a neologism continues as part of the language depends on many factors, probably the most important of which is acceptance by the public. It is unusual for a word to gain popularity if it does not clearly resemble other words.

History and meaningEdit

The term neologism is first attested in English in 1772, borrowed from French néologisme (1734).^[8] In an academic sense, there is no professional Neologist, because the study of such things (cultural or ethnic vernacular, for example) is interdisciplinary. Anyone such as a lexicographer or an etymologist might study neologisms, how their uses span the scope of human expression, and how, due to science and technology, they spread more rapidly than ever before in the present times.^[9]

The term neologism has a broader meaning which also includes «a word which has gained a new meaning».^[10][11][12] Sometimes, the latter process is called semantic shifting,^[10] or semantic extension.^[13][14] Neologisms are distinct from a person’s idiolect, one’s unique patterns of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

Neologisms are usually introduced when it is found that a specific notion is lacking a term, or when the existing vocabulary lacks detail, or when a speaker is unaware of the existing vocabulary.^[15] The law, governmental bodies, and technology have a relatively high frequency of acquiring neologisms.^[16][17] Another trigger that motivates the coining of a neologism is to disambiguate a term which may be unclear due to having many meanings.^[18]

LiteratureEdit

Neologisms may come from a word used in the narrative of fiction such as novels and short stories. Examples include «grok» (to intuitively understand) from the science fiction novel about a Martian entitled Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein; «McJob» (precarious, poorly-paid employment) from Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland; «cyberspace» (widespread, interconnected digital technology) from Neuromancer by William Gibson^[19] and «quark» (Slavic slang for «rubbish»; German for a type of dairy product) from James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.

The title of a book may become a neologism, for instance, Catch-22 (from the title of Joseph Heller’s novel). Alternatively, the author’s name may give rise to the neologism, although the term is sometimes based on only one work of that author. This includes such words as «Orwellian» (from George Orwell, referring to his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four) and «Kafkaesque» (from Franz Kafka).

Names of famous characters are another source of literary neologisms. Some examples include: Quixotic, referring to a misguided romantic quest like that of the title-character in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes;^[20] Scrooge, a pejorative for misers based on the avaricious main character in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol;^[21] and Pollyanna, referring to people who are unfailingly optimistic like the title-character of Eleanor H. Porter’s Polyanna.^[22]

CantEdit

Polari is a cant used by some actors, circus performers, and the gay subculture to communicate without outsiders understanding. Some Polari terms have crossed over into mainstream slang, in part through their usage in pop song lyrics and other works. Example include: acdc, barney, blag, butch, camp, khazi, cottaging, hoofer, mince, ogle, scarper, slap, strides, tod, [rough] trade (rough trade).

Verlan (French pronunciation: ​[vɛʁlɑ̃]), (verlan is the reverse of the expression «l’envers») is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words.^[23]: 50 Some verlan words, such as meuf («femme», which means «woman» roughly backwards), have become so commonplace that they have been included in the Petit Larousse.^[24] Like any slang, the purpose of verlan is to create a somewhat secret language that only its speakers can understand. Words becoming mainstream is counterproductive. As a result, such newly common words are re-verlanised: reversed a second time. The common meuf became feumeu.^[25][26]

Popular cultureEdit

Neologism development may be spurred, or at least spread, by popular culture. Examples of pop-culture neologisms include the American Alt-right (2010s), the Canadian portmanteau «Snowmageddon» (2009), the Russian parody «Monstration» (ca. 2004), Santorum (c. 2003).

Neologisms spread mainly through their exposure in mass media. The genericizing of brand names, such as «coke» for Coca-Cola, «kleenex» for Kleenex facial tissue, and «xerox» for Xerox photocopying, all spread through their popular use being enhanced by mass media.^[27]

However, in some limited cases, words break out of their original communities and spread through social media.^{[citation needed]} «DoggoLingo», a term still below the threshold of a neologism according to Merriam-Webster,^[28] is an example of the latter which has specifically spread primarily through Facebook group and Twitter account use.^[28] The suspected origin of this way of referring to dogs stems from a Facebook group founded in 2008 and gaining popularity in 2014 in Australia. In Australian English it is common to use diminutives, often ending in –o, which could be where doggo-lingo was first used.^[28] The term has grown so that Merriam-Webster has acknowledged its use but notes the term needs to be found in published, edited work for a longer period of time before it can be deemed a new word, making it the perfect example of a neologism.^[28]

TranslationsEdit

In Danish a bag-in-box wine is known as papvin literally meaning «cardboard wine». This neologism was first recorded in 1982^[29]

Because neologisms originate in one language, translations between languages can be difficult.

In the scientific community, where English is the predominant language for published research and studies, like-sounding translations (referred to as ‘naturalization’) are sometimes used.^[30] Alternatively, the English word is used along with a brief explanation of meaning.^[30]
The four translation methods are emphasized in order to translate neologisms: transliteration, transcription, the use of analogues, calque or loan translation.^[31]

When translating from English to other languages, the naturalization method is most often used.^[32] The most common way that professional translators translate neologisms is through the Think aloud protocol (TAP), wherein translators find the most appropriate and natural sounding word through speech.^{[citation needed]} As such, translators can use potential translations in sentences and test them with different structures and syntax. Correct translations from English for specific purposes into other languages is crucial in various industries and legal systems.^[33][34] Inaccurate translations can lead to ‘translation asymmetry’ or misunderstandings and miscommunication.^[34] Many technical glossaries of English translations exist to combat this issue in the medical, judicial, and technological fields.^[35]

Other usesEdit

In psychiatry and neuroscience, the term neologism is used to describe words that have meaning only to the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning.^[36] This can be seen in schizophrenia, where a person may replace a word with a nonsensical one of their own invention (e.g., «I got so angry I picked up a dish and threw it at the geshinker»).^[37] The use of neologisms may also be due to aphasia acquired after brain damage resulting from a stroke or head injury.^[38]

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neologisms.

• Neologisms in Journalistic Text
• Interpretation of the Formation of Internet Neologisms Archived 2018-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
• Fowler, H.W., «The King’s English», Chapter I. Vocabulary, Neologism
• Algeo, John. Fifty Years among the New Words: A Dictionary of Neologisms, 1941–1991 ISBN 0-521-41377-X
• Wordspy
• Rice University Neologisms Database
• Neologisms from the Internet – with Esther Dyson, Jimmy Wales and more… Archived 2011-10-04 at the Wayback Machine