1

- 2021 -

E.D.I.
LINGÜÍSTICA

Cuadernillo Teórico – practico

1° Año de la Carrera del

Profesorado de Ingles

I.E.S Aguilares
Tucumán - Argentina
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CONTENTS

What is language? 3

Definition of language. 4

Speech and Writing 5

Features of language. 7

Displacement, Cultural Transmission 8

Differences at a glance. 9

Forewords:
This theory-practice handbook is intended to serve as class material for students attending EDI Linguistics at the 1° year at the English

Teaching Training Career. Other uses are not permitted.

Sergio A. Rojas
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1. What is language?
Whole class:
1. Define the term “language” in your own words.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………..-

Animal and Human Communication

If someone asked you what separates humans

from other animals, one of the first things that
would probably come to mind is language.
Language is so fundamental to human life that
it's hard to imagine what life would be like
without it. In fact,

the original term for language referred to it as part of the body—language is

derived from the Latin word lingua, meaning tongue. Barnett highlights the
inseparability of language from man when he says, “Verbal communication is
a condition of the existence of human society.”
But at the same time, other animals also communicate: Your cat may let you
know when its hungry, ants use sounds to indicate social status and distress,
bees dance to tell one another where to find honey, dogs raise their ears and
show their teeth to show they are angry and chimpanzees can learn sign
language.
So when we think of language as a way of setting ourselves apart, what is it
about our language that is different than how other animals communicate?

ACTIVITY 1: ( )
Professor Marc van Oostendorp of the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics discusses three of the
major differences between human and animal communication; this article will examine these
differences and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onp5caCVV6w

ACTIVITY 2: Whole class: (Discuss)

1. Do animals have a “language”?

2. When does a “language” disappear or die?
3. How do we learn our mother language?
4. What is more predominant, written or spoken language?
5. Are there spoken languages only?
6. What other types of languages do you know?
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7. Why do we say that English has become “an international language”? Why? How?

A definition of language:

A language is a system of conventional signals used for communication by a

whole community. This pattern of conventions covers a system of significant
sound units (the phonemes), the inflexion and arrangement of “words”, and
the association of meaning with words.

ACTIVITY 3 : (Pair work) .

1. Read the text below and contrast it with your own definition of language.
2. Identify in the text some specific characteristics of a language.

i. _______________________ v. _______________________
ii. _______________________ vi. _______________________
iii. _______________________ vii. _______________________
iv. _______________________ viii. _______________________

3. Those characteristics correspond to some of the branches of Linguistics, such as

Grammar, Phonology, Morphology, Semantics, etc. Identify phrases in the text that may
correspond to those disciplines.

Grammar: Morphology:

…………………………………… ……………………………..

Phonology: Semantics :

…………………………………. ………………………………

Vocabulary:
Inflexion: the process of adding an affix to a base or root of a word. e.f. hard - harder

Phoneme: the smallest significant sound units capable of carrying meaning. e.g. cat /k/ /æ/ /t/ ( 3
phonemes)
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Arrangement: the act of putting things in order.

2. SPEECH and WRITING.

Pre-reading discussion:

1. How do children learn their mother language?

2. How does the child begin to make use of speech?
3. Point out two differences in learning L1 and L2.
4. What´s the relationship between age and language acquisition?

ACTIVITY 1: Read the text below and the answer the questions. Underline words or phrases
that may describe what “Speech” is. Then, answer the questions. PAIR WORK.

Speech versus Writing

The purpose of all language is to communicate - that is, to move thoughts or
information from one person to another person.
There are always at least two people in any communication. To communicate,
one person must put something "out" and another person must take something
"in". We call this "output" and "input" .

 I speak to you (OUTPUT: my thoughts go OUT of my head).

 You listen to me (INPUT: my thoughts go INtO your head).
 You write to me (OUTPUT: your thoughts go OUT of your head).
 I read your words (INPUT: your thoughts go INtO my head).

So language consists of four "skills": two for output (speaking and writing); and
two for input (listening and reading. We can say this another way - two of the
skills are for "spoken" communication and two of the skills are for "written"
communication:

Spoken:
>>> Speaking – mouth (auditory aid)
<<< Listening – ear (auditory aid)

Written:
>>> Writing – hand (visual aid)
<<< Reading - eye
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What are the differences between Spoken and Written English? Are there
advantages and disadvantages for each form of communication?

Status

When we learn our own (native) language, learning to speak comes before
learning to write. In fact, we learn to speak almost automatically. It is natural.
But somebody must teach us to write. It is not natural. In one sense, speaking is
the "real" language and writing is only a representation of speaking. However,
for centuries, people have regarded writing as superior to speaking. It has a
higher "status". This is perhaps because in the past almost everybody could
speak but only a few people could write. But as we shall see, modern
influences are changing the relative status of speaking and writing.

Differences in Structure and Style

We usually write with correct grammar and in a structured way. We organize

what we write into sentences and paragraphs. We do not usually use
contractions in writing (though if we want to appear very friendly, then we do
sometimes use contractions in writing because this is more like speaking.) We
use more formal vocabulary in writing (for example, we might write "the car
exploded" but say "the car blew up") and we do not usually use slang. In
writing, we must use punctuation marks like commas and question marks (as a
symbolic way of representing things like pauses or tone of voice in speaking).

We usually speak in a much less formal, less structured way. We do not always
use full sentences and correct grammar. The vocabulary that we use is more
familiar and may include slang. We usually speak in a spontaneous way,
without preparation, so we have to make up what we say as we go. This
means that we often repeat ourselves or go off the subject. However, when we
speak, other aspects are present that are not present in writing, such as facial
expression or tone of voice. This means that we can communicate at several
levels, not only with words.

Durability

One important difference between speaking and writing is that writing is

usually more durable or permanent. When we speak, our words live for a few
moments. When we write, our words may live for years or even centuries. This is
why writing is usually used to provide a record of events, for example a
business agreement or transaction.

Speaker & Listener / Writer & Reader

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When we speak, we usually need to be in the same place and time as the
other person. Despite this restriction, speaking does have the advantage that
the speaker receives instant feedback from the listener. The speaker can
probably see immediately if the listener is bored or does not understand
something, and can then modify what he or she is saying.
When we write, our words are usually read by another person in a different
place and at a different time. Indeed, they can be read by many other
people, anywhere and at any time. And the people reading our words, can
do so at their leisure, slowly or fast. They can re-read what we write, too. But the
writer cannot receive immediate feedback and cannot (easily) change what
has been written.

How Speaking and Writing Influence Each Other

In the past, only a small number of people could write, but almost everybody
could speak. Because their words were not widely recorded, there were many
variations in the way they spoke, with different vocabulary and dialects in
different regions. Today, almost everybody can speak and write. Because
writing is recorded and more permanent, this has influenced the way that
people speak, so that many regional dialects and words have disappeared. (It
may seem that there are already too many differences that have to be
learned, but without writing there would be far more differences, even
between, for example, British and American English.) So writing has had an
important influence on speaking. But speaking can also influence writing. For
example, most new words enter a language through speaking. Some of them
do not live long. If you begin to see these words in writing it usually means that
they have become "real words" within the language and have a certain
amount of permanence.

Influence of New Technology

Modern inventions such as sound recording, telephone, radio, television, fax or

email have made or are making an important impact on both speaking and
writing. To some extent, the divisions between speaking and writing are
becoming blurred. Emails are often written in a much less formal way than is
usual in writing. With voice recording, for example, it has for a long time been
possible to speak to somebody who is not in the same place or time as you
(even though this is a one-way communication: we can speak or listen, but not
interact). With the telephone and radiotelephone, however, it became
possible for two people to carry on a conversation while not being in the same
place. Today, the distinctions are increasingly vague, so that we may have, for
example, a live television broadcast with a mixture of recordings, telephone
calls, incoming faxes and emails and so on. One effect of this new technology
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and the modern universality of writing has been to raise the status of speaking.
Politicians who cannot organize their thoughts and speak well on television win
very few votes.

WORKSHEET Nº1:
INSTRUCTION: Read the texts "Speech vs Writing” and complete the following chart with
words or phrases that characterize each category.

PAIR WORK: You have to work with a partner and take a printed version to class. Write your
full names and Comision ( A or B)

SPEECH WRITING
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3. Features of Language.
This section will examine seven properties that are largely unique to human
language: duality, creativity, arbitrariness, displacement, cultural transmission,
and reflexivity.

Duality

Human language is organized at two levels or

layers simultaneously. This property is called
duality (or “double articulation”). In speech
production, we have a physical level at which
we can produce individual sounds, like /n/, /b/

and /ɪ/.

As individual sounds, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning. In
a particular combination such as bin, we have another level producing a
meaning that is different from the meaning of the combination in nib. So, at
one level, we have distinct sounds, and, at another level, we have distinct
meanings. This duality of levels is, in fact, one of the most economical features
of human language because, with a limited set of discrete sounds, we are
capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words)
which are distinct in meaning.

Creativity
Yet another distinctive feature is creativity.
Human beings use their linguistic resources to
produce new expressions and sentences.
They arrange and rearrange phonemes,
morphemes, words, and phrases in a way
that can express an infinite number of ideas.

This is also called the open-endedness of language. Animal communication is

a closed system. It cannot produce new signals to communicate novel events
or experiences.
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Displacement

Displacement: Human language can talk

about things that aren't happening here or
now. Other animals react only to stimuli in the
present.
Human beings can talk of real or imaginary
situations, places, or objects far removed
from their present surroundings and time.
Other animals, on the other hand,

communicate in reaction to a stimulus in the immediate environment, such as

food or danger Because of this, human language is considered context-free,
whereas animal communication is mostly context bound.

Cultural Transmission

Cultural Transmission: Human language is

culturally transmitted, or taught. Other animals
communicate largely with signs they are born
knowing.
Another important difference is that human
language is culturally transmitted.
Human beings brought up in different cultures acquire different languages.
Man can also learn other languages via the influence of other cultures.
Animals lack this capacity. Their communication ability is transmitted
biologically, so they are unable to learn other languages.

Arbitrariness
Human language is a symbolic system. The signs, or words, in language have
no inherent connection to what they signify, or mean (that's why one object
can have so many names in different languages). These signs can also be
written with the symbols, or alphabet, of that language. Both verbal and
written language can be passed down to future generations. Animal
communication is not symbolic, which means ideas cannot be preserved for
the future.
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Differences at a Glance

Human Animal
Distinctive sounds,
called phonemes, are
arbitrary and have no Other animals do not
meaning. But humans communicate by arranging
Duality of Patterning can string these sounds arbitrary sounds, which limits
in an infinite number of the number of messages
ways to create meaning they can create.
via words and
sentences.
Humans can create an
infinite number of words Animals have a few set of
Creativity with a limited number of sounds for warning, danger,
discrete elements pain, etc.
(letters and phonemes)
Language consists of a
Animals do not a system of
limited number of
Discretness significant sound units or a
elements (vowel and
semiotic system.
consonants)
Humans can talk about
remote, abstract, or
Animal communication is
imaginary things that
Displacement context driven—they react
aren't happening in their
to stimuli, or indexes.
immediate
environments.
Humans acquire The way that animals
Cultural Transmission language culturally— communicate are
words must be learned. biological, or inborn.
Human language is
symbolic, using a set
number of sounds
Animal communication is not
(phonemes) and
Arbitrariness symbolic, so it cannot
characters (alphabet),
preserve ideas of the past.
which allows ideas to be
recorded and
preserved.
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The Linguistic Sign

There are many models of the linguistic sign. A classic model is the one by the
Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. According to him, language is made up of
signs and every sign has two sides (like a coin or a sheet of paper, both sides of
which are inseparable):
the signifier , the "shape" of a word, its phonic component, i.e., the sequence
of graphemes (letters), e.g., <"c">-<"a">-<"t">, or phonemes (speech sounds),
e.g. /kæt/
the signified the abstract component, the concept or object that appears in
our minds when we hear or read the signifier, e.g., a small domesticated feline
Saussure's understanding of sign is called the two-side model of sign.
Furthermore, Saussure separated speech acts (la parole) from the system of a
language (la langue). Parole was the free will of the individual,
whereas langue was regulated by the group, albeit unknowingly.
Saussure also postulated that once the convention is established, it is very
difficult to change, which enables languages to remain both static, through a
set vocabulary determined by conventions, and to grow, as new terms are
needed to deal with situations and technologies not covered by the old.
According to Saussure, the relation between the signifier and the signified is
"arbitrary", i.e. there is no direct connection between the shape and the
concept. For instance, there is no reason why the letters C-A-T (or the sound of
these phonemes) produce exactly the image of the small, domesticated
animal with fur, four legs and a tail in our minds. It is a result of "convention":
speakers of the same language group have agreed (and learned) that these
letters or sounds evoke a certain image.
Yet, he distinguished a group of words called onomatopoeia whose signified
and signifier do have a logical or non-arbitrary relationship.
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Linguistics

Linguistics is the study of language, and involves an analysis of language form,

language meaning, and language in context. The earliest activities in
the documentation and description of language have been attributed to the
6th century BC Indian grammarian Pāṇini, who wrote a formal description of
the Sanskrit language.
Linguists traditionally analyse human language by observing an interplay
between sound and meaning. Phonetics is the study of speech and non-
speech sounds, and delves into their acoustic and articulatory properties. The
study of language meaning, on the other hand, deals with how languages
encode relations between entities, properties, and other aspects of the world
to convey, process, and assign meaning, as well as manage and
resolve ambiguity. While the study of semantics typically concerns itself
with truth conditions, pragmatics deals with how situational context influences
the production of meaning.
Grammar is a system of rules, which governs the production, and use
of utterances in a given language. These rules apply to sound as well as
meaning, and include componential subsets of rules, such as those pertaining
to phonology (the organisation of phonetic sound systems), morphology (the
formation and composition of words), and syntax (the formation and
composition of phrases and sentences). Modern theories that deal with the
principles of grammar are largely based within Noam Chomsky's framework
of generative linguistics.
In the early 20th century, Ferdinand de Saussure distinguished between the
notions of langue and parole in his formulation of structural linguistics.
According to him, parole is the specific utterance of speech,
whereas langue refers to an abstract phenomenon that theoretically defines
the principles and system of rules that govern a language. This distinction
resembles the one made by Noam
Chomsky between competence and performance in his theory
of transformative or generative grammar. According to Chomsky,
competence is an individual's innate capacity and potential for language (like
in Saussure's langue), while performance is the specific way in which it is used
by individuals, groups, and communities (i.e., parole, in Saussurean terms).
The study of parole (which manifests through cultural discourses and dialects) is
the domain of sociolinguistics, the sub-discipline that comprises the study of a
complex system of linguistic facets within a certain speech
community (governed by its own set of grammatical rules and laws). Discourse
analysis further examines the structure of texts and conversations emerging out
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of a speech community's usage of language.[14] This is done through the

collection of linguistic data, or through the formal discipline of corpus
linguistics, which takes naturally occurring texts and studies the variation of
grammatical and other features based on such corpora (or corpus data).
The formal study of language also led to the growth of fields
like psycholinguistics, which explores the representation and function of
language in the mind; neurolinguistics, which studies language processing in
the brain; biolinguistics, which studies the biology and evolution of language;
and language acquisition, which investigates how children and adults acquire
the knowledge of one or more languages.
Linguistics also deals with the social, cultural, historical and political factors that
influence language, through which linguistic and language-based context is
often determined. Research on language through the sub-branches
of historical and evolutionary linguistics also focus on how languages change
and grow, particularly over an extended period of time.
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The Communication Process

ENCODING CHANNELS DECODING

The speaker puts the message in
codes (English, Spanish, French,
etc) according to the
grammatical and phonological
rules of the chosen code.
The listener extracts meaning (decode)
from the encoded data (message). He
processes the information and may
respond or not.

LANGUAGES AS COMMUNICATION

The connection between the form of the signal and its meaning is stablished by
what is commonly referred to in semiotics as the code.
From this point of view, natural languages are codes and they may be
compared with other codes in all sorts of ways: in terms of channel, in terms of
form, or structure, of the signals.
The notions of medium and channel are intrinsically connected, in that the
properties of the medium derive from the properties of the normal channel of
transmission. Both written and spoken language can be transmitted along a
variety of channels. When we use the term “medium”, rather than channel, we
are not concerned with the actual transmission, but with the systematic
functional and structural differences between written and spoken forms.
The most striking characteristic of language by comparison with other codes or
communication-systems is its flexibility and versatility. We can use language to
give vent to our emotions and feeling, to solicit the cooperation of our fellow,
to make threats or promises, to issue commands, ask questions or make
statements. We can make reference to the past, present and future, to things
far removed from the situation of utterance, even to things that need not exist
and could not exist.
Among the more specific properties that contribute to the flexibility and
versatility of language, there are four that have frequently been singled out for
mention: arbitrariness, duality, discreteness and productivity.
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The Communication Process:

A signal is transmitted from a sender to a receiver along a channel of

communication. The signal will have a particular form and will convey a
particular meaning (message). The connection between the form of the signal
and its meaning is commonly referred to as the code. The message is encoded
by the sender and decoded by the receiver. Both written and spoken can be
transmitted along a variety of channels (radio, telephone, computer, etc.).
Looked at from this point of view, natural languages are codes, and they may
be compared to other codes in all sorts of ways: in terms of the channel along
which the signal is transmitted, in terms of forms, or structure of the signals, in
terms of the kind or range of the messages that may be encoded, and so on.

MORPHOLOGY
Morphology is the part of linguistic which analyses or investigates the basic
elements or grammatical function of words. It is the part of linguistics that deals
with the study of words, their internal structure and partially their meanings. It is
also interested in how the users of the given language, understand complex
words and invent new lexical items.

Morphology is the part of linguistics that deals with the study of words, their
internal structure and partially their meanings.

 Derivational morphology; is concerned with the relationships of different

words, and with the ways in which vocabulary items can be built from
some elements, as in un-speak-able.
 Inflectional morphology; it deals with the forms of one word that it takes
up depending on its grammatical functions in a sentence.

Morphemes
Morphemes in morphology are the smallest units that carry meaning or fulfill
some grammatical function.
 Free morpheme; a single morpheme that constitutes a word and can
stand alone.
 Bound morpheme; a morpheme that must be attached to another
morpheme. It cannot stand by itself as it would have no meaning.
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For examples, in the word houses there are two morphemes house, which is
free, and s whish is a bound morpheme.

1. Free Morphemes
 Lexical morphemes; words that have some meaning – verbs,
adjectives, nouns, like for example print, house, pretty, fire, go, girl,
sad, song, yellow, break.
 Functional morphemes; a closed class of words, articles,
prepositions, pronouns which do not carry any meaning on their
own, but only fulfil a grammatical function. Ex: and, but, when,
because, on, near, above, in, the, that, it.

2. Bound Morphemes

 Derivational morphemes; those morphemes which produce new words,

or change the function of a word. It is achieved by means of prefixes or
suffixes in case of English and infixes in other languages, like Arabic.

o -ic : Noun > Adj ; alcohol > alcoholic

o -ance : Verb > Noun ; clear > clearance

o -ly : Adj > Adv ; exact > exactly

o -ity : Adj > Noun ; active > activity

o -able : Verb > Adj ; read > readable

o -ship : Noun > Noun ; friend > friendship

o re- : Verb > Verb ; cover > recover

o in- : Adj > Adj ; definite > indefinite

 Inflectional morphemes; do not create new words, but only show

grammatical functions of a word.

Nouns
–s plural

–’s possessive
Verbs

–s third person singular present

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–ed past tense

–en past participle

–ing progressive

Adjectives
–er comparative

–est superlative

ACTIVITY: WORD FORMATION

A. Make abstract nouns from the words in the box below. Put them in the correct column. 10 marks

absurd achieve adult combine complex deep excite free friend friendly

generous imagine member mother owner prosperous recognise tender ugly wide

wise
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-ment -ion -ness -ship -ity -dom -hood -th

absurdity

B. Complete the sentences by forming an abstract noun from the word in brackets at the end of 10 marks the
sentence.
Example:
His face was so red with anger that I thought he would have a heart attack there and then. (angry)

1 The cat purred with …………………………………………… as it drank the cream. (satisfy)

2 Rose has a rather difficult ………………………………………………with her father. (relate)
3 His writing shows a great deal of ……………………………………………………. (sensitive)
4 Sal hasn't ever known true ……………………………………………………..with Bill. (happy)
5 Dick hasn't much of a sense of …………………………………………………….. (humorous)
6 Patrick is looking forward to his………………………………………………………… . (retire)
7 Penny always showed great ……………………………………………………….to me. (kind)
8 I wonder if women will ever achieve full………………………………………………. . (equal)
9 I don't think I've ever experienced…………………………………………………….. . (bored)
10 This work is spoiled by the student's…………………………………………………. . (care)
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WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

COMPOUNDING
Compounding is a process in which two different words are joined together to denote
one thing or compounding is combining of two separate words to produce a single
new term.

 Homework; home + work

 Saputangan = sapu + tangan
 Kacamata = kaca+mata.
 Pickpocket = pick + pocket
 Waterfall = Water + fall
 Fingerprint = Finger + print
 Scarecrow = Scare + crow
 Flower-pot = Flower + pot
 Notebooks = Note + books

Compounds can be divided into 2, they are;

1. Compound noun, formed from two nouns.

Ex; - Bedroom (a place for sleeping)

- Guestroom (a room for guest)
2. Compound adjectives, formed from two different words. They are
usually written with hyphen and the stress is usually same on both part of
the compound

Ex; - Well-known (= famous)

- Well-off (= rich)
The meaning of a compound is not always the sum of the meanings of its parts.
Examples:
Rose water = water made from rose
Handmade = something made by hand
Black market = market for illegal stuffs
Cat house = A house where a man visit prostitutes
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BLENDINGS
Blending is very similar to compounding, but it is characterized by taking only
parts of words and joining them to produce a single new term.

 afterthoughtful  fanzine {fan +  sexcapade (sex +

(afterthought + magazine) escapade)
thoughtful)  flare (flame + glare)  slanguage (slang +
 agitprop (agitation +  flirtationship (flirting + language)
propaganda) relationship)  smash (smack + mash)
 alcopop (alcohol +  glimmer (gleam +  smog (smoke + fog)
pop) shimmer)  sportscast (sports +
 bash (bat + mash)  guitarthritis (guitar + broadcast)
 Breathalyzer (breath + arthritis)  stagflation (stagnation
analyzer)  infotainment + inflation)
 camcorder (camera + (information +  staycation (stay home
recorder) entertainment) + vacation)
 clash (clap + crash)  Jazzercize (jazz +  telegenic (television +
 docudrama exercise) photogenic)
(documentary +  moped (motor +  textpectation (text
drama) pedal) message +
 electrocute (electricity  motorcade (motor + expectation)
+ execute) cavalcade)  transistor (transfer +
 emoticon (emote +  palimony (pal + resistor)
icon) alimony)  workaholic (work +
 faction (fact + fiction)  pulsar (pulse + quasar) alcoholic)

CLIPPING
"Clipping. A part of a word which serves for the whole, such as ad and phone.
These examples illustrate the two chief types: the first part is kept (the
commoner type, as in demo, exam, pub, Gill) and the last part is kept, as
in fridge and flu. There are also several clippings which retain material from
more than one part of the word, such asmaths (UK), gents, and specs. . . .
Several clipped forms also show adaptation, such as fries(from French fried
potatoes), Betty (from Elizabeth),and Bill (from William)."

 Some of the most common products of clipping are names--Liz, Ron, Rob,

Sue, and so on. Clipping is especially popular in the speech of students,

where it has yielded forms like proffor professor, phys-ed for physical
education, poli-sci for political science, and burger forhamburger. However,
many clipped forms have also been accepted in general usage: doc, ad,
auto, lab, sub, deli, porn, demo, and condo.
"A more recent example of this sort that has become part of general
English vocabulary is fax, from facsimile (meaning 'exact copy or
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reproduction')."

 Other examples of clipped forms in English include biz, caps, celebs, deli,

exam, flu, gator, hippo, hood, info, intro, lab, limo, mayo, max, perm, photo,
ref, reps, rhino, sax, sitcom, stats, temp, thru, tux, ump, veep, and vet.

 As time-savers and breath-savers, clipped words defy the pedants and win

their way to respectability. This has been true for a long time--
witness piano from pianoforte and cellofrom violoncello."

BORROWING
Borrowing is the word formation process in which a word from one language is
borrowed directly into another language. For example, the following common
English words are borrowed from foreign languages:

 algebra – Arabic  haiku – Japanese  smorgasbord –

 bagel – Yiddish
 cherub – Hebrew
 chow mein –
Chinese
 fjord – Norwegian
 galore – Irish
 kielbasa – Polish Swedish
 murder – French  tamale – Spanish
 near – Sanskrit  yo-yo – Tagalog
 paprika –
Hungarian
 pizza – Italian

Borrowed words are also referred to as loanwords.

COINAGES
Coinage is the word formation process in which a new word is created either
deliberately or accidentally without using the other word formation processes
and often from seemingly nothing. For example, the following list of words
provides some common coinages found in everyday English:

 aspirin  Google  nylon

 escalator  kerosene  psychedelic

 heroin  Kleenex  quark

 band-aid  Laundromat  Xerox

 factoid  linoleum

 Frisbee  muggle
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BACK FORMATION
Back-formation is either the process of creating a new lexeme (less precisely, a
new "word") by removing actual or supposed affixes, or to he neologism formed
by such a process. Back-formations are shortened words created from longer
words, thus back-formations may be viewed as a sub-type of clipping.
Each back-formation in this list is followed by the original word from which it was
back-formed.

Word Formation: Conversion

Part two of "Word Formation: Creating New Words in English" covers the process
of conversion, which is the word formation process whereby a word of one part
of speech converts into a word of another part of speech, e.g., the noun
Google changing into the verb to google.

Conversion
Conversion is the word formation process in which a word of one grammatical
form becomes a word of another grammatical form without any changes to
spelling or pronunciation. For example, the noun email appeared in English
before the verb: a decade ago I would have sent you an email (noun)
whereas now I can either send you an email (noun) or simply email (verb) you.
The original noun email experienced conversion, thus resulting in the new
verbemail. Conversion is also referred to as zero derivation or null derivation
with the assumption that the formal change between words results in the
addition of an invisible morpheme. However, many linguistics argue for a clear
distinction between the word formation processes of derivation and
conversion.

Noun to Verb Conversion

The most productive form of conversion in English is noun to verb conversion.
The following list provides examples of verbs converted from nouns:

 access – to  fool – to fool  pocket – to

access
 bottle – to bottle
 can – to can
 closet – to closet
 email – to email
 eye – to eye
 fiddle – to fiddle
 Google – to
google
 host – to host
 knife – to knife
 microwave – to
microwave
 name – to name
pocket
 salt – to salt
 shape – to shape
 ship – to ship
 spear – to spear
 torch – to torch
 verb – to verb
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For example:

 My grandmother bottled (verb) the juice and canned (verb) the pickles.
 My grandmother put the juice in a bottle (noun) and the pickles in a can
(noun).
 She microwaved (verb) her lunch.
 She heated her lunch in the microwave (noun).
 The doctor eyed (verb) my swollen eye (noun).

Verb to Noun Conversion

Another productive form of conversion in English is verb to noun conversion. The
following list provides examples of nouns converted from verbs:

 to alert – alert  to experience –  to laugh – laugh

 to attack – attack
 to call – call
 to clone – clone
 to command –
command
 to cover – cover
 to cry – cry
experience
 to fear – fear
 to feel – feel
 to hope – hope
 to increase –
increase
 to judge – judge
 to rise – rise
 to run – run
 to sleep – sleep
 to start – start
 to turn – turn
 to visit – visit

For example:
 The guard alerted (verb) the general to the attack (noun).
 The enemy attacked (verb) before an alert (noun) could be sounded.
 Sometimes one just needs a good cry (noun).
 The baby cried (verb) all night.
 We need to increase (verb) our productivity to see an increase (noun) in
profits.

Verb to noun conversion is also referred to as nominalization.

Other Conversions
Conversion also occurs, although less frequently, to and from other
grammatical forms. For example:

 adjective to verb: green → to green (to make environmentally friendly)

 preposition to noun: up, down → the ups and downs of life
 conjunction to noun: if, and, but → no ifs, ands, or buts
 Interjection to noun: ho ho ho → I love the ho ho hos of Christmastime.
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Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Eponyms

In order to understand word formation fully, the processes of abbreviation,
acronym, and eponym need to be included. Also linked to in this article are
downloadable vocabulary lists of common English abbreviations, acronyms,
and eponyms.

Abbreviations
Abbreviation is the word formation process in which a word or phrase is
shortened. Initialisms are a type of abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a
word or phrase. Although abbreviation is largely a convention of written
language, sometimes abbreviations carry over into spoken language. For
example:

Written Abbreviations
 Apr. – April
 cm – centimeter(s)
 d. – died, died in
 dept. –  Mr. – Mister
department  oz – ounce(s)
 Dr. – doctor  Sun. – Sunday
 Jr. – Junior  yd – yard(s)

Spoken-Written Abbreviations

 A.M. – ante meridiem [in the  i.e. – id est [that is]

morning]  JFK – John Fitzgerald Kennedy
 B.C.E. – Before Common Era  OJ – orange juice
 GOP – Grand Old Party  PMS – premenstrual syndrome
(Republican Party)  RSVP – répondez s'il vous plait
 HIV – Human Immunodeficiency  VIP – very important person
Virus

Abbreviation is related to both the word formation processes of clipping and

blending.

Acronyms
Acronyms are words formed by the word formation process in which an
initialism is pronounced as a word. For example, HIV is an initialism for Human
Immunodeficiency Virus that is spoken as the three letters H-I-V. However,AIDS is
an acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome that is spoken as the
word aids. Other examples of acronyms in English include:

 ASAP – as soon as possible

 AWOL – absent without leave
 laser - light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
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 NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 NASDAQ - National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
 PIN – personal identification number
 radar - radio detection and ranging
 scuba - self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
 TESOL – Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
 WASP – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant

Eponyms
Eponyms are a word form by the word formation process in which a new word
is formed from the name of a real of fictitious person. For example:

 atlas – Atlas  narcissistic – Narcissus

 boycott – Charles C. Boycott  nicotine – Jean Nicot

 cardigan – James Thomas  pasteurization – Louis Pasteur

Brudnell, 7th Earl of Cardigan  poinsettia – Noel Roberts Poinsett

 cereal – Ceres  praline – César de Choiseul,

 dunce – John Duns Scotus Count Plessis–Praslin

 guillotine – Joseph Ignace  sadistic – Marquis de Sade

Guillotin  salmonella – Daniel Elmer

 jacuzzi – Candido Jacuzzi Salmon

 luddite – Ned Ludd  sandwich – John Montagu, 4th

 malapropism – Mrs. Malaprop Earl of Sandwich

 mesmerize – Franz Anton Mesmer  volcano – Vulcan

 mirandize – Ernesto A. Miranda

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PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

Phonetics is the scientific study of speech. The central concerns in phonetics are
how speech sounds are produced (Articulatory Phonetics), how they are used in
spoken language (Acoustic Phonetics) and how we hear and recognise different
sounds (Auditory Phonetics).
Phonology studies the selection and organization of phonic substance into a meaningful
pattern. It deals with both aspects of spoken language, the abstract one (encoding ,
decoding ) and the material one ( speech sounds).
"It is the task of phonology to study which differences in sound are related to differences in
meaning in a given language, in which way the discriminative elements ... are related to
each other, and the rules according to which they may be combined into words and
sentences."

Phonemes and Allophones

Phonemes are the smallest contrastive phonological units or significant sounds (or sets of
sounds) of a language capable of changing meaning.
Such a contrast is usually demonstrated by the existence of minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are
pairs of words which differ only in one phoneme or segment. for example: the words
/mæt/ and /kæt/ differ only in the first segment or phoneme.
Allophones, on the contrary, are concrete variants of the same phoneme which change
the pronunciation of a phoneme but do not change the meaning of a word

For example the word “pepper” has two voiceless plosive /p/ phonemes /pepə/.But the
first one is stronger or “aspirated” (pronounced with an extra puff of air) because is
followed by a prominent vowel /pʰepə/ and the second one is not aspirated. This
allophones affects manner of articulation.

Another example of allophone affecting place of articulation is the phoneme /n/ in the
sequence “in the” when followed a dental.. The phoneme /n/ in isolation is an alveolar
nasal consonant, but in the example above /n/ becomes dental as the tongue anticipates
the articulation of the following dental consonant /ð/. So, the result is a dental alveolar
nasal /ɪn̠ ðə/. An example in Spanish is the same phoneme in /n/ in the word “tango”, where
/n/ is velarized and becomes /ŋ/ under the influence of the following velar /g/
consonant.
The wrong use of an allophone will make your English sound as non-English, or your Spanish
as non-Spanish, but it will not change the meaning of a word. A clear instance of an
allophone in Spanish in Argentina is the pronunciation of the spelling “ll”. This doble l is
pronounced in three different ways in the word “lluvia”. In the North of Argentina
(Tucuman) is a fricative, in the North East (Chaco, Corrientes, Entre Rios) is a lateral and in

Rioplatence Spanish (BsAs) is pronounced as the English phoneme [ʃ] /ʃubia/

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Homophones, Homographs and Minimal pairs.

Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings,
for example: blew and blue are pronounced /bluː/.
Homographs are words that have the same spelling, but different pronunciation, for
example: live (verb) /lɪv/ and live (adv.) /laɪv/.
Minimal pairs are two words whose pronunciation differ in only one phoneme:
Examples. Pet : let , put : pull, mate: might,

ACTIVITY:
a. Homophones: Cross out the words that do not correspond.

1. Can I go to the party (to, too, two) ?

2. This is my favourite (pear pair) of jeans?
3. I’ve just (sent scent cent) a letter to my aunt.
4. The children got ( bored board ) during the lecture.
5. Mr. and Mrs Clark like to work in ( there they’re their ) garden.

b. Homographs. Transcribe the words in bold type in phonemic script.

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c. Minimal pairs: Write the minimal pairs.

1. last 1. __________. 5. Let. 5. _____________.

2. mist 2. __________. 6. Speak 6. _____________.
3. fan 3. __________. 7. Hurt 7. _____________.
4. tin 4. __________. 8. done 8. _____________.

Phonemes branches into two big sub-groups: vowel and consonants.

VOWEL SOUNDS.

Vowel sounds can be described both phonetically (how they are produced) and
phonologically (their function in the syllable).
Phonetically, vowels sounds are oral sounds (the air comes out through the mouth),
voiced (there is vibration in the vocal cords) and they are produced without any
obstruction to the air passage.
Phonologically, vowel sounds play a central function in the syllable, they are the
nucleus of the syllable due to their sonority.

English Vowel Sounds

Pure Vowels Diphthongs Triphthongs
(monothongs) (glides)
short long Glides to /ɪ/ Glides to Glides to /ə/
/ʊ/
/ɪ/ tip /iː/ sheep /eɪ/ day /aʊ/ how /eə/ there /eɪə/ player

/e/ pet /ɑː/ card /aɪ/ night /əʊ/ no /ʊə/ poor /aɪə/ fire

/æ/ cat /ɔː/ lord /ɔɪ/ boy /ɪə/ here /ɔɪə/ royal

/ʌ/ cut /uː/ food /aʊə/ hour

/ɒ/ shop /ɜː/ work /əʊə/ lower

/ʊ/ put

/ə/ ago
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ACTIVITY: Vowels and Consonants.

a. Consonants.

1. Circle those words that begin with a fricative consonant.

a. Thomas b. today c. Wednesday d. though e. photos

2. Circle those words that begin with a voiceless plosive.

a. John b. Friday c. Monday d. crime e. Christmas

3. Circle those words that contain a silent consonant.

a. right b. Castle c. better d. listen e. parcel

4. Circle those words that end in a voiceless consonant.

a. jokes b. chores c. phonemes d. How e. theme

5. Circle those words that begin with a voiced consonant.

a. Monday b. know c. yesterday d. Thursday e. speak

b. Vowel sounds. Cross out the word with a different vowel sound.

1 a. leather b. friend c. break d. bread

2 a. front b. rough c. won’t d. country
3 a. clock b. wonder c. want d. wash
4 a. angry b. hungry c. fax d. salmon
5 a. cheese b. breath c. meal d. breathe
6 a. spoon b. wooden c. zoo d. souvenir
7 a. warm b. walk c. store d. work
8 a. world b. ferry c. early d. journalist
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REVISION EXERCISES.

Exercises.
1. What is morphology?
a. The study of the rules governing the sounds that form words
b. The study of the rules governing sentence formation
c. The study of the rules governing word formation.

2. The branch of Linguistics that deals with the relationship between sounds and
meaning is
a. Phonology.
b. Phonetics.
c. Semantics.

3. The word “writing” consist of _______ morphemes.

a. one.
b. Two.
c. Three.

4. How many phonemes are there in the word “six”?

a. three.
b. Four.
c. Five.

5. A/An ________________ is a variant of a phoneme.

a. morpheme.
b. Allophone.
c. Lexeme.

6. A/an _____________ is the smallest unit of morphological analysis capable of

carrying meaning.
a. phoneme.
b. Allophone.
c. Morpheme.

7. The word “surprisingly” has

a. Five phonemes.
b. Four morphemes.
c. Two suffixes.

8. The word “the” has

a. Two phonemes.
b. Two morphemes
c. Four graphemes.