TheSourceandFormationOftheEnglishNeologisms.doc

the source and formation of the english neologismsbydeng huijuan摘 要随着社会科学技术的发展，英语新词层出不穷，本文主要从英语新词产生的原因，构成法这两个方面浅谈英语新词以便掌握和积累英语词汇。英语新词是社会发展的一面镜子，随着现代科技的快速发展，政治经济教育的变化和社会生活的多样化出现了许多新生事物。这些变化必须有与之相适合的新词，因此英语中涌现了大量新词。新词的构成既遵循着传统英语构词法原则，又具有其独特性。本文主要介绍英语新词的普通构成法、旧词新义、借词和全新词汇的构成方式。论文分为四个部分，第一部分就英语新词的来源及其构成进行了总的论述。第二部分详述了英语新词的来源。第三部分详述了英语新词的构成。通过上述三个部分的阐述和例证，第四部分得出结论。通过对英语新词的探索，旨在激发英语学习者学习英语新词的兴趣，帮助其更好地了解和掌握英语新词，不断丰富英语的词汇量，以适应新观念，新理论和新科技的发展要求。关键词：英语新词；来源；构成abstractwith the development of society and technology advancement, english neologisms are created one after another. this thesis mainly discusses the source and formation of english neologism. as neologism is a mirror of social development, the source of its appearance comes from the rapid development of modern science and technology, the change in politics, economy, education and the diversification of social life as well. the formation of english neologism follows the traditional word-formation rules, but it also has its unique features. the thesis is divided into four parts. the first part has a general description about the source and formation of the english neologisms respectively. the second part expounds mainly the source of the english neologisms. the third part mainly talks about the formation of english neologisms. through the illustrations and examples in the above three parts, the last part give a conclusion. the explanation of these two aspects of english neologism can help english learners enlarge their vocabulary in order to meet the demand of new ideas, theories, science and technology.key words: english neologisms; source; formationiicontents摘要.abstract1. introduction.12. the sources of neologisms.22.1 the rapid development of modern science and technology.2 2.1.1 computer.2 2.1.2 biology.22.1.3 the space.22.1.4 medicine2 2.2 the change in politics, economy and education.3 2.2.1 politics.3 2.2.2 economy.3 2.2.3 education.3. 2.3 the diversification of social life.42.3.1 sports and entertainment.42.3.2 communications42.3.3 changes in social and domestic habits42.3.4 environment.4 3. the formation of neologisms.5 3.1 traditional rules on the formation of neologisms.5 3.1.1 conversion.5 3.1.2 compounding.5 3.1.3 clipping or shortening.6 3.1.4 acronyms.6 3.1.5 blending6 3.1.6 back-formation.6 3.1.7 analogy7 3.1.8 onomatopoeia.7 3.2 adding new meaning to existing words8 3.3 borrowing words from other languages.8 3.4 creating completely new words.9 3.4.1 words from proper names of people.9 3.4.2 words from proper names of places9 3.4.3 words from trademark or brand of commodities94. conclusion.10references11iv1. introduction as the vocabulary of any other modern languages, english vocabulary has a continuous evolution and development. after world war ii, the world has seen breathtaking advances in science and technology. as a result, a large amount of new words have been created to express new ideas, inventions, and scientific achievements. as the foreign learner of english language, only when enlarge our vocabulary of neologisms and keep active eyesight on the latest development of english neologisms, can we learn english well and communicate with foreigners more effectively and smoothly. this paper attempts to discuss the source and formation of english neologism. 2. the sources of neologisms new words are being invented or introduced all the time. when a new product is made, a new conception comes in mans thought, and a new name must be found, that is, a new word appears in the language. therefore, neologisms are products of this change. in general, there are three main sources of neologisms in the english vocabulary.2.1 the rapid development of modern science and technology at present we are in the flood of information technology. with the development of science, technology and appearance of new subjects, there are more and more neologisms. modern science and technology bring about the addition of numerous new words. they are the most important source of new words. modern science and technology contain many new branches apart from the existing fields. the appearance of new branches in modern science and technology gives rise to a great number of new words. we will indicate some of the areas that produce new words and the ways in which new words are formed. 2.1.1 computer computer is a newly developing and widely used area in our modern society. everyday people including adults and children use computers to learn and know a lot of happenings in the world. so a great number of neologisms concerning computers appear constantly in modern english. for example:(1)they describe the phenomenon of computer used in the 1990s, such as the internet. (2) the new word dark net appeared in washington internet daily. it refers to “the collection of networks and other technologies that enable people to illegally share copyrighted digital files with little or no fear of detection.”(3) umpc refers to “an extremely small and lightweight computer that has many of the functions and features of a full-size personal computer. (from ul-tra-mobile personal computer)”. 2.1.2 biology in the field of biology we may find a lot of new words such as: clone, sars, and acupuncture. 2.1.3 the space scientists and technologists in the world began to explore the deep space, then a number of new words concerning outer space emerged one by one from the extraterrestrial vocabulary in english, such as: space suit, astronaut, spacecraft, spaceman, space-age, space medicine, space opera, deep space.2.1.4 medicinemedicine is a prolific provider of new words, such as:(4) the new word aids is a shortened form of the term acquired immunodeficiency syndrome created in 1982. (5) the new expression aids-related complex appeared in 1984. (6) the new expression aids virus was coined in 1983. (7) the new expression gulf war syndrome appeared in 1992. it refers to “a syndrome of uncertain cause including fatigue, joint pain, memory loss, skin rash, and headache that has been reported in veterans of the war fought in the persian gulf in 1991.”2.2 the change in politics, economy and educationpolitics, economy and education changes are another important source of new words. their influence on the english vocabulary is as great as that of science and technology. so we shouldnt neglect the importance of this source.2.2.1 politicsthe turbulence in the world cause conflict and war in some districts, but at the same time, it also leads to the appearance of some neologisms. for example, an attack on september 11 in american brings the word terrorism. the women movement in the world has brought a number of new words, such as: feminism, businessperson, chairperson.2.2.2 economy with the formation of economic globalization, there are more and more new correlative words. for example: wto (world trade organization), opec (organization of petrol exporting countries) and atm (automatic teller machine). 2.2.3 education nowadays the countries all over the world pay more attention to education. so education has also been a source of new words. such as: distance education, open university, hotline, talk show.2.3 the diversification of social life with the development of economy and improvement of society, people live more and more colorfully. there are many neologisms in different fields of social life adding to the english vocabulary.2.3.1 sports and entertainmentnowadays people attach more importance to their health. they go to the fitness center on the fixed time to do some excises, such as: aerobics, rhythmic gymnastics, stretching, tread milling and stair milling.2.3.2 communicationscommunications give rise to a number of new words, such as: (8) the new word telemarketing created in 1980 is “the marketing of goods or services by telephone.”(9) the new expression information superhighway appeared in 1983. it means “a telecommunications system (as of television, telephony, or computer networks) used for widespread and usually rapid access to information. 2.3.3 changes in social and domestic habits the changes in social and domestic habits give rise to a number of new words.for instance:(10) the new word disco appeared as a verb appeared in 1979. it means “to dance to disco music.”(11) the new expression home theater appeared in 1980. it refers to “an entertainment system for the home that usually consists of a large television with video components and an audio system offering surround sound.”2.3.4 environment in these few decades, people all around the world really realize the urgency and importance of environment protection, and then the new words about environment are born. for instance,(12) the new expression green accounting means “a system in which economic measurements take into account the effects of production and consumption on the environment.”(13) the new expression green roof refers to “roof that is covered with plants, particularly one in which special membranes and other layers serve to protect the rooftop and hold the plants and soil in place. 3. the formation of neologisms the knowledge of word-formation is not only helpful for the expansion of ones vocabulary, but also of great significance in inferring word meaning.3.1 common rules on the formation of neologisms3.1.1 conversion conversion is a main type of word-formation assigning the base to a different word class with no change of form. in the english language conversion is unusually prominent as a word-formation process. of course, conversion, like other main types of word-formation, is treated as a process now avail-able for extending the lexical re-source of the english language. for example: the haves and have-nots, ins and outs, ifs and buts, ifs and therefores.3.1.2 compounding compounding is a main type of word-formation adding one base to another, such that usually the one placed in front in some sense subcategorizes the one that follow, like blackbird. take another few neologisms, for example, gay marriage, boy toy, platinum handshake and rapid reaction force.3.1.3 clipping or shortening clipping or shorting is a method of shorting a word without changing its meaning. words like gas (from gasoline), bus (from omnibus) are formed by clipping. clipping is an important device of forming new words in modern english. it is used widely in scientific writing and journalistic style. this method is of a character of using words precisely and conveniently. in modern english not only single words but also phrases can be replaced by the use of clipping. for instance, con (conversation or conference), demo (downward mobility), slomo (slow movement). 3.1.4 acronyms acronyms are a special kind of clipping. an acronym is a word formed from the initial letter of a word that makes up a name. for example, dink (dual employed, no kids), dewk (dual employed, with kids), nilky (no income, lots of kids). 3.1.5 blending blending is a very productive process, especially in commercial coinages. a blend is a compound word made by blending one word with another word. though not all blends become standard, most of them have been more or less acceptable in the english language. that is to say, blending is a process of word-formation, in which a new word is made by using the parts or the full form of the two words and combining their meaning. for example, amerindian is derived from american india; demo publican from democrat and republican, kidult from kid and adult, comsat from communication satellite. 3.1.6 back-formation back-formation is an abnormal type of word-formation where a shorter word is derived by deleting an imagined affix from an already existing longer word in the vocabulary. the word beg for example, comes form the word beggar, and not the other way round. that is to say, the noun beggar appeared first in the english vocabulary, and then the verb beg. affixation and back-formation are two contrary processes of word-formation. the former is a method of forming new words by means of affixes while the latter by cutting imagined affixes. 3.1.7 analogy the process of analogical creation is one of the tendencies in english word-formation. a new word or a new phrase is coined by an analogy between a newly created one and an existing corresponding one. the word marathon, for in-stance, is an existing word, which appeared at the olympic games held many years ago. it means “a running race of about 26 miles”. through analogy modern english has the following new words derived from marathon: telethon, talkathon. there are two types of analogically coined words: one is single word, and the other is phrase. for instance, from the words blue-collar worker and white-collar worker, a lot of collative neologisms born, such as gray-collar worker, pink-collar worker, gold-collar worker, new-collar worker, bright-collar worker, open-collar worker, no-collar worker.3.1.8 onomatopoeia onomatopoeia is the oldest device of word-formation used to name a thing or an action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it. in other words, onomatopoeic words are echoic words whose sound suggests sense. in modern english people often coin new words for the purpose of vividness and imagination.echoic words may be classified into three types according to their functions.(i) echoic words in connection with the sound made by animals (14) coo-to make the low soft cry of a dove or pigeon, or a sound like this.(15) cuckoo-a bird whose sound is like its name, and the call of this bird.(16) buzz- to make a low hum, as bees do, or the sound made by bees.(ii) echoic words in connection with the sound made by persons (17) murmur- to make a soft sound, especially to speak or say in a quiet voice, and a soft low sound.(18) babble- to make continuous sounds like a baby learning to speak, and childish, disordered, or foolish talk.(19) giggle- a form of laughter, which is repeated by young girls, and to make a giggle.(20) whistle- to make the sound of a whistle, especially with the mouth, to make music or as a signal to draw attention.(iii) echoic words in connection with the sound made by things (21) bang- to strike sharply, and a sudden loud noise.(22) crash- a sudden loud noise as made by a violent blow, falls, break.3.2 adding new meaning to existing words in english many existing words have added new meanings in the course of time, especially in the past few decades. these words with new meanings have become important new words. for instance: mouse (a device used to operate a computer), break (dance), menu (a list of different choices shown on a computer screen). 3.3 borrowing words from other languages a number of new words are borrowed from other languages. the english language has vast debts. in any dictionary some 80% of the entries are borrowed. in the fourteenth century vast numbers of french words were introduced into the english language. in the sixteenth century large numbers of new words were borrowed from latin. in the nineteenth century there was a great expansion in the vocabulary of science and technology. borrowed words are nevertheless immensely useful in enriching the vocabulary and making the language flexible and resourceful. we have known a lot of borrowing words, for example, the words karaoke and tsunami borrowed from japanese, opening-up policy, one country and two systems, iron rice bowl, laid-off workers from chinese, black humor and ye-ye from french, sputnik from russian, ambulance from german. 3.4 creating completely new words completely new words in english constitute a tiny minority because of lack of clues to their meanings from the established vocabulary. there are three types as follows:3.4.1 words from proper names of people words of this group are from names of scientists, inventors, or famous persons. for instance, the new expression clinton-speak comes from the former usa president clinton. it refers to “the speaking way of clinton”. 3.4.2 words from proper names of places similarly, quite a number of our familiar words are derived from the names of places. these words usually denote that products, objects or materials come from the names of places where they were first produced. for example, champagne from champagne in france where the wine champagne was first produced. 3.4.3 words from trademark or brand of commodities thanks to the popularity of the products they stand for, some trademarks have become common words. such as: carrefour, colgate, sprite, and safeguard become familiar with us.4. conclusion today we have seen to be once again in a period of vocabulary expansion. knowledge of source and word-formation is one of the most aids to the expanding of ones vocabulary of neologisms, and is of great value in inferring the meaning of new words. it is hoped that this paper will stimulate english