Lexical Change
English Language: AQA A Level, topic 3.5.4
Innovative Lexical Change
Lederer (and other linguists) have theorised about the ways in which new words can make it into our language. We can sort these changes into ‘innovations’ (changing something which exists) and ‘inventions’ (creating something new entirely).
Blending
- Blending:
- When two existing words are fused to make one new word.
- For example, smoke and fog forming smog.
Clipping
- Clipping:
- When part of a word is removed, but the meaning is virtually the same.
- For example, ‘sync’ from ‘synchronise’.
Compounding
- Compounding:
- When two existing words are stuck together as they are to form a new word.
- For example, ‘black’ and ‘bird’ to form ‘blackbird’.
Conversion
- Conversion (sometimes called a function-shift):
- The word class of an existing word is changed.
- For example, from ‘text’ the noun (‘I sent a text’) to ‘text’ the verb (‘I’ll text him’).
Derivation
- Derivation (sometimes more broadly called affixation):
- Adding a bound morpheme to change the word class of a word.
- For example, adding ‘-ing’ onto the noun ‘text’ to form the present progressive verb ‘texting’.
Back formation
- Back formation:
- The removal of a morpheme in order to change the word class of an existing word.
- For example, the verb ‘enthuse’ comes from the noun ‘enthusiasm’.
Reduplication
- Reduplication:
- The repetition of words which are the same or very similar.
- For example, ‘nitty-gritty’.
Inventive Lexical Change
Lederer (and other linguists) have theorised about the ways in which new words can make it into our language. We can sort these changes into ‘innovations’ (changing something which exists) and ‘inventions’ (creating something new entirely).
Neologising
- Neologising (sometimes called a coinage):
- Making up a brand-new word.
- For example, the word ‘yeet’ which occurred in the past few years.
Borrowing
- Borrowing:
- Words are taken from another language.
- For example, ‘person’ is a borrowing from the Latin ‘persona’.
Acronymising
- Acronymising:
- Forming a word which is said as a word and is formed of the initials from what it is describing.
- For example, ‘SCUBA’ for ‘Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus’.
Initialising
- Initialising:
- Forming a word which is said as the individual letters formed of the initials from what it is describing.
- For example, ‘BBC’ for the ‘British Broadcasting Corporation’.
Eponyming
- Eponyming:
- Forming a word based on a brand name or a person’s name.
- For example, ‘hoover’ for vacuuming from the brand ‘Hoover’.
Test yourself on Lexical Change
What type of innovative lexical change is the term ‘nitty-gritty’ an example of?
What type of inventive lexical change is the word ‘yeet’?
Which of these is an example of acronymising?