English Words: History and Structure

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ISBN: 9780521790123 | 0521790123
Cover: Hardcover
Copyright: 7/23/2001

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English Words: History and Structure is concerned primarily with the learned vocabulary of English, the words borrowed from the classical languages and French. It is both an introduction to some of the basic principles of linguistic analysis and a helpful manual for vocabulary discernment and enrichment. Designed to deepen and strengthen the knowledge acquired in the classroom, exercises to accompany each chapter and further readings on recent loans and the legal and medical vocabulary of English are available online at http://uk.cambridge.org/linguistics/resources/englishwor ds.

An introduction to the textbook

(2)

Word origins

(16)

Inheritance

(1)

Neologisms (Creation de novo)

(1)

Blending

(1)

Acronyms

(3)

Initialisms

(1)

Reverse acronyms

(1)

Creation by shortening

(1)

Derivation

(1)

Derivation by affixation

(1)

Derivation without affixation

(1)

Compounding

(3)

Eponyms

(3)

Based on personal names

(1)

Based on geographical names

(1)

Based on names from literature, folklore, and mythology

(1)

Based on commercial brand names

(1)

Other Sources

(1)

The background of English

(20)

The family history of English

(11)

Indo-European

(3)

The Germanic branch

(2)

English

(2)

Historical influences on the early vocabulary of English

(9)

The indigenous vocabulary of Old English

(1)

Earliest loanwards

(2)

The Scandinavian element

(1)

English becomes a hybrid

(2)

French loanwords in Middle English

(3)

Composition of the Early Modern and Modern English vocabulary

(17)

The Early Modern English cultural scene

(2)

Vocabulary enrichment during the Renaissance

(5)

Transmission, etymology, source identification

(8)

Summary of early British history and loanwords in English

(2)

Smaller than words: morphemes and types of morphemes

(17)

The smallest meaningful units

(5)

Morphemes and syllables

(1)

The properties of morphemes

(3)

Types of morphemes

(5)

Roots

(2)

Affixes

(1)

Functions of affixes

(2)

Compounds

(2)

Hyphens

(1)

Cognates

(3)

Shared derivation

(1)

Shared form and meaning

(1)

Finding roots in a dictionary

(2)

Allomorphy, phonetics, and affixation

(22)

Morphological rules

(7)

Types of allomorphy

(1)

Zero allomorphy

(2)

Irregular allomorphy

(1)

Regular allomorphy

(1)

Derivation

(1)

Origins of allomorphy

(1)

Phonetic change

(1)

Ease of pronunciation

(1)

Age or time of entry of the word into English

(1)

Frequency of use

(1)

Origin

(1)

Transparency

(1)

The fossilization of allomorphy

(1)

The sounds of English

(9)

Phonetic notation systems

(1)

Phonetic symbols and square brackets

(1)

Consonantal parameters

(1)

Place of articulation

(1)

Manner of articulation

(1)

Voicing

(1)

English consonants: summary

(1)

English vowels

(1)

Vowel variation

(1)

Vowel parameters

(2)

Reduction of vowels

(1)

The affixes of English

(6)

Prefixes

(3)

Suffixes

(3)

Replacement rules

(17)

Assimilation and types of assimilation

(1)

Labial assimilation

(3)

Exceptions to labial assimilation

(1)

Voicing assimilation

(2)

Sound versus spelling

100

(1)

Left-to-right voicing assimilation

100

(1)

Total assimilation

101

(3)

Total assimilation of prefixes

101

(2)

Double consonant spellings

103

(1)

Other replacement rules

104

(4)

T-Lenition

104

(1)

T-Lenition and spelling

105

(1)

T-Lenition, palatalization, and affrication

105

(1)

Summary of palatalization and affrication after T-Lenition

106

(1)

D-Lenition

106

(1)

Summary: palatalization and affrication of dental stops

107

(1)

v-Vocalization

108

(1)

Vowel replacements

108

(2)

A-Lenition

109

(1)

E-Lenition

109

(1)

Multiple Lenition

110

(1)

Backness assimilation

110

(2)

Deletion rules and other kinds of allomorphy

112

(16)

Consonant deletion

112

(9)

S-Degemination

113

(1)

Spelling exceptions

114

(1)

Exceptions to S-Degemination

114

(1)

Other affixes in -s

115

(1)

X-drop

116

(2)

Exceptions to X-drop

118

(1)

N-drop

118

(1)

Pronunciation and boundaries

119

(1)

N-drop in other prefixes

120

(1)

Vowel deletions

121

(4)

V-drop in hiatus

121

(1)

Exceptions

122

(1)

Syllable syncopation

123

(1)

Preservation of <-er> and <-or>

124

(1)

Expansion rules: vowel or consonant epenthesis

125

(3)

U-Epenthesis

125

(1)

P-Epenthesis

126

(2)

Fossilized allomorphy: false cognates and other etymological pitfalls

128

(19)

Fossilized allomorphy

128

(1)

Gradation

129

(1)

Gradation in Germanic

130

(1)

Rhotacism

130

(2)

Rhotacism in Latin

130

(2)

Rhotacism in Germanic

132

(1)

Metathesis (transposition)

132

(1)

Obscure cognates: completely unpredictable allomorphy

133

(2)

False cognates

135

(8)

Boundary misplacement

135

(1)

Homophony in roots and affixes

136

(1)

Root homophony

137

(2)

Affix homophony

139

(1)

Phonetic rules and homophony

140

(1)

Homophony of grammatical suffixes

141

(1)

Mixed homophony: affixes and roots

142

(1)

Pseudo-affixes

143

(1)

Semantic variation

144

(1)

Multiple derivatives - multiple meanings

145

(1)

Multiple affixes - same meaning

146

(1)

Semantic change and semantic guesswork

147

(16)

Terminology

147

(2)

Diversity of meanings

148

(1)

Other -onyms

148

(1)

How meanings change (``semantic change'')

149

(7)

External forces

149

(1)

Technology and current relevance

149

(2)

Accidental associations

151

(1)

Internal forces

152

(1)

Analogy

152

(2)

Loss of specificity

154

(2)

The results of semantic change

156

(3)

Scope

156

(1)

Status: amelioration and pejoration

156

(1)

Mixed examples

157

(1)

Narrowing/specialization

158

(1)

Types of status change

159

(1)

Changing cultural relevance

160

(1)

Semantic guesswork

161

(2)

The pronunciation of classical words in English

163

(14)

Unassimilated classical words

163

(3)

The pronounciation of consonants in unassimilated classical words

164

(1)

The pronounciation of vowels in unassimilated classical words

164

(2)

The pronounciation of fully assimilated classical words

166

(2)

Finding the main stress

168

(7)

The role of final syllables

169

(2)

Steps in determination of main stress placement

171

(4)

Stress-changing affixes

175

(2)

Affixes which attract the stress to the syllable on their left

176

(1)

Appendix I: an introduction to dictionaries

177

(16)

1 The origins of dictionaries

177

(1)

2 Types of dictionaries

177

(16)

2.1 Unabridged

178

(1)

2.2 The Oxford English Dictionary

179

(1)

2.2.1 The editors

180

(1)

2.2.2 Reduced versions of the OED

181

(1)

2.3 Merriam-Webster

182

(1)

2.4 Webster's competitors

183

(1)

2.5 Writing dictionaries

184

(1)

2.6 Desktop dictionaries

184

(1)

2.6.1 For British users

184

(1)

2.6.2 For American users

185

(1)

2.6.2.1 The American Heritage Dictionary

185

(1)

2.6.2.2 The Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionaries

186

(1)

2.6.2.3 Random House Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

186

(1)

2.6.2.4 Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language

187

(1)

2.6.3 Important differences between dictionaries

187

(1)

2.6.3.1 Historical order vs. logical order

187

(2)

2.6.3.2 The position of etymologies in dictionary entries

189

(1)

2.6.3.3 Dating of earliest examples

189

(1)

2.6.3.4 Specialized dictionaries

189

(2)

2.6.3.5 Thesaurus

191

(1)

2.6.3.6 Dictionaries of synonyms

191

(1)

2.7 Dictionary shelf-life

191

(2)

Appendix II: morpheme list

193

(12)

Index

205

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English Words: History and Structure

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials