Appunti corso English Linguistics and Translation II (più esercizi)

English linguistics and translation ii

Morphology, the study of internal structure of words and words formation;

Syntax, deals with the way words combine to form larger units such as phrases, clauses, sentences;

Semantic, is the study of meaning --- deals with metaphoric language, figures of speech;

Phonology and pragmatics (sub-category of semantic, semantic in context) are part of the program of next year. These five levels of analysis interact with each other, this interaction is called linguistic interface (whenever an operation made in one linguistic level has a result in another level).

Write --- verb / Writer --- noun

Break a leg --- syntactic combination of a verb and a noun, it has also a semantic meaning (buona fortuna).

English morphology

Derivation

Derivation means taking a word and adding morphological material to create a new word. When a word can't be divided in segments, it is a simple word (write); when a word can be divided into more segments, it is a complex word (writer). Words are divided into smaller segments called morphs (writer = write + er).

There are two different types of morphs:

• Free = can occur alone;
• Bound = can't occur alone;

A free morph is always a root:

• It carries the main lexical or grammatical meaning;
• It occupies the position with the greatest potential for substitution;
• It may be attached to other free or bound morphs;

Roots can be:

• Content (or full) words --- lexical meaning; (Nouns, adjective, adverbs, verbs)
• Function (or empty) words --- grammatical meaning; (Articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, conjunctions, modal verbs)

Eccezione = Roots that are bound morphs (bound roots) There are foreign borrowings from Latin that used to be free in the source language but are not in English:

• Convertible --- root = vert --- comes from the Latin verb Con = prefix, ible = suffix;
• Conceivable --- catere; root = ceive --- comes from the Latin verb Admittion --- root = mit --- mittere;

Bound morphs - Enclitics --- contraction deriving from an independent word (auxiliary, modal verb or negative particle) which must be attached to the word that precedes. I'm -- m is an enclitic (contracted form of am); I've --- ve is an enclitic.

Affixes --- can have lexical meaning (derivational affixes) or grammatical meaning (inflectional affixes);

• Happiness = happy --- ness --- root / derivational affix
• Are always attached to a word (bound elements);
• Are divided into prefixes, suffixes, and infixes (Turkish, Arabic);

Derivational affixes

Can be prefixes or suffixes; Can be more than one for each word; Can attach only to some types of roots; There are two types of derivational affixes:

• Class-changing: turn a part of speech into another (-ly, -ness, -er...);
• Class-maintaining: no change (-hood, -dom, -ish);

Ish remains a class maintaining only if it is attached to an adjective (blonde/blondish) but is a class-changing if it is attached to a noun (fever/feverish, febbricitante).

Productivity

In linguistics, a rule is said to be productive when it can be used synchronically in the creation of new forms. To unfriend --- unfriended (productive form) Even if a combination is really productive, really frequent, sometimes it doesn't exist. Write --- writer Steal --- stealer = stealer the word doesn't exist but it's a matter of language economy because there is already another word for the same meaning (thief). This phenomenon in which productivity stops is called blocking (the non-occurrence of a form because of the existence of another form).

Inflectional affixes

Inflectional affixes in English are always suffixes:

• Only one for each word;
• Always occur last;
• Carry grammatical meaning (number, degree, tense)

Number (sing/plur), Degree (superlative, comparative), Tense (walk/walked)

Always attachable to all members of a certain word class;

Nationalists Example = Nation = root Al = derivational suffix, class-changing Ist = derivational suffix, class maintaining S = inflectional suffix, class maintaining

Derivation takes place through the addition of derivational affixes and, apart from a shift in word class, can imply:

• Phonological and/or stress change;
• Orthographic change;

Examples: Reduce reduction (verb) / (noun) -- change in the phonology Produce/production --- change in phonology Photograph/photography --- stress change Electric/electricity --- stress change Include/inclusive -- orthographic change Drama/dramatize --- orthographic change Mercy/merciful --- orthographic change Pity/pitiful --- orthographic change Deny/denial --- orthographic change

Bases and stems

Base = root + one or more derivational affixes (to which other derivational affixes are added); Stem = root + derivational affixes to which an inflectional affix is added;

Nationalists --- Nation = root, National = base, Nationalist = stem; Reduplications --- Duplicate = root, Duplication = base, Reduplication = stem;

Morphological analysis exercises

• Dissatisfactions = satisfy (root), ation (derivational suffix, class-changing), dis (derivational prefix, class-maintaining), s (inflectional affixes); Base = satisfaction Stem = dissatisfaction
• Ex-husbands = husband (root), ex (derivational prefix, class maintaining), s (inflectional affixes); Base = no Stem = ex-husband
• International = nation (root), al (derivational affixes, class-changing), inter (derivational prefix, class maintaining); Base = national Stem = no
• Admissions = mission (bound root da mittere), ission (derivational suffix, class-changing), ad (derivational prefix, class-maintaining), s (inflectional affix, class-maintaining); Base = admit/mission Stem = admission
• Actors = act (roots), or (derivational suffix, class-changing), s (inflectional affix); Base = no Stem = actor
• Unattended = attend (root), un (derivational prefix, class-maintaining), ed (derivational suffix, class-changing); Base = attended Stem = no
• Unhappy = happy (root), un (derivational prefix, class-maintaining); Base = no Stem = no
• Boys = boy (root), s (inflectional affix); Base = no Stem = no
• Inversion = vert (roots da Latin vertere), in (derivational prefix, class-maintaining), sion (derivational suffix, class-changing); Base = version Stem = no
• Joyful = joy (root), ful (derivational suffix, class-changing); Base = no Stem = no
• Kingdoms = king (root), dom (derivational suffix, class-maintaining), s (inflectional affix, class-maintaining); Base = no Stem = kingdom
• Miniskirts = skirt (root), mini (derivational prefix, class-maintaining), s (inflectional affix, class-maintaining); Base = no Stem = miniskirt

Lesson 2: Morphs vs. morphemes

Morphs are connected to the concept of morphemes. While morphs are concrete segments in which you can decompose a word, morphemes, on the other hand, are abstract units of meaning represented by morphs. That is, morphs realize morphemes. Writer --- write + er --- (WRITE) + (er=NOMINALIZER) + (singular=hidden morpheme).

Kind of analysis - morphological analysis = words are analyzed into morphs, following formal division; - morphemic analysis = words are analyzed into morphemes, recognizing the abstract units of meaning they carry;

Be careful! There isn't always a one-to-one correspondence between the number of morphs in a word-form and the number of morphemes it realizes! Since English is an isolating language, we can have two or more morphemes represented by a single-morphe word!

Morphological realization rules

Agglutinative rule Two morphemes are realized by morphs which remain distinct and are simply glued together. Example: borrowing = (BORROW) + (NOMINALIZER) + (plural)

Fusional rule Two morphemes are realized by morphs which do not remain distinct but are fused together. Example: Feet = (FOOT) + (pl)

Null realization rule A morpheme is never realized on a morph in any word of a certain word class (nouns, adjectives). Example: Nice = (NICE) + (positive)

Zero rule A morpheme is realized as a zero morph in some members of a word class (for example, verbs). Example: Put = (PUT) + (present/past/past participle)

There are cases in which more than one rule interacts with other rules. Example: Actor's = (ACT) + (derivational suffix, class-changing) + (derivational affix, class-maintaining)

Conversion

In English, the same word can have more syntactic actions. Example: Walk = può significare "passeggiata" (noun) o "camminare" (verb), quindi nome o verbo.

Walk = (WALK) + walk (sing) ----- morphemic analysis of as noun; Walk = walk (WALK) + (base form) ----- morphemic analysis of as verb;

Walks = (WALK) + (inflectional affix, class-maintaining) ---- morphological analysis of walks as noun; Walks = walks (WALK) + (pl) ---- morphemic analysis of as noun; Walks = walks (WALK) + (present) + (third person singular) ---- morphemic analysis of as verb;

Building = (BUILD) + (derivational suffix, class-changing) --- morphological analysis of building as a verb; Building = (BUILD) + (nominalizer) + (gerund) --- morphemic analysis of building as a verb; Building = (Build) + (derivational affix class-changing) ---- morphemic analysis of building as a noun; Building = (BUILD) + (n) + (sing) ---- morphological analysis of building as a noun;

Pronouns case (morphemic analysis)

• She = (3 person) + (sing) + (feminine) + (subject)
• Him = (3 person) + (sing) + (object) + (masculine)
• They = (3 person) + (plural) + (subject)

No indication of meaning, no root.

Exercises

• Dissatisfactions = (negation) + (SATISFY) + (n) + (plural); Dis --- negation, Satisfy --- root, Action --- nominalizer (n), S --- plural
• Ex-husbands = (time) + (HUSBAND) + (n) + (plural) + (masculine);
• International = (place) + (NATION) + (adjectivalizer) + (positive);
• Admissions = (place) + (MIT) + (n) + (plural);
• Actors = (ACT) + (n) + (plural) + (masculine);
• Unattended (as an adjective) = (negation) + (ATTEND) + (adjectivalizer) + (positive); Unattended (as a verb) = (negation) + (ATTEND) + (past participle/past simple);
• Unhappy = (negation) + (HAPPY) + (positive);
• Boys = (BOY) + (masculine) + (plural);
• Inversion = (place) + (VERT) + (nominalizer) + (sing);
• Joyful = (JOY) + (adjectivalizer) + (positive);
• Kingdoms = (KING) + (nominalizer) + (plural);
• Miniskirts = (size) + (SKIRT) + (nominalizer) + (plural);

Allomorphs

An allomorph is an either phonetically or grammatically conditioned member of a set of morphs representing a particular morpheme. They are semantically similar and in complementary distribution. Example: Unhappy = "un-" is the typical Anglo-Saxon prefix for negation. Sometimes we have to use another prefix to express negation for phonological reasons: Legal --- illegal, Satisfy --- dissatisfy, Accessible --- inaccessible. "Il-", "dis-", "im-", "ir-", "un-", are allomorphs of they all express the morpheme (negative).

Another example is the morph used to express the morpheme plural. The most common is "-s" but there are allomorphs like "-es", "-en", "-ves", "-a".

• Church --- churches
• Criterion --- criteria
• Child --- children
• Thief --- thieves

There are words that at the plural form end with "-ies", "-ices" or they don't change at all.

• City --- cities
• Appendix --- appendices
• Sheep --- sheep

Other words change from singular to plural.

• Mouse --- mice

Exercises

• Saving = (SAVE) + gerund;
• Hopes (noun) = (HOPE) + plural / Hopes (verb) = (HOPE) + 3 person + sing;
• Microfilms = size + (FILM) + plural;
• Me = 1 pers + sing + object;
• Incorrect = negation + (CORRECT) + positive;
• Our = 1 pers + plur + sing + possessive;
• Megabytes = size + (BYTE) + plural;
• Read = (READ) + present/past simple/past participle;
• Overwhelming = degree + (WHELM) + adjectivalizer + positive;
• Unexpected = negation + (EXPECT) + adjectivaliser + positive;
• Best = (GOOD) + superlative;
• Dogs = (DOG) + plural + masculine;
• Is = (BE) + 3 pers + sing + present;
• Hopefully = (HOPE) + adjectivaliser + adverbaliser;

Derivational suffixes in English

• Nominalizer, any suffix that produces a noun when added to a verb or an adjective. -ment, -er, -(C)ation, -al, -ance/-ence Verb > noun ---- (arrangement, worker, legalization, arrival, performance) -dom, -ness, -ity Adjective > noun ---- (freedom, bitterness, equality)
• Verbalizer, any suffix that produces a verb when added to a noun or an adjective. -ify, -ize, -ate, -en Adjective/noun > verb --- (simplify, publicize, orchestrate, lighten)
• Adjectivalizer, any suffix that produces an adjective when added to a verb, a noun or another adjective. -y, -ous, -ful Noun > adjective --- (flowery, poisonous, pitiful) -ive, -able, -ful, -ent/-ant Verb > adjective ---- (supportive, livable, hopeful, repellent)
• Adverbializer, any suffix that produces an adverb when added to a noun or an adjective. -ward, -ly, -way(s) Adjective/noun > adverb ---- (eastward, terribly, someway)

Semantic classes of prefixes in English

• Time --- (Prearrange, afterglow)
• Number --- (triannual, multimillionaire)
• Place --- (ingrown, interconnect)
• Degree --- (supersensitive, overconfident)
• Privation --- (apolitical, untie)
• Negation --- (unafraid, antiwar)
• Size --- (microcosm, minivan)

Lesson 3: Composition

Composition is a morphological process that produces compounds; the result of composition is a combined word. A compound is the combination of two free roots. Examples: Facebook = face + book; Armchair = arm + chair;

Compounds share special syntactic and semantic features.

Syntactic features

• Compounds can be written as a single word or as two words (hyphenated or not) and they cannot be internally modified; They stem from the combination of any part of speech (N + N; N + V; N + A, A + V; Prep + N; etc.);
• The word class of the resulting word is generally determined by the head of the compound (usually rightmost!);
• They may contain either derivational or inflectional affixes;

Examples:

• N + N ---- airplane, lipstick;
• Background, afternoon;
• Prep + N ---- babysit, handwrite;
• N + V ---- overcook, underestimate;
• Prep + V --- dutyfree, lifelong;
• N + A --- sunrise;
• V + Prep --- hangover;

Every combination is possible, even if some are more productive (frequent) than others. Both elements are not responsible for the word class of the final word.

Hangover (noun) = (verb) + (prep)

Compounds containing derivational affixes

• N + V + er ---- hairdresser, peacemaker;
• N + V + ing ---- handwriting, hardworking;
• N + V + en ---- handwoven, crestfallen;
• N + V + ed ---- spreadeagled, cold-blooded;

A compound can be:

Transparent vs opaque

Transparent = a word is clearly analyzable into its constituent morphs and its meaning is predictable on the basis of the meaning of the constituents. Example: Milkman = milk (latte) + man (uomo) = uomo del latte (the meaning is predictable);

Opaque = a word can be analyzable into its constituent morphs but its meaning is NOT predictable on the basis of the meaning of the constituents. Example: Cowboy = cow (mucca) + boy (ragazzo) --- (the meaning is not predictable); Commonplace = luogo comune --- the meaning is metaphorical;

Even if an element provides the meaning of the final form but the other doesn't, the compound is opaque.

Endocentric or exocentric

(has to do with the importance of the head, normally the head is the right element)

Endocentric = the grammatical head of the compound carries also the semantics of the compound and answers to the question "Is it a type of ________"? Example: Heartbeat = beat is the head --- "is it a type of beat?" yes! So it's endocentric; Textbook --- "is it a type of book?" Yes! --- so it's endocentric; Swordfish --- "is it a type of fish?" Yes! --- endocentric;

Exocentric = from the grammatical head of the compound it is not possible to predict the semantic meaning of the compound (the semantic head of the compound is somewhere else, "outside"). Example: Hangover = no element gives the idea of what a hangover is, so it's exocentric; Facebook = exocentric;

These parameters can be combined:

Endocentric + Transparent = armchair

Endocentric + Opaque = cowgirl

Exocentric + Transparent = scarecrow

Exocentric + Opaque = blackmail

Exercises

• First lady = opaque + endocentric;
• Lip gloss = transparent + endocentric;
• Happy hour = opaque + exocentric;
• Hot potato = opaque + exocentric;
• Travel agency = transparent + endocentric;
• Midnight = transparent + exocentric;
• Full moon = transparent + exocentric;
• Green card = opaque + endocentric;
• Taxi driver = transparent + endocentric;
• Highway = opaque + endocentric;
• Bestman = opaque + endocentric;

Other criteria to form new words

Shortenings:

• Clipping: A clipping results from the dropping of a segment of a word (usually beginning or end – sometimes both). Clippings keep the same meaning and word class of the source word, you just cut off a part of the word, which becomes more colloquial and immediate.

Examples:

• Lab --- laboratory;
• Prof --- professor;
• App --- application;
• Phone --- telephone;
• Pub --- public house;

These forms have entered the dictionary and this phenomenon has become so popular that there are also clipping compounds which is a word compound by clipped words.

• Sitcom --- situational + comedy;
• Hitech --- high-technology;