| Term | Definition |
|---|
| folk etymology | when a learner equates a word they've never heard before with a word familiar to them: baited with bated (apprehensive), strait with straight |
| back formation | type of folk etymology, happens when a learner comes across a word that contains a sound sequence that sounds like a familiar suffix and hears it as follows: word = stem + suffix SO, a new word is formed from a larger word in which the stem was contained as in "fog" from foggy or "burgle" from burglar |
| clipping | multisyllabic word is shortened to a smaller word 1-2 syllables long 1) carbs from carbohydrates 2)ammo from ammunition |
| abbreviation | set of initials read 1 letter at time: COD, GI |
| acronym | set of initials read out as a new listeme: scuba, AIDS, AWOL |
| affixation | a new listme is created by combining stems and affixes non-compositionally: 1) awesome 2)terrific |
| compounding | 2 independent roots are combined to form a word with a more complex meaning: 1) headstrong, high school, easy going |
| blending | produced when 2 words are clipped and then combined to create a new word brunch=breakfast + lunch, chunnel = channel + chunnel |
| widening | when a word that previously refered to a more specific concept now refers to a more general one: 1) bird (young fowl) = all birds 2)manage (handle a horse) =handle any situation >>Happens because people use a word metaphorically and new learners do not pick up on this. |
| narrowing | a word that had a more general meaning is used to refer to something specific 1) deer (any animal) =particular kind of mammal 2)accident (happening, event)=unfortunate event |
| amelioration | when a word moves from a lower rung on the social register to a higher one 1) nice (stupid)=sweet 2) fond (foolish, dazed) = affectionate |
| perjoration | word moves down the social register 1) bully (sweetheart) =someone who abuses or threatens 2) retarded (was the new pc form) = mentally disabled |
| laser | light amplification by the simulated emission of radiation >>Lase is a back formation because people assumed "laser" is a word like "pointer" and that they could remove the -er suffix to form the word lase as you would to form the word point |
| homophone | pronounced the same but mean different things |
| homosemes | pronounced differently but have the same meaning |
| allomorphy | completely predictable, follows phonotactic rules of pronunciation |
| allomorph | alternative pronuncation of the same morpheme |
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