The analysis of English neologism 现代英语新词分析

TheanalysisofEnglishneologism现代英语新词分析AbstractWiththedevelopmentofsocietyandthetechnicaladvancement,thereareagreatmanyneologismsemergingintheEnglishvocabulary.Theyarenotcreatedfreely;theyfollowsomerules,theprocessesofword–formation.Withouttheintroductionandconclusion,thisarticleincludesthreesections,whichformthemainbodyofthisessay.TheydefinethesourcesofEnglishneologisms,word-formationprocesses,andthegeneraltrendofEnglishneologismsrespectively. ThepurposesofthisarticlearetostudythepracticalvalueofEnglishneologisms,stimulateEnglishlearners’interest,andhelpthemenlargetheirvocabularyeffectively.Besides,itwillhelpthemovercometheobstacleintheirEnglishlearningandreadingcausedbytheneologisms. KeyWordsNeologisms,sources,word-formationprocesses,trend摘　要随着现代社会的飞速发展和科学技术的日新月异，现代英语词汇中涌现出了大量的新词。这些新词并非随意构成，而是遵循了一定的构词规则，即英语词汇构词法。除去引言和结论，文章共分三个部分。它们构成了文章的主体，主体部分分别就英语新词的来源，构词方法，和英语词汇的发展趋势作了详细的研究和论述。文章旨在探索新词的实用价值，激发英语学习者学习英语的兴趣，帮助他们有效地扩大词汇。克服在英语学习和英语阅读中的因新词的出现导致的学习障碍。关键词新词，来源，构词法，趋势   IntroductionAsafamousAmericantranslationtheoristEugeneA.Nada(1982)said,“OneofthemostimportantcharactersinEnglishiswhichcouldbeeasilychanged.”Exactly,withthedevelopmentofsocietyandtechnologyadvancement,Englishneologismsarecreatedoneafteranother.AccordingtothecountingoftheBarnhartDictionaryCompanionMagazine,1500-1600newwordsareenteringtheircomputerdatabaseeachyear.ModernEnglishhasavocabularyof500,000words,and2/3ofthemarecreatedduringthelatest300years（WangRongpei,1997）WhenwereadtheEnglishnewspapers(suchasNetizen)andmagazines(suchasYetties)orlistentotheEnglishbroadcast(Watergate),howfrequentlyweencounterneologismsandwehavetoacknowledgethefactthatwecannotalwaysdependonthedictionaries,soitisveryimportantforEnglishlearnerstostudyneologisms.AccordingtotheOxfordDictionaryofNewWords(ElizabethKnowleswithJuliaElliott,1998),neologismsrefertothenewwordsandexpressionsusedinthegivenperiod.IntheEnglishlinguisticsystem,thechangingofphoneticsandgrammarisrelativelyslow;bothofthempossessthestabilitytoacertaindegree.Butthevocabularyisthemostsensitiveandloosepartinthesystem,thetwofeaturesofferthegreatpossibilityforcreatingnewwords.However,Englishneologismsarenotproducedfreely;mostofthemaresubjecttosomerulesaswellastheword-formationprocesses.InordertohaveabetterunderstandingofEnglishneologisms,inthisarticlethreeaspectswillbechosentodiscussandanalyzethenewwords.Theyare:thesourcesofEnglishneologisms;word-formationprocesses;andthegeneraltrendofEnglishneologisms. Ⅰ.TheSourcesofEnglishNeologismsInthelinguisticsystem,vocabularieshaveacloserelationshipwiththeages.Sotheycanreflectthehumanhistoryandallkindsofsocialchangesverywell.Meanwhile,theemergenceofneologismsisinevitablyeffectedbythesocialconditions,customsandhabits,values,thinkingwaysandsomanyothersocialfactors.Tohaveagoodknowledgeofthesemanticgrounds,itisnecessaryforustoexplorethesocialbackgroundswhichinfluencethecreationofEnglishneologisms.A.PoliticalAspectSincetheSecondWorldWar,theworldsituationwaschangedrapidly,whichhadaprofoundinfluenceonthedevelopmentofEnglishneologisms.FromtheKoreanWar(duringtheColdWarperiod)totheKosovoWar;aftertheThirdWorld,thereistheFourthWorld(referstothepoorestcountry);thestatemenofeachcountrydealwiththeforeignaffairsfrequently,itistheshuttlediplomacy;theconferenceattendedbytheleadersofsevenwesterncountrieswascalledG-7Summit;tradedisputes alwaysariseamongtheJapan,America,andEuprocountriesinrecentyears,theso-calledTradeWar.Theseneologismsreflectthechangeofworldsituationattherighttimeandrecordthesocialchangescorrectly. In1992,BillClintonwaselectedtobePresidentdependingontheslogan“it’stheeconomy,stupid”,buthowabouttheeconomyconditionafterfouryears?AccordingtothereportofOrganizationforEconomyCooperationandDevelopment,Americaisthemostunequaldistributionofincomeamongtheadvancedindustrializedcountries.Americansnowalwaystalkaboutincomegap,thegrowinggapbetweentherichandeveryoneelse,incomeinequalityeconomicinequality,wealthdisparity.Politicsinfluencesthelanguageanditsvocabulary,andthenewly-coinedvocabularyreflectsthepoliticalchanges.B.EconomicAspectWiththerapiddevelopmentofworldeconomyandthecomingofeconomicglobalization.Therearesomanyneologismscreatedtokeepabreastofthissituation.Wecanseesomeoftheeconomicorganizationsandtreaties.Forinstance,thewell-knownWTO(WorldTradeOrganization);theNAFTA(NorthAmericanFreeTradeAgreement);tostrengthentheallianceofeconomy,theEuropeUnionmadeadecisiontocarryouttheuntiedcurrencyEuro,andinordertounifytheEuropeMarket;withtheemergenceofcyber-economy,someEnglishnewwordsarecoined.Suchascyber-commerce,e-tail,cyberstar,cyberpet,etc.Nowadays,peoplecanuseaplastictowithdrawmoneyonthehole-in-the-wall(ATM);inthesupermarket,customerscanconsumegoodsbyloyaltycardandmembercard;toprovideagoodshoppingenvironmentfortheconsumers,theshoppingstreetsforpedestriansonlyareconstructedallovertheworldfrequently.Sothereisthenewwordpedestrianmallcreated.C.ScienceandTechnologyAspectthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnologyisthemostimportantaspectfortheappearingofEnglishneologisms.Forexample,launchingthespaceshipisasymbolwhichmarkstheadvancementoftechnology,somanyofthenewwordsconnectedwiththespaceshiparewidelyused.Suchasspacesickness,deepspace.Attheendof2002,ourcountrylaunchedtheShenZhouFourSpaceshipsuccessfully;theforeignmediumfirstusedthewordtaikonaut.AfterthelaunchingofShenZhouFive,thisnewwordisappearedfrequentlyinthemediumofwesterncountries.Atthesametime,theadvancedMedicalSciencealsobringsahostofEnglishnewwords.Theyareincludingmedicaljarons,thenamesofnewlydevelopedmedicine,andsomeofthenewgermorvirus.Forexample:test-tubebaby,anthrax,mad-cowdisease,foot-and-mouth,transsexualoperation,cloning,SARS,laparoscopy,botox,etc.Thedevelopmentofcomputertechnologycausesalargenumberoftheneologismsarecreated.Inthecyberspace,youcanseemanyofthepop-upads;youcangotoanywebsitetosurforbrowse;maybeyoucansignuptobeanetizen;ifyouaretried,youcanstayincyberiatohavearest;oryoucangotoE-cinematologonaDrive-inMovie;youcanhaveaunusualonlineloveaffairwithyournetfriend,butdon’trunintothehackerandvirus.D.OtherAspects1. SocietyandPeopleAspectInrecenttimes,therearesomanyhotneologismsproduced.Peoplecantakemaglevtraintoantherplace;vendingmachineisstandingeverywhere;someofthenewwordsevenreflectthenationalconditionsandpublicopinions,theyhaveacloserelationshipwithpeople’sdailylife.Forinstance,theSouth-NorthWaterDiversionProject,developmentoftheWest,welfare-orientedpublichousing,well-offsociety,laid-off,andcleangovernmentbuildingetc.Meanwhile,withthedevelopmentofmodernsociety,alotofnewphenomenaarearisen,whicharereflectedbythenewwords.Thereareagroupofinterestingwords,suchas:blue-collar,white-collar,pink-collar,gold-collar,Besides,(ofagirl)findasugardaddyisbangdakuan,bidchampion,imagerepresentationofaproductorbrand.2. SportsandEntertainmentAspectThedevelopmentofeconomystimulatestheentertainmentindustry.Peoplecangotopedestrianmalltoconsume;choosemutiplextowatchmovie;gotofitnesscentertotrytheaerobics.Someofthepeoplelikeecotourism;mostoftheyoungpeoplewouldliketotrytheextremesports,suchas,bungeejumping,rockclimbing,andsoon.Inthissection,wehavemainlydiscussedthesourcesofEnglishnewwordsthroughthemethodofgivingexamples.Afterabriefanalysis,weshouldbeabletounderstandthesocialgroundsforproducingEnglishneologisms.Ⅱ.TheProcessesofWord-formationA.BorrowingEnglishisfamousforits“open-up”character;ithasassimilatedornaturalizedagreatmanywordsfromtheoutside.SoEnglishisaheavyborrower.ItisestimatedthatEnglishloanwords(wordsborrowedfromothercountries)are80percentofthemodernEnglishvocabulary.Duringtheeighthtothetenthcenturies,alargenumberofScandinavianwordswereborrowed.SomecenturiesaftertheNormanConquest,vastnumbersofFrenchwordswereintroduced.SincethefoundationofEnglishspeakingnations,wordshavebeenwidelyadoptedfromalmosteverylanguagewithwhichithascontacted.Jespersoncallsit“linguisticomnivorousness”(1962).Afewexamplesarealcohol(Arabic),boss(Dutch),croissant(French),lilac(Persian),piano(Italian),pretzel(German),robot(Czech),tycoon(Japanese),yogurt(Turkish)andzebra(Bantu),ranch(Spanish)(Yule,1985).Accordingtotheassimilationandwaysofborrowing,wecandividetheborrowedwordsintofourgroups:1.DenizensTheyarethewordsearlyborrowingfromLatin,Greek,French,andScandinavians.TheyarekeptinEnglishwithalittlechangeoftheirforms.E.g.portfromportus(L),cupfromcuppa(L),porkfromporc(F),etc.TheseEnglishwordslooksimplerandcleaner.2.AliensWordsofthisgrouparedirectlyborrowedfromothercountries.Theyretaintheirownoriginalpronunciationandspelling,suchas:décor(F),blizkring(G),knowtow(H),bazaar(Per),statusquo(L).3.Translation–loansThesegroupsofwordsincludetwotypes:meaning-loans,andsound-loans.a.wordstranslatedfrommeaning:   Longtimenoseefromhaojiubujian(CH)   Masterpiecefrommeisterstuck(G)Blackhumorfromhumornoir(F)b.wordstranslatedfromsound:   Ketchupfromke-tsiap(CHdial)   Lamafromlama(Tib)Kulakfromkyrak(Russ)4.semantic–loans.Theyarethewordsnotborrowingfromtheirforms,butborrowingfromtheirmeanings.Thatistosay,Englishhasborrowedanewmeaningfromanexistingwordinthelanguage.Pioneeroncedenoting“exploreonly”or“apersondoingpioneeringwork”hasnowtakenonthenewmeaningof“amemberoftheyoungpioneer”fromRussia.Themeaning“stupid”oftheworddumbcomesfromtheGermanworddumm.Likewise,freshhasadoptedthemeaningof“impertinent,sassy,checky”undertheinfluenceoftheGermanwordfrech(ZhangWeiyou,1997).NeologismsoriginatedfromChineseandJapaneseenjoyhighfrequencies.SomearefromJapan,suchas: karaoke,karoshi,sushi,ikebana,etc.SomearefromChinese,suchas‘Jiaozi,dimsum,makjong,fengshui,qigong,lichi,kaishu,dragonboat,ironricebowel,theThreeRepresents,oneCountry,twoSystems,andsoon.ThisissomewhatcontrarytoCannon’sagreement-“HistoriesoftheEnglishlanguageandparticularlySerjeantson’sfamousbookonborrowingsinEnglishindicatethatexoticlanguagelikeJapanandChinesehavecontributedfewterms,thoughsomeoftheitemsenjoyhighfrequency”(Cannon,1998).Withtheincreasingofinternationalculturalexchanges,agreatmanynewwordswillbeintroducedinEnglishfromothercountries.Borrowingasoneofthesourcesfornewwords,ithasaprofounddevelopment.B.NativeWord-formationProcessesTheEnglishlanguagehasincreaseditsresourcesnotonlythroughtheadoptionofwordsfromotherlanguages,butalsothroughtheformationofnewwordswiththematerialavailableinthelanguage.Beforewediscusstheword-formation,weneedtohaveabasicknowledgeofmorphologicalstructureofwordsandgainsomethingaboutthedifferentword–formingelementswhicharetobeusedtocreatenewwords.1.BasicConceptofWord-formation1.1MorphemesAspointedoutbyDavidCystalinhisbookAFirstDictionaryofLinguisticsandPhonetics,themorphemeare“theminimaldistinctiveunitofgrammar,andthecentralconcernofmorphology”.Themorpheme,accordingly,canbeconsideredas“thesmallestfunctioningunitinthecompositionofwords.”1.2TypesofMorphemesMorphemescanbeclassifiedaccordingtotwocriteria:a. freemorphemesandboundmorphemesfreemorphemesaremorphemeswhichcanoccurasseparatewords.Thatistosay,afreemorphemecanstandaloneasaword.E.g.dog,it，word.Boundmorphemesaremorphemeswhichcannotstandaloneaswords.Theyaremainlyaffixes.Thatistosay,aboundmorphemeisonethatmustappearwithatleastoneothermorpheme,boundorfreeinaword.Forexample,theEnglishwordunfaithfulconsistsofthreemorphemes,un-,faith,and–ful.Faithisafreemorpheme;un-and–fulareboundmorphemes.b. Rootsandaffixes    Arootisthebaseformofawordthatexpressesitsessentialmeaning,ameaningthatneverchanges,eventhroughaffixesmaybeaddedatthebeginningorattheendofaword.Forinstance,care,careful,careless,carelessness.Rootsareeitherfreeorbound.    Affixesareformsthatareattachedtowordsorwordelementstomodifymeaningorfunction.Affixesthatcomebeforetherootsarecalledprefixes;thosethatcomeaftertherootsarecalledsuffixes.2.Word-formationProcesses2.1MainProcessesOfEnglishWord-formationa.CompoundingNewwordscanbeformedfromexistingwordsbyaprocessknownascompounding,whichmeansindependentwordsareputtogethertomakeoneword.Forexample,sandstorm,playboy,fatfarm,beautycontests,mailorder,acidhead,Alphageek,corporateculture,customer-centricetc.CompoundinghasbeenasourceofnewwordssinceearliesttimesandittakesthelargestpartsofmodernEnglishneologisms.Compoundingiswritteninthreeways:solid(blackbird),hyphenated(open-heartsurgery),andopen(icecream).InEnglish,theconventionsofwritingcompoundsarenotconsistent.Generallyspeaking,thepartofspeechofthewholecompoundisthesameasthatoftheoldmemberofthecompound.Forexample,doisaverb,andoverdoisalsoaverb,doistheoldmemberofthewholecompound.Phonologically,compoundscanoftenbeidentifiedashavingamainstressonthefirstelementandasecondarystressonthesecondelement.E.g.thesequencehighandchaircanbepronouncedHIGHchair,inwhichcaseitisacompoundnoundenotingaspecialkindofchairthatbabiessitin;oritcanbepronouncedhighCHAIR,inwhichcaseitissimplyanounphrase,denotingsomechairthathappenstobehigh(notnecessaryababy’schair)(Crystal,1985).Themeaningofcompoundscannotalwaysbeinferredfromthemeaningofitsparts.Thereasonisthatwehaveoneconceptioninacompoundratherthanthesumofthetwoconceptsexpressedbythetwoelements.Forinstance,adarkroom(aroomusedforphotographicprocessing)isnotjustadarkroom,sincemostdarkroomsarenotdarkrooms.Duringthemodernperiod,compoundsarenotlimitedtotwowords.Theycanbemadeupofmorethantwowords.Theseneologismsarecalledgroupcompounds.Suchas,go-with-thestreamperson,laid-offworkers.2.2.MinorProcessesBesidesthethreemajormethodsofformingwords(compounding,derivation,conversion),Englishalsousesminorword-formationprocesses.Herearesixdeviceswhichareconsideredasmeansofformingnewwordsonthebasisofoldones.a.ClippingorShorteningClippingorshorteningisamethodofshorteningawordwithoutchangingitsmeaning.Wordslikegas(fromgasoline),bus(fromomnibus),etc.areformedbyclipping.ClippingisanimportantprocessofformingnewwordsinmodernEnglish.itcanbeusedfrequentlyininformallanguage.Forinstance,peopleuseexam,prof,lab,math,anddorminthecampusandclassroom.Mostofthemstandforacolloquialflavor.Thisprocessisusedwidelyinscientificwritingandjournalisticstyle.Itisadvancedforusingwordspreciselyandconveniently.InmodernEnglish,notonlysinglewordsbutalsophrasescanbereplacedbytheuseofclipping.Forexample,thewordprefabisclippedfromthephraseprefabricatedstructureorprefabricatedhouse.Thereareseventypesofclipping:1. frontclippingPhone=telephone,copter=helicopter,bus=omnibus2. backclippingad=advertisement,photo=photograph,dom=dormitory3. frontandbackclippingflu=influenza,script=prescription,fridge=refrigerator4. middleclippingcurtsy=courtesy,boatswain=bo’sn,pacifist=pacificist5. phraseclippingThree-D=three-dimensionalfilmorformPub=publichouseLube=lubricatingoil6. JournalistclippingCwlth=commonwealth,Dept=department,H.K=HongKong7. backclipping+suffixagro=aggression+(-o),comfy=comfortable+(-y),hankie/hanky=handkerchief+(-i.e.)/(-y)b.AcronymsAnacronymistheprocessofformingnewwordsbyjointingthefirstlettersorsyllablesofdifferentwords.Wordsformedinthiswayarecalledinitialismsoracronyms,dependingonthepronunciationofthewords.Initialismsarewordspronouncedletterbyletter.1. Lettersrepresentsfullwords;SARS severeacuterespiratorysyndromeMMS MultimediaMessagingService2. LettersrepresentsconstituentsinacompoundorjustpartsofawordTB   tuberculosisTV   televisionAcronymsarewordsformedfrominitiallettersbutpronouncedasanormalword.Scuba Self-containedunderwaterbreathingapparatusZipCode ZoneImprovementProgramSomeacronymsareformedwiththeinitialletterofthefirstwordplusthewholeofthesecondN-bomb  nuclearbombE-mail   electronicmailTheprocessofacronymsgainsitspopularityinEnglishsinceWorldWarⅡ.WhenpeopletalkaboutNATO,UNESCO,andNASA,mostofthemcannotgivethelongertitle.Someacronymscanlosetheircapitalletterstobecomeeverydayterms,suchaslaserandradar.Raderderivesfromradiodetectingandranging,andlaserderivesfromlightamplification(by)stimulatedemission(of)radiation.Itisimportanttonotethateventhoughsuchwordsareoriginallycreatedasacronyms.Speakersquicklyforgetsuchoriginsandtheacronymsbecomenewindependentwords.Undoubtedly,acronymsremainanimportantroletomodernEnglishvocabulary.c.DerivationDerivationisalsocalledAffixation,whichreferstocreatingneologismsbyattachingsuffixorprefixtotheroot.Thereisaprefixcyber-;itmightbetheaffixforsuchderivationsascyberspace,cyber-café,cybernut,cybersurfing,cyberculture,etc. Affixlikescyber-isactive.Besides,therearemanyproductiveaffixes,suchasanti-,super-,mini-,-ism,-ese,andsoon.UsingthemcancreateaseriesofEnglishneologisms.Theprocessofderivationallowsustoexpandourvocabularywithoutspecificallymemorizingnewwords.Soitisoneofthemostimportantwaysforword-formation.  Table1.ExamplesforDerivationsuper- super-model,super-fit,super-fresh-ism   healthism,ableism,sizeism-e   e-cash,e-commerce,e-mail-nik   filmnik,computernik,peacenikd.ConversionConversionisaword-formationwhichmeansawordisshiftedintoanotherspeechwithoutchangingthewordform.Essentially,itisanextensionofgrammarfunction,whichcanchangethenounsintoverbsoradjectives,ormaketheverbswiththefunctionofnouns.Fortheprocessofconversion,nounsareshiftedintoverbsoccurringmostfrequently.Forexample,inthetwosentences,thebossgavenoanswer,buteyedhimwithanger;Ihadtomoonlighttosupportthefamily.Evencompoundnounsgetshiftedtoverbs,thesecretarywhosaid,“Ididn’tback-filetheletter,Iwaste-basketedit”wasspeakingtwenty-centuryEnglish,howeverinelegant.Adjectives,whichcanbecomeverbs,suchas‘dirty,empty,total,crazy,andnasty,etc.Otherforms,suchasupanddown,canalsobecomeverbs,asin‘theyuptheprice’or‘wedownafewbeers’.Compounding,derivation,andconversionarethreemajorword-formationprocessesthroughthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage.ForthevastnumbersofEnglishneologisms,theyhavecontributedmuchmore.e.BlendingBlendingisacombinationofclippingandcompounding,whichmakesnewwordsbyputtingtogetherpartsoftwowordsorawordplusapartofanotherword.Forexample,phreakingiscreatedfrom‘phoneandbreaking’;ecothugisfrom‘ecologyandthug’.Blendingisaveryproductiveprocess,whichhasfourtypesaccordingtothemorphologicalstructures.1. Head+tailmotal(motor+hotel),brunch(breakfast+lunch)teleputer(television+computer)2. Head+headsiccom(situation+comedy),hi-tech(high+technology)sci-fi(science+fiction)3. head+wordmedicare(medical+care),lansign(language+sign)4. word+tailnewscast(news+broadcast),moomark(moon+landmark)masscult(mass+culture),greetech(green+technology)Thevastmajorityofblendsarenouns;veryfewareverbsandadjectives.f.BackformationBack-formationisatypeofword-formationwhereashorterwordisderivedbydeletinganimaginedaffixfromanalreadyexistinglongerwordinthevocabulary.Thewordedit,forexample,comesfromthewordeditor.Thatistosay,thenouneditorappearedfirstintheEnglishvocabulary,andthentheverbedit.Accordingtoitsoriginback-formationmaybeformedfromthefollowingpartsofspeech.1. fromnounsendingin–er,-ar,-or,-sion,etcaggress—fromaggression,edit—fromeditor,peddle—frompeddler/peddler2. fromnounsendinginotherformsdiagnose—fromdiagnosis,enthuse—fromenthusiasm,type—fromtypewriter3. fromnouncompoundsbaby-sit—frombaby-sister,housekeep—fromhousekeepermass-produce—frommass-production4. fromadjectivesgreed—fromgreedy,laze—fromlazy,gloom—fromgloomy InmodernEnglish,anumberofback-formationwordshavebecomeapartofthecommoncoreintheEnglishvocabulary,suchasair-condition,automate,beg,televise,etc. g.FormingNewWordsbyAnalogyWord-formationbyanalogyisaprocesswhichproducesnewwordsbyreplacingoneconstituentofamodelwordwithanewonethroughsemanticassociationandcontrast.Notonlysinglewordbutalsothephrasecanbecoinedwithnewwordsbyanalogy.Forexample:1).analogybyasingleword sunrise—earthr