7.2 Processes of Language Change

Obsolete

A word no longer in common use: thee, thou

Coinage

A word created from nothing: Kodak

Neologism

A new word or expression recently created or adopted: selfie

Eponyms

A word formed from the name of a person: sandwich from Earl of Sandwich

Conversion

Using one word class as another without changing form: to email from an email

Telescoping

The process of shortening two words into one: going to - gonna

Compounding

Combining whole words to form a new one: toothbrush

Blending

Combining parts of words: smoke + fog = smog

Coalescence

The merging of sounds over time: did you - d'you

Backformation

Removing an affix to form a new word: editor - edit

Reduplication

Repeating a sound, syllable, or word for effect: bye-bye

Borrowing

The adoption of words from another language: cafe from French

Neuter

Words that are gender-neutral: they used for any gender

Inflection

The grammatical change of a word to indicate tense, number, or case: walk - walked

Archaism

The use of old-fashioned words for stylistic or literary effect

Etymology

The study of the history and origins of words

Amelioration

When a word becomes more positive over time: knight shifting from servant to noble warrior

Pejoration

When a word develops negative meaning: silly once meant happy, now foolish

Broadening

A specific meaning becoming broader: holiday once holy day, now any vacation

Narrowing

A general meaning becoming more specific: meat once meant all food, now only animal flesh

Prescriptivism

Belief that grammar rules should be fixed and enforced

Descriptivism

Belief that grammar should be described based on real usage

The brand name Xerox is an example of ___ because it was invented from scratch

coinage

The shift of awful from 'full of awe' to 'terrible' is an example of ___

pejoration

The word blog (from web + log) is an example of ___

blending

The word edit created from editor is an example of ___

backformation

The word holiday expanding from 'holy day' to 'any vacation' is an example of ___

broadening

the word knight improving in meaning over time is an example of ___

ameliroation

Borrowing words from French such as cafe is called ___

borrowing

Using Google as both a noun (a Google search) and a verb (to Google) is an example ___

conversion

What process describes the adoption of foreign words into English

borrowing

What is an example of blending?

breakfast + lunch = brunch

What term describes the study of word origins?

etymology

What is an example of narrowing?

meat shifting from 'all food' to 'animal flesh'

A prescriptivist would most likely argue that:

grammar rules should remain fixed and standardized