Module 1

Word: The Definition and Criteria

How New Words are Born?

Andy Boodle

As dictionary publishers never tire of reminding us, our language is

growing. Not content with the million or so words they already have at
their disposal, English speakers are adding new ones at the rate of around
1,000 a year. Recent dictionary debutants include blog, grok,
crowdfunding, hackathon, airball, e-marketing, sudoku, twerk and Brexit.
But these represent just a sliver of the tip of the iceberg. According
to Global Language Monitor, around 5,400 new words are created every
year; it’s only the 1,000 or so deemed to be in sufficiently widespread use
that make it into print. Who invents these words, and how? What rules
govern their formation? And what determines whether they catch on?
Shakespeare is often held up as a master neologist, because at
least 500 words
(including critic, swagger, lonely and hint) first appear in his works – but
we have no way of
knowing whether he personally invented them or was just transcribing
things he’d picked up
elsewhere.
It’s generally agreed that the most prolific minter of words was
John Milton, who gave us 630 coinages, including lovelorn, fragrance and
pandemonium. Geoffrey Chaucer (universe, approach), Ben Jonson (rant,
petulant), John Donne (self-preservation, valediction) and Sir Thomas
More (atonement, anticipate) lag behind. It should come as no great
surprise that writers are behind many of our lexical innovations. But the
fact is, we have no idea who to credit for most of our lexicon.
If our knowledge of the who is limited, we have a rather fuller
understanding of the how. All new words are created by one of 13
mechanisms:

1 Derivation - The commonest method of creating a new word is

to add a prefix or suffix to an existing one. Hence realisation (1610s),
democratise (1798), detonator (1822), preteen (1926), hyperlink (1987)
and monogamish (2011).
2 Back formation - The inverse of the above: the creation of a
new root word by the removal of a phantom affix. The noun sleaze, for
example, was back-formed from “sleazy” in about 1967. A similar process
brought about pea, liaise, enthuse, aggress and donate. Some linguists
propose a separate category for lexicalisation, the turning of an affix into a
word (ism, ology, teen), but it’s really just a type of back formation.
3 Compounding - The juxtaposition of two existing words.
Typically, compound words begin life as separate entities, then get hitched
with a hyphen, and eventually become a single unit. It’s mostly nouns that
are formed this way (fiddlestick, claptrap, carbon dating, bailout), but
words from other classes can be smooshed together too: into
(preposition), nobody (pronoun), daydream (verb), awe-inspiring,
environmentally friendly (adjectives).
4 Repurposing - Taking a word from one context and applying it
to another. Thus the crane, meaning lifting machine, got its name from the
long-necked bird, and the computer mouse was named after the long-
tailed animal.
5 Conversion - Taking a word from one word class and
transplanting it to another. The word giant was for a long time just a noun,
meaning a creature of enormous size, until the early 15 th century, when
people began using it as an adjective. Thanks to social media, a similar fate
hasnrecently befallen friend, which can now serve as a verb as well as a
noun (“Why didn’t you friend me?”).

6 Eponyms - Words named after a person or place. You may

recognise Alzheimer’s, atlas, cheddar, alsatian, diesel, sandwich, mentor,
svengali, wellington and boycott as eponyms – but did you know that gun,
dunce, bigot, bugger, cretin, currant, hooligan, marmalade, maudlin,
maverick, panic, silhouette, syphilis, tawdry, doggerel, doily and sideburns
are too? (The issue of whether, and for how long, to retain the capital
letters on eponyms is a thorny one.)
7 Abbreviations - An increasingly popular method. There are
three main subtypes: clippings, acronyms and initialisms. Some words that
you might not have known started out longer are pram (perambulator),
taxi/cab (both from taximeter cabriolet), mob (mobile vulgus), goodbye
(God be with you), berk (Berkshire Hunt), rifle (rifled pistol), canter
(Canterbury gallop), curio (curiosity), van (caravan), sport (disport), wig
(periwig), laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation),
scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), and trump
(triumph. Although it’s worth noting that there’s another, unrelated sense
of trump: to fabricate, as in “trumped-up charge”).
8 Loanwords - Foreign speakers often complain that their
language is being overrun with borrowings from English. But the fact is,
English itself is a voracious word thief; linguist David Crystal reckons it’s
half-inched words from at least 350 languages. Most words are borrowed
from French, Latin and Greek; some of the more exotic provenances are
Flemish (hunk), Romany (cushty), Portuguese (fetish), Nahuatl (tomato –
via Spanish), Tahitian (tattoo), Russian (mammoth), Mayan (shark), Gaelic
(slogan), Japanese (tycoon), West Turkic (horde), Walloon (rabbit) and
Polynesian (taboo). Calques (flea market, brainwashing, loan word) are
translations of borrowings.
9 Onomatopeia - The creation of a word by imitation of the
sound it is supposed to make. Plop, ow, barf, cuckoo, bunch, bump and
midge all originated this way.
10 Reduplication - The repetition, or near-repetition, of a word or
sound. To this method we owe the likes of flip-flop, goody-goody, boo-
boo, helter-skelter, picnic, claptrap, hanky-panky, hurly-burly, lovey-dovey,
higgledy-piggledy, tom-tom, hip hop and cray-cray. (Willy-nilly, though,
came to us via a contraction of “Will he, nill he”.)
11 Nonce words - Words pulled out of thin air, bearing little
relation to any existing form. Confirmed examples are few and far
between, but include quark (Murray Gell-Mann), bling (unknown) and
fleek (Vine celebrity Kayla Newman).
12 Error - Misspellings, mishearings, mispronunciations and
mistranscriptions rarely produce new words in their own right, but often
lead to new forms in conjunction with other mechanisms. Scramble, for
example, seems to have originated as a variant of scrabble; but over time,
the two forms have taken on different meanings, so one word has now
become two. Similarly, the words shit and science, thanks to a long
sequence of shifts and errors, are both ultimately derived from the same
root. And the now defunct word helpmeet, or helpmate, is the result of a
Biblical boo-boo. In the King James version, the Latin adjutorium simile sibi
was rendered as “an help meet for him” – that is, “a helper suitable for
him”. Later editors, less familiar with the archaic sense of meet, took the
phrase to be a word, and began hyphenating help-meet.
13 Portmanteaus - Compounding with a twist. Take one word,
remove an arbitrary portion of it, then put in its place either a whole word,
or a similarly clipped one. Thus were born sitcom, paratroops, internet,
gazunder and sexting. (Note: some linguists call this process blending and
reserve the term portmanteau for a particular subtype of blend. But since
Lewis Carroll, who devised this sense of portmanteau, specifically defined
it as having the broader meaning, I’m going to use the terms willy-nilly.)

Some words came about via a combination of methods: yuppie is

the result of initialism ((y)oung and (up)wardly mobile) plus derivation (+ -
ie); berk is a clipped eponym (Berkshire hunt); cop, in the sense of police
officer, is an abbreviation of a derivation (copper derives from the
northern British dialect verb cop, meaning to catch); and snarl-up is a
conversion (verb to noun) of a compound (snarl + up).
The popularity of the various methods has waxed and waned
through the ages. For long periods (1100-1500 and 1650-1900),
borrowings from French were in vogue. In the 19 th century, loanwords
from Indian languages (bangle, bungalow, cot, juggernaut, jungle, loot,
shampoo, thug) were the cat’s pajamas. There was even a brief onslaught
from Dutch and Flemish.
In the 20th century, quite a few newbies were generated by
derivation, using the -ie (and -y) suffix: talkies, freebie, foodie, hippy,
roomie, rookie, roofie, Munchie, Smartie, Crunchie, Furby, scrunchie.
Abbreviations, though, were the preferred MO, perhaps because of the
necessity in wartime of delivering your message ASAP. The passion for
initialisms seems to be wearing off, perhaps because things have got a
little confusing; PC, for example, can now mean politically correct, police
constable, per cent, personal computer, parsec, post cibum, peace corps,
postcard, professional corporation or printed circuit.
 Module 2
Grammatical Categories

A. Nouns

Classes of Nouns

Classes of nouns, also known as noun categories or noun types,

are groupings of nouns based on shared characteristics or features. These
classifications help organize and categorize nouns in a language, making it
easier to understand their grammatical behavior and usage. The specific
classes of nouns can vary from language to language, but there are some
common categories often found in many languages:
1. Common Nouns: Common nouns refer to general, non-specific
people, places, things, or concepts. They do not refer to particular or
unique entities. Examples include "dog," "city," "book," and
"idea."
2. Proper Nouns: Proper nouns are specific names given to
particular people, places, or things. They are typically
capitalized. Examples include "John," "Paris," "The Great Gatsby," and
"Coca-Cola."
3. Concrete Nouns: Concrete nouns refer to tangible, physical
entities that can be
perceived by the senses. Examples include "tree," "apple," "car,"
and "music."
4. Abstract Nouns: Abstract nouns refer to intangible concepts,
ideas, emotions, or
qualities. Examples include "love," "freedom," "happiness," and
"intelligence."
5. Countable Nouns (Count Nouns): Countable nouns can be
counted as individual units and can take both singular and plural forms.
Examples include "cat" (singular) and "cats" (plural).
6. Uncountable Nouns (Mass Nouns): Uncountable nouns cannot
be counted as discrete units and are typically treated as singular. They
often represent substances or concepts that are considered
continuous or unbounded. Examples include "water," "knowledge,"
and "sand."
7. Collective Nouns: Collective nouns refer to groups or
collections of people or things as a single unit. Examples include "team,"
"herd," "family," and "jury."
8. Animate Nouns: Animate nouns refer to living beings, such as
humans, animals, and sometimes plants. Examples include "person,"
"dog," "cat," and "oak tree" (if plants are considered animate in a
particular language).
9. Inanimate Nouns: Inanimate nouns refer to non-living objects
or concepts. Examples include "table," "rock," "computer," and
"happiness." It's important to note that the classification of nouns can
vary between languages, and not all languages have the same noun
categories. Understanding the categories of nouns in a particular
language is essential for correct grammar and communication in that
language.

Noun Inflection and Declension

Noun inflection and declension are two important aspects of grammar that
deal with the way nouns change their forms to convey information about
their grammatical properties, such as case, number, and gender. These
processes are commonly found in many languages,
including English, although the extent and complexity of inflection and
declension can vary
significantly from language to language.

Noun Inflection: Noun inflection refers to the modification of a noun to

indicate its grammatical features. This typically includes changes in form to
show number (singular vs.
plural), case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, etc.), and gender
(masculine, feminine,
neuter, etc., in languages with gendered nouns). Noun inflection is more
prevalent in inflected languages like Latin, German, and Russian, compared
to languages with less inflection, such as English.

Here are some key aspects of noun inflection:

1. Number: Noun inflection for number typically involves distinguishing
between singular
and plural forms. For example, in English, "cat" (singular) becomes "cats"
(plural).
2. Case: Case inflection indicates the grammatical role of a noun within a
sentence.
Common cases include the nominative (subject), accusative (direct
object), genitive
(possession), dative (indirect object), and vocative (addressing someone
directly). The
forms of nouns change depending on the case they occupy.
● Nominative Case: Typically used for the subject of a sentence.
■ Singular: "The cat is on the table."
■ Plural: "The cats are on the table."
● Genitive Case: Often indicates possession or origin.
■ Singular: "The cat's tail is long."
■ Plural: "The cats' tails are long."
● Dative Case: Indicates the indirect object or the recipient of an
action.
■ Singular: "I gave the cat a toy."
■ Plural: "I gave the cats toys."
● Accusative Case: Typically marks the direct object of a transitive
verb.
■ Singular: "I see the cat."
■ Plural: "I see the cats."
● Instrumental Case: Indicates the means or method by which an
action is
performed.
■ Singular: "I cut the bread with a knife."
■ Plural: "I cut the bread with knives."
● Locative Case: Indicates location or place.
■ Singular: "The book is on the table."
■ Plural: "The books are on the table."
● Vocative Case: Used for addressing someone or something
directly.
■ Singular: "Hey, John!"
■ Plural: "Hey, cats!"
3. Gender: In languages with gendered nouns, inflection may include
changes to indicate
gender (e.g., masculine, feminine, neuter). For example, in Spanish,
"amigo" (friend,
masculine) becomes "amiga" (friend, feminine).
4. Definiteness: Some languages inflect nouns to indicate definiteness
(whether the noun is
specific or non-specific). For example, in Arabic, "kitab" (book) becomes
"al-kitab" (the
book) to indicate definiteness.
5. Possession: Inflection may be used to indicate possession, showing that
a noun
possesses or is owned by another noun. In English, this is often done using
the
possessive 's, as in "John's car."
6. Declension Tables: In many inflected languages, nouns follow specific
declension
patterns. These patterns dictate how nouns change their forms based on
the
combinations of case, number, gender, etc.

Different languages have varying degrees of noun inflection. Some

languages, like Latin and Russian, have highly inflected noun systems with
numerous cases and genders. Others, like English, have relatively limited
noun inflection, primarily involving number (singular/plural) and
possession.
Understanding noun inflection is essential for grammatical
accuracy in languages that use it extensively. It can significantly affect
sentence structure and agreement between nouns and other parts of
speech, such as adjectives, articles, and verbs, so mastering noun inflection
is crucial for language learners and users.
Noun declension is a specific type of inflection that involves the
systematic arrangement of nouns into different forms based on their
grammatical roles within a sentence, particularly their cases. The set of
forms a noun can take depending on its case is called a declension. In
languages with noun declensions, each case has a distinct function in the
sentence, such as indicating the subject, object, possession, location, or
direction of an action.
Languages that feature noun declension include Latin, Russian,
Greek, and many
others. In contrast, English has relatively limited noun declension
compared to highly inflected languages. English primarily relies on word
order and prepositions to convey grammatical relationships between
nouns in sentences.
Understanding noun inflection and declension is crucial for
learning and using languages with complex inflectional systems, as it helps
ensure grammatical correctness and clarity in communication.

B. Pronouns

Classes of Pronouns
 Pronouns are a diverse group of words that serve as substitutes for
nouns, and they can be categorized into several classes or types based on
their functions and usage in a sentence.
Here are some common classes of pronouns:
1. Personal Pronouns:
● Personal pronouns represent specific people or things and are
typically based on
grammatical person (first person, second person, third person),
number (singular
or plural), and, in some languages, gender. Personal pronouns
include:
● First person singular: I (singular), we (plural)
● Second person singular: you (singular), you (plural)
● Third person singular: he, she, it (singular), they (plural)
2. Possessive Pronouns:
● Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or possession of
something and can
replace nouns and possessive determiners (e.g., my, your, his, her,
its, our, their).
Examples include: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
3. Reflexive Pronouns:
● Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of
a sentence are
the same entity, often to reflect an action back onto the subject.
Examples
include: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
yourselves,
themselves.
4. Relative Pronouns:
● Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses and connect those
clauses to a
noun or pronoun in the main clause. Common relative pronouns
include: who,
whom, whose, which, that.

5. Interrogative Pronouns:
● Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions and seek
information. Common
interrogative pronouns include: who, whom, whose, which, what.
6. Demonstrative Pronouns:
● Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to specific people or
things and
 indicate whether they are near or far in space or time. Common
demonstrative
pronouns include: this, that, these, those.
7. Indefinite Pronouns:
● Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific people or things and
are used to
indicate non-specific or unknown quantities or identities. Examples
include: all,
some, none, anyone, someone, nobody, everybody, everything,
nothing.
8. Reciprocal Pronouns:
● Reciprocal pronouns indicate mutual actions or relationships
between two or
more entities. Common reciprocal pronouns include: each other,
one another.
9. Intensive Pronouns:
● Intensive pronouns emphasize the identity or intensity of the
noun they refer to
and are often used for emphasis or clarification. They are identical
in form to
reflexive pronouns and include the same words (e.g., myself,
yourself, etc.).
10. Exclamatory Pronouns:
● Exclamatory pronouns are used to express strong emotions or
exclamations and often stand alone in sentences. Common
exclamatory pronouns include: what, which, how.
Dummy Pronouns:
● Dummy pronouns, like "it" and "there," are used to fulfill
grammatical roles in sentences without carrying specific meaning. They are
often found in sentences like "It is raining" or "There are many books on
the shelf."
These different classes of pronouns serve various functions in
language and are crucial for clear and efficient communication. The
specific pronoun system in a language may vary, and some languages may
have additional or different classes of pronouns. Understanding the
distinctions between these pronoun classes is essential for proper
grammar and effective communication.

Properties of Pronouns

Pronouns are a distinct category of words in language that serve to replace

or refer to
nouns in a sentence. They possess several properties that distinguish them
from other parts of speech. Here are the key properties of pronouns:
1. Substitution: Pronouns are primarily used to substitute for nouns in a
sentence, making
language more concise and avoiding repetition. For example, in the
sentence "John is a
teacher. He loves his job," "he" and "his" are pronouns that replace the
noun "John" and
"teacher."
2. Reference: Pronouns refer to specific entities or individuals mentioned
earlier in the
discourse or conversation. This reference can be either immediate (in the
same
sentence or clause) or more distant (in a previous sentence or context).
3. Person: Pronouns can indicate the person, or point of view, of the
speaker, the listener,
or a third party. Common distinctions include:
● First person: Pronouns like "I," "me," "we," and "us" refer to the
speaker(s).
● Second person: Pronouns like "you" refer to the listener(s).
● Third person: Pronouns like "he," "she," "it," "they," "him," "her,"
"them," and "his"
are used to refer to individuals or objects not directly involved in the
conversation.

4. Number: Pronouns can be singular or plural to match the number of the

entities they
represent. For instance, "he" is singular, while "they" is plural.
5. Gender: Some languages have gender-specific pronouns, such as "he"
and "she" in
English, while others have gender-neutral pronouns like "it" or gender-
neutral
alternatives like "they."
6. Case: Pronouns can change form based on their grammatical case in a
sentence.
Common cases include the nominative (used as the subject), accusative
(used as the
object), genitive (indicating possession), and dative (indicating indirect
objects). For
example, "I" (nominative) becomes "me" (accusative) in English, and "he"
becomes "his"
(genitive).
7. Definiteness: Some pronouns, like "this," "these," "that," and "those,"
indicate definiteness by specifying whether they refer to a specific or non-
specific item or group
of items.
8. Relative Pronouns: Relative pronouns, such as "who," "whom," "which,"
and "that," are
used to introduce relative clauses that provide additional information
about a noun in the
sentence.
9. Demonstrative Pronouns: Demonstrative pronouns, like "this," "that,"
"these," and "those," are used to point to specific items or groups of items
in the context.
10. Interrogative Pronouns: Interrogative pronouns, such as "who,"
"whom," "what," "which," and "whose," are used to ask questions.
11. Indefinite Pronouns: Indefinite pronouns, like "everyone," "someone,"
"no one," and
"nothing," refer to unspecified or unknown entities.
12. Reciprocal Pronouns: Reciprocal pronouns, like "each other" and "one
another," indicate
a mutual action between two or more entities.
13. Intensive Pronouns: Intensive pronouns, such as "myself" and
"yourself," emphasize the
identity of the noun they refer to and are often used for emphasis or
clarification.
Understanding these properties of pronouns is crucial for effective
communication and proper sentence structure in any language. Different
languages may have variations in their pronoun systems, so it's important
to be aware of the specific characteristics of pronouns in the language you
are studying or using.