52. Word formation in me and ne.

Very noticeable changes in Middle English appear in the lexicon as thousands of loans are introduced into the language. Compounding is not as frequent in Middle English as it in Old or Early Modern English. This may be due to the wealth of loans in Middle English.

In Old English, the following derivational suffixes are used to create abstract nouns: -dom, -hede (-hade, etc.), -lac (-lec, etc.), -ness, -ship, and -ung (-ing, etc.). Many of them remain active in Middle English.

Some Old English suffixes, such as -er(e), -end, -el, and -ling, form agent nouns: worshiper, allwaldend, and fosterling. The Romance innovations -ant, -ard, -arie, -erel, -esse, -ist, -istre, and -our are used in servant, secretary, ministry and conquerour.

Old English suffixes that form adjectives are -ed, -en, -fold, -ful, -ig (-y, etc.), -less, -ly (-lich, etc.), -som (-sum, etc), -ward, and -wise: thousandfold, blisful, homeward, and otherwise. The Romance ones, -able, -al, -ive, and -ous, are found in mesurable, moral, and jalous. The verbal suffixes (and prefixes) that enter via French and Latin. Some synonymous Germanic and Romance Germanic Latin/French

-dom/-hood (freedom; likelihood) -ite (liberty; probability)

-hood (boyhood) -ence (adolescence)

-ful (sinful) -al (not moral)

-ing (beginning) -ment (commencement)

-ship (worship) -ation (adoration)

NE. According to certain patterns specific for the language or without any outward means.

(conversion)

2 major groups of word formation:

1) Words formed as grammatical syntagmas, combinations of full linguistic signs (types: compounding, prefixation, suffixation, conversion, and back derivation)

2) Words, which are not grammatical syntagmas, which are not made up of full linguistic signs.

Ex.: expressive symbolism, blending, clipping, rhyme & some others.

Different types of word formation:

COMPOUNDING (joining together 2 or more stems)

Types:

1) Without a connecting element (headache, heartbreak)

2) With a vowel or consonant as a linking element (speedometer, craftsman)

3) With a preposition or conjunction as a linking element (down-and-out son-in-law)

Compounds can be classified according to their structure:

- consisting of simple stem (heartbreak)

- compounds where at least one stem is a derived one (football player)

- where one stem is clipped (Xmas, H-bag (handbag)

- where one of the elements is also a compound (wastepaper basket compound nouns, adjectives, verbs)

There are also the so-called reduplicative compounds: Tick-tick, chow-chow

Prefixes are such particles that can be prefixed to full words. But are they not with independent existence.

Native prefixes have developed out of independent words; there is a small number of them.

a- be- mid- fore- mis-

6 ways of suffixing in English:

1) Derivation by native suffixes without changes in stress, vowels, consonants (Godlike)

2) Derivation by borrowed suffix without changes in stress, vowels, consonants (loveable)

3) Derivation by imported suffixes, which involves the change in (Japan Japanese)

4) The suffix is added to a Latin stem which closely related to an English word (science – scientist)

5) The suffix is added to a Latin stem, which has no English equivalent (lingua – lingual)

6) Words borrowed separately but have the same patterns of word building (candidate – candidacy, president – presidency) This is called correlative derivation.

53. Development of the English vocabulary in OE.

The Old English language was used in parts of the British Isles till the end of the eleventh century. The language at that time undergone various changes and was influenced by several other tongues.

The first important impact on the English language was made by the Celtic languages and the words borrowed from them to English. Because of the Roman invasion only a few words originating in Celtic still remain in the Modern English, but there are also several Celtic-based place names, such as Dover, London, Kent, and names for rivers: Thames, Avon, and Exe.

Much bigger influence on the English lexis was made by Latin, as Romans, who invaded the British isles, introduced new laws using their language, which necessarily had to impact the local tongue. Latin exerted its influence on the English language not only during the Roman rule in Britain, but also long afterwards, therefore its borrowings differed depending on the time in which they entered English. Throughout the Latin influence also many words relating to Christianity were borrowed: altar, monk, sacrifice, Mass, demon, paradise and so on. Among the general words borrowed before 1000 there are: letter, plant, rose; and after the 1000: philosopher, dish, grammar.

The analysis of the Old English is made on the basis of the few pieces of literary works created at that time which survived to our times. Although such writings need translation because of changing meanings of words, the grammar of Old English has been thoroughly described.

Thanks to the Old English literature and poems, such as «The battle of Maldon», the sounds of Old English could be reconstructed and accounted for. Although there are not any writings devoted solely to the Old English phonetic system created at the time it was used scholars found some evidence thanks to which the sound values were deducted. It is assumed that there were not too many changes in the pronunciation of consonants, although w (as in writan – the ancestor of write) for example was always pronounced unlike in Modern English, but it is more difficult to state anything certain about the vowels.