SEMINAR 7

CONVERSION

 

1. Conversion. Typical Semantic Relations in Conversion.

2. Basic Criteria of Semantic Derivation in Conversion.

3. Word-Composition. Types of Meaning of Compound Words.

4. Classification of Compound Words.

 

 

Key words: conversion, verbalization, substantivation, adjectivation, adverbalization, denominal verbs, deverbal substantives, word-composition, distributional pattern, derivational pattern, coordinative compounds, subordinative compounds, compounds proper, compound-shortened words

 

 

TASKS

 

1. Define the part of speech of the italicized words. State what parts of speech they are derived from and what word-formation means is applied here. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.

 

Model:Still water of the lake mirrors the trees.

The word mirror is a verb which is derived from the noun mirror by means of conversion.

 

1. That fellow really whatevers me. 2. She made a two-part documentary about the war in Kosovo. 3. Local politicians were found to pocket the money of fund- raisers. 4. This video is a must for everyone. 5 The story was in all the dailies. 6. Will you holiday in Switzerland? 7. He busied himself with plans for the future. 8. There is a great deal of difference between before and after. 9. I asked him to modem this information tomorrow. 10. It was a good buy. 11.1 don‟t like a chemistry practical.

12. His skin was weathered almost black by his long outdoor life. 13. The path is

steep and dangerous in the wet. 14. I won‟t join your plan. There are too many ifs and

buts in it. 15. The army‟s actions dirtied its reputation.

 

2. Apply the criterion of derivational relations to define the derived member in the given conversion pairs.

 

Model: float (n, v): float able, float er, floata tion, float ing

As the derived words of the first degree of derivation have affixes added to the verbal base, the noun float is the derived member.

 

Nouns derived from verbs: … Verbs derived from nouns: …

Call (n, v), time (n, v), break (n, v), age (n, v), effect (n, v), recover (n, v), harm (n, v), mix (n, v), sleep (n, v), wash (n, v).

 

3. State the difference in meaning of the given compounds possessing different distributional patterns. Find examples of your own.

 

Model: finger-ring – ring-finger

The compound word finger-ring denotes ‘a ring which is worn on a finger’, whereas the compound word ring-finger means ‘the finger next to the little finger, especially of the left hand, on which the wedding ring is worn’. The different order and arrangement of the same ICs (i.e. different distributional patterns) signal the difference in meaning.

 

Boathouse – houseboat; play-boy – boy-play; pot-flower – flower-pot; life-boat – boat-life; board-school – school-board; dog-house – house-dog; pot-pie – pie-pot; boy-toy – toy-boy, plant-house – house-plant.

 

4. Distribute the given compound words according to their derivational patterns into three groups: 1) compounds of the n + n → N pattern; 2) compounds of the a + a → A pattern; 3) compounds of the n + ving → N pattern. Define the generalized meaning of these patterns.

 

Model: greenhouse, sweetmeat, lazybones, low-class, darkroom

The derivational pattern a + n → N expresses the generalized meaning: 1) of purpose:

greenhouse, darkroom; 2) of certain qualities of an object: sweetmeat, lazybones, low-class.

 

Dog-fighting, garden-party, white-hot, summer-house, south-east, peace- loving, raincoat, breath-taking, light-green, sea-front, picture-going, suitcase, blue- black, day-train, summer-flowering, dark-purple, textbook, tea-teaching, season- ticket, awe-inspiring, red-hot, bath-robe.

 

5. Choose one of the compound words from the box to fill in the gaps in the sentences given below. Give lexical meanings of these compound words.

 

to keyboard, a shareholder, a breakdown, awestruck, to blackball, a plantswoman, an argy-bargy, lowbrow, pea-souper, a bodyguard, a go-getter, a scatterbrain

 

1. Today‟s... forced drivers to slow down that caused an enormous traffic congestion. 2. All the data then has to be.... 3. You are getting on my nerves. I won‟t discuss this matter with such a... as you are. 4. She moved to London after the... of her marriage. 5. Fred has been working as a... for the last few years. 6. He has to

 

 

leave the club as all its members... him. 7. Her aunt is a... of a big prosperous company. 8.I can‟t stand many... programmes showed on TV every day. 9. She has a reputation as a real.... 10. We sat in... silence hearing the truth at last. 11. We didn‟t know how to plant these bushes and asked a... to consult us. 12. We became unintentional witnesses of a bit... between actors and their director.

 

6. Group the given compound words according to the relations between the ICs into: 1) coordinative compounds; b) subordinative compounds. Within the coordinative type of compound words single out: a) reduplicative compounds; b) phonically variated rhythmic twin forms; c) additive compounds.

 

Model: tip-top, snow-white

The compound tip-top meaning ‘of the very best class or quality; excellent’ is a coordinative compound formed by joining the phonically variated rhythmic twin forms (group b). The compound word snow-white meaning ‘very white’ is a subordinative compound.

 

Wolf-dog, duty-free, blah-blah1, secretary-stenographer, ticky-tacky2, road- building, chi-chi3, wrist-watch, dark-brown, ping-pong, ha-ha4, a baby-sitter, Anglo- Saxon, riff-raff5, knowledge-hungry (eyes), willy-willy6, fighter-bomber, week-long, rugger-bugger7, fact-filled (report), easy-peasy8, boy-friend, war-weary (people), hush-hush9, iron-poor (blood), hob-nob10, home-sick, oak-tree, hand-made, willy- nilly11, world-famous.

1 blah-blah – „used to refer to something which is boring or without meaningful

content‟

2 ticky-tacky – „(especially of a building or housing development) made of inferior material cheap or in poor taste‟

3 chi-chi – „attempting stylish elegance but achieving only an over-elaborate

affectedness‟

4 ha-ha – „a ditch with a wall on its inner side below ground level, forming a

boundary to park or garden without interrupting the view‟

5 riff-raff – „disreputable or undesirable people‟

6 willy-willy – „a whirlwind or dust storm‟

7 rugger-bugger –„a boorish, aggressively masculine young man who is devoted to

sport‟

 

8 easy-peasy – (inf) „very straightforward and easy (used by or as if by children)‟

9 hush-hush – „(especially of an official plan or project) highly secret or confidential‟

10 hob-nob – „to mix socially, especially with those of perceived higher social status‟

11 willy-nilly – „whether one likes it or not‟

 

7. Distribute the given compound words according to the part of speech they

represent into five groups: 1) compound nouns; 2) compound adjectives;

3) compound pronouns; 4) compound adverbs; 5) compound verbs. Make a diachronic division of the compound verbs into: a) verbs formed by means of conversion; b) verbs formed by means of back-derivation.

 

Model: heartfree, to postcard

 

Heartfree is a compound adjective (group 3). To postcard is a compound verb (group 5)

formed by means of conversion from the noun a postcard (subgroup a).

 

Nation-wide, everyone, elsewhere, sleeping-car, to honeymoon, sweet- smelling, to vacuumclean, sunbeam, anybody, to finger-print, time-server, upright, housekeeping, to care-take, something, sick-making, to nickname, maidservant, to sightsee, reddish-brown, outside, to whitewash, nobody, to type-write, dog-tired, to week-end, downhill, broadway, to fortune-hunt, everything, to hunger-strike, knee- deep, indoors, to merry-make.

 

8. Classify the given compound words according to the means of composition into three groups: 1) compounds composed without connecting elements;

2) compounds composed with the help of vowels or consonants as linking elements;

3) compounds composed with the help of prepositions or conjunctions as linking elements.

 

Model: Oxford-educated, electro-magnetic, up-and-up

Oxford-educated is a compound composed without connecting elements (group 1). Electro - magnetic is a compound composed with the help of the linking vowel о (group 2). Up-and-up is a compound composed with the help of the conjunction and as a linking element (group 3).

 

Make-and-break, saleswoman, up-to-date, heart-beat, down-and-out, electromotive, pale-blue, tragicomic, matter-of-fact, day-time, handiwork, up-and- coming, wind-driven, mother-in-law, oil-rich, craftsmanship, spokesman, sit-at-home, play-acting, good-for-nothing, Anglo-Saxon, blacklist, bridesmaid, one-to-one, water-mark, step-by-step, politico-military, sunflower, Anglo-Catholic, door-handle, out-of-town.