Conversion. Conversion is a morphologo-syntactic type of word-formation

Conversion is a morphologo-syntactic type of word-formation. It is a non-affix word-making device in which only the paradigm of the word can signal the lexico-grammatical nature of the word.

Prof. Smirnitsky gave such a definition of conversion: Conversion is such a way of word-building when the word-building means (средства) is only the paradigm of the word.

e.g. work - to work

paper - to paper

Paradigm is the system of grammatical changes (or forms) of the word. If we take the word "word" (n), it will have its own paradigm (the system of grammar forms) than the verb "word";.

The paradigm of the noun is:

SSS S

number case number/case

 

The paradigm of the verb is

S eding

3rd form tense aspect

 

The paradigm of adverbs is:

er - est

the degree of comparison

If two words which are the same in morphologic structure and the sound shape have different paradigms, they are to be considered two different words. Words with different paradigms function in speech differently.

As a type of word-formation conversion exists in many languages. What is specific for the English vocabulary is not its mere presence, but its intense development. The main reason for the wide-spread development of conversion in present day English is the absence of formatives making the part of speech to which the word belongs.

e.g. black - may be noun, verb, adj., adv., etc.

home - noun, v, adj., adv.

silence - n., v.

round - n, v, adj., adv.

Many affixes are homonymous and therefore the general sound pattern does not contain any information as to the possible part of speech.

e.g. n v adj adv

maiden whiten woodem often

The causes that made conversion so widely spread are to be approached diachronically. Nouns and verbs have become identical in form firstly as a result of the loss of endings.

Recent research shows that conversion regularly involves monosyllabic words. The change in syntactic function and paradigm that the word undergoes in conversion is obvious from the given examples. As to the semantic changes they are at first sight, somewhat chaotic.

e.g. dust (n), to dust – (v) to remove dust

to powder (to dust the cake with sugar)

stone, v - to throw stone at

to put to death by throwing stones at

A closer examination shows, however, some signs of patterned semantic relationships especially if we observe semantically related groups.

The lexical meaning of the verb points out the instrument, the agent, the place, the cause, the result and the time of action.

Verbs formed from nouns denoting some parts of human body will show instrumental meaning, even though the polysemantic ones among them will render any meanings as well.

e.g. to finger - to touch with finger

to elbow - to push one's way with elbows

to head - to strike with one's head (in football)

The same instrumental relations will be noted in terms denoting various tools, machines and weapons: to hammer, to pump, to spur.

With nouns denoting places, buildings, containers and the like the meaning of the converted verbs will be locative:

e.g. to bag - to put into bag

to bottle - to store in bottles

to can - to put into cans

Verbs with adj. stems like to blind, to calm, to clean, to empty, to idle - denote change of state.

Nouns formed by conversion from verbs follow the regular semantic correlations observed in nouns formed with verbal stems by means of derivation. They fall, among the others, under the categories of the process of the act of what the verbal stem expressed.

e.g. go, hiss, hunt, nock - name the process, the act of a specific instance of what the verbal stem expresses. The result is expressed by such nouns: burn, catch, cut, find, lift, offer, tear.

The place where the action occurs is named by the nouns: drive, stand, walk and others.

H. Marchand points out that the deverbal personal nouns formed by means of conversion and denoting the doer are mostly derogatory. This statement may be illustrated by the following examples: bore, cheat, flirt, tease (a person who teases)

Different parts of speech can by formed by means of conversion: nouns, verbs, adj., adv. and so on. But conversion especially favours verbs.

We should distinguish between traditional conversion and occasional conversion.

Traditional conversion refers to the accepted use of words which are recorded in dictionaries: to cook, to love, to look, to wag, etc. Occasional conversion serves in the given occasion only and doesn't enter the word stock of the English language. In modern English we find a great number of cases of occasional conversion: to hotel the people, to girl the boat.

Conversion has been the subject of a great many linguistic discussions since 1891 when H.Sweet first used the term in his New English Grammar.