theoretical approach to the study of combining forms
A THEORETICAL APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF SO-CALLED COMBINING FORMS Contents Page Acknowledgements Introduction I 1. Chapter I 1 Theoretical overview 2. Chapter II 13 True nature of “combining forms” Conclusions 30 Bibliography 33 Annex 1. ... In our opinion, every single detail in a language is worth learning, because only a thorough knowledge allows us to approach the cherished goal of achieving a full command of the language in question. The above is the subjective reason for having chosen the so-called combining forms for our research paper. ... Though this was the first time we were presented with a theoretical analysis of these units, we had come across them in a multiplicity of different contexts. This is why we were extremely motivated to research on this subject, in order to improve our understanding of “combining forms”, and be better able to use them properly in the future. ... Although the authors consulted agree on the Greek and Latin origin of these so-called combining forms, as well as on the fact that they are morphological units, there is no consensus as to their nature. ... So it became our objective to establish the nature of these units by applying the semantic criterion in the analysis of “combining forms” to determine whether they are roots, affixes or a separate type of morphological unit of Modern English. To fulfill this objective, it became necessary to carry out the following tasks: § To look for and consult bibliography on the topic, § To make a critical analysis of the information obtained, o To compare and/or contrast the different criteria used by the authors consulted in describing the so-called combining forms, o To apply these criteria to examples of words formed by using “combining forms,” § To reach conclusions and make concrete proposals concerning the true nature of “combining forms”, § To write the term paper, § To prepare the oral presentation. ... Consequently, we shall attempt to prove our hypothesis on theoretical grounds. ... The term paper, as such, consists of two chapters, the first one devoted to the bibliographical overview, and the second one to our description of the nature of the so-called combining forms parting from the analysis of the consulted bibliography. We hope this research paper serves as theoretical background for further studies, especially aimed at a more practical approach to this topic. ... THEORETICAL OVERVIEW In order to prove the hypothesis formulated in the introduction of the present research paper, we have consulted the bibliography available, including both non-specialized and specialized sources. Our analysis has been organized according to four principal aspects, namely, the origin of the so-called ‘combining forms’, the terminology used by different authors to refer to these elements, the definitions they provide and the role they play in English word-formation. In the bibliography examined there were authors who did not discuss the so-called combining forms (e. ... However, a great contribution to our understanding of the nature of “combining forms” were the works by V. ... 1 O r i g i n Although there exists a lack of consensus concerning the nature of the so-called combining forms, their origin is an aspect on which all of the authors consulted agree. ... When analyzing elements known as combining forms from a diachronic perspective, I. Arnold states that they are “always borrowed from another language, namely, from Latin and Greek in which it (the combining form) existed as a free form, i. ... a separate word, or also as a combining form” (1986:80). ... In the Internet sites consulted there has also been concert regarding the origin of the “combining forms,” where they are considered to be “usually derived from Latin or Greek nouns, verbs, or adjectives” (http://www. ... Therefore, in one way or another the classical origin of the so-called combining forms is always present in the works of different authors. ... In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (1997) it is stated that most dictionaries follow the OED in “using combining form (comb. ... In appendices to dictionaries and grammar books, combining forms are often loosely referred to as roots or affixes: a logo . ... Adams, mention the term “combining forms” referring to other authors, who in turn, name these elements of Greek and Latin origin “combining forms”, alluding to some other sources. In other words, the authors use the term “combining forms” in reference to each other or to some general sources. ... Fischer, in her book Lexical Change in Present –day English states that “since Adam’s work in 1973 both the first and the second element in a neo-classical compound are subsumed under the term combining form” (1996:55). ... expresses that “morphemes of Greek and Latin origin are often called combining forms” (1979:93). ... Bauer states that “these elements, usually Greek or Latin in origin, are what the OED terms combining forms” (1983:213). ... Adams points out that “the OED distinguishes between “combining forms” – first elements of neo-classical compounds – and “endings” – second elements. ... However, the author herself uses the term “neo-classical element” to refer to the so-called combining forms in her book An Introduction to Modern English Word-formation. ... According to Arnold, “combining forms are particularly frequent in the specialized vocabularies of arts and sciences” (1986:104). As to the Internet sources consulted, most of them use the term ‘combining form’ to refer to these elements of Greek and Latin origin. ... Trask from the University of Sussex expresses that “the most familiar combining forms in English are all those elements from Greek like ‘bio-’ (‘life’), ‘biblio-‘ (‘book’), ‘-logy’ (‘study’) and ‘-metry-‘ (‘measurement’)”. ... html that “for example, ‘biology’ consists of two ‘classical combining forms’, ‘bio-‘ and ‘-logy’, neither of which can ever stand alone, but each of which can occur in a number of other formations, such as ‘biography’ and ‘theology’. ... html it is stated that among Greek and Latin roots there exists “a special kind called combining forms”. However, not all the web sites use the term ‘combining forms’, for example, on the web page (www. ... 3 D e f i n i t i o n s After presenting the different terminology used to refer to these elements of Greek and Latin, namely “combining forms,” “neo-classical elements” and “neo-classical formatives,” we shall presently deal with the way they were defined in the bibliography consulted. ... , and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (1997), for many authors refer to these sources in their analysis of the so-called combining forms. ... (2001:229) is the following: Combining form (n) 1884: a linguistic form that occurs only in compounds or derivatives and can be distinguished descriptively from an affix by its ability to occur as one immediate constituent of a form whose only other immediate constituent is an affix (as cephal – in cephalic) or by its being an allomorph of a morpheme having another allomorph that may occur alone or can be distinguished historically from an affix by the fact that it is borrowed from another language in which it is descriptively a word or a combining form. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (1997), in turn, defines the “combining form” in the following way: [Late 19c, coined for use in the OED]. In word-formation, a base designed to combine with another, either also a combining form or a free word: bio- with -graphy to form biography, mini- with skirt to form miniskirt. ... This vowel is usually regarded as attached to the initial base (biomini-) rather than the final base (-graphy, -skirt), but in Greek-derived forms it is sometimes shown as attached to the final base (-ography, -ology). ... However, practically every time the term combining form appeared in the sources consulted, the most curious definitions followed. For example, “a combining form is a root word plus a vowel” in http://php. ... html, a combining form is said to be “an element which is less than a word but more than an affix”. ... html, where it is said that “some words are used so often to make compound words that they are called combining forms”. ... These extended definition affixes are called combining forms or elements”. ... html, the so-called combining forms are “roots (stems or bases) borrowed from Greek and Latin and often used to build new compound words especially in science and technology. ... After this overview of the different definitions of the Greek and Latin elements known as “combining forms,” which appear in the dictionaries and the Internet sources consulted, we would like to present the way in which these elements are defined by the five principal authors chosen to be analyzed in this research paper. ... Arnold defines the term “combining forms” opposing it to that of an affix: A combining form is also a bound form but it can be distinguished from an affix historically by the fact that it is always borrowed from another language, namely, from Latin or Greek, in which it existed as a free form, i. ... , a separate word, or also as a combining form. ... Combining forms are mostly international. Descriptively a combining form differs from an affix, because it can occur as one constituent of a form whose only other constituent is an affix, as in graphic, cyclic. Also affixes are characterized either by preposition to the root (prefixes) or by postposition (suffixes), whereas the same combining form may occur in both positions. ... Bauer limits himself to an etymological position when providing a definition of the so-called combining forms, and defines them as “elements of the classical languages which are used in English word-formation” (1983:216). ... Ginzburg considers the so-called combining forms to be “bound root-morphemes of a special kind” (1979:93). ... Fischer defines the term combining form as “a bound lexical word-formation element” (1996:56). ... Adams points out that neo-classical elements are bound forms, which “tend to have specific, ‘lexical’ meanings comparable with those of ‘native’ compound elements” (1973:32). ... 4 W o r d – b u i l d i n g r o l e Regarding the role these elements play in English word-formation, the authors consulted express in a more or less explicit way that the so-called combining forms are used in the formation of compounds. ... functional) element is called an affix and the free, lexical word formation element a compositional element, the combining form can neither be considered an affix nor a compositional element. Rather, the combining form contains features of both word-formation types” (1996:56). This author compares a combining form first to an affix and then to a compositional element. She states that the combining form “is similar to an affix in the following respects: 1) it is bound;, 2) as a rule, it can not be combined with an affix; 3) it has a tendency to be unstressed; 4) it can be used to express relationships (e.