Contemporary Language Change (Lexical Change)

Question 1

What is foreign borrowing

Answer 1

Borrowing words from other languages

Question 2

3 examples of foreign borrowing

Answer 2

Sushi, mall, pizza

Question 3

What is lexical attrition

Answer 3

Words falling out of everyday use

Question 4

3 examples of lexical attrition

Answer 4

Vinyl, floppy disk, main frame

Question 5

What is derivation

Answer 5

Suffixes and/or prefixes are added to existing words

Question 6

3 examples of derivation

Answer 6

Hyperactive, supersonic, minibar

Question 7

What is conversion

Answer 7

A word shifts from one word class to another

Question 8

3 examples of conversion

Answer 8

to head the ball, to elbow something, to bottle something

Question 9

What is backformation

Answer 9

A word that is formed from an existing word, typically by removal of a suffix

Question 10

3 examples of backformation

Answer 10

televise (television), baby- sit (babysitter), sleaze (sleazy)

Question 11

What is blending

Answer 11

Parts of words are joined together to form a new word

Question 12

2 examples of blending

Answer 12

Video log- vlog, fog & smoke- smog

Question 13

What is compounding

Answer 13

Whole words combined to form new words

Question 14

3 examples of compounding

Answer 14

sunburn, fingerprint, laptop

Question 15

What is clipping

Answer 15

Words are shortened and the shortened version becomes the norm

Question 16

3 examples of clipping

Answer 16

electronic mail- email, echo bay- eBay

Question 17

What is abbreviation

Answer 17

Longer words are shortened, creating an informal tone

Question 18

3 examples of abbreviation

Answer 18

public house- pub, celebrity- celeb

Question 19

What is acronym

Answer 19

First letters are taken from a series of words to create a new word that can pluralised

Question 20

An example of an acronym

Answer 20

W.A.G.S- wives and girlfriends,

Question 21

What is initialism

Answer 21

First letters are taken from a series of words, but each letter is pronounced

Question 22

3 examples of initialism

Answer 22

D.N.A, S.M.S, D.K.N.Y

Question 23

What is slang

Answer 23

Informal language used by a particular social group

Question 24

4 examples of slang

Answer 24

peng, lit, creps, fam

Question 25

What are PC (politically correct) terms

Answer 25

Less derogatory terms used to avoid offence and/or discrimination

Question 26

2 examples of PC terms

Answer 26

firefighter (fireman), disabled (cripple)

Question 27

What did John Algeo find in his research (1990)

Answer 27

That the majority of new words were formed through derivation and compounding