Origami

What is Origami?

 

Origami is paper folding. The word comes from the Japanese 'oru' meaning 'to fold' and 'kami' meaning 'paper'. It is generally regarded as Japanese, although it is very likely that other cultures independently evolved their own paper folding traditions.

History

There is much speculation about the origin of Origami. While Japan seems to have had the most extensive tradition, there is evidence of an independent tradition of paperfolding in China, as well as in Germany, Italy and Spain among other places.

Techniques

Many origami books begin with a description of basic origami techniques which are used to construct the models. These include simple diagrams of basic folds like valley and mountain folds, pleats, reverse folds, squash folds, and sinks. There are also standard named bases which are used in a wide variety of models, for instance the bird base is an intermediate stage in the construction of the flapping bird.

Origami paper

Almost any laminar material can be used for folding; the only requirement is that it should hold a crease.

Origami paper, often referred to as "kami" (Japanese for paper), is sold in prepackaged squares of various sizes. It is commonly colored on one side and white on the other; however, dual coloured and patterned versions exist and can be used effectively for color-changed models.

Washi is the traditional origami paper used in Japan. Washi is generally tougher than ordinary paper made from wood pulp, and is used in many traditional arts.

Tools

It is common to fold using a flat surface but some folders like doing it in the air with no tools especially when displaying the folding. Many folders believe no tool should be used when folding. However a couple of tools can help especially with the more complex models. For instance a bone folder allows sharp creases to be made in the paper easily, paper clips can act as extra pairs of fingers, and tweezers can be used to make small folds.

When making complex models from origami crease patterns, it can help to use a ruler and ballpoint embosser to score the creases. Completed models can be sprayed so they keep their shape better, and of course a spray is needed when wet folding.

Action origami

Origami not only covers still-life, there are also moving objects; Origami can move in clever ways. Action origami includes origami that flies, requires inflation to complete, or, when complete, uses the kinetic energy of a person's hands, applied at a certain region on the model, to move another flap or limb.

Modular origami

Modular origami consists of putting a number of similar pieces together to form a complete model. Normally the individual pieces are simple but the final assembly may be tricky. Many of the modular origami models are decorative balls like kusudama, the technique differs though in that kusudama allows the pieces to be put together using thread or glue.

Wet-folding

Wet-folding is an origami technique for producing models with gentle curves rather than geometric straight folds and flat surfaces. The paper is dampened so it can be moulded easily, the final model keeps its shape when it dries. It can be used, for instance, to produce very natural looking animal models.

Pureland origami is origami with the restriction that only one fold may be done at a time, more complex folds like reverse folds are not allowed, and all folds have straightforward locations.

It was developed by John Smith in the 1970s to help inexperienced folders or those with limited motor skills. Some designers also like the challenge of creating good models within the very strict constraints.

 

Kirigami

Kirigami is a Japanese term for paper cutting. Cutting was often used in traditional Japanese origami, but modern innovations in technique have made the use of cuts unnecessary. Most origami designers no longer consider models with cuts to be origami, instead using the term Kirigami to describe them.

Yellow Origami Lotus Flower

A lotus is a type of aquatic water flower with gorgeous blooms and multiple tiers of petals. The lotus is similar to the water lily. The Sacred Lotus is the national flower of India.

Yellow stands for freedom and joy. Yellow is the perfect color to spur creativity - to celebrate the beginning of a new project or the complettion of a successful one. Yellow is the bright welcome of sunshine.

Word Building 2

The major devices of word building are: affixation, composition and conversion.

AFFIXATION (Leon Leviţchi):

PREFIXATION

Prefixes may be classified taking into account two criteria:

1) according to whether they change or maintain the form class/parts of speech

2) according to their origin

1) According to the first criteria, prefixes may be:

A. Class-changing prefixes

a- This prefix forms adjectives mainly from forms which are ambiguous between verbs and nouns. The adjectives formed by this process are restricted to predicative position (i.e. they occur after the link verbs – verbe copulative):  e.g. asleep: The child is asleep/awake.

be- This prefix forms transitive verbs from adjectives, verbs or nouns.

e.g. to becalm, to bewitch  (this prefix is probably no longer productive).

en - this prefix forms transitive verbs mainly from nouns.

e.g.: to entomb, to enslave, enclose

de- debark

un- unhorse

B. Class-maintaining prefixes

a) used exclusively with a noun base:

arch – (still productive) – arch-exponent

mini – is very productive (and has several meanings): minicomputer, minidress

step – is probably no longer productive: step-father, step-sister but stepgrandmother, stepcousin

mal-malnutrition

pro- prodean

b) used exclusively with a verb base (it is rare)

de- decapacitate

c) used exclusively with an adjective base

A – is not very productive being replaced by UN

e.g. apolitical, atypical (unpolitical, untypical)

cis- (very rare = on this side of) e.g. cislunar

extra – extrasensory

d) prefixes added to nouns and verbs

fore - (înainte) foretell, forewarn (vb)

                            foreground, foreman (n)

re – reelection, rearrangement (n)

         reconfigure, recycle (vb)

mis- mislead (vb), misfortune (n)

e) Prefixes added to nouns and adjectives

in, im, il, i(r) – insane, irrelevant, impossible, illegal

mid- mid-morning, mid-November

ex- ex-president, exorbital

f) Prefixes added to verbs and adjectives

circum – circumscribe, circumstellar

g) Prefixes added to nouns, verbs and adjectives

counter- counterculture, counterdemonstrate, counterproductive

co- coauthor, co-equal, co-articulate

inter- interdependence, interdigital

dis- disinformation, disbenefit

2. According to their origin, prefixes may be:

a) Germanic

a- asleep, awake

be- (about, over) – besmear

by – by-product, by-effect

for (away, off) - to forbid

in (into) – insight

mis (badly, wrongly) – misunderstand, mislead

out (out of) – (outline) outshine

over (above, beyond) – overflow

under – undertake, undergo

un- unnecessary, unfriendly

up – upset, upstart

with (against) – withdraw

b) Romance

a-, ab-, abs- : (from) abuse, asleep, abstain

ad, af, at, ac – to adhere, to accredit, to attract

bi-, bis- (twice) – bi-lingual, bi-monthly

com-, con-, co- (with) – compress, concatenate

de (separation) – depart, deprecate

dis, di (with a negative force) = to displease, dislike, diverge

em-, en-  - embark, enclose, enlarge

ex-, e- (out of, from) – to extend, elongate, elapse

in, il, ir – illiberal, irrational, ineffectual

inter- interacademic, international, interdependent

neo- neoclassicism, neologism

non – non-German, non-verbal

ob, op (against) - obliterate

pre (before) - predict

pro (before, for) - to propose

re (back again) - reread

self- self-command, self-motivated

sub, suc (under) – subdivide, subordinate, succinct

super- superstructure, super-lucky

trans- transcontinental, transatlantic

c) Greek

an, a (neg) – anomalous, anarchy

arch – archbishop, archduke

bio- biogenesis, biography

di (twice) – diphthongs

ec (out of) – eccentric

geo- geopolitics, geomorphology

hydro- hydrolysis, hydrodynamics

macro – macroscopic

micro- microscopic

hyper- hypercivilized, hyperfiction, hyperlinks

psycho- psychodrama, psychobiology

tele- telecomputer, telescope

Suffixation

            According to the form class of the derivatives they produce, suffixes are classified into:

1. Suffixes forming nouns:

a) Nouns from nouns

- dom (Germ) – this suffix forms abstract, uncountable nouns from concrete, countable nouns; it is still productive.

e.g. kingdom, gangsterdom,  Dollardom, Kingdom

- ess (French) – is used to form the feminine gender of certain nouns.

e.g. stewardess, actress, shepherdess

- iana – this suffix is added almost exclusively to human proper nouns to form uncountable nouns meaning “things”, especially literary facts, connected with the person in the base.

Butterfieldiana, railroadiana etc

- er (Germ) – denotes the doer of an action: worker, teacher, cigarette-lighter

- ette (French) – kitchenette, leaderette

- ese (It) – denotes the origin of a person – Chinese, Japanese. It may also denote a style: journalese, telegraphese

- er, - ier (Frech) – denotes persons in connection with the object of their occupation: musketeer, cavalier. Sometimes it has a deprecatory meaning: profiteer, sonneteer.

- ster (Germ) – denotes profession – gamester

- ite (Greek) – denotes adherents to a political movement, to a mass movement – Leninite, Luddite

- or (Latin) – denotes person in accordance with their profession – doctor, actor, sculptor

It may also denote instruments – calculator, accumulator

- age (Romance) – denotes totality – tonnage

- ie, y – characteristic of nouns used in colloquial English – grannie, mummy, daddy

b) Nouns from verbs

This is probably the most common type of derivation – ation, -tion, -sion, - ion.

            Many words ending in – ation in fact show borrowings from Romance rather than English word formation. It is extremely productive where the base ends in the suffix – ize (categorize- categorization, lexicalize – lexicalization, institutionalize – institutionalization) but it also found with bases comprising simple lexemes (formation, vexation, mutation, possession).

- ee (Romance)– this suffix appears to be more productive in current English: absentee, adaptee,

- ure – closure (it is no longer productive)

- ing (Germ) – denotes processes – teaching, doing, coming

- ance, - ence (Romance) – continuance, appearance

- al (Romance)– arrival

- ary (Romance) – dispensary (dispense)

- er- (Germ)- killer

- ment (Romance ) – management, improvement

c) Nouns from adjectives

- cy (Romance)– This suffix forms nouns particularly from adjectives ending in –ant or –ent.

e.g. excellent – excellency, militant – militancy.

It is probably no longer productive, its place being taken by –ce(s): dependent – dependence, elegant - elegance, excellent – excellence. This -ce is no longer productive either. Many of the words using these suffixes represent loans from Latin or French rather than genuine cases of English Word Formation.

- ness (Germ) – is one of the most productive suffixes in the English language today. It is added predominantly though not exclusively to adjectives to replace other suffixes. It often gives rise to pairs of words which some speakers distinguish semantically.  

e.g.: sincerity – sincerness, productivity - productiveness

- dom (Germ)– freedom, wisdom

- ist (Greek) – realist, socialist

- th (Germ) – truth, warmth, length

2. Suffixes forming verbs

            There are two main suffixes deriving verbs from nouns - ify and –ize and these are also used to derive verbs from adjectives. The more productive of these is –ize.

- ise/ize (Greek) – to fertilize, to utilize, to Latinize, instantize, marginalize, structurize, Vietnamize

- fy, -ify (Romance) – magnify, intensify, fishify (supply with fish)

            A third suffix driving verbs is –en (Germ), unproductive: e.g. shorten, whiten, darken, widen.

3. Suffixes forming adjectives

a. Adjectives from nouns

- less (Germ) – added to nouns, it denotes the absence of what is expressed by them: useless, fearless

- al (Romance) – this prefix is relatively unmarked semantically, providing adjectival forms with no major change in meaning, e.g. education policy – educational policy. The suffix is frequently added to already suffixed forms, especially where the earlier suffix shows nominalization, e.g. environmental, transformational. It is very productive.

- ish (Germ) – denotes qualities, states: boyish, whitish, bluish,

                     - added to a non it may have the meaning of belonging to: English, Spanish

                     - it can also mean addicted to: bookish, freakish

- ed (Germ) – it is a suffix forming adjectives from nouns, used it the sense of having: dark-eyed, fair-haired      

- ly (Germ) – denotes the quality of a noun: manly, friendly

                      or the quality of chronological regularity: yearly, weekly

- y (Germ) – dirty, rainy, windy (qualities characteristic of the respective noun)

- able (Romance) – it forms adjectives meaning “capable to suffer the action” denoted by the basic word: e.g. understandable, readable, detestable

- ful (Germ) – eg. useful, peaceful, spoonful, mouthful, handful

- esque (Fr) – Byronesque, picturesque

- ive (Romance)– defensive, massive

- ate (Romance)– passionate

- en (Germ.)– wooden, golden

- ese (Romance)– Japanese

- ic (Greek)– geometric (geometry), algebric, Germanic

-ous (Romance) – famous, humorous

b. Adjectives from verbs

- less – is no longer productive when added to verbs: e.g. countless

- ant/-ent – dependent, pleasant

- atory – affirmatory, exploratory

- ive: generative, creative

c. Adjectives from adjectives

- ish (Germ.) - yellowish, greenish

- ly (Germ.) - goodly

4. Suffixes forming adverbs:

The main suffix forming adverbs are:

- ly (Germ) – is added to adjectives:

e.g. beautifully, scientifically, kindly, happily, precisely

Sometimes it makes the adverb differ in meaning from adjective:

e.g. hard – hardly, high –highly

-ward (s) (Germ) – it implies direction

e.g.: upwards, afterward(s), backward(s)

                 - previously added to particles is now added mainly to nouns: homeward(s), earthward(s)

- wise (Germ.) – added to nouns: lengthwise

According to R.Quirk, prefixes are classified as follows:

1. NEGATIVE

2. REVERSATIVE OR PRIVATIVE

3. PEJORATIVE

4. OF DEGREE OR SIZE

5. OF ORIENTATION OR ATTITUDE

6. LOCATIVE

7. OF TIME AND ORDER

8. NUMBER

1. NEGATIVE
(lacking in, lack of; not, the converse of)

•         A/AN - amoral, asexual, anhydrous, anarchy

•         DIS- disobey, disloyal, disorder, disuse

•         IN (IL/IM/IR)-  incomplete, illegal, impossible, irrelevant

•         NON - + nouns/adjectives/adverbs

           non- smoker, non- perishable, non- trivially

•         UN- unfair, unexpected

•         ! With adjectives, UN- can usually replace in- or dis-:

               unrepairable/irreparable

              unreplaceable/irreplaceable

but – *infaithful (wrong)

         *dishappy (wrong)

! in in-inflammable, in does not have a negative meaning (it does not mean non-flammable, but flammable)

2. REVERSATIVE OR PRIVATIVE
(reversing the action, depriving of)

•         DE- decentralize, defrost        

                 - decapitate, defraud

•         DIS- disconnect, disinfect

          - smt. with privative force: dishearten

                                                      dispossess

           - disinterested, discoloured (lacking)

•         UN- undo, untie, unpack

         + nouns, turning them into verbs:

            unseat, unhorse, unmask, unman

3. PEJORATIVE

•         MAL- badly, bad: maltreat, malformed, malnutrition

•         MIS- wrongly, astray: miscalculate, mishear, misinform, misleading

•         PSEUDO- false, imitation: pseudo-classicism, pseudoscientific

4. OF DEGREE OR SIZE

•         ARCH- supreme, most: archbishop, archangel, archenemy

•         CO- joint(ly): coexist, co-heir, co-driver

•         HYPER- extreme: hypersensitive,    hypercritical

•         MINI- little: minimarket, minicab

•         MAXI- large: maxi-length

•         OUT- surpassing: outnumber, outgrow, outclass

•         OVER- excessive: overeat, overplay, overconfident

•         SUB- below: subconscious, subnormal

•         SUPER- more than, very special: supernatural, superman, superimpose

•         SUR- over and above: surcharge, surtax

•         ULTRA- extreme, beyond: ultramodern, ultraconservative

•         UNDER- too little: underestimate, underprovided

5. OF ORIENTATION OR ATTITUDE

•         ANTI (an attitude of opposition) - against: anti-social, anti-war

•         CONTRA- opposite, contrasting: contradistinction, contraindicate

•         COUNTER- action in opposition to or in response to a previous action: counteract, counter-clockwise

•         PRO- for, on the side of: pro-student, pro-English

                    - on behalf of, deputizing for: pro-consul

6. LOCATIVE

•         FORE- front part of, front: forearm, foreground

•         INTER- between, among: international, interweave, interplay

•         SUB- under: subsection, subway

•         UNDER- underground

•         SUPER- above: superstructure

•         TRANS- across, from one place to another: transatlantic, transplant

•         EXTRA – outside: extraterrestrial

•         INTRA- within: intravenous, intraplant

7. OF TIME AND ORDER

•         EX- former: ex-president

•         FORE- before: foretell, foreplay

•         POST- after: post-war, postpone

•         PRE- before, in advance: pre-school

•         ANTE- before: antediluvian

•         RE- again, back: renew, rebuild, recycle

•         MID- mid-morning, mid-November

8. NUMBER

•         BI-, DI- two: bilateral, divalent

•         POLY-, MULTI- many: polyglot, polysemy, multipurpose

•         SEMI-, DEMI- half: semivowel,

•         TRI- three: tricycle, trimester

•         UNI-, MONO- one: unilateral, monologue

MISCELLANEOUS PREFIXES

•         AUTO- self: autobiography

•         SELF- self-command, self-motivated

•         EXTRA- exceptionally: extra affectionate

•         NEO- new: neo-classicism

•         PALEO- old: paleography

•         PAN- world-wide: pan-African

•         PROTO- first, original: prototype

•         TELE- distant: telephone

•         VICE- deputy: vice-president

•         A-, AB-, ABS- : (from) asleep, aloud

                                        abuse, abstain

•         BE- befriend, bewitch

•         EN-, EM- endanger, empower

•         UP – upset, upstart

•         WITH (against) – withdraw

•         COM-, CON-, CO- (with) – compress, concatenate

•         BY – by-product, by-effect

•         CIRCUM – circumscribe, circumstellar

•         BIO- biogenesis, biography

•         GEO- geopolitics, geomorphology

•         HYDRO- hydrolysis, hydrodynamics

SUFFIXATION (R.Quirk)

1. Suffixes forming nouns:
Nouns from nouns

•         - DOM: kingdom, gangsterdom,  Dollardom, Kingdom

•         - ESS: stewardess, actress, shepherdess

•         - IANA: Butterfieldiana, railroadiana

•         - HOOD: boyhood, childhood

•         - ER- the doer of an action: worker, teacher, cigarette-lighter

•         - ETTE: kitchenette, leaderette

•         - ESE - the origin of a person – Chinese, Japanese

                         a style: journalese, telegraphese

•         - OR: doctor, actor, sculptor, calculator, accumulator

•         - ER, - IER: musketeer, cavalier; deprecatory meaning: profiteer, sonneteer.

•         - STER: gamester

•         - ITE: Leninite, Chomskyite

•         AGE- denotes totality: tonnage

•         - IE, Y – characteristic of nouns used in colloquial English – grannie, mummy, daddy

•         LET: booklet, leaflet

•         LING: princeling, duckling

•         IST: violonist, stylist

Nouns from verbs

•         This is probably the most common type of derivation – ation, -tion, -sion, - ion

•         - EE: absentee, adaptee,

•         - URE – closure (it is no longer productive)

•         - ING - denotes processes – teaching, doing, coming

•         - ANCE, - ENCE – continuance, appearance

•         - AL – arrival

•         - ARY  – dispensary (dispense)

•         - ER- killer

•         - MENT – management, improvement

Nouns from adjectives

•         - CY forms nouns particularly from adjectives ending in –ant or –ent: excellent – excellency, militant – militancy

It is no longer productive, its place being taken by –ce(s): dependent – dependence, elegant - elegance, excellent – excellence

•         - NESS: sincerness (also sincerity),      productiveness (productivity)

•         - DOM: freedom, wisdom

•         - IST: realist

•         - TH: truth, warmth, length

Suffixes forming verbs

•         - IFY: magnify, intensify, fishify (supply with fish)

•         –ISE/IZE :to fertilize, to utilize, to structurize

•         –EN: shorten, whiten, darken, widen

Suffixes forming adjectives

•         Adjectives from nouns

•         - LESS– added to nouns, it denotes the absence of what is expressed by them: useless, fearless

•         - AL- educational, environmental

•         - ISH– denotes qualities, states: boyish, whitish,

                     - added to a noun it may have the meaning of belonging to: English, Spanish

            - it can also mean addicted to: bookish

•         - ED - having: dark-eyed, fair-haired            

•         - LY – denotes the quality of a noun: manly, friendly

                      or the quality of chronological regularity: yearly, weekly

•         - Y – dirty, rainy, windy (qualities characteristic of the respective noun)

•         - ABLE forms adjectives meaning “capable to suffer the action” denoted by the basic word: e.g. understandable, readable, detestable

•         - FUL– useful, peaceful, spoonful, mouthful, handful

•         - ESQUE – Byronesque, picturesque

•         - IVE – defensive, massive

•         - ATE – passionate

•         - EN – wooden, golden

•         - ESE – Japanese

•         - IC – geometric (geometry), algebric, Germanic

•         -OUS  – famous, humorous

Adjectives from verbs

•         - LESS –countless

•         - ANT/-ENT – pleasant, dependent,

•         - ATORY – affirmatory, exploratory

•         - IVE: generative, creative

•         Adjectives from adjectives

•         - ISH - yellowish, greenish

•         - LY  - goodly

Suffixes forming adverbs:

•         - LY – beautifully, kindly, happily

•         -WARD (s) – direction: upwards, afterward(s), backward(s), homeward(s), earthward(s)

•         - WISE: lengthwise

Word Building

Composition (Compounding)

HyponYm = a word that is conceptually included within the definition of another word

                    = a subordinate word (=a word that is more specific than a given word)

e.g. scarlet, crimson, carmine – are all hyponyms of red

x is a hyponym of y if x is a kind of y

oak – kind of tree                    house - kind of dwelling

       - hyponym of tree                                    - hyponym of dwelling

Composition is a device by means of which new words are formed as a result of the semantic-grammatical combination of two or more words (also roots or stems).

            Compounds can be subdivided into four groups according to the semantic criteria:

1. If the compound is a hyponym of the grammatical head (e.g. an armchair is a kind of chair = the head) this type of compound will be termed as an ENDOCENTRIC compound. (e.g. also footprint, fingerprint – the grammatical head = print, the compound is a hyponym of print).

2. If the compound is not a hyponym of the grammatical head (e.g. a redskin is not a type of skin) this type of compound will be termed as an EXOCENTRIC compound.

3. If the compound is a hyponym of both constituent elements (e.g. a maidservant – is a type of maid and a type of servant) this type of compound will be termed as appositional compound.

4. If it is not clear which element is the grammatical head and the compound is not a hyponym of either element, but the elements name separate entities which combine to form the entity denoted by the compound, this type of compound is termed copulative compound: sun and moon, Alsace-Lorraine.

According to form, in English compounds are classified into:

a. closed forms – in which the constituents are melted together: pickpocket (hot de buzunare), redcoat (soldat britanic)      

b. hyphenated forms – in which the words are separated with a hyphen: lion-hearted, a knock-down, first-class

c. open forms – which are compounds where the two constituents are written separately:

breakfast room, washing machine

            The system of classification we are going to use is one in terms of the form classes of the elements of the compound.

A. Compound Nouns

1. noun+noun

            This is the largest subgrouping of compounds. (It has also subgroupings according to basic semantic relationships and morpho-syntactic criteria).

a. The first subgroup is made up of exocentric compounds: e.g skinhead, hatchback

b. the second subgroup is made up of appositional compounds: e.g. boy-friend, manservant, woman doctor

c. copulative compounds: Cadbury-Schweppes, Rank-Hovis-McDougal, Rowntree-Mackintosh

d. Gerund+noun

            Since a gerund has both nominal and verbal characteristics, this pattern could be treated as either noun+noun or verb+noun. Unlike other compounds containing a verbal element, however, the elements in these compounds all end in –ING and the semantic relationships between the two elements seem more like those which hold in NOUN+NOUN compounds than those which hold in VERB+NOUN compounds.

e.g. holding pattern or a fishing rod is a rod for fishing just as a bath towel is a towel for the bath

e. Proper noun-noun: e.g. Wellington airport, Utah effect etc

f. compounds made up of two common nouns

This is by far the most productive type of compound.

e.g. cable television, language laboratory, safety razor, domino effect, family planning

2. VERB+NOUN e.g. pickpocket, makeshift, cut-throat (ucigas), hovercraft

3. NOUN+VERB (not so productive) e.g. birth control, sunshine

4. VERB+VERB is extremely rare and probably not productive

e.g. make-believe

5. ADJECTIVE +NOUN e.g fast-food, hot-pepper, blackbird, software

6. PARTICLE+NOUN e.g. over-stock, off-islander, in-crowd

7. ADVERB+NOUN is a very restricted pattern, partly because only adverbs of time or place occur in such compounds

e.g. now generation, through-train, uptrain

8. VERB+ADVERB e.g. drawback

9. VERB+PARTICLE these are nominalizations of phrasal verbs

e.g. pray-in, teach-in, press down, drop out, put on

10. PHRASE COMPOUNDS are constructions where an entire phrase seems to be involved in the formation of a new word

e.g. son-in-law, pepper-and-salt, forget-me-not

11. ADVERB+VERB e.g. welcome, welfare, outcome

12. ADVERB+PAST PARTICIPLE by-gones, outcast, outburst

B. Compound verbs

They are represented by various combinations:

1. Noun + verb: to waylay

2. Adverb + verb: to backslide; to backbite

3. Adjective + verb: to whitewash, to blackmail

4. Verb + noun: shunpike

5. Particle + verb: to overachieve, to overeducate

6. Adjective + noun: to bad-mouth

7. Verb + verb: to dare-say, test-market

8. Noun + noun: to breath-test

            A subcategory of compound verbs is that of complex verbs made up of a main verb and adverbial element, which usually modifies the meaning of the verb:

to bring about = a determina, a cauza

to bring up = a creste, a educa

to fall out = a se certa

C. Compound adjectives  are formed according to a large number of different patterns:

1. Noun + adjective: is the most frequent type of compound adjective: e.g. crystal-clear, card-carrying

2. Adjective + adjective: e.g. bitter-sweet, open-ended, ready-made, dark-blue

3. Adverb + adjective: e.g. over-qualified, evergreen

4. Adverb + present/past participle: e.g. well-meaning, ill-favoured, easy-going

5. Verb + noun: e.g. roll-neck (sweater)

6. Adjective + noun: e.g. red-brick (university)

7. Verb + verb: this type must be assumed to be new and possibly growing

e.g. go-go (dancer), pass-fail (test)

8. Adjective/adverb + verb: e.g. high-rise (tower), quick-change (artist)

9. Verb + particle: see-through (blouse)

10. Noun + indefinite participle/past participle: e.g. good-looking, life-giving, moonlit (luminat de lună), crest-fallen (abătut, necăjit)

            Another characteristic device is composition by partial conversion and suffixation:

e.g. adjective + noun + (e)d

blue-eyed, short-fingered, kind-hearted, short-sleeved, double-bedded

D. COMPOUND ADVERBS

e.g. beforehand = dinainte, în prealabil

      henceforward = de aici înainte

      wherefrom = de unde

E. Compound prepositions – into, onto, because of, throughout

F. Compound pronouns: self-forms and somebody, anyone etc

G. Compound conjunctions: whenever, so that

H. Rhyme-motivated compounds: in these compounds, the rhyme between the two elements is the major motivating factor in the formation

e.g. roly-poly, gang-bang, teeny-weeny

I. Ablaut-motivated compounds:

Similar in many ways to rhyme-motivated compounds are those involving ablaut, i.e. vowel change or alternation between the two elements:

e.g. zig-zag, flip-flop

J. Disguised compounds: are a variety of compounds whose constituent elements have blended to the degree of being difficult to distinguish

e.g smog (smoke + fog); motel (motor + hotel); cheeseburger (cheese + burger); milkaholic (milk + alcoholic); foolosopher (fool + philosopher); medicare (medical + care); electrocute (electricity + execute); fantabulous (fantastic + fabulous); pictionary (picture + dictionary); Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge); smist (smog + mist)

K. Compound derivatives: are words, usually nouns and adjectives consisting of a compound stem and a suffix:

e.g type-writer, house-keeping, bed-sitter (garsonieră), blue-eyed, high-heeled, rosy – cheeked, sharp-tongued

CONVERSION

Conversion (or “zero derivation” or “shift”) is the process by which a part of speech is changed into another part of speech without modifying the form of the word (i.e. without adding any affixes or formatives). Thus, verbs may be converted into nouns, nouns into verbs, adjectives into nouns or verbs, adverbs and pronouns into nouns, pronouns into verbs.

Verbs may be derived from the stem of almost any part of speech but the most common is the conversion from noun stems:

e.g. a doctor (noun) becomes to doctor (‘to treat as a doctor’; ‘to falsify’ (e.g. to doctor photos); ‘ to confer the degree Doctor upon’; ‘ to sophisticate’)

aircraft –to aircraft

slogan – to slogan

a face – to face

a star—to star

a finger—to finger (‘to touch with fingers’)

an eye – to eye (‘to observe, to watch’)

a baby—to baby (‘to treat as a baby’)

a handbag – to handbag (‘to treat ruthlessly’)

room - to room

Verbs may also be derived from other parts of speech, such as adjectives and adverbs or : wrong—to wrong; better—to better; slow—to slow; up—to up; down—to down; happy—to happy; calm—to calm; ready—to ready; slow—to slow; clear—to clear.

Nouns are usually converted from verb stems: to make—a make, to walk – a walk, to cut – a cut; to drive – a drive; to try – a try; to laugh – a laugh; to move – a move; to ride – a ride.

Phrasal verbs are often turned into nouns by means of conversion:

to make up – a make up; to call up – a call up; to pull over – a pullover.

The derived word and the deriving one are connected semantically. The semantic relations between them are varied. For example,

a. the verb denotes the act accomplished by means of the thing expressed by the noun:

to hand – (the noun: hand) ‘to give a help with the hand, to deliver, to transfer by hand’;

to finger (‘to touch with fingers’).

b. the verb may have the meaning “to act as the person/animal/thing denoted by the noun does”: to cook = ‘to prepare food, to do the work of a cook’;

            to dog = ‘to follow closely’ (but also, metaphorically, ‘to worry’);

            to robot

c. the derived verbs may have the meaning “to go by” or “to travel with the thing denoted by the noun”: to train = to go by train; to bus; to tube etc.

d. the derived verbs may have the meaning “to spend, to pass the time expressed by the noun”: to winter = to spend the winter; to weekend = to spend the weekend), to summer, to holiday.

Derived nouns denote: 1. the act as…: a knock, a smoke; 2. the result of an action: a cut, a run, a sip (sorbitură), a call.

A characteristic feature of modern English is the growing frequency of new formations by conversion especially among the verbs.

Other types of conversion are:

1. Adjectives into nouns: legitimate – the legitimate; rich - the rich; dead – the dead(s); injured – the injured(s); needy - the needy; good - the good; aged - the aged; healthy - the healthy; sick - the sick; mighty - the mighty; famous - the famous.

2. Adverbs into nouns: backward - the backward; forward - the forward

3. Pronouns into nouns: “You are the cruellest she alive”. (W. Shakespeare – The Two Gentlemen of Verona); the proudest he.

4. Pronouns into verbs: “Don’t he/she/we… me.”