Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích Pedagogická fakulta Katedra anglistiky Bakalářská práce Word formation processes and usage of Internet abbreviations in English: a contrastive view as regards Czech/Slovotvorné procesy a způsoby užívání internetových zkratek v angličtině: kontrastivní pohled s ohledem na češtinu Vypracovala: Aneta Matějíčková, 5. Aj-Fj/BAK Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Leona Rohrauer České Budějovice 2014 Proclamation: I claim that, I have worked on bachelor thesis „Word formation processes and usage of the Internet abbreviations in English: contrastive view as regards to Czech“, on my own and with usage of the sources mentionned i bibliography. Prohlašuji, že jsem bakalářskou práci na téma „Slovotvorné procesy a způsoby užívání internetových zkratek v angličtině: kontrastivní pohled s ohledem na češtinu“ vypracovala samostatně s použitím pramenů uvedených v bibliografii. Zároveň prohlašuji, že v souladu s § 47b zakona č. 111/1998 Sb. v platnem znění souhlasím se zveřejněním sve bakalářské práce, a to v nezkrácené podobě - v úpravě vzniklé vypuštěnim vyznačenych časti archivovaných Pedagogickou fakultou elektronickou cestou ve veřejně přistupné části databáze STAG provozované Jihočeskou univerzitou v Českych Budějovicích na jejich internetovych stránkách, a to se zachováním mého autorského práva k odevzdanému textu této kvalifikačni práce. Souhlasím dále s tím, aby toutež elektronickou cestou byly v souladu s uvedeným ustanovenim zákona č. 111/1998 Sb. zveřejněny posudky školitele a oponentů práce i záznam o průběhu a výsledku obhajoby kvalifikačni práce. Rovněž souhlasím s porovnánim textu mé kvalifikačni prace s databazi kvalifikačnich praci Theses.cz provozovanou Narodnim registrem vysokoškolskych kvalifikačnich prací a systémem na odhalovaní plagiátů. V Českých Budějovicích, dne 24.6.2014 Podpis: …................................. Aneta Matějíčková Acknowledgement: I would like to thank the supervisor of my bachelor thesis, Mgr. Leona Rohrauer, for her professional guarding, usefull remarks and also for the enormous patience she had while I was working on my thesis. I would also like to thank to my family and my boyfriend for their support, not just during working on my bachelor thesis, but also throughout all my studies. Abstract: This bachelor thesis deals with word formation processes, which enable the creation of new words. Then it deals with concrete word formation processes, which allow fast internet communication, thus processes which take part in the creation of different kinds of abbreviations. The practical part is formed by 50 most frequently used abbreviations in English and Czech chat room conversations. Then the practical part deals with analysis of gathered samples of abbreviations and their usage. The appendix is formed by list of gathered sentences, in which the samples relevant for the research, occur. Anotace: Bakalářská práce se zabývá slovotvornými procesy, které umožňují vytváření nových slov. Dále potom se zabývá konkrétními slovotvornými procesy, které umožňují rychlou internetovou komunikaci, tedy procesy, které umožňují vytvoření různých druhů zkratek. V praktické části práce je poté uvedeno 50 nejčastěji se vyskytujících zkratek v anglickém a 50 v českém chatu. Dále se praktická část bakalářké práce zabývá analýzou nasbíraných vzorků a jejich použitím. V příloze se poté nachází seznam nasbíraných vět, ve kterých se vyskytly vzorky důležité pro výzkum. Content 1. Preface ..................................................................................................... 6 2. Word formation processes ...................................................................... 7 2.1. Compounding ................................................................................... 8 2.2. Derivation ....................................................................................... 10 2.3. Conversion = Zero derivation......................................................... 11 2.4. Back formation ............................................................................... 12 2.5. Reduplication .................................................................................. 13 2.6. Abbreviations ................................................................................. 14 2.6.1 Truncation ................................................................................... 15 2.6.2. Blending ...................................................................................... 16 2.6.3. -y Diminutives: ........................................................................... 20 3. Language of the Internet – computer mediated communication .......... 21 3.1. Internet abbreviations ..................................................................... 22 3.1.1.Emoticons .................................................................................... 22 3.1.2. Logograms .................................................................................. 23 3.1.3. Abbreviations .............................................................................. 23 3.1.4. Nonstandard spelling .................................................................. 25 4. Methodology ......................................................................................... 26 4.1 Samples from English chat rooms: .................................................... 27 4.1.1. Logograms .................................................................................. 27 4.1.2. Initialisms .................................................................................... 29 4.1.3. Omissions .................................................................................... 31 4.1.4. Clippings ..................................................................................... 34 4.1.5. Nonstandard spelling .................................................................. 36 4.2. Samples from Czech chat rooms ...................................................... 37 4.2.1. Logograms: ................................................................................. 37 4.2.2. Initialisms: .................................................................................. 37 4.2.3. Omissions: .................................................................................. 38 4.2.4. Clippings: .................................................................................... 41 4.2.5. Nonstandard spelling: ................................................................. 44 5. Usage and frequency of abbreviations .................................................. 46 6. Chart of 50 most widely used abbreviation in English chat rooms: ..... 48 7. Chart of 50 most widely used abbreviations in Czech chat rooms ...... 51 8. Interpretation of gathered data samples and conclusion ......................... 54 9. Interpretace dat a závěr ........................................................................... 56 10. Bibliography .......................................................................................... 58 11. Appendices 1. Preface The Specific language of the Internet communication penetrates more and more into commonly used written or spoken language. One of the features typical of communication in Internet discussions is using acronyms, which we can then find in everyday speech. The knowledge and understanding of word formation processes of acronyms improve the language skills of the speaker of a foreign language and his ability to respond to the latest trends in language. Internet language with its features could be considered something new which came with the arrival of modern technologies like internet or mobile phones, but as David Crystal confirms in his Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language: “The fashion for abbreviation can be traced back over 150 years. In 1839, a writer in The New York Evening Tatler comments on what he called “initial language” ... a species of spoken shorthand, which is getting into very general use between loafers and gentleman of the fancy, besides Editors, to whom it saves much trouble in writing.”(*Crystal 2003:120) He was referring especially to abbreviations like: OK (all correct), PDQ (pretty damn quick) or LL (liver loafers). I do not mention mobile phones by mistake, but intentionally because the language of the internet and the language of the mobile phones, called also texting, are very similar and the features characteristic of one or the other medium consequently appear in both media, although there are some abbreviations, whose usage is typical just of one of these electronic technologies, either internet or mobile phone. The phenomena of the abbreviations has its advocates but also its opponents. People who usually defend the usage of abbreviations are the one who are users of the internet chat rooms and they appreciate the possibility to express the idea, which they have in their mind, as quickly as possible to save time and to keep conversation going without time gaps between individual replies. The other reason for usage of abbreviations they mention the language play, the means of making the language somewhat interesting with the example of the Czech abbreviation twl, in which the consonant v is replaced by the consonant w. Then there are opponents of the usage of the internet language. They refer, as the reason for their opposition, to the fact that the internet language makes people lazy to spell the word the right way or even possibly masks dyslexia. These people are not usually active users of the internet, so they usually do not know what these abbreviations mean, when they run into them. What people usually do not know, also usually do not like. That could be the reason, why they denounce these novelties. 6 2. Word formation processes For plunging into the issue of creating internet expressions, it is firstly important to understand what the word is, and then to understand the word formation processes which allow us to create new words and therefore also abbreviations. The exact definition of the word is not easy to find and there are also different ways how the word can be defined from the different points of views, phonetically, semantically or morphologically. For our purpose it is relevant the definition of the word from the written point of view, thus morphologically. The word is a group of letters that has its meaning and is separated on both of its sides by gaps. The person who is able to create a new English word must have the language awareness of members of the English language community. English language is a complex language and words are created different ways. Word formation processes in English involve: compounding, derivation, conversion, back formation, reduplication, abbreviation: initialisms, acronyms, truncation = clipping, blending and -y diminutives. There are a number of possibilities how a word can be made, which will be discussed furthermore to understand the word formation in complex. However, the importance for our research is given to the word formation processes that allow us to create shortened forms: abbreviating processes. 7 2.1. Compounding One of the most used word formation processes is the process of compounding. The new-created words are then called compound words or simply compounds. Compounds are usually characterized as words that are formed from two or more words, each of which may be used separately as well. The examples are: 'breakthrough' make from simple words break and through or 'snowball' make from simple words snow and ball. But we can find also compounds, where there is a part of the compound, which is not attested as simple independent word, although it behaves like it. These parts are for example 'astro -', 'bio-' , 'photo-' in words 'astrophysics', 'biochemistry', 'photoinonize'. ᶦThese types of elements are though classified as (bound) roots and they have usually Latin or Greek origin.ᶦ (Plag 2003:172) This type of compound is called neoclassical compounds. Therefore, the modification of the definition of compounds changes into the combination of roots and not of words. Although now we have to deal with the formations like 'parks commissioner' or 'teeth marks', where the first element is a plural form, therefore not a root but a grammatical word. To make the definition more difficult the compounds like 'pipe-and-slipper husband' or for example 'over-the-fence gossip' reveal that even a larger units, i.e. syntactic phrases, can occur in compounds. (examples from: Plag 2003: 172) According to Ingo Plag, the final definition of compounds is that: “A compound is a word that consists of two elements, the first of which is root, a word or a phrase, the second of which is either a root or a word.” (Plag 2003:173). We can divide compounds according to different categories into different groups: The first division is according means of joining their elements. We can divide compounds into two different kinds. The first one is Unrelated or Juxtapositional (neutral) compounds. These are compounds that are formed simply by placing one part of a compound after another; e.g. classroom, timetable, weekend, grey-green. Another type consist morphological compounds. These are compounds where their parts are joined together by a vowel or a consonant, which has a function as a linking element; e.g. gasometr, electromotive, sportsman. The last type of compounds according to their joining elements are syntactic compounds (integrated phrases) which are the process of semantic isolation and structural integration of free word-group; e.g. blackboard (<blackboard), highway (<high way), forget-me-not. (Naeem:2010) 8 Other possible division of compounds is division according to the parts of speech the compound is formed and how part of speech they function. We can divide compounds into following groups. The first group is a group of compounds that function as a noun. (Plag 2003: 185) The compound, which functions as a noun can be formed from different elements. The first possibility is formation of nominal compound from two nouns, ex.: 'letter head', 'bus stop', 'football'. Nominal compound can be also formed from adjective and noun, where the adjective is the first element of a compound, ex.: 'loudmouth', 'greybeard', 'redhead'. The last possibility is to form nominal compound from verb as the first element and noun as the second element of a compound, ex.: 'spoilsport', 'cutthroat', 'breakwater'. The second group is a group of compounds functioning as an adjective. (Plag 2003:194) Adjectival compounds can be formed either from two adjectives, ex.: brown- eyed, icy-cold, or from noun as the first element of a compound and adjective as the second, ex.: sugar-free, 'blood-red'. The third group is a group of compounds that function as a verb. (Plag 2003:197) Verbal compounds are formed either from noun-verb combination, where the noun is the first element of a compound, ex.: haircut, 'browbeat', or as a verb-verb combination, ex.: 'freeze-dry', 'drink-drive', or by adjective-verb combination, where the adjective is the first element of a compound, ex.: highlight, broadcast. (examples from: Plag 2003:186) The last distinction is according to connection of their elements because as we already know, compounds are words from two different words. (Plag 2003:188) There are three different ways of spelling of the compound. The first possibility of spelling is a spelling as one word as in football, ashtray, haircut, and these compounds have neither hyphen nor space between the two elements and they are called solid compounds. The second is hyphenated compounds, where the two elements of compounds are connected with a hyphen, ex.: fire-fly, fast-food, call-girl. The last type of compounds are compounds that are spelled separately, meaning that they have space between the two elements of the compound. They are called open/spaced compounds and the examples are: tennis shoe, bus stop, education minister. It is not easy to distinguish how the compounds will be written, but the Introduction to English Linguistics written by Ingo Plag and collectives claim that ̍̍compounds which are not used very frequently are very unlikely written hyphenated or even as one word. ̍̍ (Plag et 9