Following are a few more malapropisms: Word Definition stalemate “husband or wife no longer interested” effusive “able to be merged” tenet “a group of ten singers” dermatology “a study of derms” . ingenious “not very smart” finesse “a female fish” amphibious “able to lie on both sea and land” deceptionist “secretary who covers up for his boss” mathemagician “an accountant who ‘cooks the books sexcedrin “medicine for mate who says, ‘sorry, I have a headache! testostoroni “hormonal supplement administered as pasta” aesthetominophen “medicine to make you look beautiful” histalavista “say goodbye to those allergies” aquapella “singing in the shower” melancholy “dog that guards the cantaloupe patch” plutocrat “a dog that rules” Give some possible reasons for the source of these silly “definitions.” Illustrate your answers by reference to other words or morphemes. For example, stalemate comes from stale meaning “having lost freshness” and mate meaning “marriage partner.” When mates appear to have lost their freshness, they are no longer as desirable as they once were. 13. There are many asymmetries in English in which a root morphemer combined with a prefix constitutes a word, but without the prefix is a non-word. A number of these are given in this chapter. a. Following is a list of such nonword roots. Add a prefix to each root to form an existing English word. Word Nonwords of door descript Cot onto to con cognito beknownst peccable 0932 in promptu plussed domitable and nomer crat b. There are many more such multimorphemic words for which the root morphemes do not constitute words by themselves. Can you list five more? COM 15. Consider the following dialogue between parent and schoolchild: PARENT: When will you be done with your eight-page book report, dear? CHILD: I haven’t started it yet. PARENT: But it’s due tomorrow, you should have begun weeks ago. Why do you always wait until the last minute? CHILD: I have more confidence in myself than you do. PARENT: Say what? CHILD: I mean, how long could it possibly take to read an eight-page book? The humor is based on the ambiguity of the compound eight-page book report. Draw two trees similar to those in the text for top hat rack to reveal the ambiguity. 16. One of the characteristics of Italian is that articles and adjectives have inflectional endings that mark agreement in gender (and number) with the nouns they modify. Based on this information, answer the questions that follow the list of Italian phrases. un uomo “a man” TOR un uomo robusto “a robust man” un uomo robustissimo “a very robust man” una donna robusta “a robust woman” un vino rosso “a red wine” una faccia “a face” un vento secco “a dry wind” a. What is the root morpheme meaning “robust”? b. What is the morpheme meaning “very”? c. What is the Italian for: (1) “a robust wine” (2) “a very red face” (3) “a very dry wine”
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
1. Malapropisms: Possible Sources and Analysis
Malapropisms are often created due to mishearing, misunderstanding, or blending of words that sound somewhat similar but have different meanings. They often arise from confusion about the etymology, the roots, and affixes of words, leading to humorous or nonsensical definitions. Here are some potential reasons for the source of these “silly definitions” and their connections to word structures:
- Stalemate: The term “stalemate” comes from “stale” (meaning “no longer fresh”) and “mate” (meaning “partner”), hence suggesting a relationship that has “lost its freshness,” where partners might no longer be interested in each other.
- Effusive: Derived from the Latin verb effundere, meaning “to pour out,” “effusive” refers to something being overly expressive. The malapropism “able to be merged” may come from mixing it up with “fuse” or “fusion,” implying a blending or merging action.
- Tenet: A tenet is a principle or belief, often associated with a philosophy or theory. “A group of ten singers” could stem from the similarity to the word “ten,” and the confusion between numbers and ideas.
- Dermatology: The actual meaning refers to the study of skin. The malapropism “a study of derms” likely arises from the informal term “derms” being used as a shortened version of “dermatology.”
- Ingenious: While “ingenious” means clever or inventive, the malapropism “not very smart” could be a misunderstanding or mishearing of the word, especially if someone confused it with “ingenuous,” meaning naive or innocent.
- Finesse: The term “finesse” means skill or refinement, while the malapropism “a female fish” might come from blending “finesse” with the word “females” or mishearing it as a biological term.
- Amphibious: Meaning capable of living both on land and in water, the malapropism “able to lie on both sea and land” misinterprets the term as referring to an animal’s ability to rest in both environments, blending “amphibious” with “resting” or “lying.”
These malapropisms reveal the humorous impact of misunderstanding etymology and word structures, often mixing different meanings based on similar phonetic patterns.
2. Prefixing Non-Words
a. Adding Prefixes to Non-Words
Here is a list of non-words with prefixes added to form valid English words:
- door → overdoor
- descript → descriptive
- cot → coattail
- onto → uponto
- to → into
- con → contact
- cognito → recognition
- beknownst → unbeknownst
- peccable → impeccable
- 0932 → no valid prefix
- in → incomplete
- promptu → impromptu
- plussed → nonplussed
- domitable → indomitable
- and → expand
- nomer → renomer
- crat → bureaucrat
b. Additional Non-Words with Prefixes
Here are five more non-words and valid forms with prefixes:
- sterile → nonsterile
- habit → inhabit
- visible → invisible
- legal → illegal
- stable → unstable
These roots don’t function as standalone words but gain meaning only when combined with specific prefixes. Prefixes alter their meaning, making them usable in a wider context.
3. Ambiguity in “Eight-Page Book Report”
The humor in the dialogue relies on the ambiguity of the phrase “eight-page book report.” Here, the ambiguity comes from two interpretations:
- Interpretation 1: The report is about a book that is eight pages long.
- Interpretation 2: The report consists of eight pages, regardless of the length of the book.
In tree diagram format, the two structures would be:
Interpretation 1:
[Book Report] [8-Page] [Book]Here, the book report is about a book that is 8 pages long.
Interpretation 2:
[Book Report] [8-Page]Here, the book report is made up of eight pages, regardless of the length of the book.
This type of ambiguity showcases how English can structure phrases in multiple ways, creating confusion in everyday conversation.
4. Italian Gender and Adjective Agreement
- Root morpheme for “robust”: The root is robust (as seen in “un uomo robusto” or “a robust man”).
- Morpheme meaning “very”: The morpheme for “very” is -issimo (as seen in “robustissimo”).
- Italian translations:
- A robust wine: un vino robusto
- A very red face: una faccia rosissima
- A very dry wine: un vino seccissimo
In these examples, the endings of the adjectives adjust based on gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), a feature that is typical in Italian grammar.
These examples demonstrate how root morphemes can combine with other morphemes to form complex words that agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.