A second language speaker uses the word [phonetic] as a singular noun because she interprets the word [phonetics] as a plural noun. In doing so, she is deducing a new word by the process of ______________.
Understanding Word Formation: Back Formation
The scenario describes a second language speaker creating the singular noun 'phonetic' from the existing word 'phonetics'. The speaker perceives 'phonetics' as a plural noun and removes the apparent plural marker ('s') to form the singular form.
Identifying the Linguistic Process
This specific method of word creation is known as Back formation. It occurs when a new word is formed by removing a part of an existing word, which is mistakenly thought to be an affix (like a plural or verb ending).
- Example Applied: In this case, the speaker treats 'phonetics' (often used as a singular concept referring to the study of speech sounds) as if it were plural (like 'statistics'). By removing the '-s', they derive 'phonetic' as the singular form.
- Definition: Back formation involves creating a simpler word (often a verb or noun) from a more complex one by deleting a perceived affix.
Evaluating Other Options
- Blocking: This is a strategy used in language learning where a learner avoids using a L2 structure that resembles a L1 structure that might be incorrect. It doesn't fit the word creation process described.
- Bracketing: This refers to identifying the syntactic structure of a sentence. It is unrelated to word formation by affix removal.
- Back tracking: This means returning to a previous point or reversing a process, typically in logic or computing, not word formation.
Therefore, the process described is accurately identified as Back formation.
Important Questions from Basic Vocabulary
Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence:
The administrators went on to implement yet another unreasonable measure, arguing that the measures were already _______ and one more would hardly make a difference.- If '→' denotes increasing order of intensity, then the meaning of the words [sick → infirm → moribund] is analogous to [silly → → daft]. Which one of the given options is appropriate to fill the blank?
Choose the appropriate word/phrase, out of the four options given below, to complete the following sentence:
Frogs _______________- Inhaling the smoke from a burning _________ could _________ you quickly.
- ________ with someone else's email account is now a very serious offence.
