Folk etymology free essay sample

Content Introduction 1. Etymology as a subdivision of linguistics 2. Folk etymology as a productive force 3. Cases of word alteration by common people etymology 4. Other linguistic communications 5. Acceptability of ensuing signifiers Decision Mentions Introduction Folk etymology is a lingual phenomenon whereby borrowed or antediluvian phrases are reinterpreted harmonizing to analogy with other comon words or phrases in the linguistic communication. Etymology refers to the beginning of words. For illustration, the etymology of etymology can be traced through Old English and Latin to the Grecian roots etymo, intending true , and Sons, intending word . In common people etymology, talkers af a linguistic communication assume the etymology of a word or phrase by comparing it to similar-sounding words or phrases that already exist in the linguistic communication. A word or phrase is typically considered a common people etymology merely if it has changed from its original borrowed signifier as a consequence of the reinterpreted etymology. If talkers assume an incorrect beginning of a word or phrase, but its pronunciation and/or spelling are unchanged, so the term is non referred to as a common people etymology. For case, some people assume that the English word history is a combination of the words his and narrative, but the word really can be traced through Old French and Latin to the Grecian root historia, intending knowledge through enquiry, record, or narrative . While the reading his narrative is a common people etymology, the word history is non decently referred to as such, as the reinterpretation does non impact its signifier. Folk etymology is a term used in two distinguishable ways: A normally held misinterpretation of the beginning of a peculiar word, a false etymology. The popular perversion of the signifier of words in order to render it seemingly important [ 1 ] ; the procedure by which a word or phrase, normally one of apparently opaque formation, is randomly reshaped so as to give a signifier which is considered to be more crystalline. [ 2 ] The term folk etymology , as mentioning both to erroneous beliefs about derivation and the consequent alterations to words, is derived from the German Volksetymologie. Similar footings are found in other linguistic communications, e.g. Volksetymologie itself in Danish and Dutch, Afrikaans Volksetimologie, Swedish Folketymologi, and full analogues in non-Germanic linguistic communications, e.g. French # 201 ; tymologie populaire, Hungarian N # 233 ; petimol # 243 ; Armed Islamic Group ; an illustration of an alternate name is Italian Pseudoetimologia. 1.Etymology as a subdivision of linguistics The etymology of a word refers to its beginning and historical development: that is, its earliest known usage, its transmittal from one linguistic communication to another, and its alterations in signifier and significance. Etymology is besides the term for the subdivision of linguistics that surveies word histories. So, what s the Difference Between a Definition and an Etymology? A definition tells us what a word means and how it s used in our ain clip. An etymology tells us where a word came from ( frequently, but non ever, from another linguistic communication ) and what it used to intend. For illustration, harmonizing to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definition of the word catastrophe is an happening doing widespread devastation and hurt ; a calamity or a grave bad luck. But the etymology of the word catastrophe takes us back to a clip when people normally blamed great bad lucks on the influence of the stars. Catastrophe foremost appeared in English in the late sixteenth century, merely in clip for Shakespeare to utilize the word in the drama King Lear. It arrived by manner of the Old Italian word disastro, which meant unfavourable to one s stars. This older, astrological sense of catastrophe becomes easier to understand when we study its Latin root word, astrum, which besides appears in our modern star word uranology. With the negative Latin prefix dis- ( apart ) added to astrum ( star ) , the word ( in Latin, Old Italian, and Middle French ) conveyed the thought that a calamity could be traced to the evil influence of a star or planet ( a definition that the dictionary Tells us is now disused ) . Is the Etymology of a Word Its True Definition? Not at all, though people sometimes try to do this statement. The word etymology is derived from the Grecian word root, which means the true sense of a word. But in fact the original significance of a word is frequently different from its modern-day definition. The significances of many words have changed over clip, and older senses of a word may turn uncommon or disappear wholly from mundane usage. Catastrophe, for case, no longer means the evil influence of a star or planet, merely as consider no longer means to detect the stars. Let s expression at another illustration. Our English word wage is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as fixed compensation for services, paid to a individual on a regular footing. Its etymology can be traced back 2,000 old ages to sal, the Latin word for salt. If a word s etymology is non the same as its definition, why should we care at all about word histories? Well, for one thing, understanding how words have developed can learn us a great trade about our cultural history. In add-on, analyzing the histories of familiar words can assist us to infer the significances of unfamiliar words, thereby enriching our vocabularies. Finally, word narratives are frequently both entertaining and thought arousing. As any child can state you, words are merriment. 2.Folk etymology as a productive force Folk etymology is peculiarly of import because it can ensue in the alteration of a word or phrase by analogy with the erroneous etymology which is popularly believed to be true and supposed to be therefore restored . In such instances, folk etymology is the trigger which causes the procedure of lingual analogy by which a word or phrase alterations because of a popularly-held etymology, or misinterpretation of the history of a word or phrase. Here the term folk etymology is besides used ( originally as a stenography ) to mention to the alteration itself, and cognition of the popular etymology is indispensable for the ( more complex ) true etymology of the ensuing hybridized word. Other misconceptions which leave the word unchanged may of class be ignored, but are by and large non called popular etymology. The inquiry of whether the resulting use is right or wrong depends on one s impression of rightness and is in any instance distinct from the inquiry of whether a given etymology is right. Until academic linguistics developed the comparative survey of linguistics and the development of the Torahs underlying phonic alterations, the derivation of words was a affair largely of guess-work, sometimes right but more frequently incorrect, based on superficial resemblances of signifier and the similar. This popular etymology has had a powerful influence on the signifiers which words take ( e.g. crayfish or crayfish, from the Gallic crevis, modern crevisse, or sand-blind, from samblind, i.e. semi- , half-blind ) , and has often been the juncture of homonyms ensuing from different etymologies for what appears a individual word, with the original significance ( s ) reflecting the true etymology and the new significance ( s ) reflecting the incorrect popular etymology. The term common people etymology , as mentioning both to erroneous beliefs about derivation and the consequent alterations to words, is derived from the German Volksetymologie. Similar footings are found in other linguistic communications, e.g. Volksetymologie itself in Danish and Dutch, Afrikaans Volksetimologie, Swedish Folketymologi, and full analogues in non-Germanic linguistic communications, e.g. Gallic Etymologie populaire, Magyar Nepetimologia ; an illustration of an alternate name is Italian Pseudoetimologia. 3.Cases of word alteration by common people etymology In lingual alteration caused by common people etymology, the signifier of a word changes so that it better matches its popular rationalization. For illustration: Old English sam-blind ( semi-blind or half-blind ) became dim-sighted ( as if blinded by the sand ) when people were no longer able to do sense of the component surface-to-air missile ( half ) . Old English bryd-guma ( bride-man ) became bridegroom after the Old English word guma fell out of usage and made the compound semantically vague. The soundless s in island is a consequence of common people etymology. The word, which derives from an Old English compound of # 299 ; eg = island , was mistakenly believed to be related to isle , which came via Old French from Latin insula ( island ) . More recent illustrations: Gallic ( e ) crevisse ( likely from Germanic krebiz ) which became the English spiny lobster. Asparagus officinales, which in England became sparrow-grass. cater-corner became kitty-corner or catty-corner when the original significance of cater ( four ) had become disused. Other alterations due to folk etymology include: button hole from buttonhold ( originally a cringle of twine that held a button down ) Charterhouse from Chartreux agnail from hangnail penthouse from pentice sweetie from sweetard ( the same postfix as in stupid and dotard ) shamefaced from shamefast ( caught in shame ) daybed sofa from daybed longue ( long chair ) priggish from priggish When a back-formation rests on a misinterpretation of the morphology of the original word, it may be regarded as a sort of common people etymology. In heraldry, a rebus coat-of-arms ( which expresses a name by one or more elements merely important by virtuousness of the supposed etymology ) may reenforce a common people etymology for a noun proper, normally of a topographic point. The same procedure sometimes influences the spelling of proper names. The name Antony/Anthony is frequently spelled with an H because of the Elizabethan belief that it is derived from Greek # 945 ; # 957 ; # 952 ; # 959 ; # 962 ; ( flower ) . In fact it is a Roman household name, likely intending something like ancient . 4.Other linguistic communications See the undermentioned articles that discuss common people etymologies for their topics: campanile ( architecture ) blunderbuss Brass monkey Brent Goose Cesarean subdivision daybed longue Ducking stool crayfish gringo Jerusalem artichoke canvass revenue enhancement Rake-hell Juneberry sincere Welsh Welsh rabbit The Gallic verb savoir ( to cognize ) was once spelled s # 231 ; avoir, in order to associate it with the Latin scire ( to cognize ) . In fact it is derived from sapere ( to be wise ) . The spelling of the English word posthumous reflects a belief that it is derived from Latin station humum, literally after the Earth , in other words after burial. In fact the Latin postumus is an old superlative of station ( after ) , formed in the same manner as optimus and ultimus. Medieval Latin has a word, bachelarius ( unmarried man ) , of unsure beginning, mentioning to a junior knight, and by extension to the holder of a University grade inferior to Master or Doctor. This was later re-spelled baccalaureus to reflect a false derivation from bacca laurea ( laurel berry ) , touching to the possible laurel Crown of a poet or vanquisher. Olisipona ( Lisbon ) was explained as deducing from the metropolis s supposed foundation by Ulysses, though the colony surely antedates any Grecian presence. 5.Acceptability of ensuing signifiers The inquiry of whether the resulting use is right or wrong depends on one s impression of rightness ; at any rate it is a separate issue from the inquiry of whether the false etymology is right. When a baffled apprehension of etymology produces a new signifier today, there is typically opposition to it on the portion of those who see through the confusion, but there is no inquiry of long-established words being considered incorrect because common people etymology has affected them. Chaise sofa and Welsh Welsh rabbit are disparaged by many, but shamefaced and button holes are universally accepted. The term folk etymology , as mentioning both to erroneous beliefs about derivation and the consequent alterations to words, is derived from the German Volksetymologie.Similar footings are found in other linguistic communications, e.g. volksetymologie in Dutch, Afrikaans volksetymologie, Danish folkeetymologi, Swedish folketymologi, and full analogues in non-Germanic linguistic communications, e.g. Hungarian n # 233 ; petimol # 243 ; Armed Islamic Group, French # 233 ; tymologie populaire and Israeli Hebrew etimol # 243 ; gya amam # 237 ; T ( popular etymology ) . Examples of alternate names are Italian pseudoetimologia and paretimologia ( lt ; paraetimologia ) , every bit good as English etymythology. The phenomenon becomes particularly interesting when it feeds back into the development of the word and therefore becomes a portion of the true etymology. Because a population wrongly believes a word to hold a certain beginning, they begin to articulate, spell, or otherwise util ize the word in a mode appropriate to that perceived beginning, in a sort of misplaced pedantry. Thus a new standard signifier of the word appears which has been influenced by the misconception. In such instances it is frequently said that the signifier of the word has been altered by common people etymology . ( Less normally, but found in the etymological subdivisions of the OED, one might read that the word was altered by pseudo-etymology, or false etymology. ) Pyles and Algeo give the illustration of Chester shortss for chest of shortss ; likewise, daybed sofa for daybed longue . Decision There are many illustrations of common people etymology in common English words and phrases. For illustration, penthouse is derived from the Old French apentiz, intending approximately, that which is appended to , but English talkers reinterpreted the word to include the English house, since a penthouse is a topographic point where person lives. Similarly, primrose, a type of flower, was reinterpreted by manner of common people etymology to include the English name of another flower, rose, although the word was originally borrowed from Old Gallic primerole. Mentions 1. # 1040 ; # 1085 ; # 1090 ; # 1088 ; # 1091 ; # 1096 ; # 1080 ; # 1085 ; # 1072 ; # 1043 ; . # 1041 ; . # 1051 ; # 1077 ; # 1082 ; # 1089 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1083 ; # 1086 ; # 1075 ; # 1080 ; # 1103 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1075 ; # 1083 ; # 1080 ; # 1081 ; # 1089 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1075 ; # 1086 ; # 1103 ; # 1079 ; # 1099 ; # 1082 ; # 1072 ; # 8211 ; # 1052 ; . : # 1044 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1092 ; # 1072 ; , 2000 2. # 1050 ; # 1074 ; # 1077 ; # 1089 ; # 1077 ; # 1083 ; # 1077 ; # 1074 ; # 1080 ; # 1095 ; # 1044 ; . # 1030 ; . # 1055 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1082 ; # 1090 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1091 ; # 1084 ; # 1079 ; # 1083 ; # 1077 ; # 1082 ; # 1089 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1083 ; # 1086 ; # 1075 ; # 1110 ; # 1111 ; # 1089 ; # 1091 ; # 1095 ; # 1072 ; # 1089 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1111 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1075 ; # 1083 ; # 1110 ; # 1081 ; # 1089 ; # 1100 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1111 ; # 1084 ; # 1086 ; # 1074 ; # 1080 ; # 8211 ; # 1042 ; # 1110 ; # 1085 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1094 ; # 1103 ; : # 1042 ; # 1080 ; # 1076 ; . # 171 ; # 1053 ; # 1086 ; # 1074 ; # 1072 ; # 1082 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1075 ; # 1072 ; # 187 ; , 2001 3. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.encyclopedia.com/topic/etymology.aspx 4. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-FOLKETYMOLOGY.html 5. hypertext transfer protocol: //grammar.about.com/od/words/a/Etymologywords.htm 6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology