Clipping (morphology): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|In morphology and linguistics, the reductionReduction of a word to one of its parts}}

According to [[Hans Marchand]], clippings are not coined as words belonging to the [[core lexicon]] of a language.<ref name=Marchand/> They originate as [[jargon]] or [[slang]] of an [[in-group]], such as schools, army, police, and the medical profession. For example, {{Not a typo|''exam''(ination)}}, {{Not a typo|''math''(ematics)}}, and {{Not a typo|''lab''(oratory)}} originated in school [[slang]]; {{Not a typo|''spec''(ulation)}} and {{Not a typo|''tick''(et}} = credit) in stock-exchange slang; and {{Not a typo|''vet''(eran)}} and {{Not a typo|''cap''(tain)}} in army slang. Clipped forms can pass into common usage when they are widely useful, becoming part of standard Englishlanguage, which most speakers would agree has happened with ''math''/''maths'', ''lab'', ''exam'', ''phone'' (from ''telephone''), ''fridge'' (from ''refrigerator''), and various others. When their usefulness is limited to narrower contexts, they remain outside the [[standard register (linguistics)|standard register]]. Many, such as ''mani'' and ''pedi'' for ''manicure'' and ''pedicure'' or ''mic''/''mike'' for ''microphone'', occupy a middle ground in which their appropriate register is a subjective judgment, but succeeding decades tend to see them become more widely used.

According to {{Interlanguage link multi|Irina Arnold|ru|3=Арнольд, Ирина Владимировна}}, clipping mainly consists of the following types:<ref name="Arnold" />

Clipped forms are also used in [[Compound (linguistics)|compounds]]. One part of the original compound most often remains intact. Examples are: {{not a typo|''cablegram'' (''cable'' tele''gram''), ''op art'' (''op''tical ''art''), ''org-man'' (''org''anization ''man''), ''linocut'' (''lino''leum ''cut'').}} Sometimes both halves of a compound are clipped as in {{not a typo|''navicert'' (''navi''gation ''cert''ificate).}} In these cases it is difficult to know whether the resultant formation should be treated as a clipping or as a [[blend word|blend]], for the border between the two types is not always clear. According to Bauer (1983),<ref name=Bauer/> the easiest way to draw the distinction is to say that those forms which retain compound stress are clipped compounds, whereas those that take simple word stress are not. By this criterion ''bodbiz, Chicom, Comsymp, Intelsat, midcult, pro''-''am, photo op, sci-fi'', and ''sitcom'' are all compounds made of clippings.