1. a: Twain uses a to represent the word of.

The f has been removed and he uses

apostrophes at the beginning and end of a to denote the stress placed in the pronunciation of
the beginning and end of the a sound. Phonetically, it would be written as [].

2. Tiptoeing: The author uses the term tiptoeing in the second chapter. Tiptoeing is a verb used
to describe a light way of walking on ones toes. It is a blended word made up of the words tip
and toe. Combined, they form the root word tiptoe, which is a verb. Then ing is affixed as
a suffix to make it an action verb.

V Af

Tiptoe ing

3. Is: The author changes the word I to Is for no other apparent reason other than to convey
the dialect of the Mississippi. It consists of the root word I with the affix s.

N Af

I s

4. Dasnt: This word is meant to represent the word doesnt. The author has changed the oe to
an a to represent the phonetic change from [] to [].
5. Betwixt: This is an adverb that means to be between two things. It is formed from the root word
twixt, an adjective derived from Old High German meaning two each, and the modifying
affix be.

AV

Af A

Be twixt

6. Haint: Twain formed the word haint by blending the words have and not. Normally, this
blending would form the word havent, or the word aint if you were to use improper
 English. However, the author adds the letter h to make the word reflect the pronunciation
found in Mississippi during that era.
7. Says: In this example, the author is trying to convey the past tense form of the word say.
Instead of completely modifying the word to said he has simply added an s to the end of
say, which is commonly found in a traditional Mississippi dialect.

V Af

Say S

8. Injun: This is a very phonetic spelling of the word indian. The word has become so common
over the years that it is well-known racial slur for a Native American.
9. Half-yearly: The author is using this term to refer to interest accrued. The amount accrued is six
months worth, or a half-year. Half-year is a noun, but then the author adds ly to make it an
adjective.

Aj

N Af

Half-year -ly

10. Nuther: The word nuther is representative of the word neither. The author has modified the
ei to the letter u to convey the pronunciation of the word in phonetic manner.
11. Spec: The word spec is meant to represent the word expect. The author has shortened the
word by removing the affix, ex, from the root, pect. Pect is the shortened form of the word
spectare, which means to look at.

Af V

Ex Pect

Mark Twain has used a creative method of morphology to take us into the setting of the story
and make us feel as though we are listening to the people of Mississippi. He has strayed away
from normal modifiers and blends and has used his own rules to create the language found
throughout the text. The result is a text that needs to approached in a different way by the
reader, but that is thoroughly enjoyable once we allow ouselves to be absorbed in the story and
the setting.