Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Michael Shapiro
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Michael Shapiro
123
Michael Shapiro
New York, NY
USA
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In loving memory of my parents and my wife
the metaphysician
Preface
The first edition of this book appeared as a paperback on August 30, 2012, under
the Create Space imprint and was based on the revised versions of material that had
been posted on www.languagelore.net to that date. The readers’ reviews that have
appeared since the book’s publication (on Amazon.com and elsewhere) have been
unanimous in their praise, and it has become evident that an expanded second
edition, incorporating material written in the intervening four years (including
essays gathered under a seventh chapter, “The Psycholinguistic Pathos of Everyday
Life”), is both warranted and bound to garner an even larger readership.
As with the first edition, glossaries have been provided for each new essay but
have been broadened to define items for an audience that will include the readers
whose first language is other than English. Judging by statistical data and the
proliferation of usage manuals in the last decade, there is a great appetite among
readers all over the globe for information about English as it is spoken and written
in America, particularly in the media. This is only to be expected given that in the
twenty-first century English—the American variety in particular—has become the
world’s lingua franca.
It is hoped that this book, which examines and analyzes linguistic phenomena
of the most multifarious variety, will satisfy the interests of an ever-expanding
international audience.
Michael Shapiro
vii
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Preface to the First Edition
This book is not a usage manual in the conventional sense. It is a sui generis series
of compact, self-contained essays, arranged into chapters by broad topic categories
of problematic points of linguistic usage in contemporary American speech and
writing, and cast in an uncompromisingly analytical style that is nevertheless
accessible to any educated reader with a love of words, an inquisitiveness about
language and an appetite for exegesis.
The author’s project has been motivated in large part by the assumption that
there exists a huge and entirely untapped reservoir of interest among the listening
and reading public in questions of pronunciation, grammar, and etymology that has
not been satisfied by other sources.
It is based on the author’s blog, www.languagelore.net, many of whose posts
have been revised and adapted for the present purpose. Judging by the countries of
visitors to the Web site, there is an audience for this book outside the anglophone
world, particularly in Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia, and Ukraine.
The bias of the author is unabashedly prescriptivist. It is formed by a
long-standing theoretical interest in and empirical observation of English usage,
oral and written. Much of the material for analysis is drawn from the language of
contemporary media, both print and broadcast. The discussion of examples fre-
quently opens out on a perspective that takes in deeper questions of value and
society in America as revealed in present-day language use.
The essays that comprise the chapters are what might be called linguistic
vignettes. They call attention to the points of grammar and style in contemporary
American English, especially in cases where the language is changing due to
innovative usage, including what older generations of speakers would consider
errors in speech and writing.
The chapter headings are not meant to be mutually exclusive, which results in a
certain amount of overlap, as when pronunciations have stylistic as well as phonetic
outcomes, or when word formation is included under syntax. There are no
sub-chapters because the detailed index is meant to serve as a convenient way of
facilitating any search for specific topics. This also allows for the order of entries
within chapters to be similarly loose.
ix
x Preface to the First Edition
A book which deliberately mimics the miscellany genre and eschews the format
of a strictly academic presentation driven by an argument will of necessity strike
some readers as lacking guidance about the ordering and selection of its entries. The
six chapter headings can only mitigate the impression of randomness in part, but the
book is not meant to be read consecutively in any event but sampled repeatedly in
no particular order.
Occasionally, the scope is broadened to subsume languages other than English
(Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, French, Russian, Japanese), especially
when a comparative perspective helps clarify a historical point of English usage.
The brief concluding chapter on poetics is conceived as a pendant, since it deals
mostly with Russian, the author’s mother tongue and the lifelong focus of his
activities as a scholar.
The mode of presentation differs significantly from conventional usage manuals
by its self-consciously academic diction, which consistently recurs to scholarly
formulations in furtherance of analytical acuity. In every case where an analysis
contains technical or recondite vocabulary, a Glossary precedes the body of the
essay so that a reader unfamiliar with the terminology of linguistics can more easily
follow and make sense of the argument. In cases of doubt as to whether a particular
item should be glossed—and glossed repeatedly—the decision has been to err on
the side of redundancy, since the format of the book is aimed at inviting readers to
browse through the self-sufficient entries rather than necessarily reading them in
consecutive order. The Master Glossary, which provides a completely synoptic
register of all items glossed in the text, can always be consulted in case any
particular essay is opaque as to any item of its technical vocabulary.
The practice of glossing every text is abandoned only in the three epilegomena,
which are meant to summarize the theoretical framework of the book for a strictly
academic audience, while being of possible intellectual interest to the adventurous
general reader as well. The gist of the second epilegomenon is also to be found in
Chapter 2.
Only the epilegomena contain footnotes. In this respect, the text takes a leaf from
Edward Sapir’s classic Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, whose
author deliberately elided diacritic signs as burdensome to all but the initiate.
Occasionally, the glossaries notwithstanding, readers may find it necessary to
consult a dictionary, but this is taken to be ineluctable, given the variable linguistic
competence and background of the book’s intended audience, which doubtlessly
includes the readers for whom English is not a native or habitual language. The
author’s guiding principles in this respect are his own lifelong word gluttony and
love of dictionary excavation, a delight in the richness of the English language,
which undergirds his conviction that those who encounter unfamiliar words when
reading this book will, more often than not, choose to look them up—and will,
moreover, find the effort rewarding.
The unique form of the book’s presentation is aimed at satisfying the natural
curiosity of readers who are alert to the peculiarities of present-day American
English as they pertain to pronunciation, grammar, and style, and who wish to be
enlightened about them in a way that does not “dumb down” or compromise the
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Preface to the First Edition xi
language in which the explanations are couched. This extends to the book’s tone,
which is guided not by the considerations of political correctness or politesse,
which the author regards as having no bearing on the presentation’s content, but by
the aims that are first and foremost didactic, propaedeutic, and hortatory. At the risk
of offending those readers who will recognize their own speech habits among the
examples brought up for criticism, the tone of the essays is occasionally censorious,
but that is unavoidable if the thrust is distinctly educative and not merely infor-
mative. In other words, no attempt has been made to buffer the book’s stance on
error.
It is hoped that a book which addresses itself to what is technically called
ORTHOEPY, the doctrine and study of correct speech in the broadest sense, will find a
receptive audience among the readers of all ages and backgrounds.
Acknowledgements
Along with the love and encouragement of my daughter Abigail and my brother
Jacob, who also suggested some topics for commentary, the support of several
friends played an important role in the genesis and completion of this book.
Jeffrey Goodman was the first person to urge me to compile a volume based on
my blog posts, and it was his unflagging enthusiasm that finally moved me to
undertake the project.
Robert Hatten and Vincent Colapietro were faithful correspondents, notably and
characteristically generous in their appreciation of my work, as were Raimo Anttila,
Nils Thelin, Michael Holquist, Gary Richmond, and Savely Senderovich.
My old school friend Simon Gamer and his son Jason made it a point to react to
my posts and to emphasize their propaedeutic value, as did Pat Hollander.
Two other Californians with a lively interest in language, Lone Coleman
(a native speaker of Danish) and Seppo Hurme (a native speaker of Finnish), also
provided me with valuable reactions.
The late Carol Pentleton, my Web designer and the designer of all my most
recent books, was an early enthusiast, whose love of language made her an espe-
cially valuable reader.
It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge all who encouraged me, and I
express my abiding gratitude to them.
xiii
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Contents
1 Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 A Stress Shift in a *Triblet of Trisyllables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Adjectival Stress on the Wrong Sylláble. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Aphaeresis Engulfs Tsunami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Barbarisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Déjà vu—Not! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.6 Der Untergang des Abendlandes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.7 Espying the Spondaic Anapest, Absolutely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.8 Female Nasalization: An Apotropaism? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.9 Form Follows Function (1): Verb/Noun Stress Alternation . . . . . . 12
1.10 Form Follows Function (2): Vowel Alternation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.11 Friends in France (A Vowel Merger) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.12 Girlized Intonation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.13 Glottally Catching the Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.14 Going to Rack and Ruin in the ‘Stans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.15 Goslings in Oslo (Medial s before Liquids) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.16 Homage to Ignorance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.17 Idiosyncratic Pronunciations: Tone-Deafness? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.18 Ignorance and the Insistence of the Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.19 Intrusive r (A Sandhi Phenomenon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.20 Japanese Prosody and Its Distortion in English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1.21 Lambasting the Oblivion of Constituent Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.22 Lenition, Not Voicing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.23 Linguistic Solipsism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1.24 Manhattan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.25 Molière Redivivus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.26 Morphophonemics of Nominal Derivation: British Versus
American English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 35
1.27 O tempora, o mores! (Isoglosses) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 37
1.28 Obama and Bush: A Shared Departure from the Linguistic
Norm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 38
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xvi Contents
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Contents xvii
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Contents xix
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Contents xxi
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Contents xxiii
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About the Author
xxv
The Physiognomy of Speech
(In Lieu of an Introduction)
Glossary
xxvii
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xxviii The Physiognomy of Speech (In Lieu of an Introduction)
No two people speak exactly alike. Differences in age, sex (women have smaller
larynxes than men), family background, education, class, and geographical
provenience all leave their imprint on individual language use. The ensemble of
features making up a person’s speech is signified by the term IDIOLECT. Each
member of a speech community, moreover, typically belongs to a social group
whose speech is uniform enough to be characterized in its ensemble by the term
SOCIOLECT. There is also a STRATIFICATION of sociolects, encompassing particularities
of speech that owe their origins to social and regional dialects, even as speakers in a
particular sociolect still adhere to the linguistic norm set down in industrialized
societies by the spread of standard languages through increasing literacy and the
uniformity promoted by media language.
If one takes the viewpoint of an attentive listener or interlocutor, who is alter-
nately silent while fulfilling the role of a conversation partner, then the linguistic
behavior of the speaking participants—the physiognomy of speech—can be
observed in all its semiotic plenitude. This includes not only pronunciation (pho-
netics proper) and choice of vocabulary (including verbal idiosyncrasies) but
variable suprasegmental features (such as intonation) as well as peculiarities of
speech production (mushmouthedness, lisps, vocal timbre, and register).
Beyond language sensu stricto are the gestural features—those termed
PARALINGUISTIC—which invariably accompany speech: (1) acoustic manifestations
such as sips (intakes of breath), sighs, grunts, and various other sounds; (2) bodily
movements, including shrugs, arm and hand gestures, head bobs, and inclines; lip,
mouth, eye, and forehead movements, etc. In some languages, these paralinguistic
features are completely codified and have practically univocal interpretations, e.g.,
the sharp intake of breath in Japanese through the lips and teeth that signifies doubt
or hesitation; or the typically less abrupt intake through the mouth in the
Scandinavian languages accompanying some statements, especially those with
concessive meaning.
The upshot of each person’s having an idiolect goes far beyond its practical
utility (as in speech recognition protocols) and plays a salient role in interpersonal
relations. Consciously or not, our EVALUATION of persons with whom we interact is
differentially contingent on their speech traits in the round. Depending on the
importance, we attach to how our interlocutors speak the language we share, their
prestige in our eyes generally rises and falls in the degree to which THEY SPEAK LIKE
US.
Chapter 1
Sounds
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed
from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or
undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from
sing, or by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or
base, as electricity from electric
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the
addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form
of a base, as in English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical
features such as number, person, mood, or tense
medial, adj.: being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial
and final positions in a word or morpheme
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as-ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic) form
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2 1 Sounds
nonce word: a word used only ‘for the nonce’, i.e., for the specific purpose
penult, n.: the next to last syllable
prefix, n.: an affix [vide supra], such as dis- in disbelieve, attached to the front
of a word to produce a derivative word or an inflected form
prosody, n.: a particular system of stress or of versification
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
stem, n.: the main part of a word to which affixes are added
suffix, n.: an affix [vide supra] added to the end of a word or stem, serving to
form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as-ness in
gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
suffixation, v.: the process by which a suffix is added to the end of a word or stem
*triblet, n.: a nonce word mimicking triplet [the asterisk denotes a hypo-
thetical form]
versification, n.: the making of verses; the act, art, or practice of metrical
composition; metrical structure; a particular metrical structure or style
More and more often these days one hears the triplet of trisyllabic (common) verbs
ending in /-trib-ute/, namely contribute, distribute, and attribute, being pronounced
with stress on the initial syllable instead of the standard stress on the penult. This
shift has occurred in dialects of British English (and in those of its closest deriva-
tives, notably Australian, New Zealand, South African, and Anglo-Indian) but not in
North American. (Only for the rarer verb retribute ‘to pay back; give in return’does
the Oxford English Dictionary Online list an alternative stress on the first syllable.)
The reason seems clear. Whenever verbs end in a derivational morpheme or
quasi-morpheme like {-ize} or {-ate}, the stress falls typically on the second syl-
lable preceding the suffix, hence ironize like soliloquize, ululate like proliferate,
etc. Even a class of trisyllabic verbs consisting of a mere three or four members
ending in the same sequence of sounds lends itself to reinterpretation as part of
derivational morphology, i.e., as involving suffixation, thence giving rise to the shift
from medial to initial syllable as a contemporary innovation that is consonant with
the historical drift of English prosody.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
1.2 Adjectival Stress on the Wrong Sylláble 3
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4 1 Sounds
Word stress in English can fall on any syllable but is typically circumscribed when
the word is derived, as in the case of adjectives derived from substantives (nouns).
As in all derived entities throughout grammar and culture, derived adjectives are
subordinate in rank (hierarchical value) relative to the substantives from which they
are derived. Moreover, where adjectives are formed by the addition of a suffix to the
nominal base, their subordinate status can be expressed by a different place of stress
in comparison with the deriving noun. Adjectival suffixes that displace the stress in
this way are called “auto-” and “pre-stressed,” the first type pulling the stress onto
itself (Japán > Japanése, grótto > grotésque), the second onto the penult or an-
tepenult (ádjective > adjectíval geriátric > geriatrícian évidence > evidéntiary
Eúrope > Européan, Terpsíchore > Terpsichoréan, Hércules > Hercúléan [i.e., a
stress DOUBLET = both stresses are extant]). Some suffixes occasion such stress shifts
obligatorily; others do so facultatively, depending on the nature of the vowel
(conventionally termed “strong” vs. “weak”), for instance súicide > suicídal,
mícroscope > microscópic, but máyor > máyoral, eléctor > eléctoral,
dóctor > dóctoral, pástor > pástoral, Chíle > Chílean, Ghána > Ghánaian.
The last set of examples is significant in that one often hears these words
mispronounced in contemporary American (and, to a certain extent, British) speech,
specifically with stress on the penult, thus non-standard mayóral, etc.; and
Ghanáian, Chiléian (the spelling is irrelevant). For all three of these particular
items, the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and the American Heritage
1.2 Adjectival Stress on the Wrong Sylláble 5
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006) cite both pronunciations as
equivalent while listing the traditional one first. It is clear historically that the newer
stress is the one on the penult, which raises (NOT “begs!”) the question, why the
shift?
The answer has nothing to do with the phonetic characteristics and everything to
do with the semiotic characteristics of these words. In order to make sense of the
shift, one must recognize the fact that prosody in languages like English—the
(suprasegmental) placement of stress—has a SIGN FUNCTION, and that this function is
coordinated with the function of suffixation. Specifically, where derivational mor-
phology is concerned, as the derivative comes into more widespread use it tends to
assert its independence formally and semantically from the deriving base. This
process gathers strength if and when the derivative all but loses a synchronic
connection with the deriving base, as is the case of pastor > pastoral, where the
meaning of the latter refers to a literary genre and not an agricultural or ecclesi-
astical context (although the latter contexts may ultimately come under the sway of
the more frequent reference, thereby shifting the stress to the penult for all mean-
ings). Cf. áncestor > ancéstral, sépulchre > sepúlchral. Semiotically, what obtains
in the interplay between prosody (stress) and segmental structure (derivation via
suffixation) is a teleological tendency to align the prosodic MARKEDNESS VALUE of the
deriving base with that of the derived form.
Any derived form whose constituent structure is transparent, i.e., where the
semantic link between base and derivative has been preserved, is evaluated semi-
otically as marked by definition. Thus, in the case of the adjectives at issue, their
derived status and hence their marked value tends to occasion the emergence of a
form of the deriving base (here: a noun) that is likewise marked vis-à-vis the
unmarked value of the noun. A shift of stress away from the syllable stressed in the
noun onto another of its syllables closer to the end in the derived adjective produces
a prosodic form of the deriving base that is marked vis-à-vis its unmarked under-
ived counterpart. The markedness value of the adjective is, in other words, mirrored
by the markedness value of its base, thereby promoting the STRUCTURAL COHERENCE
of the form.
Note that this analysis is confirmed by the fate of the adjective banal (< French
banal), where the traditional penultimate stress (with a different initial vowel) has
been all but superseded by stress on the ultima in contemporary English, a reflection
of the fact that the word has lost all semantic links to its etymologically recoverable
deriving base, ban (< Old French < ban ‘proclamation’ < Medieval Latin bannum
[ultimately of Germanic origin]). The word illustrates what happens when the
deriving base is monosyllabic: in the absence of an alternate syllable to which stress
could shift in the derived adjective it falls on the lone other available syllable viz.
that of the suffix.
A more straightforwardly simple way of expressing the process, of course, might
be to say that derivation always tends to promote a contrast between deriving base
and derivative. But this is a specious simplicity: contrast—not just between word
classes—is so often violated as to be practically useless in explaining language
change, whereas the coherence of markedness values is a telos that obtains
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6 1 Sounds
Glossary
aphaeretic, adj. < aphaeresis, n.: the loss of one or more sounds from the
beginning of a word, as in till for until
cluster, n.: two or more successive consonants in a word, as cl and st in the
word cluster
elide, v.: to omit or slur over (a syllable, for example) in pronunciation
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word
element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into smaller mean-
ingful parts
phonemically, adv. < phonemic, adj. < phoneme, n.: the smallest phonetic
unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning, as
the m of mat and the b of bat in English
Every language has what are called MORPHEME STRUCTURE RULES. These are gener-
alizations about what combinations of sounds are permitted in certain positions
within morphemes—initial, medial, and final. Some clusters of sounds that are
allowed across morpheme and word boundaries are not so in word-initial or
word-final position. Exceptions may be restricted to foreign borrowings. In English,
accordingly, the combination ts- only occurs word-initially in borrowings such as
tsetse fly. But because this cluster does not conform to native morpheme structure in
word-initial position, it tends to get simplified in the speech of persons who cannot,
or choose not to make the phonetic effort to pronounce an unusual cluster, and the
first consonant is elided in a process that is called by the technical term aphaeresis.
Thus ts > s.
A contemporary illustration of aphaeresis in English is provided by the word
tsunami ‘tidal wave’, which has been borrowed from Japanese. While the
morpheme-initial cluster ts- is completely regular in the donor language (wherein it
functions as a unitary phoneme /c/ rather than as a cluster), it contravenes the rules
of English, thereby lending itself to simplification as [sunámi], a pronunciation
commonly heard these days—alongside the non-aphaeretic [tsunámi]—with refer-
ence to the recent catastrophe in Japan.
1.3 Aphaeresis Engulfs Tsunami 7
Why the second member of the cluster, and not the first, is elided can be accounted
for by the general rule pertaining to initial clusters in English, whereby it is always
the first and not the second member in this position that is elided, as in the pro-
nunciation of words like knight, gnat, psychology, phthisis, etc., whose Old English
form, resp. that of the donor language, involves an initial (unsimplified) cluster.
1.4 Barbarisms
Glossary
barbarism, n.: the use of words, forms, or expressions considered incorrect or
unacceptable
chaconne, n.: a slow, stately dance of the 18th century or the music for it
orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
penultimate, adj. < penult, n.: the next to last syllable
pretonic, adj.: preceding the stress
simulacrum, n.: an image or representation
Tuning in to a classical music station, one hears the announcer introduce a cha-
conne from Jean-Baptiste Lully’s music for Molière’s comédie-ballet, “Le
Bourgeois Gentilhomme.” During his otherwise erudite preamble, uttered in
admirably impeccable “radio-announcer” American English, the speaker repeatedly
mispronounces the title of Molière’s work, specifically the third word. Although it
is evident that he is making an effort to get the French right, the word gentilhomme
[ʒãtii̯ɔ́m] keeps coming out [jɛ̀ntɨlxóu̯m]—a blatant Anglicization that makes no
concession to the phonetics of the original language Phonetically and stylistically,
the pronunciation is what is called a BARBARISM.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006)
defines a barbarism as “1. An act, trait, or custom characterized by ignorance or
crudity;” also “2.a The use of words, forms, or expressions considered incorrect or
unacceptable;” and “2b. A specific word, form, or expression so used.” The ety-
mology given is:
[Latin barbarismus, use of a foreign tongue or of one’s own tongue amiss, barbarism, from
Greek barbarismos, from barbarizein, to behave or speak like a barbarian, from barbaros,
non-Greek, foreign (imitative of the sound of unintelligible speech).]
In an appended “Usage Note” one is told, moreover, that “The English word
barbarism originally referred to incorrect use of language, but it is now used more
generally to refer to ignorance or crudity in matters of taste, including verbal
expression.”
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8 1 Sounds
Glossary
diphthongal, adj. < diphthong, n: a complex speech sound or glide that
begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the
same syllable, as (oi) in boil or (ai) in fine
glide, n.: the transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory
position of one speech sound to that of another, specifically a sound that
has the quality of one of the high vowels, and that functions as a con-
sonant before or after vowels, as the initial sounds of yell and well and the
final sounds of coy and cow
malapropism, n.: ludicrous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with
one of similar sound
offglide, n.: a glide produced by the movement of the vocal organs from the
articulatory position of a speech sound to a position of inactivity or to the
articulatory position of an immediately following speech sound
Glossary
Cheshire-ly, adv. < Cheshire Cat: a fictional cat, known for its distinctive
grin, popularized by Lewis Carroll’s in his Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland
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10 1 Sounds
Der Untergang des Abendlandes: “The Decline of the West” (German; title of
a book by Oswald Spengler [1st ed., 1918])
Husserl, Edmund: German-Jewish phenomenologist (1859–1938)
simulacrum, n.: an image or representation
solecistically, adv. < solecistic, adj. < solecism, n.: a nonstandard usage or
grammatical construction; an impropriety, mistake, or incongruity
Glossary
alliteration: n., the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of
sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables
anapest, n.: a metrical foot composed of two short or unstressed syllables
followed by one long or stressed one, as in the word seventeen
foot, n.: a unit of poetic meter consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables
in any of various set combinations
hypermetrical, adj.: having one or more (stressed) syllables beyond those
normal to the meter
prosodic, adj. < prosody, n.: a particular system of stress or of versification
segmental, adj.: of or relating to (linear) segments of the speech chain
1.7 Espying the Spondaic Anapest, Absolutely 11
spondaic, adj. < spondee, n.: a metrical foot consisting of two long or
stressed syllables; a foot with a hypermetrical stress
ternary, adj.: composed of three or arranged in threes
ultima, n.: the last syllable of a word
Glossary
abductive, adj. < abduction, n.:: the formation or adoption of a plausible but
unproven explanation for an observed phenomenon; a working hypothesis
derived from limited evidence and informed conjecture.
apotropaism, n.: An act or ritual conducted to ward off evil or danger
nasalization, n.: to make nasal or produce nasal sounds
phonetic, adj.: of, relating to, or being features of pronunciation that are not
phonemically distinctive in a language, as aspiration of consonants or
vowel length in English; pertaining to phonetics, i.e., the study of speech
sounds from the acoustic or articulatory point of view
soft palate: the movable fold, consisting of muscular fibers enclosed in a
mucous membrane, that is suspended from the rear of the hard palate and
closes off the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or
sucking
velum, n.: the soft palate
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12 1 Sounds
Nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, allowing the
breath stream to pass through the nose instead of the mouth during the sound’s
production. There are nasal consonants and nasal vowels, but beyond this charac-
terization, one notes that some speakers have a strong nasalization of their entire
utterances, whether they contain nasal sounds or not (= “talking through one’s
nose”). This observation pertains especially to the speech of contemporary
American females of the younger generation (adolescents, college students, and
beyond).
Anything, including phonetic features, which serves to mitigate or attenuate the
directness of an utterance, can be interpreted as a means of forestalling disagree-
ment or deflecting potential risk. Could this phenomenon, therefore, qualify as an
apotropaism? Given the several other ways that the latter has been chronicled in
earlier essays, it is at least an educated guess, hence a plausible abductive inference
and amenable to testing.
Glossary
derivative, n.: a derived word
derived, adj.: be a derivative of
isomorphism, n., A one-to-one correspondence between the form of two items
or contexts; strict parallelism of form
marked, adj. > markedness: vide infra
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
mimetic, adj.: using imitative means of representation
nominal, adj.: of or pertaining to a noun or an adjective
nominalization, n.: the process or result of forming a noun or noun phrase
from a clause or a verb
parallelism, n.: the use of identical or equivalent forms in corresponding
words, clauses, or phrases
stress: the relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken; the
emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a
word or phrase; placement of an accent on a vowel, either primary (louder
and longer) or secondary (less loud and shorter)
1.9 Form Follows Function (1): Verb/Noun Stress Alternation 13
Why do we say perféct when we mean the verb and pérfect when we mean the noun
or adjective? There exists a whole set of such contrasts, called MINIMAL PAIRS, in
which the verbal stress is on the final syllable and the nominal stress—meaning
either that of a noun or an adjective—is on the initial. Think of prodúce vs.
próduce, conflíct vs. cónflict, insért vs. ínsert, frequént vs. fréquent, and so on.
Most of the members of such pairs each consist of two syllables, so that the contrast
between final and initial stressed syllable holds.
Although, loosely speaking, ACCENT and STRESS can refer to the same thing, in the
parlance of linguistics, strictly speaking, STRESS is the term used to mean the
emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a word or
phrase. This is the meaning foregrounded in the mimetic joke about “putting the
stress on the wrong sylláble.”
The syllable that has that kind of emphasis in a word is called STRESSED and syllables
that don’t are called UNSTRESSED. In English, words can have both a primary and a
secondary stress—several in the case of secondary, but only ONE primary stress.
However, there are also verb/noun pairs where the stress falls on a different
syllable, and each contrasting word consists of more than two syllables, e.g.,
envélop vs. énvelope, interchánge vs. ínterchange, reprimánd vs. réprimand, etc.
Even though in some of these cases the stress need not contrast—réprimand with
initial stress does double duty for many speakers as both a verb and a noun—the
important and unalterable fact is that no matter how many syllables the word has, if
there is a contrast at all, the stress in the verbal form will be NON-INITIAL, i.e., be on
one or more syllables closer to the end than in that of the nominal form. Moreover,
and just as importantly, THE REVERSE IS NEVER TRUE: there are no English verb/noun
pairs which contrast by having an initial stress in the verbal form and a non-initial in
the nominal form.
The same invariable relationship between verbal and nominal holds for cases
where the noun is an obvious product of NOMINALIZATION, i.e., where a verb phrase is
turned into a noun, thus fill ín (“John filled in for Mary”) vs. fíll-in (“John was a
fill-in for Mary”), or rent a cár (“You can rent a car at the airport”) vs. rént-a-car
(“There’s a rent-a-car at the airport”). Whereas in the first member of each of these
pairs the primary stress falls on the final syllable, its nominalized counterpart has
primary stress on the initial syllable. We say, therefore, that the stress in the nominal
form has SHIFTED in comparison to the verbal form from which it has been DERIVED.
We should always ask ourselves, Why? in such cases. Here the answer lies in the
special kind of parallelism—called an ISOMORPHISM—between on the one hand, the
RELATIONAL VALUE of the verb as a category and the RELATIONAL VALUE of the noun
(more accurately: the nominal form) as a category; and, on the other hand, the
corresponding RELATIONAL VALUES of the positions of stress in each category. Now,
what distinguishes verbs from nouns is that every verb NECESSARILY MAKES
REFERENCE TO TIME, whereas a noun DOES NOT When a category in language is
defined vis-à-vis another category by necessary reference vs. non-necessary refer-
ence to some feature of sound or sense, the first category is characterized as
MARKED, and the second as UNMARKED. “Marked” here means “relatively restricted in
(conceptual) scope,” and “unmarked” means “relatively unrestricted in (conceptual)
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14 1 Sounds
scope.” This meaning translates the opposition of marked vs. unmarked into such
values as “uncommon” vs. “common,” “atypical” vs. “typical,” and so on.
As with all linguistic oppositions, the same is true when it comes to the relational
value of the position of stress in the words and phrases under consideration here. In
English, for historical reasons, the initial syllable has come to be the “typical” or
“unrestricted” syllable, as far as bearing the primary stress is concerned. This
translates into the fact that stress on the initial is UNMARKED, whereas stress on
non-initial syllables is MARKED.
It is this PARALLELISM OF FORM between grammatical category and position of stress
that accounts for and answers the question, why the difference in stress?: non-initial
stress correlates with verbal (i.e., non-nominal) forms, and initial stress correlates
with non-verbal (i.e., nominal forms). More significantly: marked category goes with
marked stress position, unmarked category with unmarked stress position.
At its core, language always displays such isomorphisms. It is these correlations
of value that enable linguistic facts to cohere and to form a structure, to be learned
by new generations of speakers, and to be perpetuated in the history of a language.
Glossary
diphthong: A complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and
gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in
boil or (ai) in fine
marked: of or relating to that member of a pair of sounds, words, or forms that
explicitly denotes a particular subset of the meanings denoted by the other
member of the pair. For example, of the two words lion and lioness, lion
is unmarked for gender (it can denote either a male or female) whereas
lioness is marked, since it denotes only females
protensity: category of phonological distinctive features comprising the
acoustic opposition tense vs. lax, defined by the longer (vs. reduced)
duration of the steady state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined
resonance regions in the spectrum
schwa: a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed sylla-
bles, as the final vowel of English sofa; The symbol (ə) used to represent
an unstressed neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic transcrip-
tion, a stressed mid-central vowel, as in but.
stress: the relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken; the
emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a
word or phrase; placement of an accent on a vowel, either primary (louder
and longer) or secondary (less loud and shorter)
1.10 Form Follows Function (2): Vowel Alternation 15
Glossary
ninepins, n.: a bowling game in which nine wooden pins are the target
skittles, n.: a British form of ninepins, in which a wooden disk or ball is
thrown to knock down the pins
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16 1 Sounds
In the last twenty years or so, much attention has been paid to something like a new
Great Vowel Shift in North American English, which in some respects resembles
the original Great Vowel Shift, a major change in the pronunciation of English that
took place in England between 1350 and 1500. Part of this development in con-
temporary American English is the merger between stressed [ɛ] and [æ] such that
the traditional pronunciation of the former merges with that of the latter, which
results, for instance, in the word friends sounding like France, or best sounding like
bast, etc. This new pronunciation can be heard from mostly youngish female
speakers in particular, although occasionally younger males also exemplify it.
Which brings me to the origin of this post, since it may be of more than passing
interest to regular readers. While listening to a classical music station this morning
(WMHT-FM), I perked up my ears when the female announcer introduced the next
piece, Mozart’s Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano in E-flat major, also known as
the Kegelstatt Trio (K. 498). But where she intended to be understood as saying
“friends” in describing the companions with whom Mozart customarily played
skittles—the German word for ‘skittles’ being Kegel, hence Kegelstatt ‘bowling
alley’, where musical myth has Mozart composing this trio—what I heard her say
was “France,” then quickly realized my misperception and identified its cause. After
all, nothing could mar the pleasure of hearing it again: I had played the clarinet part
many times in my youth, with my mother Lydia Shapiro at the piano; then later in
life with my wife, Marianne Shapiro.
As Mozart says to Salieri in Pushkin’s “little tragedy” Mozart and Salieri:
“Кoгдa бы вce тaк чyвcтвoвaли cилy/Гapмoнии!” (‘If only all could so feel the
power of harmony!‘).
Glossary
apotropaic, adj.: intended to ward off evil or danger
girlize, v.: ‘render as by, or to resemble, a girl’ (here a nonce word, i.e., a
word created ‘for the nonce/occasion’)
intonation, n.: the use of changing pitch to convey syntactic information
patois, n.: the special jargon of a group; cant, i.e. [here], monotonous talk
filled with platitudes (French)
Glossary
affective, adj.: concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions; emotive
allophone, n.: a predictable phonetic variant of a phoneme
apocope, n.: the loss of one or more sounds from the end of a word, as in
Modern English sing from Middle English singen
coda, n.: anything that serves to round out, conclude, or summarize
glottal, adj. < glottis, n.: the opening between the vocal cords at the upper
part of the larynx
hypocorism, n.: a name of endearment; a pet name
hypocoristic, n.: a word belonging to affective vocabulary
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
occlusion, n.: closure at some point in the vocal tract that blocks the flow of
air in the production of an oral or nasal stop
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
phonostylistic, adj. < phonostylistics, n.: the study of the stylistic implications
of phonetic variation, or, more generally, of different kinds of sounds
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound (p) in pit or (d) in dog
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
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18 1 Sounds
There is a sound in English called a GLOTTAL CATCH or GLOTTAL STOP which is a stop
consonant articulated without release and having glottal occlusion as a secondary
articulation, as in the Scottish articulation of the sound t of little, bottle, etc. This
sound is present in nearly all dialects of English as an allophone of /t/ in syllable
codas and is symbolized orthographically as an apostrophe, e.g., sto’p, tha’t, kno’ck,
wa’tch, lea’p, soa’k, hel’p, pin’ch, etc. It also occurs in word-final position, where it
is represented with a p, as in yep for yes and nope for no. To generalize, the incidence
of a glottal catch at the end of a syllable is a kind of APOCOPE, i.e., a TRUNCATION.
It is also a PHONOSTYLISTIC datum, in that it is characteristic of informal speech
and is not normative of neutral or formal style. In this respect, as a species of
truncation (of the syllable), it fits into the general pattern whereby informality is
achieved via ABBREVIATION vis-à-vis its formal counterpart.
One aspect of informal or colloquial style is the AFFECTIVE meaning of abbrevia-
tion, specifically its close association with the phenomenon known as HYPOCORISM (as
in baby talk). This form of endearment is typical, for instance, of pet names, wherein
abbreviated versions of their full neutral or formal counterparts are the norm.
In this light it becomes clear why the word football is commonly heard uttered
by ardent fans and followers of the sport with a glottal catch for the t ending the first
constituent of this compound, whatever the stylistic context or the utterer’s dialectal
profile. In such speakers’ value system football is a hypocoristic, hence to be
pronounced uniformly—regardless of context—with a phonetic feature answering
to a term of endearment.
Glossary
diphthong: A complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and
gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in
boil or (ai) in fine
marked: of or relating to that member of a pair of sounds, words, or forms that
explicitly denotes a particular subset of the meanings denoted by the other
member of the pair. For example, of the two words lion and lioness, lion
is unmarked for gender (it can denote either a male or female) whereas
lioness is marked, since it denotes only females
mutatis mutandis: ‘the necessary changes having been made; having substituted
new terms; with respective differences taken into consideration’ (Latin)
nomina propria: ‘proper nouns’ (Latin)
nomina sunt odiosa: ‘it would be inappropriate to name names’ (‘names are
odious’ [Latin])
1.14 Going to Rack and Ruin in the ‘Stans 19
Two people (nomina sunt odiosa)—one the female host of a morning news pro-
gram, the other the network’s Pentagon correspondent—are talking to each other on
the radio about the war in Iraq, and each consistently pronounces the name of the
country differently: one says Ir[á]q with what is called a “broad A” (rhymes with
rock) in the linguistic literature, the other says Ir[ǽ]q with what is called a “flat A”
(rhymes with rack). Then the topic switches to Iran, and the same difference in their
rendering of the stressed vowels perdures. But they both say Pakistan and
Afghanistan with flat vowels in the appropriate syllables throughout. When the
male co-host jumps into the conversation, the same distribution of variants applies
to his speech: he has the broad vowel in both Iran and Iraq but the narrow vowel in
the two ‘Stans.
Then a clip is played of a recorded interview with an Army captain in Iraq, who
consistently uses the flat vowel [æ] in his pronunciation of the two countries’
names. This interview is followed by one with an enlisted man, whose stressed
vowel in the two nomina propria conforms to that of the officer but differs in the
value of the initial (unstressed) vowel, which he pronounces with the diphthong [ai]
(rhymes with eye) and secondary stress, viz. [àirǽk]—just as he might the first
vowel of Italian, both blatantly down-market, non-standard pronunciations. The
interviewer in both cases is the network’s (female) Baghdad correspondent. She
consistently—whether interviewing or just reporting from Iraq—maintains the
pronunciation with a flat vowel, i.e. Ir[ǽ]q.
Then an excerpt from the governor of Alaska’s speech to the 2008 Republican
National Convention is broadcast, and she too says what the enlisted man said,
namely [àirǽk], with a diphthong in the first syllable and a flat A in the second
syllable. What’s going on? Why this variation among native speakers of American
English in the rendering of the (stressed) sound A?
Before essaying an answer, one needs to keep in mind the following salient
external facts about the dramatis personae. (1) The two co-hosts of the program
(one based in Washington, the other in Los Angeles) are not in regular contact with
military personnel—unlike both the Pentagon and the Baghdad correspondents;
(2) the Army personnel are members of that social group by definition, differing
only in rank and (probably) education; (3) the Alaskan governor is also the com-
mander of that state’s National Guard and even has a son who is a member of that
unit.
Now for some general data about this variation.
Vacillation between [a] (“broad” A) and [æ] (“flat” A) is a persistent feature of
American speech, particularly in loan words or nomina propria, as in the twofold
pronunciation of the stressed vowel of Colorado, Nevada, Iran, Iraq, Milan, and so
on. Whereas no true-blue Westerner would be caught dead saying Color[á]do or
Nev[á]da, many of them, along with other Americans, do habitually say Ir[á]n, Ir[á]
q, and Mil[á]n, instead of the long-standing and traditional Ir[ǽ]n, Ir[ǽ]q, and Mil
[ǽ]n. In the case of loan words, including designations of foreign places or things,
even where initially there is vacillation between [ɑ] and [æ], as in Viet Nam (cf. the
preference for [nǽm] over [nám] to render the slangy [originally military!] abbre-
viation ‘Nam), American speech in modern times seems to favor pronunciations
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20 1 Sounds
rather, as well as in British English (tomato, banana), has become associated with
marked (=foreign, formal, “high” style) pronunciation, whence its natural utilization
as a phonetic mark of special status.
Imitation of prestige dialects is likely to account for examples like the
garden-variety word pistachio or the name Andrea being pronounced with [ɑ] rather
than the plebeian [æ]. (The recent appearance of the spelling Ondrea to render the
name bears this out.) Occasionally, imitation is rather of a local pronunciation,
specifically in a country (Pakistan) where English is commonly spoken as a second
language. This would account for the bizarre phenomenon of a native speaker of
American English (Julie McCarthy of NPR, reporting from Pakistan with her
off-puttingly prissy accent) in one and the same sentence slavishly pronouncing both
vowels in Pakistan with a broad A but Afghanistan with a flat A throughout.
Now—finally!—we come to an explanation of the strange distribution of broad
and flat A that gave rise to this discussion.
The persons whose speech on the radio served as the source of data about the
variation in the stressed vowel of Iraq and Iran break up into: (A) those who are
familiar with the traditional (i.e. local, in situ) American English pronunciation by
virtue of their contact with military personnel and those close to that speech
community; and (B) those who (unconsciously?) think that the correct pronuncia-
tion should approximate what they take to be the vowel of the source language—
here Arabic and Farsi, respectively. The first group follows the older norm, the
second the emerging one. The same would apply mutatis mutandis to speakers who
have the broad vowel in the relevant syllables of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
All these data speak in favor of the idea that the historically older urge of
Americans to render foreign (European) words “correctly” at the expense of native
phonetic norms has been subsumed, as but one specific manifestation, under the
newer and more general drive for “authenticity.” Truth is (mis-?)identified with the
authentic. Thus, K[á]nt and D[ɑ]nte persist as the only pronunciations in American
speech (where the British norm has K[æ]nt and D[æ]nte) not because of a desire to
acknowledge the foreignness of the names but because nativizing their pronunci-
ation might run the risk of making one’s acquaintance with them seem less than
authentic Hence it is THE AVOIDANCE OF ANYTHING THAT, THROUGH SPEECH, MIGHT BE
TAKEN AS A SIGN OF INAUTHENTIC KNOWLEDGE that seems to explain not only the
proliferation of Ir[á]q and Ir[á]n but pronunciations like m[á]ntra, pist[á]chio and
even h[á]bit[à]t as well.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
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22 1 Sounds
case, n.: a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express
one or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence
cluster, n.: two or more successive consonants in a word, as cl and st in the
word cluster
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper
front teeth
fricative, adj.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through a constricted passage
lax, adj.: Latin lenis ‘soft’, opposed to fortis ‘strong’ (vide infra under tense
vs. lax)
liquid. n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
marked: of or relating to that member of a pair of sounds, words, or forms that
explicitly denotes a particular subset of the meanings denoted by the other
member of the pair. For example, of the two words lion and lioness, lion
is unmarked for gender (it can denote either a male or female) whereas
lioness is marked, since it denotes only females
medial, adj.: being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial
and final positions in a word or morpheme
neutralization, n. < neutralize, v.: to suspend an opposition, such that only
one of the two terms of the opposition represents both terms
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
suffix, n.: an affix [vide supra] added to the end of a word or stem, serving to
form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness in
gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
tense vs. lax: (acoustically) longer vs. reduced duration of the steady state
portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance regions of the
spectrum; (genetically) a deliberate vs. rapid execution of the required
gesture resulting in a lastingly stationary articulation
unmarked, adj.: vide supra under marked
Aside from the suffixes for plural number and possessive case in substantives, the
English dental fricatives s and z are not in regular alternation in native words, the
exception being a rare singleton, goose [gu:s] * gosling [gózliŋ], where an s in
medial position before the liquid l is pronounced as its lax counterpart z. This
position of neutralization encompasses loan words with medial s before r as well,
e.g., Israel [ízrəèl].
What is being neutralized here is the distinction between tense and lax obstru-
ents, and the predictable outcome is the unmarked (lax) member of the opposition,
namely z. Note that this suspension of distinctiveness applies to non-medial clusters
of dental fricative + liquid as well—but with reversed values. Thus in the far more
1.15 Goslings in Oslo (Medial s Before Liquids) 23
Glossary
fricative, n.: a consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through a constricted passage
In the last few years one hears increasingly the mispronunciation of the word
homage, whose pedigree in English as an Old French loan word goes back to at
least the 13th century (1290 being the date of the earliest OED attestation). Anyone
who has it as a secure item of vocabulary and has actually heard it pronounced by
knowledgeable speakers on both sides of the Atlantic knows that (1) the stress falls
on the first syllable; (2) the initial vowel is the same as in the word palm, whether
pronounced “aichlessly” (with H-dropping) or not, both being correct; (3) the
second vowel is unstressed and, therefore, the same as in the word garbage; ditto
(4) the final consonant. The phonetic transcription is, consequently, [(h)ɑ́mɨǯ].
Younger speakers in America who utter this word can be heard pronouncing it à
la française, i.e., with the stress on the last syllable, no [h], and a final fricative [ž];
thus [omáž].
One Englishman wrote to the NPR Ombudsman in 2004 to alert the network to
this mistake, and his warning is reproduced as follows (Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, “The
Joy of Text,” NPR.org, November 23, 2004):
‘Hom-age … not O-mahj’
Jonathan Leonhart is a listener in London who writes to say that NPR should pronounce the
word “homage” with a soft “H,” as an English and not as a French word:
Could you please circulate a memo to all your NPR correspondents and show hosts…
informing them of the PROPER pronunciation of the word “homage?” The people you hear
most frequently mispronouncing it as a French word are the Hollywood airheads in their
commentary accompaniments on DVDs. “O-mahj… o-mahj… o-mahj” Give me a break.
It’s as pathetic as the classic over-correction “between he and I”–-a semi-literate attempt to
sound “smart,” made so much sadder by how wrong it is.
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24 1 Sounds
The key word in Mr. Leonhart’s letter is “airheads.” It is ignorance pure and
simple that accounts for this erroneous pronunciation. And it is far from the only
instance of insecure knowledge of one’s own language being at the root of lin-
guistic change.
[Update: Cf. now the repeated mispronunciation of homage by a not-so-young
Englishman, the presenter Mark Coles (BBC World Service, “The Strand,”
10/15/10)]
Glossary
aspiration, n.: the pronunciation of a consonant with an aspirate, i.e., the
speech sound represented by English h; the puff of air accompanying the
release of a stop consonant like p or t
front, v.: to cause (a sound) to be pronounced farther toward the front of the
oral cavity
medial, adj.: being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial
and final positions in a word or morpheme
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
phonemically, adv. < phonemic, adj. < phoneme, n.: the smallest phonetic
unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning, as
the m of mat and the b of bat in English
phonetic, adj.: of, relating to, or being features of pronunciation that are not
phonemically distinctive in a language, as aspiration of consonants or
vowel length in English; pertaining to phonetics, i.e., the study of speech
sounds from the acoustic or articulatory point of view
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound (p) in pit or (d) in dog
quién sabe?: who knows? (Spanish)
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
tone deafness, n. < tone-deaf, adj.: unable to distinguish differences in
musical pitch; (here) unable to perceive nuances or subtleties
velarize, v.: to articulate (a sound) by retracting the back of the tongue toward
the soft palate
1.17 Idiosyncratic Pronunciations: Tone-Deafness? 25
Radio interviews with President Barack Obama (e.g., on the BBC World Service)
show that as a speaker of contemporary American English Mr. Obama has certain
idiosyncrasies. For instance, when speaking of the Taliban (Arabic ṭālibān ‘stu-
dents’), his pronunciation deviates from that of the overwhelming majority of native
speakers by having the sound [i:] after the [l] preceding the unstressed medial
vowel, making it sound like the second vowel of tally rather than that of tulip. This
unwonted pronunciation can occasionally be heard from certain American generals
when interviewed by the media as well.
The source and impulse behind this idiosyncrasy is clearly speech, mostly by
non-natives, that is perceived by some speakers of American English to be “authen-
tic,” namely the pronunciation of the word in Arabic, where the [l] is unvelarized and
fronted, creating the impression that in order to reproduce it in English “authentically”
one needs to render it like the second vowel of tally. Needless to say, neither Mr.
Obama nor the American generals from whom he may have heard this pronunciation
in the first place are known to have any authentic knowledge of Arabic phonetics.
In Mr. Obama’s speech this attempt at phonetic verisimilitude in the pronun-
ciation of a foreign item is of a piece with another of his speech traits, namely
rendering the word Pakistan with the first and last vowels mimicking Pakistani
English [a:], as in father, instead of general American English [æ], as in cat.
It’s an interesting question, pertaining to the cultural determinants of language
use, exactly why certain speakers persist in deviating idiosyncratically from the
overwhelming evidence of the norm to which they are exposed. In the case of
foreign borrowings, contrarian adherence to what they perceive to be “authentic”
seems to be the answer. Perhaps they feel, at some undeterminable psychological
level (quién sabe?), that this phonetic proclivity makes them seem more knowl-
edgeable about the subject of the discourse in which their speech is embedded.
Glossary
faux, adj.: artificial; fake (French)
nomina propria: proper names (Latin)
There is no doubt that reading pronunciations reign supreme when speakers are
ignorant of the traditional pronunciation of a word. This state of affairs is partic-
ularly relevant when the word belongs to the class of nomina propria.
The Cambridge Pronouncing Dictionary (17th ed., 2006) lists only one pro-
nunciation for the name of the country of Bahrain, viz. without the h, and this is the
traditional English version regardless of the authentic Arabic original. Yet Peter
Kenyon, the NPR correspondent reporting from Dubai (“Morning Edition”),
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26 1 Sounds
repeatedly pronounced the word with an h, joining the majority of media repre-
sentatives in their studied ignorance of the established phonetic form.
Ultimately, this kind of mistake is to be adjudged as yet another instance of the
drive toward faux authenticity that besets American speakers of English in par-
ticular, abetted by an attitude that flouts linguistic precedent.
Glossary
allophonic, adj. < allophone, n.: a predictable phonetic variant of a phoneme,
e.g., the aspirated t of top, the unaspirated t of stop, and the tt (pronounced
as a flap) of batter—all allophones of the English phoneme /t/
aspirated, adj.: pronounced with the initial release of breath associated with
English h, as in hurry; followed with a puff of breath that is clearly
audible before the next sound begins, as in English pit or kit
diagrammatic, adj. < diagram, n.: an icon of relation
epenthetic, adj. < epenthesis, n.: the insertion of a sound in the middle of a
word, as in Middle English thunder < Old English thunor
etymological, adj. < etymology, n.: the origin and historical development of a
linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known
use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one
language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and
reconstructing its ancestral form where possible
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
metaphonological, adj.: transcending phonology
orthoepic, adj. < orthoepy, n.: the study of the pronunciation of words; the
customary pronunciation of words
orthographical, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
phoneme, n.: the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of
conveying a distinction in meaning, as the m of mat and the b of bat in
English
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation
prescriptivist, adj. < prescriptivism, n.: the support or promotion of pre-
scriptive grammar
1.19 Intrusive r (A Sandhi Phenomenon) 27
Glossary
morae, pl. n. < mora, n.: the minimal unit of quantitative measure in tem-
poral prosodic systems equivalent in the time value to an average short
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Glossary
doublet, n.: one of two words or forms that are identical in meaning or value
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
1.21 Lambasting the Oblivion of Constituent Structure 29
It is a well-known fact that speakers are often oblivious of the constituent structure
of historically compound words when the constituents lose currency with the
passage of time, and that this process may give rise to a (mistaken) new pronun-
ciation alongside the traditional one. This is in fact what has happened to the verb
lambaste, which is now often pronounced /læmˈbæst/ instead of /læmˈbeɪst/.
Moreover, the new pronunciation has been codified by all contemporary dic-
tionaries in the form of an orthographic doublet lambast.
The meaning given by the Oxford English Dictionary Online is “To beat
soundly; to thrash; to ‘whack’. Now colloq. or vulgar.” As to the etymology, it is
cited with a question mark: “? < lam + baste.” Both lam and baste, for that matter,
share a meaning, viz. ‘whip, beat, flog,’ and the only pronunciation of baste is, of
course, /beɪst/.
Neither of the two historical constituents of lambaste with the meaning of
beating or flogging is in current use, hence their fading and oblivion in the com-
pound, which then can be taken to license the mispronunciation. The latter is
currently the more frequently one, at least in American English.
As is so often the case with all the traditional linguistic patrimony, ‘bad money
drives out good’; or as they say in Japanese, akka wa ryooka o kuchiku suru (悪貨
わ良貨を駆逐する).
Glossary
aspiration, n.: the pronunciation of a consonant with an aspirate, i.e., the
speech sound represented by English h; the puff of air accompanying the
release of a stop consonant like p or t
explanans, n.: that which explains; an explanation (Latin)
fricative, n.: a consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through a constricted passage
idiolect, n.: the speech of an individual, considered as a linguistic pattern
unique among speakers of his or her language or dialect
intervocalic, adj.: between vowels
lax, adj.: Latin lenis ‘soft’, opposed to fortis ‘strong’ (vide infra under tense
vs. lax)
lenited, adj. < lenite, v.: cause lenition (vide supra)
lenition, n.: laxing; production of a lax sound
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
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30 1 Sounds
President Barack Obama’s idiolect has a phonetic feature that hasn’t been noticed in
the public press viz. the non-standard pronunciation of the verb congratulate and its
derived verbal noun congratulation(s) with a “voiced” [ǯ] (as in just) for standard
“voiceless” [č] (as in chuck) corresponding to the intervocalic letter t before
u. (One heard it yet again on May 17, 2009 in his commencement address at the
University of Notre Dame.) This is actually a fairly widespread (mis)pronunciation.
In effect, this is the process by which intervocalic fricatives (hissing and hushing
sounds) that are “voiceless” in other positions are rendered with their “voiced”
counterparts between vowels; thus the well-known pronunciation of greasy in
Southern American dialects as grea[z]y.
There is an explanation, but it’s one that necessitates disabusing oneself of the
established characterization of English as a language with distinctive “voicing” in
its obstruent (=true consonant) system and facing the fact that English (like German
and Serbo-Croatian, for example—or Japanese, for that matter, pace the conven-
tional view—and unlike Russian) is rather a language with distinctive “protensity,”
i.e., with the opposition tense vs. lax. Thus the series p, t, k, etc. is to be understood
as being opposed to the series b, d, g, etc. as tense vs. lax.
Two of the features by which obstruents are distinguished in the languages of the
world are VOICING and this so-called PROTENSITY feature. They correspond to the
traditional distinction between FORTIS and LENIS sounds. (The more familiar modern
terms are VOICED VS. VOICELESS and TENSE VS. LAX.) There are several phonetic
1.22 Lenition, Not Voicing 31
properties that accompany the distinction between fortis and lenis sounds, such as
the presence vs. absence of the vibration of the vocal bands, aspiration, and so on.
All of these phonetic properties are in fact relevant in a general sense but not
important to the particular phenomenon at hand, which is the lenition of an inter-
vocalic obstruent, namely [č], resulting in President Obama’s [ǯ]. The reason why it
is a matter of principal importance to call this process by its right name—lenition—
rather than “voicing” is that only then can we understand why it happens at all.
(Note that orthography is helpless here as an explanans, since the letter t is
“voiceless.” )
Noted in an earlier essay was the fact of the neutralization of phonological
distinctions in so-called positions of neutralization, whereby only one of the
opposed terms appears in such positions and “represents” the opposition. Here, the
obstruent that occurs between vowels is in just such a position, and the represen-
tative of the opposition between [č]and [ǯ]—the very one that distinguishes
between, say, batch and badge—is what is conventionally called the “voiced” one,
i.e., [ǯ]. But calling it “voiced” is wrong phonologically, no matter how right it is
phonetically, for the following reason.
The most universal realization of an opposition in a position of neutralization—
in phonology as in all of grammar—is the so-called “unmarked” member of the
opposition, which is defined as the relatively general or unconstrained member, its
“marked” counterpart being relatively specific or constrained for the feature at
stake. One could say that positions of neutralization are diagnostic—for native
learner/speaker and analyst alike—in that they conduce to the evaluative designa-
tion of members of oppositions in terms of markedness, a designation that imparts
sense to form and without which phonology and grammar would cease to be a
coherent structure.
As a general matter, in languages with distinctive voicing in their obstruent
system, the marked member of the opposition is the voiced (lenis) member, and the
voiceless (fortis) member is unmarked. Contrariwise, in languages with distinctive
protensity, it is the tense (fortis) member that is marked and the lax (lenis) one that
is unmarked.
Consequently, those speakers who, like President Obama have a lenited
obstruent in congratulations, where the norm has its unlenited counterpart, are
(unwittingly, of course) simply realizing the natural drift inherent in the sign
function of all positions of neutralization by pronouncing the unmarked lenis sound
for t. It just so happens that the norm in this case overrides the drift, but some
speakers (probably from childhood) are nonetheless impelled by what the Germans
call Systemzwang (“the systemic impetus/force”) to innovate in their individual
grammars along lines that have the inherent potential of becoming the norm in the
long run.
Even in this minute respect, one could say that the president is only being true to
himself as an adherent of the innovating variety of contemporary American English.
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32 1 Sounds
Glossary
Babel, n.: a confusion of sounds, languages, or voices
broad vowel: (here) the a vowel as pronounced like the a in father
diphthong: A complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and
gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in
boil or (ai) in fine
faux, adj.: artificial; fake (French)
flat vowel: the vowel a as pronounced in bad or cat
idiosyncratic, adj. < idiosyncrasy, n.: a structural or behavioral characteristic
peculiar to an individual or group; a physiological or temperamental peculiarity
liquid, n.: the speech sounds l and r and their congeners, i.e., articulated
without friction and capable of being prolonged like a vowel
monolingual, adj.: knowing or able to speak only one language
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
palatal, adj.: produced with the front of the tongue near or against the hard
palate, as the (y) in English young; produced with the blade of the tongue
near the hard palate, as the (ch) in English chin
palatalize, v.: to pronounce as or alter to a palatal sound
phonetic, adj.: pertaining to speech sounds
tone deafness, n. < tone-deaf, adj.: unable to distinguish differences in
musical pitch; (here) unable to perceive nuances or subtleties
While every language is rife with variation, some variants can only be adjudged to
be the wayward product of a kind of tone deafness or linguistic solipsism condi-
tioned more often than not by an unconscious adherence to the orthographic
representation of a word. To cite an example from my own linguistic milieu, I have
a friend who consistently mispronounced the first name of another friend even
though he heard me pronounce it correctly on numerous occasions. This was a case
where the spelling –ai- of the Finnish name Raimo (counterpart of English
Raymond) gave rise to the vowel of English rain instead of the vowel of line.
Eventually, the insistence of the letter yielded to the aural dominance of the sound,
and the name is now pronounced correctly by my friend (and by his wife, who had
originally followed her husband down the primrose path).
But this sort of linguistic solipsism can also persist uncorrected regardless of
numerous audible examples to the contrary, even in the absence of spelling influ-
ence. A prominent case is the speech of President Barack Obama, who consistently
pronounces Taliban with a flat first vowel, a palatalized liquid, and a broad final
vowel, in what seems to be an attempt to imitate a fancied foreign model taken to
be “authentic.” Perversely, the word Afghanistan in his speech is rendered with
1.23 Linguistic Solipsism 33
uniformly flat A‘s (i.e., as in rack), but Pakistan with uniformly broad A‘s (i.e., as in
pock). (The latter pronunciation is doubtless an imitation of Pakistani English.) He
also vacillates between pronouncing Copenhagen correctly and incorrectly, i.e.,
with a broad A instead of the traditional –ay- diphthong of rain—yet another
instance of faux authenticity (not unknown in the speech of miscellaneous other
Americans as well).
At bottom, this kind of idiosyncratic variation is a sign of LINGUISTIC INSECURITY
And no wonder: confronted with having publicly to render the Babel of foreign
names and their variant phonetic forms in English, anyone—but especially a
monolingual speaker like Mr. Obama—can easily come a cropper.
1.24 Manhattan
Glossary
toponym, n.: a place name
There is perhaps no more important island in the world. Those who live there or are
familiar with the correct pronunciation of its name say M[ə]nháttan, with a schwa
in the first syllable, unlike those who either know the correct pronunciation and
choose to ignore it or are simply ignorant of it. (As a former resident of Manhattan
[1980–2003], who has recently come back to the borough to live once again, I can
report that it grates on my ear every time I hear the word mispronounced.)
In the case of Manhattan, Kansas, or Manhattan Beach, California, naturally, the
relevant vowel is not a schwa but the expected [æ].
This case illustrates the possibility that local pronunciations of toponyms may
differ from generally more familiar ones. In the USA, think of towns that carry the
name Vienna, Cairo, and Berlin but diverge phonetically from their form as
designations of foreign cities.
Glossary
afflatus, n.: a strong creative impulse, especially as a result of divine
inspiration
chevelure, n.: [a head of] hair (French)
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exeunt: ‘they go out’ (Latin); used as a stage direction to indicate that two or
more performers leave the stage
impetigo: a contagious bacterial skin infection, usually of children, that is
characterized by the eruption of superficial pustules and the formation of
thick yellow crusts, commonly on the face (Latin)
lentigo: a small, flat, pigmented spot on the skin (Latin)
momenta medica: ‘medical moments’ (Latin)
morphea scleroderma: a disorder characterized by thickening and induration
(‘hardening’) of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (Latin)
quaternion, n.: a set of four persons or items
redivivus: come back to life; revived (Latin)
roomicule, n.: a little room (nonce word)
I had taken my shirt and jacket off in expectation of having the sutures removed
from my back. There was a knock on the door, and a young woman of the usual
plumpish bespectacled type wearing a white smock entered and introduced herself
as a fourth-year medical student. We shook hands.
She glanced at my file and announced that the result of the biopsy was negative:
the tissue sample they had taken two weeks before was benign. When I inquired
about the abrasion on my right cheek that had impelled me to visit the dermatology
clinic in the first place, she informed me that it was a lentigo, which she mispro-
nounced with stress on the first syllable. I realized, of course, on the model of
impetigo, known to me through acquaintance with my grandchildren’s occasional
skin problems, that the stress was on the penult and that it rhymed with Sligo, the
town in Ireland I had visited once upon a time.
“The team will be in shortly,” added the fourth-year medical student and exited
the roomicule. I was left to cool my heels shirtless, in the usual fashion of such
momenta medica.
Soon there was another knock on the door, and a woman doctor, a resident who
had originally taken the biopsy and sutured the wound, entered, likewise dressed in
a white smock, followed by the fourth-year medical student and two male doctors in
civvies. This was evidently the aforementioned “team,” and they were making their
rounds. Having taken up positions behind me, they all inspected my back
simultaneously.
The woman doctor looked cursorily at the file and confirmed the original diagnosis.
Then she announced that the “team” would go out to confer about what they had
observed. “This is what they used to call a consilium,” I remarked to the fourth-year
medical student, who was bringing up the rear as the group exited. That flotsam of
Russian vocabulary (from Latin ‘council’) had suddenly swum up into my cortex and
produced the medical term. Her opaque smile signaled total incomprehension.
Soon the resident and the fourth-year student reentered the room, without the
male doctors. “It’s a morphea scleroderma,” intoned the resident, “and if you want
to have it removed you can come back in two weeks.” I declined but pursued the
1.25 Molière Redivivus 35
matter of my cheek. “What about the lentigo,” said I,” putting the stress on the
proper syllable with its Sligo rhyme. “How did it come about?”
“The lentigo,” she said, repeating the incorrect initial stress, “is probably the
cumulative result of exposure to the sun.” “I see,” said I. She then deftly removed
my sutures.
“Would you object if I took a photograph of your back?,” asked the dermatol-
ogist. “I’d like to have it for the record and to show my colleagues.”
“No, I wouldn’t object,” I answered, whereupon she took out a digital camera
and snapped it. I saw the flash out of the corner of my eye. Exeunt the two female
medicos.
Putting my shirt and jacket back on, I exited the clinic and entered the hall with
its quaternion of elevators. One of the male doctors who had examined me, a
youngish man in a sports coat, sporting the right sort of Hollywoodian chevelure,
entered the elevator with me.
“It was like a scene out of Molière” I said, smiling. Of course, I had misre-
membered L’Amour Médecin (“The Love Doctor”), with its squadron of doctors,
conflating it with Le Malade Imaginaire (“The Imaginary Invalid”), where a doctor
explains that opium is a soporific due to its virtus dormitiva (‘dormitive virtue’).
Molière’s doctor was subsequently made the target of derision in the philosophy of
science as the utterer of a fallacy but was defended by my hero Charles Peirce, who
pointed out the pragmatistic validity of his definition. My memory of Peirce’s
discussion had doubtless conjured up the allusion to Molière.
The doctor said nothing. His look of total incomprehension as we descended
punctured the afflatus I was feeling at my literary mot juste. My shoulders slumped.
We both got off the elevator on the ground floor and walked toward the exit, into
the effulgently Westwoodian light of day.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
allomorph, n.: any of the variant forms of a morpheme. For example, the
phonetic (s) of cats, (z) of pigs, and (iz) horses are allomorphs of the
English plural morpheme {s}
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed
from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or
undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from
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suffix, n.: an affix [vide supra] added to the end of a word or stem, serving to
form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness in
gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
tense vs. lax: (acoustically) longer vs. reduced duration of the steady state
portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance regions of the
spectrum; (genetically) a deliberate vs. rapid execution of the required
gesture resulting in a lastingly stationary articulation
toponym, n.: a place name
voicing, n.: expiration of air through vibrating vocal cords, used in the pro-
duction of vowels and voiced consonants
With Tunisia being so much in the news of late, one constantly hears (on the BBC
Word Service, for instance) the British variants of the adjective and substantive
derived from the toponym Tunis namely Tunisia and Tunisian. In British English s
(stem-final z being rare) before a derivational suffix beginning in a front vowel—like
–ia or –ian—unpalatalized while optionally undergoing “voicing” (actually, laxing)
intervocalically, hence the pronunciations [tunɪziə] and [tunɪziə], where American
English changes the stem-final consonant to a palatal [ʒ], hence [tuníʒə] and [tuníʒən]
(note also the tense stressed vowel in the American version, where British has a lax
vowel). The same ces (mutatis mutandis) hold for words like Parisian and Asian.
The systematic upshot is a semiotic one. British English does not mark nominal
derivation here beyond adding a suffix, whereas American English does, in the form
of the marked obstruent {ʒ} < [z], and the marked tense vowel [í].
This is a good illustration of a widespread phenomenon in language, particularly
frequent in dialectology, whereby identical contexts allow of diverging morpho-
phonemic treatments and produce variation across languages and language families,
as well as dialects.
In this particular case, one could adjudge British English to be (expectedly) more
conservative than American, since the former chooses to preserve the phonetic
identity of the final obstruent and the stressed vowel of the deriving base in the
derivative, whereas the latter changes them to their marked counterparts, thereby
choosing to underscore the derivative’s semiotic status—its hierarchical value—at
the expense of phonetic uniformity between base and derivative.
Glossary
dialectology, n.: the study of dialects; the body of data available for use in the
systematic study of a dialect or group of related dialects
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doublet, n.: one of two words or forms that are identical in meaning or value
isogloss, n.: an isogloss being a geographic boundary line delimiting the area
in which a given linguistic feature occurs
phonic, adj.: of, relating to, or having the nature of sound, especially speech
sounds
winged, adj.: of or relating to words or phrases which, first uttered or written
in a specific literary context, have since passed into common usage to
express a general idea
Whenever there is recurrence in news accounts to the Souris River in North Dakota
and the havoc wreaked by it, anyone with even a smattering of Yiddish cannot help
being put in mind of the word tsuris ‘trouble, distress, woe, misery’ (pl., < Hebrew
ṣārāh), which has also found its way into dictionaries of contemporary English.
Given the phonic closeness of the word to the riverine name, its aptness as a
descriptor for the calamity in North Dakota needs no demonstration.
The form of the word actually has a doublet, namely tsores, and the alternation
u/o of the root vowel corresponds to what is more or less a north-south isogloss in
Yiddish dialectology. Apropos, before I came to America and heard the Yiddish
word from a variety of speakers of American English, I only knew it as tsores,
particularly in my father’s frequent citation of his staircase wit Uncle Misha’s
Russo-Jewish variation on Cicero’s winged phrase, “O tempora, o mores! O vre-
mena [Russian ‘times’], o tsores!”
Glossary
aspiration, n.: the pronunciation of a consonant with an aspirate, i.e., the
speech sound represented by English h; the puff of air accompanying the
release of a stop consonant like p or t
desinence, n.: grammatical ending
devoicing, n. < devoice, v.: to pronounce (a normally voiced sound) without
vibration of the vocal chords so as to make it wholly or partly voiceless
explanans, n.: that which explains; an explanation (Latin)
fricative, n.: A consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through a constricted passage
idiolect, n.: the speech of an individual, considered as a linguistic pattern
unique among speakers of his or her language or dialect
intervocalic, adj.: between vowels
1.28 Obama and Bush: A Shared Departure from the Linguistic Norm 39
lax, adj.: Latin lenis ‘soft’, opposed to fortis ‘strong’ (vide infra under tense
vs. lax)
lenited, adj. < lenite, v.: cause lenition (vide supra)
lenition, n.: laxing; production of a lax sound
liquid, n.: the speech sounds l and r and their congeners, i.e., articulated
without friction and capable of being prolonged like a vowel
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
nasal, adj./n.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon; a
nasal consonant
neutralization, n.: the suspension of an opposition
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
pace: with the permission of; with deference to; used to express polite or
ironically polite disagreement (Latin)
phonetic, adj.: of, relating to, or being features of pronunciation that are not
phonemically distinctive in a language, as aspiration of consonants or
vowel length in English; pertaining to phonetics, i.e., the study of speech
sounds from the acoustic or articulatory point of view
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation
protensity, n.: a phonological feature category defined by the opposition
between tense vs. lax sounds
sign-theoretic, adj.: pertaining to sign (semiotic) theory
semiotic, adj.: vide infra
sign, adj.: semiotic, i.e., pertaining to elements of or any system of signs,
defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sonorant, n.: a usually voiced speech sound characterized by relatively free
air flow through the vocal tract and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel,
liquid, or nasal
tense vs. lax: (acoustically) longer vs. reduced duration of the steady state
portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance regions of the
spectrum; (genetically) a deliberate vs. rapid execution of the required
gesture resulting in a lastingly stationary articulation
voicing, n.: expiration of air through vibrating vocal cords, used in the pro-
duction of vowels and voiced consonants
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unmarked member that appears to the exclusion of its marked counterpart. Thus, in
Russian, in final position before a pause the distinction obtaining elsewhere between
voiced and voiceless obstruents is suspended, and it is the unmarked voiceless
member that appears; hence rod [rot], xleb [xl’ep], voz [vos], etc.
The phonetic implementation of the opposition is not just a physical event: it is a
sign of the relational values that define the opposition. That is the function of
neutralization: it implements in sign-theoretic terms the values that define the
phonological structure as a system. Without this sign function of the phonetic
implementation, the phonology of a language would be neither a structure nor
systematic—and would be neither learnable nor perpetuable. THE SIGN FUNCTION IS
THE RAISON D’ÊTRE OF THE PHONETIC IMPLEMENTATION. Pace all the standard hand-
books, it has nothing to do with such purely physical (phonetic) considerations as
“economy of effort” or “assimilation.”
The interesting thing about neutralization is that while it is typically manifested
without exception, this is the case only when the conditions of its manifestation are
either positional or make reference to distinctive rather than redundant features. In
the case at hand, Messrs. Obama and Bush’s trait of “devoicing” final desinences
after liquids and nasals, what we have is a kind of neutralization that also has a sign
function, but a slightly different one from straightforward neutralizations in which
the unmarked term appears to the exclusion of the marked term of the opposition.
The fact that voicing is non-distinctive in English liquids and nasals—while being
normally voiced but positionally also voiceless, these sonorants cannot be opposed
by the feature voiced vs. voiceless (unlike, say, Burmese)—is something that the
phonology of English manifests sequentially as a sign-theoretic fact by allowing, as
a matter of idiolectal variation, for either the “voiced” (i.e., lax/media) value [z] of
the norm to appear after them; or, as in the speech of Messrs. Obama and Bush, the
non-normative [s]. Here the typical result of neutralization—the appearance of the
unmarked member, which would be the phonetic realization of /z/, alias [z] in
English—does not obtain in non-normative speech precisely because the neutral-
ization makes reference to a PHONETIC POSITION (initial, medial, final), not to a
SEQUENTIAL PHONETIC CONTEXT.
Messrs. Obama and Bush’s departure from the norm follows as a matter of
course, once we understand that the very indifference to a tense or lax realization of
{s] as the possessive/plural desinence in English is wholly coherent with the
semiotic nature of the phonetic realization, which is to signify the
non-distinctiveness of protensity in sonorants.
Glossary
alliteration, n.: the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of
sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables
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While alliteration has a very old pedigree in English and is the source of innovation
in phraseology (despite blatant redundancies; cf. the odious binomials skill set and
price point, to name only two contemporary cases), PARONOMASIA has been neglected
as a source of false analogy that gives rise to variant pronunciations. The American
English rendering of the word machination(s) with the sound [ʃ] instead of [k]
for -ch-, while manifestly produced by analogy with machine, should probably not
be attributed solely to the influence of the latter, as will be made clear below.
The Oxford English Dictionary Online has the following entry for this word:
Besides the influence of machine, one should also consider the same sort of
paronomastic interference that has produced a derived meaning, in American
English, for the verb meld, namely ‘mixing together’, even though the original
meaning was ‘announce’ and had nothing to do with ‘mixing’. The new meaning is
the product of conflating meld with weld, i.e., where only the initial consonant need
be interchanged for the new sense to ensue. In the case of machination(s), the false
analogy stems from the sound-alikes mesh (cf. enmesh) and (much less-likely)
mash. The original sound of the Anglo-Norman word is undercut by its etymo-
logically inauthentic association with a verb that suggests something like what takes
place in and results from a plot, intrigue, or malicious contrivance.
1.30 The “Pin/Pen Merger:” An Example of Neutralization 43
Glossary
marked, adj., markedness, n.: vide supra (Latin ‘see above’)
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
neutralization: n., the suspension of an opposition, such that only one of the
two terms of the opposition represents both terms
phonology: n., the study of speech sounds in language or a language with
reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit rules governing
pronunciation; The sound system of a language
tertium non datur: ‘no third term obtains’ (Latin)
One of the most recognizable traits of American speech in the South and Southwest
is the so-called “pin/pen merger,” a shorthand phrase meant to designate the
non-distinction of the front vowels /i/ and /e/ before the nasal consonants /m, n, ŋ/.
The vowel that appears in this position is identified with the realization of the high
front vowel in pin, whim, and sing. Speakers who have this trait do not distinguish
between the pronunciation not only of minimal pairs like pin and pen or fin and fen
but of any word that has a front vowel before a nasal consonant (whatever the
spelling), so that one hears m[ɪ]mber for Standard American English m[ɛ]mber,
m[ɪ]ntality for SAE m[ɛ]ntality, etc.
People who have this trait need not be speaking in an identifiable dialect. In fact,
it may be the only remnant of a regionalism in what is otherwise SAE speech. For
instance, just this morning I heard three announcers/reporters on NPR (Renée
Montagne, Deborah Byrd, Richard Harris) who display this trait but are otherwise
speakers of the standard.
Thus, despite the constant migration of people from place to place over their
lifetimes, the impact of education and the media typically results in an American
standard that is largely free of dialectal or regional traits—with the prominent
exception of this one, which is properly to be labeled a NEUTRALIZATION.
A neutralization is the reduction (G Aufhebung) of an opposition to one of its two
terms. Technically, one speaks here of the realization of an opposition in a position
of neutralization (= context). Typically, an opposition that is neutralized in a certain
context is realized as (identified with) one of its two terms—to the exclusion of the
other, but also of any third term: tertium non datur.
Despite the familiarity of the “pin/pen merger” to linguists as a fact of dialect
geography, its status and attendant meaning specifically as a neutralization have not
become part of language lore. Neutralizations throughout grammar (i.e., not only in
phonology) have an interesting sign function. In positions of neutralization it is
normal for the realization of the opposition to be identified with the unmarked
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(generic) term. Thus, for instance, when the sex of the referent is immaterial one
finds words of the unmarked masculine gender referring to both sexes (“Man is an
animal.”). In the case of the two front vowels in question, /ɪ/ as a high vowel is
unmarked vis-à-vis the marked non-high /ɛ/ in the opposition high/non-high. Hence
this phonological case conforms in sign function to the general principle that it is
the unmarked member of the opposition that appears as the representative of the
opposition in a position of neutralization.
In language the sign function of neutralization is unitary—whatever the concrete
realization, depending on context, to which it is uniformly sensitive. Neutralization
is a fundamental means by which both users (initially, qua learners) and analysts—
unconsciously in the first case, consciously in the second—are provided with the
material evidence that linguistic variation is not haphazard but structurally coherent,
where coherence is measured by the systematic, patterned cooccurrence of units and
contexts in tandem.
Glossary
ablative, adj.: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case indicating separa-
tion, direction away from, sometimes manner or agency, and the object of
certain verbs (found in Latin and other Indo-European languages); the
ablative case; a form in this case
diphthong, n: a complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel
and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as
(oi) in boil or (ai) in fine
monophthong, n.: a single vowel articulated without change in quality
throughout the course of a syllable, as the vowel of English bed
nomina propria: proper nouns (Latin)
R
1.32 Rethinking Phonetic Variation (str! tr)
Glossary
assimilation, n.: the process by which a sound is modified so that it becomes
similar or identical to an adjacent or nearby sound. For example, the prefix
in- becomes im- in impossible by assimilation to the labial p of possible
cluster, n.: two or more successive consonants in a word, as cl and st in the
word cluster
creole, n.: a person of mixed Black and European ancestry who speaks a
creolized language, especially one based on French or Spanish
creolize, v.: to make Creole; cause to adopt Creole qualities or customs; to
cause to become a creolized language
diagram, n.: a type of sign in which relations at one level (form) are repli-
cated at another level (meaning)
diagrammatize, v.: make (into) a diagram (of)
dialectal, adj. < dialect, n.: a regional or social variety of a language dis-
tinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety
of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern
of the culture in which it exists
individualism, n.: an individual characteristic; a quirk
isomorphism, n.: identity or similar form or shape or structure
liquid. n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
marked, adj. > markedness: vide infra
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
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Glossary
diphthong: a complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and
gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in
boil or (ai) in fine
monophthongal, adj. < monophthong, n.: a single vowel articulated without
change in quality throughout the course of a syllable, as the vowel of
English bed
solecism, n.: a nonstandard usage or grammatical construction; an impro-
priety, mistake, or incongruity
Since Iran is so much in the news these days, it is no wonder that one constantly
hears, not only this proper noun, but its derived adjective (mis)pronounced by
people in the media and those whose speech is influenced by such opinion makers,
etc.
As in the case of Iraq, the pronunciation of Iran with a broad stressed vowel (as
in the name Ron) is decidedly not in conformity with traditional English phonetics
—British or American. It stems ultimately from the foreigner’s misplaced repro-
duction in English of the Persian vowel, which is then mimicked by native speakers
who (unconsciously?) choose what they must imagine to be “authentic” over what
would otherwise be dictated by native phonetics.
More to the point, the derived adjective Iranian, whose stressed vowel has
always been [éi] (i.e., a diphthong) and not the monophthongal replica of the Farsi
speaker’s un-English stressed vowel, is repeatedly heard from native English
speakers who have no knowledge of any foreign language, let alone Persian. This
kind of phonetic solecism appears to be licensed by the very same desire for
“authenticity” that manifests itself when speakers wish their interlocutors to eval-
uate them as being “in the know.”
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1.34 Router
Glossary
agentive, adj.: of or relating to a linguistic form or construction that indicates
an agent or agency, as the suffix -er in singer
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
deriving, adj. < derive, v.: to generate (one structure) from another or from a
set of others
high, adj.: of or relating to vowels produced with part of the tongue close to
the palate, as in the vowel of tree
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
lexical: adj.: pertaining to the lexicon or to words
lexicon, n.: the morphemes of a language considered as a group
marked, adj. > markedness: vide infra
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
phonic, adj.: of, relating to, or having the nature of sound, especially speech
sounds
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
telos, n.: goal (Greek)
unrounded, adj.: pronounced with the lips in a flattened or neutral position
Word histories are often characterized by twists and turns. A good example is
router, which is derived from the word route (of Anglo-Norman provenience, i.e.,
Middle English < Old French < Latin). In contemporary American English the
alternate form of the deriving base [raʊd], rhyming with rout instead of root, clearly
stems from a reading (=spelling) pronunciation and is still typically listed second in
the dictionaries.
Of course, anyone who knows the song “Route 66” (lyrics by Bobby Troup) will
not fail to give the word route in the refrain its proper “British” pronunciation, as in:
If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway that is best.
Get your kicks on route sixty-six.
utilizes the high unrounded vowel /i/, which dictates the presence of the corre-
sponding high rounded vowel /u/ in route.
By contrast, the new meaning of router (it has several older ones) connected
with internet technology is unexceptionally pronounced [ˈraʊdər] on this side of the
Atlantic. Here is its complete entry from the Oxford English Dictionary Online:
router, n.
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈruːtə/, U.S. /ˈraʊdər/
Etymology: < route v. + -er suffix1.
Electronics and Computing.
A device, circuit, algorithm, etc., which serves to determine the destinations of
individual incoming signals; esp. a device which receives data packets and
forwards them to the appropriate computer network or part of a network.
1968 Nucl. Physics A. 116 549 A router circuit sent the coincidences from the first
unit to be stored in the first 200 channels of the pulse-height analyser and those
from the second to the last 200 channels.
1970 Nucl. Instruments & Methods 85 64/2 A ‘router’ switched the output of the
detector to each of the subgroup in succession.
1986 Science 28 Feb. 976/2 The router can pick a component of the node address
that is not zero and send the message in a direction in which that component of
the node address is one.
1990 Pract. Computing Sept. 85/3 This enables printers with Apple’s built-in
network, Localtalk, to be connected to Ethernet‥without the need for an
expensive gateway or router.
2006 Hi Life No. 5. 34/1 If you add a Wi-Fi router to your broadband link you’ll be able
to access the internet via Wi-Fi-equipped laptop from any room in your home.
The explanation in the case of the derived word is its MARKED STATUS, i.e., an
agentive in –er that is an object, not a person, hence conducing to the iconic
pronunciation with the marked vowel /aw/.
This is a good illustration of markedness agreement (between sound and sense)
being a definitive—if only potential—telos of language change, not a necessary
one. British English, by contrast with American, has not yet exploited the semiotic
potential inherent in this particular case of lexical development.
Glossary
compactness, n. < compact, adj.: a phonological distinctive feature value
represented acoustically in a relatively narrow, central region of the
auditory spectrum and a higher concentration of energy (opposed to non-
compact [vide infra])
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duration of the steady state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined
resonance regions in the spectrum
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of, or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sibilant, n.: a sibilant speech sound, such as English s, sh, z, or zh
substantive, n.: a noun
tense, adj. vs. lax, adj.: (acoustically) longer vs. reduced duration of the steady
state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance regions of the
spectrum; (genetically) a deliberate vs. rapid execution of the required
gesture resulting in a lastingly stationary articulation
typologically, adv. < typological, adj. < typology, n.: comparative study of
languages or aspects of languages as to their structures rather than their
historical relations
unmarking, n.: the change from a marked to an unmarked value
Many speakers of American English have long been mispronouncing the phrase
social security by assimilating the medial hushing sound /ʃ/ (=sh) of the first word
to the initial hissing sound /s/of both, so that the phrase comes out sounding like
this: [sósəlsikyúritiy].
This change—for it is a change—can straightforwardly be reckoned a case of
(so-called) ASSIMILATION AT A DISTANCE, but this would be a unique instance of
/ʃ/ > /s/ in any context, let alone a non-contiguous one in English, hence suspect as
an assimilation. Typologically, as is true of /s/ before /i/ in the phrase at issue, the
directionality is rather from /s/ to /ʃ/ and not the reverse, i.e., a garden-variety case
of palatalization, observable in the histories of many languages, where a dental
(here the hiss-sibilant) becomes a palatal (here the hush-sibilant) before a front
vowel (here /i/).
The replacement of /ʃ/ by /s/ in non-normative speech is to be explained
otherwise, specifically as an UNMARKING The palatal /ʃ/ is marked for compactness
whereas the dental /s/ is unmarked for this feature. Additionally, it is important to
keep firmly in mind that the unique change at issue occurs only in this fixed phrase,
where the context is a compound (consisting of an adjective plus a substantive).
Now, it is a fact that the process of composition (as, for that matter, derivational
morphology generally) is often accompanied by an unmarking of the individual
constituents that go to make up the compositum. What this means is that some
marked aspect of an individual constituent is replaced by its unmarked counterpart
when that constituent enters into a compound.
Taking the same process in a non-Indo-European language like Japanese for
comparison, one sees that compounding regularly involves the replacement of a
phonetically voiceless (actually, a phonemically tense) obstruent, at the beginning
of the second constituent of the compound, by its phonetically voiced
(resp. phonemically lax) counterpart, e.g., fuufu ‘husband and wife’ + kenka
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‘quarrel’ > fuufugenka ‘marital strife’—and never the other way around. Tenseness
being marked and laxness unmarked for obstruents in languages with phonemic
protensity (like English, Japanese, Serbian, Croatian, German, or French), the
replacement of the initial /k/ of the second constituent kenka by /g/ is clearly an
unmarking, completely parallel to the replacement in the phrase social security of
the medial /ʃ/ by /s/.
This phrase in American English, moreover, has a superordinate meaning that is
not simply an additive product of social + security. Thus the replacement of the
hushing by the hissing sibilant is completely consistent with the nature of com-
position, namely the subordination of individual constituents to the resultant
compound both formally and semantically. The normative pronunciation of the first
constituent does not, of course, undermine the status of the phrase as a compound.
But compared to the non-normative pronunciation, it has simply not exploited the
semiotic potential attendant on compounding that the latter has done.
Glossary
alliterative, adj. < alliteration: n., the repetition of the same sounds or of the
same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables
Bauplan, n.: building plan, blueprint (German)
collocational, adj. < collocation, n.: an arrangement or juxtaposition of
words or other elements, especially those that commonly co-occur, as
rancid butter, bosom buddy, or dead serious
in potentia: in potentiality; potentially (Latin)
paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same word is used in
different senses or
words similar in sound are set in opposition so as to give antithetical force
The levels of patterning in language consist of (1) system i.e., everything functional
that is productive in a language, including usage that exists in potentia; (2) norms,
i.e., usage that is historically realized and codified in a given speech community;
and (3) type, i.e., the specific Bauplan or underlying design of a language.
Within the compass of the third level, namely Bauplan, falls a language’s
predilection for collocational structure, as in proverbs and paronomasia generally.
One language’s meat can be another’s poison. Thus, a typical alliterative sequence
of English like neither kith nor kin is utterly alien to Japanese, where in a proverb
like Horeta me ni wa abata mo ekubo 惚れた目には痘痕も靨 ‘to a lover’s eyes
even a pockmark is a dimple’ (= “Love is blind.”), sound offers no support to sense.
1.37 Sound over Sense and the Iconic Impulse 53
Glossary
dactylic, adj. < dactyl, n.: a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable
followed by two unaccented or of one long syllable followed by two
short, as in flattery
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
metric, adj.: pertaining to (poetic) meter
QED < quod erat demonstandum ‘which was to be demonstrated’ (Latin)
ternary, adj.: pertaining to a poetic meter consisting of units (feet) with three
syllables
In recent years the old phrase to make a long story short has undergone a shortening
of its own: “long story short.” This distorted version of the original can be heard
from the mouths of younger speakers (in their 20 s and 30 s). Here is an expla-
nation of the change.
First, the new form has a metric pattern that demonstrates the typical triumph of
sound over sense, in that it is now cast in dactylic meter, i.e., a ternary meter with
stress on the first syllable. The new phrase has four syllables, wherein the main
stress falls on the first of the initial three (“lóng story”) followed by the single
stressed syllable (“short”) of a truncated second dactyl.
Second, the new version makes a covert iconic citation of the meaning of the
older one, to wit: long story short is the result of applying the sense of to make a
long story short TO ITSELF. QED
Glossary
allophone, n.: a predictable phonetic variant of a phoneme.
alveolar, adj.: formed with the tip of the tongue touching or near the inner
ridge of the gums of the upper front teeth, as the English (t), (d), and (s);
relating to the jaw section containing the tooth sockets
alveoli, pl. n. < alveolus, n.: a tooth socket in the jawbone
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper
front teeth
flap, n.: a sound articulated by a single, quick touch of the tongue against the
teeth or alveolar ridge, as (t) in water
intervocalic, adj.: occurring between vowels
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nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
neutralization: n., the suspension of an opposition, such that only one of the
two terms of the opposition represents both terms
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
phoneme, n.: the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of con-
veying a distinction in meaning, as the m of mat and the b of bat in English
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound (p) in pit or (d) in dog
post-vocalic, adj.: following a vowel
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
The voiced consonant one hears in American English (among other varieties of
English) between vowels post-tonically (=after the stress) in words like bitter and
bidder is called an alveolar flap a sound articulated with the tip of the tongue placed
against the alveolar ridge and the vocal bands vibrating. This allophone of the
phonemes /t/ and /d/, symbolized [D], is also heard after the post-vocalic nasal /n/,
so that international is typically pronounced [-nD-].
The identical intervocalic pronunciation of orthographic t and d can create an
unintended comic effect when the words in question belong to two stylistically quite
incompatible sectors of the lexicon. Thus the Swiss name Blatter (the surname of
the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter), which Americans understandably pronounce
with an alveolar flap, makes the man sound like a component of human anatomy.
What has not been remarked elsewhere, however, is the stylistic restriction on
such a neutralization of the difference between /t/ and /d/, namely in formal speech.
But less-than-careful speakers, even radio announcers, do allow themselves to carry
over their informal phonetic habits into formal diction, with noticeable effect. Thus
the male radio voice one hears announcing the name of the organization Public
Radio International after its programs habitually fails to articulate the appropriate
formal variant [t]—i.e., the dental stop—in the third word, substituting the alveolar
flap instead, which makes him sound less than sober.
Glossary
antepenultimate, adj. < antepenult, n.: the third syllable from the end in a
word
1.39 Ten Thousand Untruths 55
bossa nova, n.: a Brazilian dance characterized by the sprightly step pattern of
the samba and a subtle bounce
copula, n.: a verb, such as a form of be or seem, that identifies the predicate of
a sentence with the subject
genitive, adj.: of, relating to, or being the grammatical case expressing pos-
session, measurement, or source
nominative, adj.: of, relating to, or being the case of the subject of a finite verb
(as I in I wrote the letter) and of words identified with the subject of a
copula, such as a predicate nominative
oblique, adj.: any grammatical case but the nominative or vocative (called
direct)
penultimate, adj. < penult, n.: the next to last syllable
One of the possible unpredictable paths that language development can take is
exemplified by the assimilation of loan words wherein something that is at variance
with the linguistic patterns of the donor language is adopted by the borrowing
speech community anyway, and only owing to the imputed prestige of the first
transmitter(s) of the mistaken form.
One is reminded here of the popular Japanese proverb—Ikken kyo ni hoete
banken jitsu o tsutau (一犬嘘に吠えて万犬実お伝う)—which, loosely translated,
means ‘One dog barks out a lie, and ten thousand dogs take it up as the truth’.
This sort of situation must be what explains the consistent misstressing one hears
in the Anglophone media of the Slavic surnames of tennis players, particularly of
the swarm of Russian women that inhabit the current ranks of tennis professionals.
Take the names of two prominent women, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana
Kuznetsova, who are among the many playing on the pro circuit. The monolingual
TV announcers who have to struggle with the pronunciation of their surnames
follow what is now the established norm in tennis parlance, with penultimate stress
in the first name and antepenultimate stress in the second, i.e., Sharapóva and
Kuznétsova. Note that both surnames have four syllables and end in –a (the Russian
feminine ending). Accordingly, following the native English stress pattern for such
quadrisyllabic items, they should both be pronounced with main stress on the
penultimate syllable, i.e., as in bòssa nóva or, for that matter, pàneg´yric.
Now, it so happens that both of the English adaptations are wrong from the point
of view of their authentic form in Russian. In these women’s native language it is
Sharápova, which like all Russian family names in –ov/-ova goes back to a pos-
sessive adjective derived from a nominal base (here the dialectal sharáp ‘theft’) and
mimics the fixed stress on the second syllable of the stem throughout its paradigm
(Nom sharáp, Gen sharápa, etc.); and it is Kuznetsóva (< kuznéts ‘blacksmith’),
because it follows the stress pattern Nom kuznéts, Gen kuznetsá, etc., with stress on
the first syllable of the suffix (=ending) in the oblique cases, which corresponds to
the penult in the derived feminine surname in the nominative case.
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Glossary
affricate, n.: a complex speech sound consisting of a stop consonant followed
by a fricative; for example, the initial sounds of child and joy
alveolar, adj.: formed with the tip of the tongue touching or near the inner
ridge of the gums of the upper front teeth, as the English (t), (d), and (s);
relating to the jaw section containing the tooth sockets
atavism, n.: the return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a
period of absence
base, n.: the root or stem of a word or a derivative; the uninflected form of a
verb
echt, adj.: real; genuine (German)
elide, v.: to omit or slur over (a syllable, for example) in
pronunciation
epenthetic, adj. < epenthesis, n.: the insertion of a sound in the middle of a
word, as in Middle English thunder < Old English thunor
fortis, adj.: ‘strong’ (Latin), opposed to lenis ‘soft’
fricative, n.: a consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through
a constricted passage
lenis, adj.: ‘soft’ (Latin), opposed to fortis ‘strong’
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
1.40 Teutonisms as Barbarisms 57
English may be a Germanic language but aside from words borrowed long ago (like
kindergarten) there seem to be very few outright Germanisms in the language
today (not counting Yiddishisms, hence the use of the term “Teutonisms”)
although quite some time ago Marianne Shapiro (with her acute sense of such
matters) noticed the penetration, into ad-speak particularly but not only—perhaps as
latent typological atavisms—of such constructions as doctor-tested and even user-
friendly (which latter formation doubtless derives from computer lingo) as evidence
for a plausible Germanic substratum in contemporary American English.
Recently, in American media language, the German preposition/prefix über has
cropped up as a prefix with all form classes, signifying (apparently) some sort of
extreme degree of whatever is designated by the base. How über- came into English
is not clear to me; it is not attested in either the Oxford English Dictionary Online or
any American dictionary. Needless to say, journalists who use this prefix appear not
to have any German. I consider it a fatuous barbarism.
In that vein, one morning (9/18/08) I heard a reporter on the radio (Stacey
Vanek-Smith, “Marketplace Morning Report,” American Public Media, KPCC-FM
89.3, Pasadena) read the words Sturm und Drang (”Storm and Stress”) as
[stɜŕ məndrɑŋ́ ], where (1) the vowels of the first and last words–-the two
nouns–-were those of English term and wrong, respectively, and the consonant of
the first word was [s] rather than the correct [š]; and (2) the conjunction was
unstressed, elided the final consonant [t] (German lenis obstruents being realized as
fortis in syllable-final position), and had a schwa for the German [u].
Now, a radio announcer reading from a text that she probably had very little to
do with writing may certainly be excused for not pronouncing the phrase for an
eighteenth-century German cultural movement in a way that conformed in every
detail with German phonetics, but there is, after all, The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006), which lists Sturm und Drang
and gives the pronunciation as [shtoorm unt dräng], so why not look it up—
especially since it is more than likely that the utterer had no German and no
knowledge of what this phrase meant, even in context? Here the mispronounced
Teutonism is a barbarism.
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Glossary
lexis, n.: the aggregate of a language’s words (vocabulary as distinguished
from grammar)
mиp пpaxy ee (mír práxu eë): ‘may peace be on her remains’ (Russian); cf.
( עליה השלוםaleha ha-shalom) ‘may peace be upon her’ (Hebrew);
olevasholem (Yiddish)
orthoepic, adj. < orthoepy, n.: the study of the pronunciation of words; the
customary pronunciation of words
The advent of the digital revolution is only the latest phase in the eclipse of the oral
tradition in language use by practices derived from the sphere of the written word.
Thus when a radio announcer mispronounces chicanery by rendering the stressed
vowel so as to rhyme with can rather than cane, he is clearly relying on a habit of
reading, not speaking, which produces American English [æ] instead of (British
English) Anglicized [ā]. One can safely guess that he has never actually heard the
word pronounced by a speaker who knows the correct form.
Never hearing some words of English lexis is clearly becoming the common
experience of a growing number of speakers of American English. This is evidently
what accounts for the establishment of incorrect stresses like cónsummate (the
adjective, not the verb) among even educated speakers for what in the English oral
tradition is consúmmate [kənˈsʌmət] (cf. the differential designations for the cor-
responding entry in the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 16th ed.).
On an autobiographical note, it was in fact only when I first heard the word
pronounced correctly from a paragon of English diction, my late wife Marianne (of
blessed memory) that I changed my own prosodic habits to comport with those of
someone who had evidently imbibed it herself from her early orthoepic models and,
more importantly, embodied its meaning in her own person. Mиp пpaxy ee.
1.42 The Hidden Homophony in ‘Icon(ic)’ 59
Glossary
homophony, n. < homophonic, adj.: having the same sound
pons asinorum: ‘bridge of fools [asses]’ (Latin); the fifth proposition of the
first book of Euclid’s Elements, which states that the angles at the base of
an isosceles triangle are equal
No one exposed to contemporary media language can have missed the gross
overuse of the words icon and iconic in American English. The grotesque surfeit of
their occurrence has reached the point where the Los Angeles Times has reportedly
banned them from its pages (along with legend and legendary as applied to
persons).
How to explain their rise to ubiquity? The terminologization of icon in
computer-speak could be a contributory factor, but a more proximate cause may
lurk in something virtual, viz. the homophony of the initial vowel with the words
I and eye. Nothing is more important to the notional content of the contemporary
meanings of icon and iconic than their epitomic connotations of SELFHOOD (as
embodied in the first person singular pronoun) and of SEEING (as embodied in name
of the organ of sight). This explanation rises in plausibility when seen as a variation
on Euclid’s pons asinorum as applied to language.
Glossary
au fond: at bottom; fundamentally (French)
gestalt, n.: a physical, biological, psychological, or symbolic configuration or
pattern of elements so unified as a whole that its properties cannot be
derived from a simple summation of its parts (German)
icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related to its object by
similarity
polysyllable, n.: a word containing more than one syllable
reduction, n.: any of various changes in the acoustic quality of vowels, related
to changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or position
in the word, which makes the reduced vowels shorter as well
schwa: a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed sylla-
bles, as the final vowel of English sofa; the symbol (ə) used to represent
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60 1 Sounds
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
bound, adj.: being a form, especially a morpheme, that cannot stand as an
independent word, such as a prefix or suffix
distinctive, adj.: phonemically relevant and capable of conveying a difference
in meaning, as nasalization in the initial sound of mat versus bat
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
idiolect, n.: the speech of an individual, considered as a linguistic pattern
unique among speakers of his or her language or dialect
indexical, adj. < index, n.: a sign that is related to its object (meaning) by
contiguity
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
medial, adj.: being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial
and final positions in a word or morpheme
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
phonetic, adj.: of, relating to, or being features of pronunciation that are not
phonemically distinctive in a language, as aspiration of consonants or
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As has been adverted to in earlier essays, unstressed vowels are often rendered
differently in British and American English. The word pentagon in British English is
thus heard with two reduced vowels, namely schwas, in its unstressed syllables—
[pɛn ́ təgən]—whereas in American only the medial vowel is reduced, hence
[pɛń təgòn] . Conversely, British speakers regularly keep the vowel of the constituent
{-land} unreduced in pronouncing the American state Maryland, which no American
would do. The same distribution applies to most other words containing this con-
stituent, e.g., inland, although free variation is possible in some (like mainland) .
Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables is one species of phonological alterna-
tion that goes by the name of SANDHI, a Sanskrit term that has been used in linguistic
analysis for more than a century. (It is usually pronounced [sǽndi], like the first
name “Sandy,” or [sɑː́ ndi], identical with “Sunday” for some British English
speakers.) Variations and alternations at the boundaries of constituents is one of the
core instantiations of sandhi Phenomena associated with phonological sandhi rules
of this sort have two basic functions in language, one SYSTEMIC the other TEXTUAL.
Their systemic function is ICONIC, in that they produce distributions of phonetic
values in utterances which reflect the distinctive, resp. allophonic value of the
features in question, and the markedness relations that hold between values of the
same feature opposition. Their textual function, on the other hand, works to signal
cohesion between elements and is thereby INTEGRATIVE, which is to say that this
function is INDEXICAL: it signals, for instance, that constituents of the word in
question are connected to each other in patterns of internal cohesion.
The upshot of this semiotic account is to enable the understanding of variation in
language as something coherent, not arbitrary. When the constituent {-land} in
1.44 The Pentagon in Maryland (Sandhi and Prosody) 63
Glossary
affricate, n.: a complex speech sound consisting of a stop consonant followed
by a fricative; for example, the initial sounds of child and joy
disyllabic, adj.: consisting of two syllables
fricative, n.: a consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through a constricted passage
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: a method of representing a language or
the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling
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Glossary
coda, n.: the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus
dejotation, n.: the elision of a liquid or a glide following a consonant and
preceding the medial vowel of a syllable
elide, v. > elision, n.: omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable; the act or
an instance of omitting something
gestalt, n.: a physical, biological, psychological, or symbolic configuration or
pattern of elements so unified as a whole that its properties cannot be
derived from a simple summation of its parts (German)
glide, n.: the transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory
position of one speech sound to that of another, specifically a sound that
has the quality of one of the high vowels, and that functions as a con-
sonant before or after vowels, as the initial sounds of yell and well and the
final sounds of coy and cow
high, adj.: of or relating to vowels produced with part of the tongue close to
the palate, as in the vowel of tree
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
liquid. n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
medial, adj.: being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial
and final positions in a word or morpheme
nucleus, n.: the part of a syllable having the greatest sonority
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
onset, n.: the part of a syllable that precedes the nucleus
orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
palate, n.: the roof of the mouth in vertebrates having a complete or partial
separation of the oral and nasal
phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or a language with
reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit rules governing
pronunciation
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sonority, n.: the degree to which a speech sound is like a vowel
1.46 The Temperature in February (Dejotation) 65
The common words temperature and February are often pronounced with
vowel elision and/or DEJOTATION, by which latter is meant here the dropping of a
LIQUID or GLIDE following a consonant and preceding the medial vowel, resulting
in phonetic variation, viz. [témpəchur] and [fébyueri], alongside the pronunci-
ations that are guided by orthography. In the case of February the dropping of
r after b does not alter the fact that the glide (transcribed by the letter y here)
remains regardless of which variant is heard in contemporary (American)
English.
Someone unfamiliar with the arcana of structural linguistics may wonder why
such an elision takes place despite the orthography. The reason lies in the nature of
the relation between speech sounds and their implementation. Every speech sound
has a content that is manifested in actual utterances in such a way as to reveal—to
both learner and user—just what that content is. In semiotic terms, this is to say
there is an ICONIC RELATION between the sounds and the rules of their implementa-
tion. The rules of a language’s phonology are a map of its distinctive features. In
other words, the rules of combination of linguistic units (here: sounds) are a
function of the units’ makeup.
In the case of the two words at issue, one needs also to realize that speech sounds
do not occur in isolation but are grouped together in syllables, which are the basic
gestalt domains of speech. A syllable is defined by three POSITIONS: the NUCLEUS—
usually a vowel—and two MARGINS, namely the ONSET and the CODA which are
resp. the initial and the final sounds in the syllable, preceding and following the
vocalic nucleus. Taking a monosyllable like sprat as a handy example, the onset
consists of spr- and the coda of t.
Returning to temperature and February, in each case there is an extant pro-
nunciation that is at variance with the orthography whereby the liquid r in onset
position following an obstruent is elided before the vowel. The sound change that is
constituted by this elision falls under the compass of a general process, namely
DEJOTATION. The function of all such changes is to produce an ICON of the relation—a
DIAGRAM—between UNIT and CONTEXT, here between sound and syllable. It is
through processes of this kind that all languages remain true to their nature as
structures (patterns) and are NOT merely agglomerations of facts. This is, indeed, THE
LOGIC GOVERNING ALL LINGUISTIC VARIATION.
Glossary
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: a method of representing a language or
the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling
post-tonic, adj.: occurring after the stressed syllable
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reduced, adj. < reduction, n.: any of various changes in the acoustic quality
of vowels, related to changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness,
articulation, or position in the word, which makes the reduced vowels
shorter as well
schwa: a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed sylla-
bles, as the final vowel of English sofa; the symbol (ə) used to represent
an unstressed neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic transcrip-
tion, a stressed mid-central vowel, as in but
English stress rules deal with quadrisyllables in a variety of ways, including the
distribution of reduced vowels in post-tonic syllables, and in some cases, moreover,
exploiting differences between American and British English. A word like saxo-
phonist in British English is pronounced with stress on the second syllable and a
reduced vowel (schwa) in the third, but never in American, where the primary stress
invariably falls on the initial, and a secondary stress is heard on the third syllable.
Cf. the stress contróversy, at least as one of two contemporary variants in British
but never in American English.
The frequent word innovative has primary stress on the initial and secondary
stress on the third syllable in American English, whereas in British English there is
no secondary stress, all unstressed syllables being reduced, i.e., with a schwa for
orthographic o and a where American English has the diphthongs [oʋ] and [eɪ],
respectively.
[Personal Note: The potential stress pattern in this word corresponding to that of
saxóphonist has not been exploited in any variety of English known to me—with
the exception of individual usage, namely in the speech of my late wife, Marianne
Shapiro (1940–2003), the most versatile and accomplished American Italianist of
the twentieth century. עליו השלוםaleha ha-shalom.]
Glossary
onomastic, adj.: of, relating to, or explaining a name or names
proprioception, n.: the unconscious perception of movement and spatial
orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself
Users of language, whether native or foreign, differ in the degree to which they are
aware of what they say phonetically and grammatically. Thus non-native speakers
are often unaware of making mistakes and do nothing to correct themselves even
when exposed to repeated exemplars of the correct forms. But this is also true of
1.48 Verbal Proprioception 67
native speakers, particularly when confronted with variation and the necessity to
choose the correct variant.
An example of the latter phenomenon was heard this week from President
Obama in connection with the G8 economic summit that was held in L’Aquila,
Italy, in 2009. The latter town’s name in Italian is pronounced with the stress on the
initial syllable. Mr. Obama must have heard this pronunciation numerous times, but
he (and some others on the radio) mispronounced it, putting the stress on the medial
syllable. It is perhaps not surprising to hear this from a speaker of English who
speaks no foreign languages and generally seems to be uncomfortable with foreign
onomastic items. But in the face of ample evidence to the contrary, a speech habit
that goes against such evidence can only be chalked up to a lack of verbal pro-
prioception, a strange defect in someone who is (otiosely) praised for his rhetorical
skills and does not lack for education.
Glossary
allegro, adj.: in a quick, lively tempo (Italian)
aphesis, n.: the loss of an initial, usually unstressed vowel, as in cute from
acute
apocope, n.: the loss of one or more sounds from the end of a word, as in
Modern English sing from Middle English singen
high, adj.: of or relating to vowels produced with part of the tongue close to
the palate, as in the vowel of tree
indexical, adj. < index, n.: a sign that is related to its object (meaning) by
contiguity
lento, adj.: in a slow tempo (Italian)
phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or a language with
reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit rules governing
pronunciation
segmental, adj.: of or relating to (linear) segments of the speech chain
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
syncopate, v.: to shorten (a word) by syncope
syncope, n.: the shortening of a word by omission of a sound, letter, or
syllable from the middle of the word
unvoice, v.: to pronounce (a normally voiced sound) without vibration of the
vocal chords so as to make it wholly or partly voiceless
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Glossary
a lokh n kop: like a hole in the head (Yiddish)
intonation, n.: the use of changing pitch to convey syntactic information
lexical, adj. < lexicon, n., pl. lexica: the words of a language considered as a
group
Glossary
ceteris paribus: with all other factors or things remaining the same (Latin)
epiphenomenon, n.: a secondary phenomenon that results from and accom-
panies another
marked, adj.: of or relating to that member of a pair of sounds, words, or
forms that explicitly denotes a particular subset of the meanings denoted
by the other member of the pair. For example, of the two words lion and
lioness, lion is unmarked for gender (it can denote either a male or female)
whereas lioness is marked, since it denotes only females
reflex, n.: a form or feature that reflects or represents an earlier, often
reconstructed, form or feature having undergone phonetic or other change
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
stridency < strident, adj.: of the articulation of a consonantal sound: char-
acterized by friction that is comparatively turbulent. Also as n., a con-
sonant articulated in this way
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Glossary
alveolar, adj.: formed with the tip of the tongue touching or near the inner
ridge of the gums of the upper front teeth, as the English t, d, and s
flap, n.: a sound articulated by a single, quick touch of the tongue against the
teeth or alveolar ridge, as t in water
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants m, n, and ng or the nasalized vowel of French bon
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound p in pit or d in dog
reduction, n.: the use an unstressed vowel or no vowel at all instead of a
stressed vowel
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal (vide supra)
In recent years there has been a marked tendency among younger speakers of
American English for the alveolar flap [D], which is the sound that appears as the
contextual variant of the phonemes /t/ and /d/ before unstressed syllables, to be
replaced with a full stop [t] and [d]. Thus, the word student, which in
standard/traditional American English is pronounced with an alveolar flap pre-
ceding the unstressed vowel, is heard in the speech of adolescents and young adults
with a fully plosive [d] instead of [D]. Concomitantly, in this speech variant the
unstressed vowel in student has a lesser degree of both quantitative and qualitative
1.52 The Alveolar Flap and Secondary Stress 71
reduction, meaning that it approximates to its stressed variant [ɛ] as in tent, instead
of the normative [ə] or [ɨ] in position after primary stress.
The probable reason for the eclipse of the alveolar flap in this position is not
difficult to find. It has to do with the decline of fully reduced unstressed vowels
throughout contemporary English pronunciation, a tendency spearheaded by
younger speakers, possibly due the influence of the printed/digitized word. There is,
more specifically, a symmetry or parallelism between the semiotic value of
reduction in the consonant and reduction in the (post-tonic) vowel. The alveolar flap
is, after all, a reduced variant of the basic plosive sound, in the sense that flapping is
an attenuation of the acoustic and articulatory force that characterizes the unflapped,
fully plosive basic variant t or d. Similarly, an unstressed vowel is a reduced
contextual variant of the basic vowel. In both cases, therefore, it is a reduction that
occurs, illustrating the linguistic principle which dictates that units and contexts
(and their variants) ARE ALWAYS GOVERNED BY PATTERNS OF COOCCURRENCE.
Glossary
anapestic < anapest, n.: a metrical foot composed of two short syllables
followed by one long one, as in the word seventeen
dissyllabic, adj.: consisting of two syllables
hypertrophy, n.: a nontumorous enlargement of an organ or a tissue as a result
of an increase in the size rather than the number of constituent cells
iambic, adj. < iamb, n.: a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a long
syllable, as in delay
overdetermination, n.: the idea that a single observed effect is determined by
multiple causes at once, any one of which alone would be enough to
account for the effect
prosodically < prosodic < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological fea-
ture such as intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the
patterns of stress and intonation in a language
suprasegmental, adj./n.: a vocal effect that extends over more than one sound
segment in an utterance, such as pitch, stress, or juncture pattern
Greater than normal force in the stressing of a word is the most common way of
producing emphasis, which in American English concomitantly produces a
lengthening of the stressed vowel (“That doughnut was sóoo good!”). There is,
however, a slightly different way of heightening emphasis, and that is by reducing
to zero the number of contiguous unstressed vowels between stressed syllables. It
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is, in fact, this way that has led to the supersession of the phrase “Thanks very
much” over the last decade or more by “Thanks so much.” Because the combination
very much is trisyllabic and tending toward an anapestic pronunciation (stronger
stress on the third of three consecutive syllables), one currently hears much more
frequently its equivalent “Thanks so much,” in which the relevant phrase is dis-
syllabic and prosodically iambic.
The emphasis the word so imparts to the phrase so much is enhanced by the
latter’s being monosyllabic, exceeding that imparted by its anapestic alternate, with
its unstressed medial syllable. In an age when all forms of linguistic hypertrophy are
gaining at the expense of plainspokenness in American English, this particular case
of emphasis is especially interesting because the quantitative criterion (here: fewer
syllables) yields to the supervening prosodic one in exemplifying the continuing
drift toward overdetermination in the contemporary language.
Glossary
apotropaic, adj.: intended to ward off evil or danger
apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil or danger
atavism, n.: the return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a
period of absence; throwback
buccal, adj.: of or relating to the cheeks or the mouth cavity
castrato, n.: a male singer castrated in boyhood so as to retain a soprano or
alto voice
falsetto, n.: a forced voice of a range or register above the natural
semiotically < semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of
signs, defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
timbre, n.: the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from
other sounds of the same pitch and volume
No matter what the language, the speech of women and men differs—to a greater or
lesser extent depending on the language, traditional Japanese, for example, being an
extreme case—even though all human beings in a homogeneous social group tend
to speak like each other. Biological sex is a determinant of speech production, in the
first place, because the size of the organs involved in articulation (like the larynx,
the oral and thoracic cavities, etc.) are typically larger in men than in women.
Women, therefore, normally use a higher register (pitch) than do men to produce
speech sounds, although under special circumstances (like falsetto or castrato) men
and women are both capable of speaking with uncharacteristically high or low
pitch.
1.54 Speaking Like One’s Fellows (f.) 73
Glossary
encomia [pl.], n.: compliments; words of praise
lingua franca: a medium of communication between peoples of different
languages (Italian ‘Frankish tongue’)
nota bene: note well (Latin)
physiognomic < physiognomy, n.: the mental, moral, philosophical, or
political aspect of something as an indication of its character; character-
istic aspect
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immigrated to New York at the age of three speaking her native Hungarian (which
she retained into adulthood) and not a word of English. She quickly acquired an
accentless American English, spoken with impeccable diction and exemplary
mellifluousness. (By contrast, her younger brother, who was born in New York,
grew up speaking the local dialect i.e., with r-lessness and all the appropriate
vowels.) As a teenager she learned French, then Italian, both of them in school and
both of which she spoke without the trace of an accent to the point that in France
and Italy (where she had never lived for more than a year) she was routinely taken
for a native speaker. Curiously, given the Italian linguistic situation, in which
speakers typically retain some trace of a regional standard, the only thing that
attracted any attention was precisely this absence of a local substratum, occasion-
ally eliciting the comment, “You speak like a radio announcer,” following on the
query, “Where are you from?”
In France, where the natives are not noted for issuing encomia of foreigners’
French, she would routinely receive the bouquet, uttered with unmasked admira-
tion, “You speak like a Parisian!”
Another interesting case of perception of foreigners’ speech is the one that used
to obtain before Japanese came to be spoken by a wider circle of foreigners, as it is
today among non-native business people resident in Japan. In the old days, it was
not uncommon for a Japanese to resort to baby talk or some other distortion of
normal adult speech when addressing or answering a foreigner—even (nota bene)
when what came out of the mouth of the foreigner was flawless standard Japanese.
The perceptual disharmony created between a white person’s physiognomy and the
perfectly native simulacra of their Japanese interlocutors’ supposedly unique tongue
was evidently so disorienting to the latter as to occasion this bizarre specimen of
linguistic behavior.
Here is a variation on this theme. My brother Jacob, a fluent speaker of Japanese,
tells a story that somewhat mimics the situation described above, to wit: one day
after the war, when he was driving around and lost his way in the Japanese
countryside, he stopped a farmer to ask directions, but the farmer waved him off,
saying, “I don’t understand English,” even though Jacob’s question had been
framed in standard Japanese.
Glossary
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper
front teeth
fricative, n., adj.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing
of breath through a constricted passage
intervocalic, adj.: occurring between vowels
1.56 Palatalization Across Word Boundaries 75
laxing, n. < lax, adj.: Latin lenis ‘soft’, opposed to fortis ‘strong’ (vide infra
under tense vs. lax)
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
palatalization, n. < palatal, adj.: produced with the front of the tongue near
or against the hard palate, as the [y] in English young; produced with the
blade of the tongue near the hard palate, as the [č ] in English chin
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound [p] in pit or [d] in dog
semiotic, adj,: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
stop, n.: stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
tense vs. lax: one of the set of phonological distinctive feature in a language
(like English) with distinctive tenseness, defined(acoustically) as longer
vs. reduced duration of the steady state portion of the sound, and its
sharper resonance regions of the spectrum; and (genetically) as a delib-
erate vs. rapid execution of the required gesture resulting in a lastingly
stationary articulation
yod, n.: the voiced glide or spirant sound /y/ that is the first sound of the
English word yes
When the sounds /t d s / occur before yod (orthographic y or u), they undergo a
phonetic change called palatalization, by which is meant a replacement of the dental
stop or dental fricative by a palatal consonant, viz. (respectively) /č dʒ š ž/. Hence,
within a word the combination /t/ + /u/, as in mature, is typically pronounced with a
[č]; /d/ + /u/, as in adulation, with a [dʒ]; /s/ + /u/, as in usual, with a [ž] (note the
intervocalic laxing of s) This intra-word palatalization can be suspended in
hyper-careful pronunciation, which for some speakers is in fact the norm, as in
[mətʋr] instead of [məčʋr].
Palatalization generally does not occur across word boundaries, however, with
some exceptions. Thus the interjection gotcha, which is a contraction of got you,
used to indicate understanding or to signal the fact of having caught or defeated
another, is an orthographic rendering of the process of palatalization of [t] before
[y].
Similarly, many speakers pronounce the combination this year (in allegro
tempo) with a [š] for /s/. In this latter phrase the functional upshot of the phonetic
change does not remain at the level of sound. In semiotic terms, it is a change that
promotes textual cohesion since it as an index of the bound character of the two
words. The word boundary separating this from year is elided in the process of
creating a compound.
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Glossary
digraph, n.: a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single
sound (as ea in bread, ng in thing) or whose value is not the sum of a
value borne by each in other occurrences (as ch in chin, where the value is
[t] + [sh])
1.58 Islands of Englessness in Seas of Normativity 77
faux, adj.: resembling something else that is usually genuine and of better
quality; not real (French)
indecorous, adj.: not proper; conflicting with accepted standards of propriety
or good taste or good breeding
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
orthographically, adv. < orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: a method of
representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
plebes, n.: the general populace
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound p in pit or d in dog
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal (vide supra)
tropism, n.: (with reference to people) a natural or innate instinct, tendency, or
impulse; (now more generally) a preference, an inclination
velar, adj.: articulated with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft
palate, as (g) in good and (k) in king
“Dropping one’s g’s” in gerunds and present participles (and the nouns derived
therefrom) is typical of colloquial and non-standard (dialectal) speech of all regions
and stereotypically of Cockney, Southern American English, and African American
Vernacular English. (The word eng is the linguistic term for the velar nasal stop
sound rendered orthographically by the digraph –ng.) It can also be an (uncon-
scious?) affectation in the speech of Standard American English speakers who make
a point of showing their solidarity with the plebes by recurring to englessness as a
linguistic badge of their democratic outlook.
One can hear this kind of (faux-?) linguistic solidarity being manifested by
Bayard Winthrop, the CEO of the company American Giant, on the December 8,
2012 broadcast of the NPR program “All Things Considered Weekend.” The
irruption of englessness in otherwise utterly normative speech deployed in an utterly
neutral context, can only be interpreted as pandering to the current tropism toward an
indecorous lowbrowishness among educated speakers (cf. Barack Obama).
Glossary
diagrammatic, adj. < diagram, n.: an icon of relation
gainsay, v.: to speak against, deny
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While language has its own, strictly autonomous linguistic norms, it is also a
cultural phenomenon and therefore dependent on broader cultural norms. When it
comes to vocal timbre and vocal register speakers of American English generally
display a fairly wide spectrum of loudness and quality along the high/low axis. In
the latter respect, male speakers (whose larynxes are larger than that of females)
typically utilize the lower vocal range, as contrasted with females, who favor the
higher one. In some cultures, like the Japanese, it is considered unseemly for a
female voice to be low, just as it is for a male voice to be high. No such rigid criteria
of seemliness or appropriateness apply to the contemporary American situation.
However, there is no gainsaying the fact that high voices in American males and
low ones in females are perceived differently. Any person who speaks American
English is perceived to have greater authority when their habitual vocal timbre and
vocal register are at the lower end of the scale. Thus males who speak with a
squeaky voice run the risk of being identified as effeminate—with all the properties
that designation connotes. Similarly, female voices that are inordinately high tend
to be identified with immaturity and lack of authority. Conversely, a female who
speaks in a low vocal register is automatically judged to have greater authorita-
tiveness. Her voice alone already associates her more closely with male speech,
with its default perception as authoritative vis-à-vis female speech.
It should be pointed out that the high-low scale with respect to vocal timbre and
register is not culturally arbitrary and is semeiotically natural, i.e., diagrammatic.
There is a natural relation, on the one hand, between the substantiality of the
acoustic signal on the physical side and the substantiality—alias authoritativeness—
of the linguistic content (words) carried by that signal, on the other. The lower
register, when used for speech, is acoustically more robust in every way in com-
parison to the higher one. The association between the timbre of the spoken word
and the authoritativeness of what is said is thus semeiotically sealed regardless of
the content, with all this implies for the relation between gender and power.
1.60 The Dictionary Errs (Rhymes with Purrs) 79
Glossary
diagrammatization, v. < diagram, n. : (in Peirce's sign theory) an icon of
relation
icon, n.: (in Peirce’s sign theory) a sign exhibiting a similarity relation to its
object (meaning)
idem, pron.: the same
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
schwa, n.: an unstressed mid-central vowel that is the usual sound of the first
and last
vowels of the English word America
Peirce, n.: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist
semeiotically, adv. < semeiotic, adj. < idem, n.: Peirce’s sign theory
substantive, n.: noun
teleologically, adv. < teleological, adj. < teleology, n.: the doctrine or study of
ends or final causes, esp. as related to the evidences of design or purpose in
nature; also transf. such design as exhibited in natural objects or phenomena
In the Merriam-Webster Unabridged (2013) under the definition of the verb err
one finds the following information:
Usage Discussion of ERR
The sound of the letter r often colors a preceding vowel in English, so that the originally
distinct vowels of curt, word, bird, and were are now pronounced the same. Originally err
and error had the same first vowel, but over time err developed the pronunciation \ˈər\ as
well. Commentators have expressed a visceral dislike for the original pronunciation \ˈer\;
perhaps they believe that once usage has established a new pronunciation for a word there
can be no going back. By this reasoning, though, we should embrace the once established
innovative pronunciations of gold \ˈgüld\ and Rome \ˈrüm\ (as seen in Shakespeare’s pun
on Rome and room in Julius Caesar I.ii.156). For these two words the English language has
returned to the older forms, and no sound reason prevents us from accepting again the \ˈer\
pronunciation of err, which is today also the more common variant in American speech.
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Glossary
datum, n.: something that is given either from being experientially encoun-
tered or from being admitted or assumed for specific purposes; a fact or
principle granted or presented; something upon which an inference or an
argument is based or from which an intellectual system of any sort is
constructed
persona, n.: the social front, facade, or mark an individual assumes to depict
to the world at large the role in life that he is playing
purport, n.: meaning conveyed, professed, or implied
When linguists speak of “free variation,” they have instances like the variable pro-
nunciation of economics in mind, where the initial vowel can be pronounced in two
ways—[ekəˈnämiks, ˌēk-]—without there being any change in the stylistic or nor-
mative purport, some speakers habitually preferring one or the other of the variants.
A slight departure from this pattern is the case where one and the same speaker
pronounces one of the two variants on one occasion and the other on another
occasion, even as close to each other as in two parts of the same sentence.
This kind of inconsistency was heard this morning (March 20, 2013) from the
American humorist Garrison Keillor on NPR during his daily segment “The
Writer’s Almanac,” in which he pronounced the initial vowel of the title word
almanac [ˈȯl-mə-ˌnak, ˈal-] in both of the ways attested in current American
English. Anyone familiar with this speaker’s quirky personality (at least on the air)
would likely not be surprised to be apprised of this speech datum, since it clearly is
of a piece with his persona.
Glossary
conative, adj. < conation, n.: the conscious drive to perform apparently
volitional acts with or without knowledge of the origin of the drive
1.62 Sound-Sense Alignment of Word Class (Interjections) 81
glide, n.: the transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory
position of one speech sound to that of another, specifically a sound that
has the quality of one of the high vowels, and that functions as a con-
sonant before or after vowels, as the initial sounds of yell and well and the
final sounds of coy and cow
iconically, adv. < iconic, adj. < icon, n.: (in Peirce’s sign theory) an image; a
representation, specifically, a sign related to its object by similarity
iconicity, n.: the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign
(linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
liquid, n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
nasal, adj., n.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants /m), /n/, and /ng/ or the nasalized vowel of French bon; a nasal
consonant
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
Peirce: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist,
modern founder of sign theory
phatic, adj.: employing or involving speech for the purpose of revealing or
sharing feelings or establishing an atmosphere of sociability rather than
for communicating ideas
phonologically, adv. < phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of
speech sounds in language or a language with reference to their distri-
bution and patterning and to tacit rules governing pronunciation; the
system of contrastive and phonotactic relations among the speech sounds
of a particular language
phonotactic, adj. < phonotactics, n.: the branch of linguistics concerned with
the rules governing the possible phoneme sequences in a language or
languages; these rules as they occur in a particular language
referential, adj. < reference, n.: the action or fact of applying words, names,
ideas, etc., to an entity; the relation between a word or expression and that
which it denotes; the entity or entities denoted by a word or expression, a
referent (freq. contrasted with sense)
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sign, adj. = sem(e)iotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs
(vide supra)
sonorant, n.: a usually voiced speech sound characterized by relatively free
air flow through the vocal tract and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel,
liquid, or nasal
sonority, n.: the degree to which a speech sound is like a vowel
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The sounds of contemporary American English (as of all Englishes) fall into five
classes: obstruents (=“true” consonants), vowels, liquids, nasals and glides. The
latter four are called sonorants. By contrast to the obstruents, they are “vowel-like”
in virtue of having significantly greater sonority. The glides (sometimes called
“semi-vowels”) are comprised by the sounds /w, j, h/ and are of special interest in
English because these sounds are defined as being neither consonantal nor vocalic.
They behave more like consonants than vowels but are not “true” consonants
because of their definition phonologically as non-consonantal. They are thus out-
liers in the system of English sounds.
This marginal phonological status is mirrored iconically by their preponderance
in the sound structure of the word class where they typically occur, viz. interjec-
tions An interjection—unlike verbs, nouns, and generally words proper, which have
a referential function—has only a phatic and/or a conative function. It is thus at the
functionally restricted end of the scale of word classes, just as are the glides
phonologically. Here we have a case of linguistic iconicity that affects the entire
system of sound-sense alignments that makes language a coherent structure and not
merely an aggregate.
Glossary
affix, n.: a sound or sequence of sounds or, in writing, a letter or sequence of
letters occurring as a bound form attached to the beginning or end of a
word, base, or phrase or inserted within a word or base and serving to
produce a derivative word (as un- in untie, -ate in chlorate, -ish in
morning-after-ish) or an inflectional form (as
-s in cats) or the basis of part or all of a paradigm (as L -n- in vinco “I
conquer,” vincit “he conquers” as contrasted with the perfect tense forms
vici “I have conquered,” vicit “he has conquered”)
agentive, adj.: Of or relating to an agent or agency; indicating or having the
semantic role of an agent
base, n.: the simple form from which the derivatives and inflected forms of a
word arise; the uninflected or unaffixed form of a word
constituent, n.: any meaningful element of a linguistic form
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: formation of a word from a more primitive
word or root in the same or another language; origination as a derivative
factitious, adj.: not genuine, intrinsic, natural, or spontaneous; inauthentic;
artificially created or developed; made up for a particular occasion or
purpose; arising from custom, habit, or convention
morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic)
form
1.63 Secondary Stress and Constituent Structure 83
English is a language with primary and secondary stress which means that words
typically have one and only one syllable with a strongly individuated stress (pri-
mary stress) but may also have syllables with weaker stress (secondary stress). The
longer the word, the more likely is the incidence of secondary stress. Thus a word
like disestablishmentarianism (which The Oxford English Dictionary Online
defines as ‘advocacy of disestablishment’ and qualifies by noting “usu. only as a
factitious long word”) is pronounced with one primary stress (on the sixth syllable)
and one secondary stress (on the third syllable) sensu stricto, the remaining eight
syllables being unstressed.
Whether a word has constituent structure (=has more than one identifiable
semantic or morphological element) may play a role in assigning a secondary stress
to one of the syllables, but need not. Thus agentives in {-er/-or} like writer,
prestidigitator, etc.—regardless of length—all treat this derivational suffix as being
unstressed, i.e., bearing no secondary stress. On the other hand, in the contemporary
speech of American adolescents—and of younger speakers of American English
generally—a common word like student is increasingly to be heard with a clear
secondary stress on the element [-ent], which is completely at variance with the
traditional norm. This change may be due to the conceivable reconstrual of this
element as a suffix, since the base [stud-] also occurs in study and studious, thereby
lending plausibility to the analysis of student as having a constituent structure.
Note, moreover, that no other interpretation can explain the emergence of sec-
ondary stress in this word as a change in contemporary American English
pronunciation.
Why such a secondary stress does not also emerge in agentives in {-er/-or} may
be due to the fact of the difference in length between post-tonic elements. If we
regard {-ent} as an emergent morphological constituent (suffix) as a result of, or
concomitant with, its being assigned secondary stress by younger speakers, then the
fact of its having three sounds rather than two (by comparison with {-er/-or}) may
be the threshold for such a change. This analysis would be wholly consistent with
the general situation in English (and language in general), whereby suprasegmental
(prosodic) features like stress are invariably dependent on the segmental structure,
including the derivational morphology of words.
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Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
constituent, n.: any meaningful element of a linguistic form
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip or blade of the tongue against or near the
upper front teeth
deriving, adj. < derivation, n.: formation of a word from a more primitive
word or root in the same or another language; origination as a derivative
fricative, adj.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing of
breath through a constricted passage
glide, n.: the transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory
position of one speech sound to that of another, specifically a sound that
has the quality of one of the high vowels, and that functions as a con-
sonant before or after vowels, as the initial sounds of yell and well and the
final sounds of coy and cow
marked, adj. < markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a super-
structure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually
restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted)
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic) form; a study and
description of word-formation in a language including inflection,
derivation, and compounding; the system of word-forming elements and
processes in a language
palatalization, n. < palatalize, v. < palatal, adj. < palate, n.: the roof of the
mouth consisting of the structures that separate the mouth from the nasal
cavity
prefix, n.: an affix, such as dis- in disbelieve, attached to the front of a word to
produce a derivative word or an inflected form
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
segmental, adj. < segment, n.: a unit forming part of a continuum of speech or
(less commonly) text; an isolable unit in a phonological or syntactic
system
1.64 Phonetic Indicators of Word Unity 85
The word in English (as in all Indo-European languages) may or may not have a
constituent structure, so that its unity may be simple or complex. Affixes are added
on to roots and bases in derived words, complicating the structure. The constituent
parts of the word are all ultimately subordinated to the unity of the whole, and the
process of word formation may be accompanied by phonetic alternations of the base
or root.
Thus, for instance, a word like penitentiaryR is the product of penitent + –iary,
and comports the change of stem-final /t/ to / /, yielding the pronunciation /ˌpɛnɪ
ˈtɛnʃəri/. This change is called PALATALIZATION because the dental stop of the
deriving base is replaced by the palatal fricative in the derived form. The change is
part of the regular alternation in English derivational Rmorphology (but not only)
between the consonants /t d s z/, on the one hand, and / tʃ ʒ /, on the other, before
the front vowel /i/ or the glide /j/; hence consent * consensual, tort * tortuous,
grade * gradual, process * processual, Paris * Parisian, use * usury,
seize * seizure, etc. The derived form is marked in comparison R to the unmarked
deriving base, hence the appearance of the marked sound / / in place of the
unmarked /t/, etc. The alternation of stem-final consonants is a SIGN of the hier-
archical relation between the two forms (quite apart from the presence of the suffix
in the derived form).
It should be noted that American and British usage in the forms at issue is not
always the same. Before the suffix {-ian}, for instance, the British form does not
palatalize the stem-final consonant, hence Christian is [ˈkrɪstjən] in British English
but [ˈkrɪstʃən] in American; and Parisian in Brit. [pəˈrɪzɪən] as contrasted with U. S.
[pəˈriʒ(ə)n]. This also applies to non-derived words like prescient, for which Brit. is
[ˈprɛsɪənt] but U. S. [ˈprɛʃ(i)ənt]; cf. fustian Brit. [ˈfʌstɪən] but U. S. [ˈfʌstʃən], etc.
Linguists have, for the most part, not understood the function of phonetic
alternation outside a purely segmental (linear) phonetic context, but it is clear from
the examples cited here that palatalization contributes to the structural unity of the
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A native speaker of American English (as of any other language) can make a
mistake in pronunciation simply because of their ignorance of the word family to
which the mispronounced item belongs. Thus, for instance, on the June 5, 2013
installment of the NPR program “Morning Edition” a reporter mispronounced
slavishly to rhyme with lavishly, evidently unaware of the fact that the adjective
slavish is derived from slave and has the primary meaning ‘of or characteristic of a
slave or slavery’.
Pronunciations that are at variance with the established norm are typically to be
explained as arising from ignorance of one’s language in the round, which in the
digital age is clearly to be ascribed in turn to a paucity of book learning among
speakers who otherwise pass for being nominally literate.
Glossary
cluster, n.: a group of successive consonants
episodically, adv. < episodic, adj.: occurring, appearing, or changing at
usually irregular intervals
extant, adj.: currently or actually existing
grave vs. acute: a phonological distinctive feature of vowels and obstruents
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: (in Peirce’s sign theory) an image; a representation,
specifically, a sign related to its object by similarity
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
1.66 Syncope in Consonant Clusters 87
English like some other languages (e.g., Russian), has so-called simplification rules
whereby a consonant (usually medial) will drop out of a cluster in pronunciation
Thus words like glisten, hasten, whistle, trestle, etc. are pronounced without the [t]
before /n/ and /l/. A cluster like /-rtg-/in mortgage drops the [t] as well. In fact the
sound /t/ in medial position in a cluster of three consonants typically syncopates
(drops out) whatever consonants surround it. Other consonants also may syncopate
episodically, viz. the [b] in clamber, although in this case a (non-traditional)
spelling pronunciation is also extant, whereby the [b] is retained (cf. limber).
While the common explanation of such cases of syncope has resorted to phonetic
factors such as the notorious “economy/ease of effort,” a systematic phonological
purview makes it clear that what is at stake is the SEMEIOTIC RELATION
between the supervenient phonological (markedness) values of the sounds involved
and the rules of combination (the phonetic pattern) determining pronunciation.
Specifically, the rules of combination are an ICON OF THE PHONOLOGICAL
VALUES. In the particular case of consonant syncope, what the rules map/mirror
are the fact that the consonant syncopated is MULTIPLY MARKED for one rel-
evant feature or another. Thus /t/ is marked for both the features grave vs acute and
strident vs. mellow, so the fact that it drops out from the relevant consonantal
cluster is to be properly regarded as an iconic realization of its feature definition in
the phonological structure of English.
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Glossary
conative, adj. < conation, n.: the conscious drive to perform apparently
volitional acts with or without knowledge of the origin of the drive
imperative, adj.: of, relating to, or being the grammatical mood that expresses
the will to influence the behavior of another (as in a command, entreaty,
or exhortation)
mode/mood, n.: the grammatical category embodying the distinction of form
in a verb to express whether the action or state it denotes is conceived as
fact or in some other manner (as command, possibility, or wish)
vocative, n.: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case marking the one
addressed
Glossary
anosognosia, n.: an inability or refusal to recognize a defect or disorder that is
clinically evident
medial, adj.: being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial
and final positions in a word or morphememorpheme, n.: a meaningful
linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man, or a word element,
such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful
parts
veracious, adj.: marked by truth
It is reasonable to assume that speakers vary in the degree to which they are aware of
how they speak their native language. Specifically, they may not always be aware of
the fact that in some cases they have silently chosen from a range of variants that
may characterize the pronunciation of a certain word. In an extreme case, moreover,
the choice of a possible variant may be at odds with what is extant and habitual in the
language, particularly as this pertains to the names of persons, where variation is
usually strictly constrained by the preference of the person who bears the name.
Here is what can only be called a quasi-pathological case heard on NPR Radio.
In a broadcast of Weekend Edition Saturday, the host, Scott Simon (whose lin-
guistic manner, incidentally, can only be characterized as pompously precious),
while interviewing a correspondent, Scott Horsley, several times mispronounced
the latter’s name by rendering the medial s of his surname as a [z] instead of
Horsley’s own version with [s]. This kind of lack of self-awareness borders on what
is called anosognosia in the mental health literature, defined as a ‘deficit of
self-awareness, a condition in which a person who suffers a certain disability seems
unaware of the existence of his or her disability’.
A possibly related case pertaining to linguistic self-awareness—also from a
recent exchange between two NPR correspondents, Robert Siegel and Michele
Keleman, this time on All Things Considered—involved the pronunciation of Iran
and Iranian (about which see Sect. 1.14). Siegel several times pronounced these
words correctly, i.e., according to the traditional English norm, to rhyme with ran
and Pomeranian, whereas Keleman consistently used the forms influenced by
foreign speakers (specifically, Iranians) to rhyme with Ron and raunchy. Over the
course of an exchange that lasted several minutes, neither speaker deviated from
their respective preferred pronunciation.
The degree to which interlocutors confronted with variant linguistic forms are
aware of the variation as it occurs is an open question. In the particular case of Iran
and Iranian, native speakers who ignore, or are ignorant of, the traditional norm
should be informed of the possible deficit in status and power that is comported by a
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Glossary
assimilatory, adj. < assimilate, v.: to be or become similar or alike
dative, adj.: of a grammatical case: marking typically the indirect object of a verb
lambaste, v.: to assault violently: beat, pound, whip
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation; the sound system of a language
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
succeed, v.: follow
Glossary
allegro, adj.: in a quick, lively tempo (Italian)
alveolar, adj.: of or relating to the alveolus, i.e., the socket of a tooth, or to the part
of a jawbone which contains the tooth sockets; a speech sound, esp. a con-
sonant articulated by placing the tongue against or near to the alveolar ridge
alveolar flap: a sound produced by briefly tapping the alveolar ridge with the
tongue
barbarism, n.: an instance of the the use of words, forms, or expressions
considered incorrect or unacceptable
bizarrerie, n.: something bizarre (French)
congener, n.: a member of the same kind or class with another, or nearly
allied to another in character
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper
front teeth
diphthongal, adv. < diphthong, n.: a complex speech sound or glide that
begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the
same syllable, as [oi] in boil or [ai] in fine
glide, n.: the transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory
position of one speech sound to that of another, specifically a sound that
has the quality of one of the high vowels, and that functions as a con-
sonant before or after vowels, as the initial sounds of yell and well and the
final sounds of coy and cow
intercalation, n. < intercalate, v.: to insert between or among existing
elements
intervocalic, adj.: occurring between vowelslax, adj.: see infra under tense vs. lax
license, n.: excessive liberty; abuse of freedom; disregard of law or propriety;
an instance of this
nasal, adj., n.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon; a
nasal consonant
neutralize, v.: to suspend an opposition, such that only one of the two terms
of the opposition represents both terms
phonetically, adv. < phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a
particular language
plosive, adj., n.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound (p) in pit or (d) in dog
post-tonic, adj.: occurring after the stressed syllable
pretonic, adj.: occurring before the stressed syllable
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Latino speakers of American English often substitute a Spanish version of the word
Latino while speaking English. What this amounts to phonetically is pronouncing
the pretonic vowel in the first syllable unreduced—[a] instead of [ə]—and the
post-tonic vowel without a diphthongal off-glide—[o] instead of [oʊ]. Moreover,
the typical American English intervocalic rendering of the dental /t/ as what is
called an alveolar flap and notated [ɾ] is replaced in the Spanish-tinged version by
the dental stop [t]. Finally, the stressed vowel /i/ in this version sounds unlike the
American English one by being correspondingly more tense after [t] than what is
heard after the alveolar flap. (The alveolar flap is what appears between vowels in
American English as the representative of both /t/ and /d/, i.e., neutralizing the
tense/lax distinction between these dental stops, so that writer and rider sound the
same in colloquial [allegro tempo] speech.)
The intercalation of alien phonetic features in one’s otherwise native American
speech is evidently done in order to serve as a sign or badge of the speaker’s
allegiance to their linguistic and cultural heritage, but (as was pointed out at 1.34
above) this phonetic trait can only be evaluated stylistically as a barbarism,
regardless of the ultimate motivation.
Speakers who use both Spanish and American English habitually may vary in
the degree to which they permit themselves this departure from the normal
American pattern. This license is especially defensible when it comes to the pho-
netic profile of one’s own name—especially one’s surname—which is, of course,
largely within a speaker’s exclusive purview, regardless of whether it calls attention
to itself (and thereby to the speaker’s cultural value system). For a linguistic purist
(like the author), however, hearing the consistent pronunciation of a surname like
Gonzalez with a blatantly Spanish accent as the closing tag of a radio reporter’s
self-identification (sc. Sarah Gonzalez, WNYC) on the heels of an otherwise
perfectly native stream of American English vocables can only be mentally con-
signed to the realm of linguistic bizarreries.
1.71 Adjectival Derivation (anent short- and long-lived) 93
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
anent, prep.: in reference to, concerning
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
denominal, adj.: derived from a noun
derive, v.: to trace the origin, descent, or derivation of
deverbal, adj.: derived from a verb
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
orthography, n.: correct spelling; spelling system
prefix, n.: an affix, such as dis- in disbelieve, attached to the front of a word to
produce a derivative word or an inflected form
ramify, v.: to separate into divisions or ramifications
stem, n.: the main part of a word to which affixes are added
suffix, n.: a grammatical element added to the end of a word or stem, serving
to form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness
in gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
usurpation, n. < usurp, v.: to employ wrongfully
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Glossary
digraph, n.: a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single
sound (as ea in bread, ng in thing) or whose value is not the sum of a value
borne by each in other occurrences (as ch in chin, where the value is [t] + [sh])
milieu, n., pl. milieux: the physical or social setting in which something
occurs or develops (French)
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: orthography, n.: a method of repre-
senting the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
penultimate, adj.: one before the last
phonetic, adj, < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
withal, adv.: on the other hand; for all that; nevertheless
One accelerated development of the advent of the digital age as far as language is
concerned is the diminishing role of orality in the transmission of linguistic norms.
This was observed the other day (in February 2014) when a young woman writer (no
doubt, a member of the so-called “millennial generation”) was being interviewed on
NPR about an article she had written for the National Geographic concerning the
situation in present-day Syria. In describing life in Damascus, she mispronounced the
words Damascene (adjective < Damascus) and sepia, rendering the penultimate
consonant (for the second sound of the digraph –sc-) of the first word as [k] instead of
the correct [s], and the initial stressed vowel of the second word as [e] instead of [i].
This sort of error arises because the speaker has obviously never been exposed to
the words’ correct pronunciation. There are simply no oral milieux in which a
youngish speaker of American English—doubtless, college-educated withal—can
hear words such as the two at issue pronounced correctly. Knowledge of such
vocabulary items now tends to come about solely from an acquaintance with them
in written form, where the ambiguity of their orthographic representation gives rise
to a phonetic choice that is exercised without benefit of an oral precedent from an
authoritative source—hence incorrectly, as often as not.
1.73 The Stress of Foreign Nomina Propria (Kiev, Ukraine) 95
Glossary
appellation, n.: a name or title by which a person, thing, or clan is called and
known
constituent, n.: a functional unit of a grammatical construction, as a verb,
noun phrase, or clause
dissyllabic, adj.: having two syllables
et al, abbrev.: et alia ‘and all the rest/others’ (Latin)
extant, adj.: currently or actually existing
NB, abbrev.: nota bene ‘note well’ (Latin)
nomina propria: proper names (Latin)
polysyllable, n.: word with more than one syllable
rustic, n.: one who is rude, coarse, or dull
With the incessant bleating of the media about the Ukrainian crisis comes the usual
mispronunciation of foreign nomina propria (proper nouns), specifically the stress of
polysyllables. There is no reason, of course, to expect broadcasters (hosts, presenters,
correspondents et al.) to have any knowledge of foreign languages, let alone the Slavic
ones, but there are well-established traditional norms in English for the placement of
stress in items such as Kiev and Ukraine that are being flouted seemingly at every turn.
The capital of Ukraine, Kiev, has initial stress in both Ukrainian and Russian.
However, in line with the general tendency of American English to subject all
foreign place names in particular to what I have called the “Frenchification rule”
(=stressing the last syllable, especially with dissyllabic items), one constantly hears
the stress being displaced to the second syllable, producing Kiév instead of Kíev.
The situation of Ukraine seems to take a directly reverse direction, rendering
standard Ukráine as Úkraine, with stress on the first rather than the second syllable.
(Interestingly—though not strictly relevantly—the older Russian norm has stress on
the second syllable of Укpaинa, whereas the contemporary norm evinces stress on
the third syllable.) Here the culprit is the dialectal undercurrent (Southern American
English) which tends to equalize all dissyllabic items without constituent structure
(NB!) by placing their stress on the first syllable, as in dialectal gúitar for normative
guitár; note the extant extension to items with more than two syllables, as in
dialectal ínsurance for normative insúrance.
In a strange twist of linguistic irony, those Americans who otherwise speak
standard English but pronounce Ukraine with stress on the initial vowel are
unwittingly turning the name of the country into something less dignified than what
would be accorded the appellation of a full-fledged nation by recurring to what
sounds in American English like its “hick” version. This actually mirrors the
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Glossary
assimilation, n. < assimilate, v.: to render (a sound) accordant, or less dis-
cordant (to another sound in the same or a contiguous word); also intr.
capacious, adj.: not narrow or constricted; marked by ample scope
continuant, n.: a consonant that may be continued or prolonged without
alteration for the duration of an emission of breath; an open consonant
diacritic, adj.: serving to distinguish, distinctive
elide, v.: to suppress or alter (something, such as a vowel or syllable) by
elision [vide infra]
elision, n.: the act or an instance of dropping out or omitting something
elliptic, adj. < ellipsis, n.: omission of one or more words or elements that are
obviously understood but must be supplied to make a construction
grammatically complete (as in “all had turned out as expected” for “all
had turned out as had been expected”)
explanantia, n. pl. < explanans, n.: the explaining element in an explanation;
the explanatory premisses (Latin)
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
indexical, adj. < index, n.: a sign that is related to its object (meaning) by
contiguity
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon
orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
phoneme, n.: the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of
conveying a distinction in meaning, as the m of mat and the b of bat in
English
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound p in pit or d in dog
1.74 The Function of Phonetic Ellipses (Syncope and Voiceless Vowels) 97
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nothing to do with economy of effort or other such physical explanantia that have
traditionally seduced linguists.
Phonological implementation rules (as they are called) make iconic reference to
the distinctive (diacritic) feature values that constitute phonemes in the sound
system of every language; and indexical reference to the sequential context in
which phonemes occur in speech. Thus, in an item like listen (or whistle, for that
matter), the fact of syncope in this context is a sign that makes reference to both the
constitution of the sound syncopated and to the sounds of the context in which the
syncope occurs. It has, in other words, essentially to do with semeiosis—with
phonology as semeiotic—and only secondarily with physical (=phonetic) reality.
Syncope is routinely aligned as a form of simplification with other linguistic
phenomena where a sound is dropped or a feature elided. Accordingly, one should
regard the “omission” of voicing in vowels in definable contexts as typologically
homogeneous, hence an example of simplification as well. Thus in English, secon-
darily stressed or unstressed vowels in the context of immediately following nasals
routinely appear as voiceless in the elliptic code. An example is the way the NPR
reporters/hosts Eleanor Beardsley and Ira Glass pronounce the initial vowel of the
words NPR (the abbreviation of “National Public Radio”) and American (of “This
American Life”), respectively—Beardsley with a voiceless [e] and Glass with a
voiceless [ə] (schwa). The indexical function of vocalic voicelessness is triggered by
(refers to) the voiced character of the neighboring nasals (/n/ and /m/, resp.), which
(incidentally) belies the knee-jerk notion that this is a kind of phonetic “assimilation.”
Glossary
arytenoid, adj.: relating to or being either of two small cartilages to which the
vocal cords are attached and which are situated at the upper back part of
the larynx
aspirate, adj.: pronounced with an immediately following h-sound in a syl-
lable in which the h is not usually represented (as in English)
concomitant, n.: accompanying or attending especially in a subordinate or
incidental way: occurring along with or at the same time as and with or
without causal relationship
correlation, n.: (in phonology) distinctive feature
distinctive, adj.: having the quality of distinguishing; serving or used to
distinguish or discriminate; applied spec. in linguistics to a phonetic
feature that is capable of distinguishing one meaning from another
evince, v.: show, display, contain
1.75 Tenues and Mediae in English 99
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The terms ‘tenues’ and ‘mediae’ have traditionally been used to denote the series of
obstruents (=true consonants) associated with the letters p, t, k, s, etc. and b, d, g, z,
etc.., respectively.
From the phonological point of view, tenues and mediae subsume two distinc-
tive features in terms of which they can be opposed: voiced vs. voiceless and tense
vs. lax. The distinctive feature voiced vs. voiceless presents, from a logical view-
point, two contradictory opposites whose physical counterparts are the presence vs.
absence of glottal vibrations. A distinctively voiced media is thus normally con-
stituted by the corresponding tenuis with superimposed glottal vibrations. Since
voicing and tenseness are syncategorematic features, there obtains a normal com-
plementary distribution of their physical correlates such that, in languages with
distinctive voicing (like Russian), voiced obstruents are phonetically lax and
voiceless ones phonetically tense. At the same time, in comparison to languages
(like English) which have distinctive tenseness, languages evincing distinctive
voicing manifest tenues which are normally relatively lax and tenuis stops which
are relatively unaspirate (aspiration being a concomitant of distinctive tenseness,
not voicelessness).
The distinctive feature tense vs. lax, on the other hand, is composed of two
contrary opposites—greater vs. lesser protensity—typically implemented as a dif-
ference between tenues and mediae in the relative duration of the release portion
and the tenure portion.
Despite the availability of a rich phonetic literature since at least the time of the
pioneering English phonetician Henry Sweet (1845–1912), contemporary pho-
nologists (including those of the generative stripe and their latter-day offshoots)
have continually vacillated in their interpretation of English tenues and mediae,
with the voiced vs. voiceless feature posited as distinctive more often than not. The
great Russian phonologist Nikolai Trubetzkoy (1890–1938) even claimed in his
Principles of Phonology that it is “impossible to say whether in English a corre-
lation of tension (i.e., protensity) or a correlation of voice is present”.
A refutation of this latter view is implicit in the several essays above where the
theory of phonology underlying the analysis reposes on the fundamental principle
that the sound system of a language is a semeiotic a system of signs. Once the
semiotic workings of the system are charted, using phonological implementation
rules as a sign of the underlying hierarchy defining the sounds (phonemes), the
membership of English in the typological group of languages (e.g., Japanese, Latin,
Ukrainian, etc.) evincing protensity and not voicing in their tenues and mediae
becomes irrefutable.
1.76 The Mangling of French by Speakers of American English 101
Glossary
coup de grâce: a blow by which one condemned or mortally wounded is ‘put
out of his misery’ or dispatched quickly; hence fig. a finishing stroke, one
that settles or puts an end to something (French)
dissyllabic, adj.: consisting of two syllables
intercalate, v.: to insert between or among existing elements
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants m, n, and ng or the nasalized vowel of French bon
orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
syncopate, v.: to shorten (a word) by syncope
syncope, n.: the shortening of a word by omission of a sound, letter, or
syllable from the middle of the word
vocable, n.: a word considered only as a sequence of sounds or letters rather
than as a unit of meaning
When native speakers of one language try to reproduce the words of another language,
the results will vary naturally and understandably with the linguistic skills of the
imitators. In this respect, the speakers of certain languages—Japanese in particular
comes to mind—have a deservedly bad reputation for their utter inability to refrain
from mangling the vocables of foreign languages. In this respect, speakers of English
are somewhere in the middle of the scale of success when it comes to this task.
Speakers whose native language is American English do not, as a rule, fare well
with French, despite the ubiquity of French borrowings in English and the fre-
quency of French words and phrases that happen to be intercalated in English
utterances as a matter of course. Particularly glaring examples are items that end in
–eur in French (like entrepreneur and liqueur), which are typically rendered with
the vowel of English pure rather than the more authentic vowel of sir. The latter is
certainly within the grasp of an English speaker, who typically mangles the French
by modeling their pronunciation on the orthography. Also badly served are words
that end in –oir, such as the frequent item noir of film noir, which are regularly
distorted by having the final [-r] omitted in utterances containing them by
Americans. Cf. the all-too-common mispronunciation in the media (as pointed out
to the author by his brother Jacob) of the phrase coup de grâce (literally ‘stroke of
grace [=mercy]’) with the final consonant of grâce missing, making it sound
ludicrously like gras ‘grease’ instead of ‘mercy’!
Lately, because of its prominence in world affairs, the designation of the orga-
nization of doctors who go by the appellation Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors
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Glossary
apotropaic, adj. < apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil
or danger
marked, adj. < markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a super-
structure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually
restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted)
sub rosa: privately, secretly, in strict confidence; unspoken, tacit (Latin)
Glossary
consummate, adj.: of the highest degree; absolute, total; supreme; of a person:
fully accomplished, supremely skilled
dissyllabic, adj.: consisting of two syllables
ersatz, adj.: a substitute or imitation; usually, an inferior article instead of the
real thing (German)
faux, adj.: false, fake, ersatz (French)
prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as intonation and
stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress and intonation
in a language
Having given a name at 3.65 (below) to the species of faux English that abounds in
this age of linguistic globalization, perhaps an example is in order, viz. colleague,
with the stress on the second syllable instead of the first. This incorrect rendition of
the word is frequently produced by non-native speakers of English from South Asia
and Africa, who have evidently not assimilated the rule of English prosody (ac-
centuation) that regularly places the main stress of dissyllabic substantives on the
first syllable.
It is interesting to learn that historically this word was (according to the Oxford
English Dictionary Online) “still commonly accented on the second syllable” in the
17th century, having come into English from French in the 16th
(“Etymology: < French collègue, < Latin collēga, one chosen along with another, a
partner in office, etc.; < col- together + legĕre to choose, etc.”). Varieties of English,
including dialects, typically differ in where they place the main stress of certain
words. Cf. ínsurance in Southern American English (SAE) instead of insúrance.
Over time, even in SAE, a stress that was current in earlier times may recede, e.g.
consúmmate (adj.), which has all-but-disappeared from the language except in the
speech of especially careful and knowledgeable members of the community.
Glossary
demoticization, n. < demiticize, v. < demotic, adj.: of or relating to the peo-
ple; popular, common; (n.) ordinary colloquial speech; the everyday
language of ordinary people
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English has a large stock of non-native vocabulary (i.e., words not of Germanic or
Anglo-Norman provenience) whose pronunciation may still reflect their foreign
origin. Typically, once such a word passes into common use, its pronunciation
adjusts itself correspondingly to conform to traditional phonetic norms. At any
intermediate stage between initial entry into English vocabulary and complete
demoticization, there is usually some fluctuation involving doublets (two competing
variants) before a historical resolution toward one as normative.
This process can be observed with two words that are currently in the news,
synod (< late Latin synodus, < Greek rύmodo1 assembly, meeting, astronomical
conjunction, < rύm syn- prefix + ὁdό1 way, travel; reinforced later by French
synode (16th cent.) and ebola (< Ebola, the name of a river and district in north-
western Zaire, where an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever occurred in 1976). The
Oxford English Dictionary Online gives the following variant pronunciations for
ebola: Brit. /iːˈbəʊlə/, / /, /ɛˈbəʊlə/, U.S. /ɪˈboʊlə/; but for synod all dic-
tionaries register only one, namely /ˈsɪnəd/, despite the fact that one constantly
hears the unstressed syllable pronounced with the full vowel of odd rather than the
schwa alongside the normative pronunciation with the schwa.
In both words the American English pronunciation of something other than a
reduced vowel ([ə] in synod and [ɪ] in ebola) in the unstressed syllable should be
interpreted as a sign of its evaluation as a word of foreign origin. The value,
specifically the markedness value, of the sounds at issue is what is at stake here.
1.79 Unstressed Vowels and the Demoticization of Vocabulary (synod, ebola) 105
Glossary
doublet, n.: one of two words or forms that are identical in meaning or value
phonetics, n.: e system of sounds of a particular language
sic transit gloria mundi: ‘thus passes the glory of the world’ (Latin); a
catchphrase expressing the impermanence of things
vis-à-vis: in comparison with; as compared with
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SAE are alive and well, and continue to be spoken by persons with a higher
education as well as by “just plain folks.”
In this context, it is interesting to note that when one hears a speech error uttered
by a person who otherwise speaks perfect SAE, there may be an automatic negative
evaluation on the part of the hearer resulting in a drop in the utterer’s prestige.
A good example of this from the broadcast media was manifested on November 18,
2014 in the report of Julie Ravener on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” who pronounced
the verb err to rhyme with air instead of the correct purr. (cf. 1.60 above). Now,
Ravener’s pronunciation of this word is far from unique and has been slowly but
surely displacing the traditional one during the last several decades. The derivation
of this error is not hard to find: it comes from the generalization of the pronunciation
of the associated noun error as the statistically dominant word vis-à-vis the verb.
Failure to observe tradition in speech by resorting to an erroneous pronunciation
—no matter how widespread—always runs the risk of affecting the prestige of both
the speaker personally and that of the content of the utterance containing the speech
error. Once the pronunciation that started life as an error commands enough users to
eclipse the traditional variant, prestige becomes irrelevant in assessing the new
doublet simply because knowledge of tradition always tends to fade with time as
older speakers die out and are succeeded by generations that are ignorant of the
earlier prestige form. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
deriving, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed from
existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or undo
from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from sing, or
by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or base, as
electricity from electric
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
prefix, n.: an affix, such as dis- in disbelieve, attached to the front of a word to
produce a derivative word or an inflected form
requiescat in pace: ‘rest in peace’ (Latin)
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
1.81 False Analogy (inherent[ly]) 107
suffix, n.: a grammatical element added to the end of a word or stem, serving
to form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness
in gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
yore, n.: time past and especially long since past
Languages develop largely along rational lines, and (proportional) analogy is often
at the bottom of a particular development. However, as was noted earlier in several
cases, e.g.,. on the pronunciation of the verb err and the government of the
adjective courteous, the source of the analogy can be erroneous or false. This is
what obtains in the common (all but exclusive) pronunciation of the adjective
inherent (more frequently represented by the related adverb inherently), wherein the
stressed vowel is made to rhyme with that of the much more frequent verb inherit
rather than the actual deriving verb inhere, whose stressed vowel rhymes with here.
False analogy stems from imperfect learning and is a failure of thought.
Requiescat in pace, oh, book learning of yore!
Glossary
facultative, adj.: optional
prosodic, adj. < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
When prepositions govern personal pronouns, as in stick to it, go with him, proud of
it, etc., the primary stress falls on the preposition, and the prepositional phrase is
adverbialized, i.e., functions as an adverb, hence the stress pattern, since adverbs
normally bear the phrasal stress when immediately preceded by the verb they
modify (e.g., go quickly, write slowly, breathe deeply, etc.). This also happens when
the preposition is a compound, as in look up to him, the stress falling invariably on
the first component of the compound.
With first or second person pronouns stress on the preposition is facultative,
whereas with the third person pronoun it, it is obligatory. This pattern is to be
explained by the fact that as the neuter member of the category the third person is
less central in the hierarchy of pronominal personhood compared to the first and
second persons, hence less capable of bearing the stress in the prosodic structure of
adverbialized prepositional phrases.
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Glossary
deictic, adj., n.: of or relating to a word, the determination of whose referent is
dependent on the context in which it is said or written
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper
front teeth
desinence, n.: a grammatical ending
digraph, n.: a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single
sound (as ea in bread, ng in thing) or whose value is not the sum of a
value borne by each in other occurrences (as ch in chin, where the value is
[t\] + [sh])
fricative, adj., n.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing
of breath through a constricted passage
grapheme, n.: the class of letters and other visual symbols that represent a
phoneme or cluster of phonemes,
interdental, adj.: formed with the tip of the tongue protruded between the
upper and lower front teeth
intervocalic, adj.: occurring between vowels
liquid, adj., n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: a method of representing a language or
the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling
phoneme, n.: the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of
conveying a distinction in meaning, as the m of mat and the b of bat in
English
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the study and systematic classification of the
sounds made in spoken utterance as they are produced by the organs of
speech and as they register on the ear and on instruments
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation
protensity, n.: category of phonological distinctive features comprising the
acoustic opposition tense vs. lax, defined by the longer (vs. reduced)
duration of the steady state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined
resonance regions in the spectrum
tense, adj. < tense vs. lax: (acoustically) longer vs. reduced duration of the
steady state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance
1.83 Of Eths and Thorns 109
The word “eth” is the name of a letter used in earlier versions of English
orthography (among other Germanic writing systems) for the so-called voiced
(inter) dental fricative, this grapheme being pronounced th (pronunciation)with the
same voiced sound, viz. [ɛð]. (The proper phonological designation is “lax,” not
“voiced,” since English is a protensity language, not a voicing language.) The
symbol inherited from Old English resembles a reversed numeral with a stroke
through the stem. While contemporary English orthography has dropped this item
from its inventory, its phonetic/phonological counterpart, the voiceless (inter)dental
fricative called “thorn” and represented in transcription by the Greek theta, i.e., [h],
survives as the digraph th.
The pronunciation of orthographic th in present-day English varies in large part
with its position in the word (initial, medial/intervocalic, final), and secondarily
with the word class to which a given item belongs. Taking the latter first, the
deictics (demonstrative pronouns) this, that, there, thus, and thither, along with the
personal pronoun they, all have initial eth, whereas non-pronominals have thorn,
e.g., thistle, thatch, thorn, etc. Intervocalic th is exceptionlessly pronounced with
eth, as in blather, hither, lather, etc. The directional deictic thither can be pro-
nounced either with a medial eth or a thorn.
In the case of plural forms of items ending in th in the singular, there is a regular
assimilation such that eth appears before the {-s} desinence realized phonetically
as [z],
e.g., path is sg. [pah] but pl. [paðz], etc.
The distribution of eth and thorn in the immediate vicinity of a liquid (l and
r) depends on which liquid it is and on their position in the word. In initial position
before /r/, the pronunciation is regularly “voiceless” (throne, thrust, etc.), but
medially it is “voiced” before r (e.g., brethren) and “voiceless” after r (e.g.,
arthritis), as it is after l (e.g., wealth).
An interesting case of distribution is that of the noun/verb pair with final th, viz.
bath/bathe. Instead of the correlation expected from markedness theory of the
marked sound (here, the tense thorn) obtaining in the marked category (the verb),
we have an instance of complementation rather than replication, the markedness
values being reversed (the marked sound appearing in the unmarked category and
vice versa). Perhaps this distribution is to be explained as a garden-variety case of
markedness DOMINANCE, since the two interdental sounds eth and thorn already
constitute a marked (restricted) class in the phonology of English to begin with.
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110 1 Sounds
Glossary
hypermetrical, adj.: having one or more (stressed) syllables beyond those
normal to the meter
juncture, n.: the manner of transition between two consecutive speech sounds
or between a speech sound and a pause
meter, n.: systematically arranged and measured rhythm in verse
prosodic, adj. < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
suprasegmental, adj.: of or relating to significant features of pitch, stress, and
juncture accompanying or superadded to vowels and consonants when the
latter are assembled in succession in the construction of a speaker-to-hearer
communication
Glossary
Bauplan, n.: building plan, blueprint (German)
desyllabication, n. < desyllabicate, v.: to cause or undergo the loss of a
syllable
epenthetic, adj. < epenthesis, n.: the occurrence of an intercalated consonant
(such as a homorganic stop after a nasal consonant) or vowel in a suc-
cession of speech sounds without a counterpart in etymon or in orthog-
raphy (such as [t] in [ˈfents] fence or [ə] in [ˈathəˌlēt] athlete)
liquid. n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
nasal, adj., n.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants m, n, and ng or the nasalized vowel of French bon
open, adj.: pronounced with a relatively wide opening of the mouth and the
tongue held low in it
orthography, n.: a method of representing a language or the sounds of lan-
guage by written symbols; spelling
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
and their study
sonority, n.: the degree to which a speech sound is like a vowel
syllabic, n.: a vocal sound capable by itself of forming a syllable, or con-
stituting the essential element of a syllable
teleological, adj. < teleology, n.: the doctrine or study of ends or final causes,
esp. as related to the evidences of design or purpose in nature; also transf.
such design as exhibited in natural objects or phenomena
typologically, adv. < typological, adj. < typology, n.: comparative study of
languages or aspects of languages as to their structures rather than their
historical relations
American English in the last decade or more has manifested a phonetic change
whereby what was previously a syllabic /n/ in the clusters /dnt/ and /tnt/ at the end
of words has instead developed an epenthetic [ɛ] preceding it. Accordingly,
whereas the older normative pronunciation of words like student, hadn’t, didn’t,
and patent typically had no vowel before [n], now the younger generation of
speakers inserts an unstressed open mid-vowel [ɛ] before it.
The explanation for this change has to do with the kind of language English is
typologically, namely a consonantal language, and not a vocalic language. All
languages of the world are divided into these two basic types. The vocalic lan-
guages have evolved through a series of phonological changes which seem to
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112 1 Sounds
Glossary
liquid, adj., n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
nasal, adj., n.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants /m/, /n/, and /ng/ or the nasalized vowel of French bon; a nasal
consonant
nomina propria: proper names (Latin)
orthographically, adv. < orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: a method of
representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols;
(coreect) spelling
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation
semeiotic, adj. < semeiotics, n.: the theory of signs, esp. that of C. S. Peirce
sine qua non: somebody or something indispensable (Latin)
sonorant, n.: a usually voiced speech sound characterized by relatively free
air flow through the vocal tract and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel,
liquid, or nasal
syllabic, adj.: a vocal sound capable by itself of forming a syllable, or con-
stituting the essential element of a syllable
syncopate, v. < syncope, n.: the shortening of a word by omission of a sound,
letter, or syllable from the middle of the word
viz., abbrev.: videlicet (Latin) = that is to say; namely; to wit: used to
introduce an amplification, or more precise or explicit explanation, of a
previous statement or word
1.86 Vowel Syncope and Its Functions 113
Vowels that appear in one form of a word may be elided in speech (and even in
writing) depending on the context especially between consonants but not only. This
elision (called “syncope”) occurs in many languages of the world including
European languages like English or Russian and is typically the product of a
historical process, wherein earlier “full vowel” forms (i.e., unsyncopated) alternate
with newer forms that omit the vowel in question. The occurrence of syncope is
routinely associated with the stylistic dimension of language, specifically with the
so-called “elliptic code, ” and contrasted with the “explicit code” wherein the vowel
in question appears unelided. (These terms were introduced for the first time into
the discourse of linguistics in the author’s book, Russian Phonetic Variants and
Phonostylistics [University of California Press, 1968]). The elliptic form tends to be
generalized over time at the expense of the explicit one, as often happens under the
appropriate circumstances in the pronunciation of nomina propria, including
English (British) place names such as Leicester (pronounced [‘lɛstər]); cf. the
colloquial syncopated pronunciation of the British English word governor as
[‘ɡʌvnə(r)], occasionally rendered as guvna orthographically to reflect the collo-
quial phonetics.
In English the archetypical instance of syncope is in contractions. Thus, for
example, the subject-verb combination “I am” is characteristic of the explicit code
but is reduced to “I’m” (where the apostrophe marks contraction) in the elliptic
code.
Certain phonetic contexts are more likely to induce syncope than others. The
occurrence of a vowel in an unstressed syllable is a sine qua non by itself. From that
basic starting point, the occurrence of an adjacent sonorant in the syllable—more
specifically, a nasal consonant like /n/ or/m/—often leads to the unstressed vowel
being dropped, as when heaven is pronounced (esp. in British English) in the
second syllable without the vowel and a syllabic nasal.
Traditional phonetic explanations of vowel syncope rely on such notions as
economy of effort, but this is clearly inadequate, even though items in the elliptic
code tend to be pronounced faster than their counterparts in the explicit code. The
function of vowel syncope is rather the usual semeiotic one, viz. of mapping the
hierarchy of distinctive features that define a phoneme through its instantiation
contextually in speech. Thus vowels—which are defined as [+vocalic] and
[-consonantal]––signify this definition in connected speech by being liable to
syncope, the only speech sounds which function that way in the rules of imple-
mentation characterizing a phonological system.
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Chapter 2
Meanings
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
Christological, adj. < Christology, n.: the theological study of the person and
deeds of Jesus; a doctrine or theory based on Jesus or Jesus’s teachings
deriving, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed from
existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or undo
from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from sing, or
by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or base, as
electricity from electric
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
stem, n.: the main part of a word to which affixes are added
Apropos of the concluding thoughts in the authorial note appended to “The Genius of
the Mot Juste” (Chap. 6.2), the second entry under the word virtuous in The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006) defines it as
‘possessing or characterized by chastity; pure: a virtuous woman’. The example cited
is straight out of the King James version of the Old Testament (Proverbs 31: 10). This
version is closer to the Hebrew tradition than any previous English translation when it
comes to the non-Christological portions of the Old Testament; cf. the following
translations of the word in question in its fuller Proverbial context:
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of
spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. (King James Version)
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. (New International
Version)
10 aleph mulierem fortem quis inveniet procul et de ultimis finibus pretium eius
11 beth confidit in ea cor viri sui et spoliis non indigebit
12 gimel reddet ei bonum et non malum omnibus diebus vitae suae (Vulgate)
10 . ִמי יְִמָצא; ְוָרֹחק ִמְּפִניִנים ִמְכָרהּ,ַחיִל-שת ֶׁ י ֵאA woman of valor who can find? for her
price is far above rubies.
11 . ֹלא ֶיְחָסר,שָלל ָׁ ֵלב ַּבְעָלהּ; ְו, יא ָּבַטח ָּבהּThe heart of her husband doth safely trust in
her, and he hath no lack of gain.
12 . ְיֵמי ַחֶּייָה,ָרע– ֹּכל- יב ְּגָמַלְתהוּ טוֹב ְוֹלאShe doeth him good and not evil all the days of
her life. (The Masoretic Text, i.e., the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish
Bible)
The latter text is traditionally glossed as follows:
1. She is a virtuous woman—a woman of power and strength. אשת חילesheth
chayil, a strong or virtuous wife full of mental energy
2. She is invaluable; her price is far above rubies—no quantity of precious stones
can be equal to her worth.
The deriving base of the adjective in question is Latin virtus; cf. Greek ἀqesή,
both of which mean something like ‘moral excellence’. In turn, Latin virtus is
derived from vir ‘man, hero’. This last meaning was doubtless what the translators
who rendered the King James version must have had in mind, since they followed
the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. Hence the meaning ‘a woman of valor’,
which is precisely the definition answering to the purport of the authorial note in
Chap. 6.
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2.2 An Embarrassment of Onomastic Riches 117
Glossary
ex parte: from or on one side only, with the other side absent or unrepresented
(Latin)
krepier, v.: to die (Yiddish)
onomastic, adj.: of, relating to, or explaining a name or names
orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
patrial, n.: the word for the name of a country or place and used to denote a
native or inhabitant of it
Listening to the radio and hearing one’s namesake, Jeff Schapiro (never mind the
German variant orthography) of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, expatiating on the
vagaries of Virginia politics, one was reminded yet again of the seeming perfusion
in America of the surname that derives from that of the Jewish residents of the
medieval German city of Speyer, who eventually migrated to Eastern Europe,
including Lithuania. In fact (according to my father, whose ancestors came from
Radoshkovichi in what is now called Belarus), there were so many Shapiros in
Vil’na (the Russianized name of the capital, Vilnius) during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries that some of them changed their name to Vilenkin, a
Yiddish-Russian hybrid deriving from their patrial.
Not all Shapiros are created equal. When in the nineteenth and twentieth cen-
turies Jews immigrated to America from the Pale of Settlement in their thousands,
many of them arrived at Ellis Island in New York bearing unpronounceable Polish,
Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Bessarabian names. This apparently didn’t sit well
with immigration officials, so in order to simplify matters, they frequently assigned
the name Shapiro ex parte to these onomastically-impaired newcomers (Cohen and
Levy not being suitable because of tribal restrictions).
As they used to say in the Soviet Union before it krepiered, “Dva mira—dva
Shapiro” (“Двa миpa—двa Шaпиpo” [rhymes in Russian]) ‘Two worlds—two
Shapiros’.
Glossary
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed
from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or
118 2 Meanings
undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from
sing, or by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or
base, as electricity from electric
etymology, n.: the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as
shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes
in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to
another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its
ancestral form where possible
etymon, n.: a foreign word from which a particular loan word is derived
forma mentis: form of mind; mental framework (Latin)
interlingual, adj.: of, relating to, or involving two or more languages
morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic) form
Peircean, adj.: of, pertaining to, or deriving from the philosophy of C.
S. Peirce (1839–1914)
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
All languages have meaning fields, which is to say that words enter into associative
networks formed by connotative variants that extend basic dictionary meanings into
semantic nooks and crannies that accommodate subsidiary concepts. In the
European languages that share Latin and Greek etyma as historical points of
departure, post-medieval and modern developments do not necessarily dovetail,
producing interesting differences in semantic utilization of recognizably similar or
identical roots. An interesting case in point are the Latin and Greek antecedents of
two common words, grammar and letter, in English and Russian.
In English the word grammar is given the following etymology in The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006):
Middle English gramere, from Old French gramaire, alteration of Latin grammatica, from
Greek grammatikē, from feminine of grammatikos, of letters, from gramma, grammat-, letter
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2.3 Associative Meaning Fields: Interlingual Gaps and Overlaps 119
entity), although the word for ‘literature’ is practically the same as in English,
namely literatura. Whereas English uses literal to mean ‘adhering strictly to the
letter’, by contrast Russian resorts for this meaning to the adjective bukval’nyj,
derived from the word bukva ‘letter’, which is of proto-Germanic provenience
(whence E book; cf. G Buch ‘book’) and shows up as a borrowing from the same
source and with the same meaning in all of the Slavic languages.
Russian deviates from Germanic and Romance, however, in how it treats the
word borrowed from another version of Greek gramma, namely grammata (pl.)
‘letters’. This comes into Russian as a singular noun gramota (гpaмoтa), with the
primary meaning ‘letters, the alphabet’, as in (yчитьcя гpaмoтe) ‘learn one’s let-
ters’, i.e., ‘learn how to read and write’, whence the adjective gramotnyj ‘literate’.
It is at this point that English and Russian part company when it comes to
associative meaning fields and just here we can discern how words determine not
just thought but one’s forma mentis, depending on the semantic peculiarities of
one’s native language.
Where English uses the word competent to denote either the person or the
product that shows a certain level of skill or accomplishment, the older and
(practically) demotic word for this concept in Russian is gramotnyj (гpaмoтный),
although kompetentnyj also exists as a newer vocabulary item. There is thus a
strong association in Russian between being ‘lettered’ and being ‘competent’ that is
scanted in English, despite the extended meaning of literate. This gives rise in
Russian to phrases like gramotnyj kompozitor ‘competent composer’ and gramotno
napisano ‘competently composed’ [of music] which define a whole conceptual field
that is denied to its English counterparts.
One would be hard put to find a more perspicuous proof of pragmatism (in the
Peircean sense) than this differential mapping of associative fields in the two
languages.
Glossary
characterological, adj. < characterology, n.: the study of character, especially
its development and its variations
hypocoristic, adj.: endearing; belong to affective vocabulary
subcutaneously, adv. < subcutaneous, adj.: (here, figuratively) beneath the
surface, subtle, relatively imperceptible
The phrase bad guys has been used incessantly by the media—and by ordinary
speakers influenced by media language—as a handy substitute for enemy or ter-
rorist in referring to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This can perhaps be understood
120 2 Meanings
Glossary
necropolis, n.: a cemetery, especially a large and elaborate one belonging to
an ancient city
trope, n.: a figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a
metaphor
tropological, adj. < tropology, n.: the use of tropes in speech or writing
There once lived a woman who hated clichés. This essay is intended to explicate her
linguistic animus.
Clichés exist in every language. They are typically old, worn-out, fatigued fig-
ures of speech which have fossilized through constant use into words and phrases
that have a rigid meaning and are repeated ad nauseam because they render
complex semantic relations compactly.
Here is a contemporary example, in context, of a tired trope, perfect storm
(meaning ‘a confluence of events that drastically aggravates a situation’):
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2.5 Clichés: Corpses from the Necropolisof … 121
“You had this perfect storm where in his Middle East speech Obama didn’t explain very
well what he meant by ‘land swaps,’ Netanyahu was so upset by the mention of 1967
borders that he basically mischaracterized the president’s proposal for four days, and as a
result the whole visit became hyperpartisan at a time when Israel was looking for bipartisan
support from the United States,” said David Makovsky, director of the Project on the
Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (James
Kitfield, “Netanyahu’s ‘Unvarnished Truth’ Tour,” www.theatlantic.com, 5/25/11)
Instead of saying “a confluence of events” the writer has resorted to the tired
cliché, “perfect storm.” It may be more apt than usual, given the politically fraught
context, but it is nonetheless a token of a mental slovenliness that elicits stylistic
contempt. Perhaps only a deliberate revivification of the phrase via semantic dis-
interment (e.g., “the perfect storm didn’t have much wind at its back”) could ever
hope to rescue this freshly-laid corpse—along with all its lifeless congeners—from
their tropological resting place. RIP would be a fitter fate.
Glossary
aureole, n.: a circle of light or radiance surrounding the head or body of a
representation of a deity or holy person; a halo or aura
conjugate, adj.: joined together, especially in a pair or pairs; coupled
differentia specifica: distinctive feature (Latin)
déformation professionnelle: a tendency to look at things from the point of
view of one’s own profession rather than from a broader perspective
(French)
etymological, adj. < etymology, n.: the origin and historical development of a
linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known
use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one
language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and
reconstructing its ancestral form where possible
Hippocratic, adj. < Hippocrates, n.: Greek physician who laid the founda-
tions of scientific medicine by freeing medical study from the constraints
of philosophical speculation and superstition
idiolectal, adj. < idiolect, n.: the speech of an individual, considered as a
linguistic pattern unique among speakers of his or her language or dialect
lexicon, n., pl. lexica: the words of a language considered as a group
metricist, n.: a specialist in the study of metrics (versification)
peripeteia, n., pl.: a sudden change of events or reversal of circumstances,
especially in a literary work
122 2 Meanings
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2.6 Discontinuous Lexica and Linguistic Competence 123
their native English with French words, even where perfectly good English
equivalents would do. Perhaps this is a kind of linguistic badge—what the French
call déformation professionnelle—that is flashed to parade not only their special
knowledge but their solidarity with their profession and the country whose language
and literature they profess. In some cases, of course, the foreign locution may in fact
supply a particular stylistic flavor that the native equivalent may lack.
A good illustration of the employment of foreign words and phrases, including
literary citations, inserted in an otherwise perfectly English oral discourse can be
found in that masterpiece of narrative, Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Sign of
Four. Here are three such cases that issue from the mouth of Sherlock Holmes, in
the latter two of which Holmes’s is actually a slightly inaccurate version:
[Latin] “Quite so They are in a state of extreme contraction, far exceeding the usual rigor
mortis. Coupled with this distortion of the face, this Hippocratic smile, or ‘risus sardon-
icus,’ as the old writers called it, what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?”
[French] “He can find something,” remarked Holmes shrugging his shoulders. “He has
occasional glimmerings of reason. Il n’y a pas des sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de
l’esprit!”
[correct version: Il n’y a point de sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l’esprit.—
François de la Rochefoucauld, Maximes, no. 451. English translation: ‘There are no fools so
troublesome as those who have some wit’.]
[German] “And I,” said Holmes, “shall see what I can learn from Mrs. Bernstone, and from
the Indian servant, who, Mr. Thaddeus tells me, sleeps in the next garret. Then I shall study
the great Jones’s methods and listen to his not too delicate sarcasms. ‘Wir sind gewohnt das
die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen.’ Goethe is always pithy”
[correct version: Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen / Was sie nicht verstehn,
(which continues) Daß sie vor dem Guten und Schönen, / Das ihnen oft beschwerlich ist,
murren; / Will es der Hund, wie sie, beknurren?—Goethe Faust, Part 1, ll. 1205-09.
Munich: Beck, 2007, p. 43. Bayard Taylor’s English translation (New York: Collier Books,
1963, p. 113): ‘Of course we know that men despise / what they don’t comprehend; / the
Good and Beautiful they vilipend, / finding it oft a burdensome measure. / Is the dog, like
men, snarling displeasure?’]
(“Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration,” The Sign of Four, ch. 6, in Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, I: The Novels, ed. Leslie S. Klinger. New
York: Norton, 2006, pp. 278, 280, 282.)
think of the drink called the continental, which I had ordered at a restaurant in
Vermont just days before, which segued into Fred Astaire and the song he sings
called “The Continental” in the movie “Flying Down to Rio,” which I saw on
television long ago. For some reason, this then triggered a chain of memories
associated with the international word continental that occurs in all European
languages, including Russian, particularly as a designation of certain buildings, like
hotels.
More precisely, a true story came bobbing up from the backwater of my
memory, which had been recounted to me many years before by my father about his
cousin, a certain “Diadia Misha” (Russian for ‘Uncle Misha’), who ended up in
Paris after the Russian Revolution, became an arms dealer there between the World
Wars, and lived to be a centenarian. Uncle Misha was living in Kiev when the
Revolution broke out and was arrested as a bourgeois—therefore, considered an
enemy of the people—by the Communists when they seized control of the city, and
was brought before a people’s tribunal to be tried. The penalty of death by firing
squad in such cases was not out of the question, and it hovered over our poor Uncle
Misha. However, after questioning him, the president of the tribunal suddenly
announced that he was free to go. Naturally, Uncle Misha’s relief and incredulity
knew no bounds. Then the president came over to him and, extending his hand, said
(in Russian), “Ia iz Kontinentalia” [Я из Кoнтинeнтaля] (‘I’m from the
Continental’). At first, Uncle Misha was completely flummoxed. But then he rec-
ognized the president as a waiter from the restaurant at the Hotel Continental in
Kiev, where he had eaten many times, and whom he had been in the habit of tipping
generously. These munificent gratuities now turned out to be Uncle Misha’s
salvation.
Such are the peripeteia that define the course of one’s life. One can understand
why the word continental should have a special associative aura in my lexicon—
and that of no other person outside my family.
Glossary
nonce word: a word used only ‘for the nonce’, i.e., for the specific purpose
Vermontian, adj.: ‘pertaining to Vermont’ (nonce word)
Do is undoubtedly the most protean verb in the English language. All one has to do
to be convinced of this fact is to look under the entry in the Oxford English
Dictionary Online.
A man and a woman, both of a certain age, come into a Vermontian tavern and
sit down at the bar. They each order a glass of wine. When the bartender pours the
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2.7 DO, v., Trans. 125
drinks, there is some confusion as to which patron wishes the white wine, which the
red, so the female customer says: “He does the white, and I do the red” [emphasis
added]. A strange utterance under the circumstances, no?
Whatever could she have meant? That her male companion habitually drinks
white wine, and she red, implying that this distribution is at odds with the norm for
the two sexes? It’s impossible to interpret the woman’s utterance with certainty.
One is reminded of the fact that just as characters in novels don’t always know
their own motives, so with people in real life.
Glossary
calque (=loan translation), n.: a form of borrowing from one language to
another whereby the semantic components of a given term are literally
translated into their equivalents in the borrowing language. English su-
perman, for example, is a loan translation from German Übermensch
echt, adj.: real; genuine (German)
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n.: the aspects and study of spoken
communication that accompany speech but do not involve words, such as
language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice
patois, n.: the special jargon of a group
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sociolectal, adj. < sociolect, n.: a variety of a language that is used by a
particular social group
univerbal, adj. < univerbation, n.: the creation of one word from two or more
The ubiquitous interjection “Enjoy!,” minus its otherwise normative direct object
and pronounced-with emphatic intonation as a one-word sentence, can be heard
from speakers of American English, particularly as addressed to their customers by
waiters and waitresses. Little do they realize that this usage must have originated in
the language of Yiddish speakers in New York an idiom influenced by the over-
whelmingly Slavic—specifically, Russian—milieu from which these speakers’
ancestors immigrated to the New World. That this special use in American English
of an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English enjoien, from Old French enjoir) could
have a Russian provenience via Yiddish has not generally been acknowledged,
doubtless owing to (1) the rarity of a thorough knowledge of Russian among those
who concern themselves with Yiddish borrowings into English; (2) the ignoral of
CALQUES as the likely source.
126 2 Meanings
Here the Russian item serving as the model for a Yiddish-influenced loan
translation into English are the imperative forms of the verb naslazhdát’sia
(нacлaждaтьcя), i.e., naslazhdájsia (нacлaждaйcя [sg.]) and naslazhdájtes’
(нacлaждaйтecь [pl.]). What might weaken this motivation is the fact that Yiddish
seems to have no univerbal equivalent. Also: (1) Russian does not use the imper-
atives of the verb naslazhdat’sia (нacлaждaтьcя) in a way that would validate the
Yiddish borrowing—and thereby the usage—of “Enjoy!” in contemporary
American English; and (2) any such calque would consequently have to be moti-
vated by Yiddish speakers’ flawed knowledge of idiomatic Russian usage.
It should be noted that the proper author of this attribution’s line of thought is
Marianne Shapiro. With her matchless etymological acumen, she recalled from her
own New York childhood that the use of “Enjoy!” originated with (and was
popularized by) its frequent occurrence in the speech of Molly Goldberg in the
long-running American radio and television show, The Goldbergs (excogitated by
the native New Yorker, Gertrude Berg, née Tillie Edelstein, who also played its lead
character).
The transplanted version of the New York Yiddish milieu would also seem to be
the source of the slang use in American speech of whatever, notably in its echt
r-less form, viz. [wʌtɛ́və]. This was the pronunciation used repeatedly, for instance,
by the main character, Archie Bunker, on the 1970s television show, All in the
Family, shot in Hollywood but set in New York City (Queens). The use of this
word may have originated earlier in the Yiddishized patois of female Hollywood
show business types (wives and girlfriends of producers?), whence it migrated into
general American speech via popular films (like Clueless) that featured the soci-
olectal mannerisms of female Southern Californians known as “Valley girls.”
Its ultimate semiotic pedigree could perhaps be traced to an unusual variety of
calqueing namely the loan translation into speech of a (wordless) gesture—a shrug
of the shoulders, inclination of the head, elevation of the hands, or all three—
signifying the semantic amalgam now embedded in the word. These are in fact just
the paralinguistic body movements commonly associated with Yiddish/(-ized)
speech.
Glossary
axiological, adj. < axiology, n.: the study of the nature of values and value
judgments
superordination, n.: higher rank, status, or value
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2.9 Good Work 6¼ Good Job 127
Glossary
apotropaic, adj.: intended to ward off evil or danger
infantilism, n.: a state of arrested development in an adult, characterized by
retention of infantile mentality; marked immaturity, as in behavior or
character
lexis, n.: the aggregate of a language’s words (vocabulary as distinguished
from grammar)
neologism, n.: newly-minted word
timbre, n.: the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from
other sounds of the same pitch and volume
tropism, n.: [here used figuratively] the turning or bending movement of an
organism or a part toward or away from an external stimulus, such as
light, heat, or gravity
vocable, n.: a word considered only as a sequence of sounds or letters rather
than as a unit of meaning
Up until a certain age American children, like children in other countries, articulate
the vocables of their native language in a childish way because their linguistic
abilities are commensurate with their physical development in other respects.
128 2 Meanings
Whereas until about forty years ago these childish speech patterns were outgrown
from pre-adolescence on, it is now typical of the speech of young American women
in particular to retain what used to be purely puerile traits into adulthood. This
recessive infantilization of language broadly affects the vocal timbre as well as the
intonation of female adult speakers, to the point where a young American woman
who doesn’t sound like a superannuated child is exceptional. (Those who are
familiar with female speech patterns in Japanese will immediately recognize the
cross-cultural similarity to the contemporary American situation.) Whether speak-
ing like a child into adulthood is to be reckoned an apotropaic linguistic adaptation,
of a piece with other behavioral strategies calculated to forestall conflict, is an open
question.
Infantilization can also affect lexis as well as phonetics. The current preference
for the Lallwörter (German ‘nursery words’) “mom,” “dad,” and “kid” instead of
their grownup counterparts “mother,” “father,” and “child” is clearly an example of
this phenomenon. With increasing frequency, public speech (both oral and written)
refers to “single mom” and “stay-at-home mom” regardless of the stylistic register
of the context in which these phrases are embedded. In fact, the media routinely
eschew designating parents by their stylistically neutral names. Particularly jarring
is the neologism “grandkid,” connoting as it does (regardless of the age of the child)
yet another instance of an American cultural tropism toward a state of permanent
infantilism—here tellingly of BOTH the grandchild AND the grandparent.
Glossary
forma mentis: form of mind; mental framework (Latin)
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2.11 Issues 6¼ Problems 129
Glossary
derivational: adj. < derivation: n., the study, process, or result of word
formation
lexical: adj., pertaining to the lexicon or to words
morphology: n., the study of (linguistic) form
Glossary
anamnesis, n.: the complete history recalled and recounted by a patient
hyperplasia, n.: an abnormal increase in the number of cells in an organ or a
tissue with consequent enlargement
hypertrophy, n.: a nontumorous enlargement of an organ or a tissue as a result
of an increase in the size rather than the number of constituent cells
The endocrinologist wore a white coat to match the thatch of white hair sur-
mounting his pate and wrote my anamnesis down hurriedly without looking up,
occasionally repeating his questions because he hadn’t heard my answers. (The
doctor was hard of hearing but, typical of his profession, obviously hadn’t bothered
to remedy the condition.)
When my narrative came to benign prostatic hyperplasia, I interrupted to ask
about the difference between ‘hyperplasia’ and ‘hypertrophy’, since the condition is
vernacularly known as ‘enlargement’. His answer, pronounced with what passed for
a smile, was: “That’s just semantics.” Then, evidently embarrassed, he backed up
and gave a short definition of each of the terms.
This common denigration of the science of meaning is particularly unfortunate
coming from a physician, who of all professionals should be sensitive to the pro-
found bond between words and feelings, hence to the prominent role language and
its precise use play in the healing arts.
Glossary
catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase; the use of a strained
figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
contamination, n.: the process by which one word or phrase is altered because
of mistaken associations with another word or phrase; for example, the
substitution of irregardless for regardless by association with such words
as irrespective
As is well known, even adults speaking their native language occasionally make
grammatical mistakes. These can be slips of the tongue, which may then be cor-
rected in the same breath. But they may also be out and out errors which go
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2.14 *Magnimonious Poster Childs 131
uncorrected for one or another reason, including lack of awareness on the utterer’s
part that an error has been committed.
Errors are not uniformly of the same kind. Roughly speaking, they fall into two
main categories, motivated and unmotivated. The first category subsumes those that
lend themselves to some kind of reasoned explication; the second, those that are
catachrestic pure and simple.
On the National Public Radio program “Morning Edition” (VPR, January 24,
2011), the co-host, Renee Montagne, was interviewing the economics editor of The
Wall Street Journal, David Wessel, who uttered the phrase “one of the poster
childs,” i.e., failed to say the grammatically correct form of the plural, children.
This mistake allows for a quasi-explanation, in that there exists at least one
precedent for a deviation from the normal plural, namely in the phrase still lifes
(when speaking of an art object). Here a distinction is being made between the
plural of life in the ordinary sense (lives) and its special transferred sense in the case
of a genre of pictorial representation.
No such explication of motivatedness in the grammatically strict sense is
available, however, for the blunder the same host made in the interview a few
minutes later, when she uttered (without self-correction) the mangled form *mag-
nimonious instead of the correct magnanimous. This instance of catachresis was
evidently the simple product of contamination between adjectives that sound
vaguely alike (sanctimonious? parsimonious?).
Glossary
lexical, adj. < lexicon, n., pl. lexica: the words of a language considered as a
group
plurale tantum: occurring only in the plural (Latin)
in English to mean the genre obscures its origin and its attendant meaning, hence
facilitating the new recurrence to the singular and the oblivion of the traditional
plural.
Glossary
alliterative, adj. < alliteration: n., the repetition of the same sounds or of the
same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables
catachrestic, adj. < catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase, as
the use of blatant to mean ‘flagrant’; the use of a strained figure of speech,
such as a mixed metaphor
deverbal: adj. (also deverbative), formed from a verb; used in derivation from
a verb; n., a deverbative word or element
faiblesse: n., weakness (French)
metanalysis: n., a boundary shift
terminus ad quem: a goal or finishing point; a final limiting point in time
(Latin)
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2.16 Of Proofs in Puddings and Roosters in Cabbage Soup 133
the (cabbage) soup, get into a mess’ is known to every Russian speaker in just that
form but is actually a historically degenerate version of the phrase popast’ kak kur v
óshchip (пoпacть кaк кyp в óщип) ‘end up being plucked like a rooster’, where kur
‘cock, rooster’ is the archaic or dialectal word for Modern Russian petux, and
óshchip is the suffixless deverbal noun ‘plucking [clean]’ < oshchipat’ ‘pluck
[clean]’.
Notice: the meaninglessness of the contemporary form, where the final conso-
nant [p] of óshchip has been apocopated, occasioning a metanalysis and a con-
comitant reinterpretation (v óshchip > vó shchi), and the preposition in vó shchi
appears irregularly with the stressed full vowel [ó], is exactly parallel to the English
example. Just as proofs are not to be found as ingredients of puddings, no recipe—
Russian or otherwise—calls for a rooster to go into cabbage soup, although such a
bird can sensibly end up getting plucked.
Glossary
lexica, pl. n. < lexicon, n.: the words of a language considered as a group
paroemic, adj. < paroemia, n.: a proverb or adage; aphorism
paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same word is used in
different senses or words similar in sound are set in opposition so as to
give antithetical force
Every language has proverbs. English, Russian, and Japanese have not only the
largest lexica but also the greatest number of proverbs with the most comprehensive
Japanese proverb dictionaries approaching a six-figure total. English in all its
varieties differs from Russian and Japanese in the ecological prominence of pro-
verbs in actual use, which is to say that speakers and writers of English no longer
habitually recur to proverbs. When was the last time you uttered the words—or
heard anyone else say—A stitch in time saves nine?
By contrast, Russians and Japanese sprinkle their speech with proverbs at every
turn. This paroemic predilection has nothing to do with the speaker’s class or
education, nor with urban versus agrarian social context. When a Russian resorts to
the proverb na net i suda net—literally, ‘to a NO there’s no justice/court’—to
express resignation before an insuperable impasse, they are employing a piece of
paronomasia that conveys its meaning with a poetic punch not available to a purely
discursive statement.
Beyond paronomasia, there is also the frequent special force of figuration con-
jured up in proverbs that is colligated with their analogical imagery. When a
Japanese says setchin-mushi mo tokorobiiki (雪隠虫も所贔屓) ‘even the dung
134 2 Meanings
beetle loves its own bailiwick’, a whole world far removed from contemporary
mores comes to life that endows the utterance’s context with a particular purport.
The linguistic ecology of modern-day English is, by comparison, all the poorer for
having abjured the paroemic riches at its disposal.
Glossary
Anglophone, adj.: pertaining to an English-speaking person, especially one in
a country where two or more languages are spoken
forma mentis: form of mind; mental framework (Latin)
No other language than English has expressions with equivalents for the word show
to mean being in charge (“running the show”). In fact, the modern European
languages (cf. R shou) have borrowed E show for varieties of theatrical presentation
because they lack equivalents that would straddle the whole semantic range of this
useful little word. But what the expression betrays is something much deeper, going
to the most fundamental characterization of the English nation, to wit, that THE
WHOLE WORLD IS A STAGE. Shakespeare was only putting into words what has been
known about his nation from the beginning of time. (That outlook also accounts for
the fact that English philosophers have no metaphysics.)
Apropos, note the spread of words like actor and player in contemporary
Anglophone discourse as substitutes for participant and other words meaning
‘person in charge, important personage’. What’s uppermost for the English forma
mentis as expressed in language use is “putting on a good show” and “making a good
show of it,” hence the typical British expression “good show!” to signify approval.
Glossary
catachrestic, adj. < catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase;
the use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
fillip, n.: a spur or impetus; an embellishment that excites or stimulates
When words or phrases occupy adjacent or overlapping semantic fields they may
begin to interfere with each other in the sense that one contaminates the other,
thereby changing usage such that the contaminated version supplants the earlier one.
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2.19 Semantic Contamination 135
Glossary
bathetic, adj. < bathos, n.: insincere or grossly sentimental pathos; banality;
triteness
nullity, n.: the state of being null or nothing: want of efficacy or force;
nothingness
When the first Gulf War (“Desert Storm”) broke out, I invented a joke, which goes
as follows:
Question: “Where’s Kuwait?”
Answer: “Between a rock and a hard place.”
Now, whatever humor this inanity may exhibit depends on the new pronunci-
ation of Iraq as [ɨrɑ́k] instead of the traditional [ɨrǽk].
But what I want to concentrate on is the non-jocular sense of the answer, which
everybody knows is a fixed expression meaning “confronted with equally
unpleasant alternatives and few or no opportunities to evade or circumvent them.”
136 2 Meanings
In the modern period, now more than ever due to the spread of electronic media,
popular culture seeps upward into high culture, whereas in the pre-modern period
the reverse was true. In particular, this (invidious) movement from below has come
to affect the terminology of classical music, as follows.
Forty or fifty years ago, no classical musician would have been caught dead
referring to an engagement as a “gig,” a word which applied strictly to jazz but is
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2.21 The Jazzification of Musical Terminology 137
now routinely uttered by young and old alike when referring to classical music. Nor
would the syntactic means to designate performing on an instrument in classical
music have omitted the direct article, as is routine in jazz. Thus, whereas one says
“on the saxophone” in naming the soloist in the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto in E
flat major (Opus 109A), a jazz musician’s role is designated as “on sax,” e.g., “John
Coltrane on sax.” Note also the typical abbreviation of the instrument’s full name in
referring to jazz instruments, a usage not to be found in the language of classical
music (except for words canonized by tradition such as “cello” for violoncello and
“bass” for contrabass).
Glossary
hypertrophy, n.: inordinate or pathological enlargement
Glossary
hypocoristic, adj.: endearing; belong to affective vocabulary
onomastic, adj.: of, relating to, or explaining a name or names
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
timbre, n.: the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from
other sounds of the same pitch and volume
138 2 Meanings
During the last half-century there has been a noticeable increase in a particular kind
of first names for girls, specifically non-traditional forenames that derive from
largely Anglo-Saxon surnames and end orthographically in -(e)y or -i(e) (pro-
nounced identically, i.e., [-iy]). Whereas in earlier times this (quasi-)suffix—which
also occurs in boys’ nicknames that are abbreviations (Bobby < Robert,
Mickey < Michael, etc.)—modified (mainly WASP) girls’ nicknames like Missy,
Sissy, or Trixie, it is now the unifying mark of popular Christian names like Tiffany,
Kimberly, Hailey, Ashley, Avery, Kaylee, Riley, Bailey, Aubrey, Kiley, Sidney,
Mackenzie, and even Serenity, Trinity, and Destiny, not to speak of older staples
like Emily, Lily, Lucy, Molly, Naomi, etc. (NB: all these names—except for Missy,
Sissy, and Trixie—are drawn from the list of 100 most popular girls’ names
compiled by the Social Security Administration for May 2011.)
Forenames like Ashley and Kimberly have the advantage of sounding like sur-
names while maintaining a tie with hypocoristic vocabulary, which means that they
can do double duty for children and for adults, and not be mistaken for nicknames
despite their phonetic resemblance to the latter.
It is clear that the attractiveness of names ending in [-iy] stems to a considerable
extent from the (subconscious?) desire of parents to infantilize their female off-
spring in perpetuity, a motive that does not apply to males for obvious reasons. This
onomastic trend is evidently of a piece with another linguistic feature, viz. the
infantilization of female vocal timbre (“little girl voice”) beyond childhood into
adolescence and adulthood, a trend that has been increasing in North American
English for several decades, and that can only have the lamentable effect of subtly
undermining some of the social gains of the feminist revolution.
Glossary
catachrestic, adj. < catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase;
the use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
elision, n.: the act or an instance of omitting something
In the essay entitled “Issues 6¼ Problems” (vide supra) I broached the subject of a
failure of thought associated with the substitution of the words issue and challenge
for problem in contemporary speech and writing. The nub of this failure is the
elision of the semantic core of the word problem when using the other two.
Mathematical and related uses aside, the word problem necessarily connotes
SOMETHING WRONG, implying a need for rectification. By contrast, the words issue
and challenge are noncommittal as to wrongness, the former properly connoting
something inviting discussion, the latter connoting a difficulty to be overcome. So
that by substituting the latter two words for problem, when something is patently
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2.24 The Vocabulary of Self-Delusion 139
wrong, one is effectively deluding oneself (and possibly one’s interlocutors) into
thinking either (1) that no problem sensu stricto exists; or (2) that whatever is
wrong can necessarily be rectified (or both). These are typically American instances
of a blithely optimistic outlook undergirded by a value system that eschews ana-
lytical rigor in speech and thought.
Such self-delusion can be dangerous, particularly in the political arena. It is
favored, of course, by media language, whose practitioners work hand in glove with
politicians and their minders in “crafting” messages that are meant to thwart
thought. It is no surprise, then, to hear President Barack Obama constantly sub-
stituting challenge for problem, as in the catachrestic phrase “solving our fiscal
challenge,” which he uttered in the course of his appearance on 2/17/2010 at the
White House before an audience of small-business leaders (reported by Andrea
Seabrook, “Commission Charged With Controlling Federal Deficit,” NPR,
Morning Edition, February 18, 2010; also reported by Sheryl Gay Stolberg,
“Obama and Republicans Clash Over Stimulus Bill, One Year Later,” The New
York Times, National Edition, 2/18/2010, p. A16). Here is another instance of the
substitution in the same issue of the newspaper, this time from the pen of a marriage
and family therapist writing on the Op-Ed page: “This challenge is not as great as
widespread preconceptions would suggest.” [referring in the preceding sentence to
the damage suffered by children when their parents divorce] (Ruth Bettelheim, “No
Fault of Their Own,” p. A 21).
This usage has been adopted not only by non-Americans but by non-native
speakers of English as well—no surprise, of course, seeing as how American media
language has come to be the main vehicle for the transmission of English
throughout the world. Thus, again in the same issue of The New York Times, an
Israeli identified as the director of the Center for International Communications at
Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Eytan Gilboa, is quoted as saying “This coun-
try’s main challenges are the false comparison people make with an apartheid state
and the questioning of its right to exist” (Ethan Bronner, “Positive Views of Israel,
Brought to You by Israelis” (p. A6). No example could be more strongly illustrative
of the self-delusory nature of the substitution of challenges for problems.
Glossary
argosy, n.: a rich source or supply
aureole, n.: a quality, condition, or circumstance that surrounds and glorifies
a given object
constituent, n.: a functional unit of a grammatical construction, as a verb,
noun phrase, or clause
icon, n.: a sign exhibiting a similarity relation to its object (meaning)
140 2 Meanings
iconic, adj.: of, relating to, or having the character of an icon [vide supra];
exhibiting iconicity [vide infra]
iconism, n. = iconicity, n.: the conceived similarity or analogy between the
form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
marked, adj.: clearly defined and evident; noticeable
morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic)
form
onomastic, adj.: of, relating to, or explaining a name or names
tant pis: so much the worse (French)
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as
sweet.” (Romeo and Juliet [II, ii, 1–2]). When Juliet utters these words, little does
she know how wrong she is, both in the play and generally. Every name has a
particular semantic aureole, and its meaningfulness can be enhanced by its relative
transparency, both as to constituent structure (if any) and its iconic potential. In the
event, the beauty—here, the goodness of fit—is definitely in the ear of the beholder.
Languages and cultures differ quite widely in the latitude they countenance as to
onomastic structure and use. With reference to fore- and surnames, there are cultures
(like Indonesian) in which persons typically go by only one name (cf. some per-
formers in Western cultures). If they regularly allot more than one name to their
members, there may be a range of variability, such as middle names beside first and
last names in Anglo-Saxon and Romance countries. Russian occupies a unique place
with its de rigueur triplet of forename, patronymic (father’s name modified by a
suffix), and surname, the latter two differing—within morphological limitations—
according to the sex of the bearer (e.g., the daughter of Mikhail Konstantinovich
[Michael, son of Constantine] is always known as Avigeia Mikhajlovna [Abigail,
daughter of Michael], regardless of a change in surname through marriage, etc.).
Some cultures (like Hungarian and Japanese) impose a reverse order of given and
family names compared to that of Western European ones, viz. last name before first.
What is interesting in the American context is the huge variety of naming
practices, owing to the fact of the multicultural population and the historical per-
sistence of certain patterns inherited from bygone eras, such as giving offspring the
mother’s maiden name as a forename. The upshot is an impression that any
combination is possible, but this is not strictly so. Jews, for instance, adhere tra-
ditionally to Biblical forenames preceding obviously Jewish surnames, although
this custom is undergoing fragmentation, so that one now encounters formerly
unthinkable combinations like “Kevin Shapiro” or “Scott Goldberg.” And the
Anglophone Chinese, particularly in Hong Kong, have, of course, long masked
their proper given names by substituting Christian ones.
Depending on knowledge of and sensitivity to language, each speaker of American
English will have a reaction to or evaluation of the particular combination of names
borne by someone else in the culture, ranging from neutral to marked. The unusu-
alness or rarity of a surname, for instance, may elicit questions as to its provenience.
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2.25 What’s in a Name? 141
Returning to the Shakespeare lines with which this discussion began, one should
note that “Rose” is nowhere to be found among the hundred currently most popular
girls’ given names in America, having been elbowed out by argosies of Tiffanys,
Courtneys, Kimberlys et al. Tant pis!
2.26 Willy-Nilly
Glossary
Americanism, n.: a word, phrase, or idiom characteristic of English as it is
spoken in the United States
nec plus ultra: the highest point, as of excellence or achievement; the ultimate
(Latin)
adv.
1. Whether desired or not: After her boss fell sick, she willy-nilly found
herself directing the project.
2. Without order or plan; haphazardly.
adj.
1. Being or occurring whether desired or not: willy-nilly cooperation.
2. Disordered; haphazard: willy-nilly zoning laws.
[Alteration of will ye (or he), nill ye (or he), be you (or he) willing, be you (or
he) unwilling.]
Compare the above with the following entry in the Oxford English Dictionary
Online:
A. adv.
Whether it be with or against the will of the person or persons concerned;
whether one likes it or not; willingly or unwillingly, nolens volens.
142 2 Meanings
1608 T. Middleton Trick to catch Old-one i. sig. B, Thou shalt trust mee spite
of thy teeth, furnish me with some money, wille nille.
1797 E. Berkeley in G. M. Berkeley Poems Pref. p. ccxxix, But her Ladyship
would, willi nilhi, constantly join the one who drank the waters every
morning, and converse with her.
1807 Salmagundi 25 Apr. 166 He was sure, willy nilly, to be drenched with a
deluge of decoctions.
1818 J. Brown Psyche 121 From whence it follows, will y’ nill y’, The thought
of your’s is mighty silly.
1884 A. Griffiths Chron. Newgate II. vii. 306 He?conceived an idea of carrying
her off and marrying her willy nilly at Gretna Green.
1898 L. Stephen Stud. of Biographer II. vii. 272 You are engaged in the game
willy-nilly, and cannot be a mere looker-on.
B. adj.
1. That is such, or that takes place, whether one will or no.
1877 Tennyson Harold v. i, And someone saw thy willy-nilly nun Vying a
tress against our golden fern.
1880 Cornhill Mag. Feb. 182 All willy-nilly spinsters went to the canine
race to be consoled.
1882 Tennyson Promise of May ii. 119 If man be only A willy-nilly current
of sensations.
2. erron. Undecided, shilly-shally.
1883 F. Galton Inquiries into Human Faculty 57 The willy-nilly disposition
of the female in matters of love is as apparent in the butterfly as in the man.
1898 W. Besant Orange Girl ii. vi, Let us have no more shilly shally, willy
nilly talk.
When confronted with the semantic Americanism ‘haphazard (ly)’ from the
AHD, the person who prompted this essay, Jacobus (alias Pops), wrote: “Could the
dictionary be wrong? I was unaware of ‘willy nilly’ being used to mean ‘haphazard’
or ‘disoriented’.”
His query, it should be noted, is pure Goliadkin, the protagonist of Dostoevsky’s
masterful fiction, The Double [Двoйник]. To be convinced of the aptness of the
identification, read this early (1846) novella and then see the nec plus ultra exegesis by
Marianne Shapiro in Russian Literature, 56 (2004), 441–482 (revised version as ch.
2 in her book, The Sense of Form in Literature and Language, 2nd, exp. ed. [2009]).
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2.27 “You’re Correct:” Hyperurbanism as Hypertrophy 143
Glossary
hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
hyperurbanism, n.: a pronunciation or grammatical form or usage produced by
a speaker of one dialect according to an analogical rule formed by com-
parison of the speaker’s own usage with that of another, more prestigious,
dialect and often applied in an inappropriate context, especially in an effort
to avoid sounding countrified, rural, or provincial; hypercorrection
Glossary
catachrestic, adj. < catachresis, n.: The misapplication of a word or phrase;
the use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
inanition, adj.: the condition or quality of being empty
144 2 Meanings
There is a tendency in latter-day English on both sides of the Atlantic, but espe-
cially in America, to substitute the combination of native verbs + postpositions for
simplex Latinate verbs, e.g., push back for resist, step down for resign, reach out
for extend (oneself), give back for recompense, etc. The last example in particular,
in the meaning of donating or making a contribution (to charity, to the community,
etc.), is now ubiquitous despite being catachrestic (for omitting the direct object,
i.e., giving [something] back).
Although avoidance of the Latinate synonym for an Anglo-Saxon word has long
been recognized as a stylistic desideratum in the service of plainspokenness, there is
no gainsaying the effeteness and vacuity of these verb combinations, since step
down and its congeners have only the fuzziest relation, if any, to the action they
have been lazily adapted to connote.
Glossary
agentive, adj.: of or relating to a linguistic form or construction that indicates
an agent or agency, as the suffix -er in singer
instrumental, adj.: of, relating to, or being the case used typically to express
means, agency, or accompaniment
orthoepic, adj. < orthoepy, n.: the study of the pronunciation of words; the
customary pronunciation of words
When the constituent structure of a word or phrase fades over time, i.e., when the
meaning and resultant separability of the constituents cease to be transparent to the
speakers of a language, the word or phrase may be conflated with another one,
whose meaning is similar, leading to variants that are not on a par orthoepically.
This is what has happened with the phrase on behalf of in the recent history of
(American) English.
More and more in public discourse, instead of on the part of in its strictly
instrumental (agentive) meaning speakers substitute on behalf of, whose traditional
meaning is ‘for the benefit of; in the interest of’ rather than ‘as the agent of; on the
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2.29 Conflation via Opacity of Constituent Structure 145
part of’. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006)
records this substitution and (typically) makes no distinction in its Usage Note:
Usage Note: A traditional rule holds that in behalf of and on behalf of have
distinct meanings. In behalf of means “for the benefit of,” as in We raised money in
behalf of the earthquake victims. On behalf of means “as the agent of, on the part
of,” as in The guardian signed the contract on behalf of the minor child. The two
meanings are quite close, however, and the phrases are often used interchangeably,
even by reputable writers.
But as the etymological data in the Oxford English Dictionary Online entry give
one to understand, the present-day ascription of purely instrumental meaning to on
behalf of, by which this phrase is equated with on the part of, is a misconstrual of
its structure. Here are the two relevant etymologies, for half and behalf,
respectively:
Etymology: A Common Germanic n.: Old English healf (feminine) = Old
Saxon halƀa (Middle Dutch, Middle Low German halve), Old High German halba
(Middle High German halbe), Old Norse halfa (hálfa), Gothic halba side, half …
The oldest sense in all the languages is ‘side’.
Etymology: Used only in the phrases on, in behalf (of), in, on (his, etc.) behalf,
which arose about 1300, by the blending of the two earlier constructions on his
halve and bihalve him, both meaning ‘by or on his side’ … By the mixture of these
in the construction on his bihalve, … previously a preposition, and originally a
phrase, be healfe ‘by (the) side,’ became treated, so far as construction goes, as a n.,
and had even a plural behalfes, behalfs in 16–17th cent. The final -e of Middle
English was the dative ending. In modern use, construed either with a possessive
pronoun (in my behalf) a possessive case (in the king’s behalf), or with of (in behalf
of the starving population); the choice being determined by considerations of
euphony and perspicuity. Formerly of was sometimes omitted.
The explanation for the misconstrual and resulting conflation of the two phrases
is to be sought in the opacity of the word behalf, which has no currency outside of
the two idiomatic phrases noted.
Glossary
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed
from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or
undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from
sing, or by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or
base, as electricity from electric
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the
addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form
146 2 Meanings
Grammatical form may have an emotive force as is the case with gender in those
languages where gender distinctions are an obligatory category of grammatical
structure. This is not to confuse biological sex with gender. In German, for instance,
a maiden (das Mädchen) is neuter, and in Russian a male servant (sluga) is
desinentially (inflectionally) feminine while being of masculine gender (a female
servant is called prisluga—also of feminine gender).
In those cases where feminine and non-feminine are opposed in the designation
of biological sex, the non-feminine—alias masculine—is the unmarked (generic)
member of the opposition because it applies to both sexes, whereas the feminine is
marked, being applicable exclusively to the female of the species. Thus in Russian,
the unmarked word for ‘donkey’ is osël (ocёл), whereas the word for ‘she-ass’ is
formed by adding a suffix {-ica} to the deriving base {osl-}, resulting in oslítsa
(ocлицa). This sort of play of derivational morphology can be accompanied by
emotive force, as in the English compound jackass, which is marked with respect to
the simplex ass. Interestingly enough, the Russian pejorative counterpart of jackass
is the masculine noun osël (not the feminine oslítsa).
This is all by way of introducing a familiar Bible story known as Balaam’s Ass
that appears in Numbers 22:
21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of
Moab. 22 And God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD
placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass,
and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in
the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and
went into the field; and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 24 Then the angel of
the LORD stood in a hollow way between the vineyards, a fence being on this side, and a
fence on that side. 25 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD, and she thrust herself unto
the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; and he smote her again. 26 And the
angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn
either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD, and she lay
down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with his staff.
28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam: ‘What have I
done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?’ 29 And Balaam said unto the
ass: ‘Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had
killed thee.’ 30 And the ass said unto Balaam: ‘Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast
ridden all thy life long unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?’ And he said:
‘Nay.’ 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD
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2.30 Emotive Force and the Sense of Form (Balaam’s Ass) 147
standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on
his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him: ‘Wherefore hast thou smitten thine
ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is contrary
unto me; 33 and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; unless she
had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.’
Now, the Hebrew original uses an archaic word of feminine gender athon ()ָהאָ֜תוֹן
‘female donkey’, which is reproduced in the Vulgate (L asina [fem.] rather than
asinus [masc.]), and not the newer masculine hamor (‘ )ֲחמוֹרmale donkey’. The
upshot of the feminine gender to designate the animal for the emotive force of the
word in the Biblical narrative is stylistically crucial. All the poignancy of the
animal’s suffering is tied up with its biological sex as conveyed by its grammatical
gender. Therefore, those translations which use donkey or ass instead of she-ass are
necessarily scanting the emotional core of this marvelous story.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
back-formation, n.: a new word created by removing an affix from an already
existing word, as vacuum clean from vacuum cleaner, or by removing
what is mistakenly thought to be an affix, as pea from the earlier English
plural pease
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
nonce word: a word used only ‘for the nonce’, i.e., for the specific purpose
substantive, n.: a noun
viva voce: by word of mouth (Latin ‘live voice’)
Glossary
sprezzatura, n.: ease of manner, studied carelessness; the appearance of acting
or being done without effort; spec. of literary style or performance
(Italian)
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2.33 Disfluent Like: Toward a Typology 149
Glossary
anaesthetic, adj.: producing, or connected with the production of,
insensibility
apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil or danger
approximative, adj.: pertaining to or embodying an approximation
disfluent < disfluency, n.: impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent
speech; an interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the
repetition of a word or syllable
extragrammatically, adv. < extragrammatical, adj.: outside of or going
against grammar
figurative, adj.: transferred in sense from literal or plain to abstract or
hypothetical (as by the expression of one thing in terms of another with
which it can be regarded as analogous)
filler, n.: a short word or phrase that is largely devoid of meaning and has
mostly a phatic function
nonce, adj.: the one, particular, or present occasion, purpose, or use
ontologically, adv. < ontological, adj. < ontology, n.: the science or study of
being; that branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature or essence of
being or existence
parasitical, adj.: dependent but contributing or producing little or nothing
phatic, adj.: employing or involving speech for the purpose of revealing or
sharing feelings or establishing an atmosphere of sociability rather than
for communicating ideas
quotative, adj.: pertaing to or embodying a quotation
ticastic, adj. < tic, n.: a frequent usually unconscious quirk of behavior or
speech
verisimilar, adj.: having the appearance of truth
viva voce: by word of mouth; expressed or conducted by word of mouth
(3) QUOTATIVE:as a prefatory marker before the report of someone else’s utterance
(s) or inner speech;
(4) APPROXIMATIVE: as a means of qualifying the extent or validity of the word or
phrase immediately following, including its literal meaning;
(5) ANAESTHETIC: as a way of deflecting the assertory force of anything following,
usually as an apotropaism.
Prompted by new specimens of raw speech overheard viva voce into thinking
further about the distribution of approximative and quotative like, I now suspect that
the latter may be derivative of the former. The logic behind this relation resides in
the implied judgment that no report of direct or indirect speech can ever be precise
because only the speech act itself—and not its retelling—can ever authentically
stand for itself. By this logic, no statement of anything that contains figurative
expressions can ever be considered verisimilar. With respect to the use of the word
like, this would then have the advantage of accounting as well for the currently
ticastic British qualifying phrase (pre- or post-posed), if you like.
At bottom, all these modern-day extensions derive from and are parasitical on
the word’s original meaning and its membership in the grammatical categories of
adverb, preposition, and conjunction. What unites these originary uses is the
fundamental sense of SIMILARITY underlying all of them.
While it might be ontologically defensible to assert that some degree of similarity is
characteristic of all relations, in this case what is being undermined is the very concept
of IDENTITY. More precisely, the promiscuous extension of like in contemporary speech
can be seen as yet another manifestation—here, linguistic—of the general historical
tendency in American culture toward THE LEVELING OF ALL HIERARCHIES.
Glossary
abstracta, n. [pl]: abstract words (Latin)
desinence, n.: a grammatical suffix or ending
hyperurbanism, n.: a form, pronunciation, or usage that overreaches cor-
rectness in an effort to avoid provincial speech
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the
addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form
of a base, as in English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical
features such as number, person, mood, or tense
morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic) form
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2.34 A Grammatical Hyperurbanism 151
There are some speakers of American English for whom the plural of process
involves altering the inserted unstressed vowel of the desinence {-s} from [ɨ] to [iy]
so that processes is pronounced [prɔś ɛsíyz], as if it were a word of Greek origin via
Latin, like basis or thesis or hypothesis, which regularly alter the last vowel to form
plurals without adding a desinence (thus pl. bases, theses, hypotheses.
Noting that the regular alternation of the final vowel occurs in abstracta that
belong by definition to originally learnèd—and hence stylistically elevated—vo-
cabulary, the pronunciation of processes as if it were similarly of Graeco-Latin
origin (which it is not) can only be adjudged a HYPERURBANISM (hypercorrection), in
that speakers who resort to it (subconsciously) analogize its inflectional morphol-
ogy to that of analysis or neurosis rather than glass or ace. Whether this mistaken
plural form should also be considered an affectation—as with all hyperurbanisms—
is in the ear of the beholder.
Idioms are fixed phrases that are normally not subject to alteration, proverbs being
the longest of such constructions. Any of the components of idioms may have a set
of (near-) synonyms, but these semantic alternatives are not available for substi-
tution in idiomatic expressions. Thus, one says “break a leg,” but not “break a foot,”
when one intends the to wish someone good luck.
Apropos, words that name the parts of the body are particularly frequent in
idioms in all languages. A generalized reference to the head in American English,
for example, can be made by using head, mind, brain, cranium, skull, noggin,
noodle/noddle, pate, etc. But the contemporary idiom “get one’s head around”
cannot be altered, though one occasionally hears even native speakers mistakenly
tampering with it in utterances recorded by the broadcast media.
Parenthetically, the professional linguist’s injunction to “Leave your language
alone” not only encourages users to turn a deaf ear to prescriptivism but may also
license a linguistic freedom which turns a blind eye to error.
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2.37 Pity and Its Lexical Congeners 153
forms were differentiated, so that pieté, which more closely represented the
Latin form, was used in the original Latin sense, while pitié retained
the extended sense. In Middle English, both pity n. and piety n. are found first in
the sense ‘compassion’, and subsequently in the sense ‘piety’, and the differ-
entiation in sense is not complete until the 17th cent.
It is both interesting and germane to realize that pity is related to piety and pious,
whose classical Latin etymon pius means ‘dutiful, devout’:
pious
a. Of an action, thought, resolve, etc.: characterized by, expressing, or resulting
from true reverence and obedience to God; devout, religious
b. Of a person: having or showing reverence and obedience to God; faithful to
religious duties and observances; devout, godly, religious.
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman piu, pi, etc. and Middle French pius (end of 10th
cent. in Old French) and its etymon classical Latin pius dutiful, pious, devout
(cognate with Oscan piíhiúí, Umbrian pihaz; perhaps related to classical Latin
pūrus pure adj.) + -ous suffix, perhaps after Middle French pieux (1st quarter of
15th cent.; compare Old French pieus, pious; French pieux). Compare Old
Occitan pis, piu (c1070), Catalan (rare) pio (1560), Spanish pío (late 14th cent.),
Italian pio (1255 or earlier).
Mercy is subtended by a moral compass pointing toward a different azimuth, the
most surprising datum being its origin in the language of commerce (payment and
reward):
mercy
a. Clemency and compassion shown to a person who is in a position of power-
lessness or subjection, or to a person with no right or claim to receive kindness;
kind and compassionate treatment in a case where severity is merited or
expected, esp. in giving legal judgment or passing sentence.
b. spec. Forbearance, compassion, or forgiveness shown by God (or a god) to
sinful humanity, or to a particular person or soul.
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman merci, mercie, Old French merci (c1000; Middle
French, French merci), mercet (c1000), mercit (c900) < classical Latin mercēd-,
mercēs wages, fee, bribe, rent, price, commodity (in post-classical Latin also:
favour, grace (see further below)), cognate with merx (see market n.). Compare
Old Occitan merce favour, mercy, thanks (12th cent.), Catalan mercè favour,
mercy, thanks (c1200), Spanish merced reward, favour (1207), Portuguese
mercê payment, reward, favour (13th cent.), Italian mercè grace, mercy, (arch.)
reward, thanks (13th cent.), mercede payment, reward, (arch.) mercy (13th
cent.).
The basic sense ‘wages, payment, reward for service’, present in classical Latin,
survives in several Romance languages, but this sense seems not to have been
present in Gallo-Romance (Middle French, French †mercede is a
borrowing < Spanish: see merced n.). Senses attested in post-classical Latin include
154 2 Meanings
‘pity, favour, (secular) grace, heavenly reward’ (6th cent.), ‘thanks’ (9th cent.), and
the earliest senses attested in Old French are ‘pity, (secular or divine) grace, dis-
cretionary judgement, mercy’. Except in certain fixed expressions, merci is in
modern French chiefly restricted to use as noun or interjection in the sense ‘thanks’
attested in Old French from the mid 12th cent., frequently in the phrase grand merci
(see gramercy int.); in religious application merci has in French been largely
superseded by miséricorde misericord n.
The Middle English adoption < Anglo-Norman shows stress-shifting and
shortening of the final vowel, although, in common with many other words
showing Middle English ĭ of various origins in a post-tonic syllable, variants with
secondary stress and the reflex of Middle English ī in the second syllable are
recorded in the early modern period by orthoepists. Forms in a show normal late
Middle English lowering of e to a before r. Regional pronunciations with loss of /r/
and a short vowel in the first syllable probably result from assimilation of /r/ to a
following /s/.
Contrast the above with the history of the word compassion:
compassion
The feeling or emotion, when a person is moved by the suffering or distress of
another, and by the desire to relieve it; pity that inclines one to spare or to succour.
Etymology: < French compassion (14th cent. in Littré), < late Latin compassiōn-
em (Tertullian, Jerome), n. of action < compati (participial stem compass-) to suffer
together with, feel pity, < com- together with + pati to suffer.
That even the designation of the most fundamentally benign emotions can
become linguistically perverted is attested by the partial historical coalescence of
the adjectives pitiful and pitiable:
pitiful
1. Full of or characterized by pity; compassionate, merciful, tender.
2. Characterized by piety; devout.
3. Arousing or apt to arouse pity; deserving pity; moving, affecting.
4. Evoking pitying contempt; very small, poor, or meagre; paltry; inadequate,
insignificant; despicable, contemptible.
How pity came to be degraded in meaning from ‘loving-kindness’ to ‘contempt’
would be an object lesson in human morals were its trajectory not a commonplace
of historical semantics.
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2.38 Seeing Is Not Hearing 155
conducting. Given that the utterance’s reference (to a concert performance and
venue) excluded merely listening to a recording, it is significant that a member of
the younger generation chose to elevate seeing over hearing.
This example of rehierarchization of the two senses involved in the speech of
younger speakers could be multiplied manyfold. It testifies yet again (see earlier
essays) to the inroads of popular culture (specifically, rock and jazz) into the sphere
of classical music, audiences for which are, alas, graying apace. Moreover, as a
cultural datum evidenced by language use, it tends to support the widespread
valorization of seeing over hearing, whatever the domain, in a culture that has long
prized exhibitionism.
Glossary
hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
hyperurbanism, n.: a pronunciation or grammatical form or usage produced by
a speaker of one dialect according to an analogical rule formed by com-
parison of the speaker’s own usage with that of another, more prestigious,
dialect and often applied in an inappropriate context, especially in an effort
to avoid sounding countrified, rural, or provincial; hypercorrection
irrefragable, adj.: impossible to refute or controvert; indisputable
penchant, n.: a definite liking; a strong inclination
purlieus, n. pl: environs, neighborhood; precincts, contexts; n. sg.: a place
where one may range at large; confines or bounds.
valorization, n. < valorize, v.: To give or assign a value to
Glossary
irrefragably, adv. < irrefragable, adj.: impossible to refute or controvert;
indisputable
paronomastic, adj. < paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same
word is used in different senses or words similar in sound are set in
opposition so as to give antithetical force
purlieu, n.: a place where one may range at large; confines or bounds.
There are some idioms in English which differ slightly as between American and
British versions. Thus, for instance, sweep under the carpet in British English
comes out as sweep under the rug in American. Similarly, bat an eyelash in
American English corresponds to bat an eyelid in British. Both versions, to be sure,
can be heard in both varieties of English, but the preferential forms are as stated.
It is, of course, foolhardy to generalize on the basis of a mere two examples, but
the trend is worth noting nonetheless. American English tends to use the parono-
mastically full-fledged [NOT “fully-fledged!”] version, which involves the repetition
of vowels (both stressed and unstressed)—hence the rhyme of American under and
rug or bat and eyelash, lacking in the British version.
Whatever the (cultural) cause, even these isolated examples make it irrefragably
clear that paronomasia is patently not the exclusive purlieu of poets.
Glossary
aperçu, n.: a short outline or summary; a synopsis (< French)
portmanteau, n., adj.: a word formed by blending sounds from two or more
distinct words and combining their meanings, e.g., smog from smoke +
fog (< French)
slough, n.: a depression or hollow, usually filled with deep mud or mire; a
state of deep despair or moral degradation
tant pis: so much the worse (French)
An earlier vignette (Sect. 2.32 above) was an aperçu of the subject of blends or
portmanteau words, for which there is now a decided vogue, especially in advertising
and the media. In the spirit of this trend, here is a coinage—stupidity + depravity—
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2.41 The Vogue for Portmanteau Words (*Stupravity) 157
that will perhaps gain some notoriety when and if book that introduces it, A Word
Paints a Thousand Pictures: The Consolation of Philosophy in the Age of Stupravity,
is ever published.
This planned first foray into the sloughs of social criticism will bring an ancient
genre to bear on the moral topography of twenty-first-century America and consist
of an imaginary dialogue between Confucius and Boethius (the influential Latin
philosopher [ca. 480–524 or 525 AD]), moderated by Lady Philosophy. No mean
task. And realistically, not likely ever to see the light of day. Tant pis!
Glossary
antonym, n.: a word having a meaning opposite to that of another word
sensu stricto: in the strict sense, strictly speaking (Latin)
Glossary
abut, v.: to bring (two things) together
forma mentis: form of thought (Latin)
scant, v.: to give scant attention to
158 2 Meanings
Glossary
cartographer, n.: map maker
recumbent, adj.: having a horizontal position; lying down
All thought is in language. Plato says (in a number of his dialogues, for instance, in
the Cratylus) that thought is the conversation of the soul with (phases of) itself.
What comes into thought when this conversation takes place is another matter. In
the first instance, the dialogic aspect is determined in large part by the memory of
past experiences as these are brought to the forefront of one’s consciousness;
secondarily, by external stimuli.
Here is a contemporary example. Standing outside the New York Public Library
at the entrance to the Research Library on Fifth Avenue and Forty-Second Street in
Manhattan and waiting to be allowed in, I turn around to see the two sculptured
recumbent lions on their pedestals that guard the building on the Fifth Avenue side.
This immediately summons forth the Latin phrase my beloved wife Marianne (a
Latinist and medievalist) taught me long ago, Hic sunt leones ‘here are lions’,
which was to be found on ancient maps to signify that the cartographer did not have
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2.44 Hic Sunt Leones 159
knowledge of what lay beyond the boundary at that point (and assumed that wild
beasts lurked there).
Clearly, the Latin phrase was triggered by the stone lions outside the Library.
But it could not have been part of my thought in an immediately summonable
linguistic form without the cherished memory of the person who taught the phrase
to me.
Glossary
affricate, n. < adj.: a complex speech sound consisting of a stop consonant
followed by a fricative; for example, the initial sounds of child and joy
à la française: ‘in the French style’ (French)
et al.: abbreviation for Latin et alia ‘and others’
fatuous, adj.: foolish, pretentious, and silly, especially in a smug or
self-satisfied way
Frenchification, n. < Frenchify, v.: to make French in qualities, traits, or
typical ideas or practices; to make superficially or spuriously French in
qualities or actions
fricative, n. < adj.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the
forcing of breath through a constricted passage
gloss, v.: to insert glosses or comments on; to comment upon, explain,
interpret
orthographic, adj. < orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
pace, prep.: with all due respect or courtesy to
phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
Q. E. D., abbrev.: quod erat demonstrandum (Latin) ‘which was to be
demonstated’
quasi-, adv.: as if; as it were; in a manner; in some sense or degree
ultima, n.: last syllable (Latin)
With the recent death of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, there has been a
fatuous flurry of stories in the media about his life and times. In the broadcast media
this has involved saying his surname in English countless times. In that connection,
one hears frequent instances of a known mispronunciation of the name, viz. the
substitution of the fricative [š] for the affricate [č] as the initial consonant, which is
at complete odds with Spanish phonetics. The reason for this mistake has an
interesting history.
160 2 Meanings
Glossary
aspect, n.: a verbal category of which the function is to express action or
being in respect of its inception, duration, or completion, etc.
deverbal, adj.: derived from a verb
icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related to its object by
similarity
idem, n.: the same as previously given or mentioned (Latin)
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2.46 Iconicity in Action (Singulative Deverbal Nouns) 161
Glossary
ad hoc: for the particular end or purpose at hand and without reference to
wider application or employment (Latin)
162 2 Meanings
Dictionaries of a major language like English are full of obsolete and obsolescent
vocabulary, words that are recorded in written repositories but circumscribed by
historical periodization and rarely uttered in everyday speech. Knowledge of such
vocabulary is subject to inter-generational slippage. Older speakers may have it as
part of their education, experience, or passive knowledge. But younger speakers,
who have no living access to words and phrases belonging to past manners and
morals, typically encounter them only as part of book learning at best, as when
exposed to knights-errant in reading Don Quixote.
The gradual but inexorable oblivion of the lexical riches of a language becomes
apparent, for instance, when one teaches a class of twenty eighteen-year-olds in a
course on Masterpieces of European Literature at an Ivy League university. All are
native speakers of contemporary American English, but in discussing the so-called
marriage plot in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, one quickly discovers that
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2.47 Generational Slippage in the Retention of Obsolescent Vocabulary 163
words and phrases such as go-between, marriage portion, portionless, chattel, etc.
are not even part of the students’ passive word stock (although dowry is) and have
to be glossed ad hoc. One could take the view, of course, that it is fortunate for the
current generation that the mores of twenty-first-century American mating and
marriage rituals dispense with all the baggage that used to be the ineluctable burden
of young women (in particular) seeking to make their way in a man’s world. Sic
transeunt onera mundi.
Glossary
affect, n.: the conscious emotion that occurs in reaction to a thought or
experience
affective, adj.: expressing emotion
affix, n.: a sound or sequence of sounds or, in writing, a letter or sequence of
letters occurring as a bound form attached to the beginning or end of a
word, base, or phrase or inserted within a word or base and serving to
produce a derivative word
augmentative, adj.: indicating large size and sometimes awkwardness or
unattractiveness; used of affixes and of words formed with them (such as
Italian casone “big house,” from casa “house,” and Italian -one in words
like casone)
demotic, adj.: of or relating to the people; common
diminutized, v. < diminutive, adj.: indicating small size and sometimes the
quality or condition of being loved, lovable, pitiable, or contemptible;
used of affixes
gradience, n.: the property of being continuously variable between two
(esp. apparently disjunct) values, categories, etc.; an instance of this
property, a continuum
instantiation, n. < instantiate, v.: to represent (an abstraction or universal) by
a concrete instance
pejorative, adj.: having a tendency to make or become worse; depreciatory,
disparaging
ramified, adj. < ramify, v.: to separate into divisions or ramifications
root, n.: the simple element (as Latin sta) inferred as common to all the words
of a group in a language or in related languages
set, n.: mental inclination, tendency, or habit
stem, n.: the part of an inflected word that remains unchanged except by
phonetic changes or variations throughout a given inflection, is sometimes
164 2 Meanings
identical with the root, but is often derived from it with some formative
suffix
traduttore, traditore: ‘translator, traitor.’ (Italian)
Languages differ in their capacity to grade words according to the emotional set of
the utterer or writer toward the person or thing named by the word. In this respect,
Russian (like the other Slavic languages) is incomparably richer than English or any
other European language, let alone an East Asian one like Japanese, which is almost
totally lacking in affective vocabulary (or profanity, for that matter). Whereas an
English name like Robert can only be diminutized (thus rendered the affectionate
instantiation of the full name) univerbally as Rob, Robbie, Bobbie, and Bob, a
Russian forename like Avdót’ya (as in the name of Raskol’nikov’s sister in
Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment), which is the demotic form of
Evdokíya = Eвдoкия (< Classical and ecclesiastical Greek Eὐdojίa), can be turned
into Dúnya, Dunyásha, Dunyáshen’ka, Dúnechka, Dúnen’ka, Dunyáshechka, etc.
(A full registry of the pet names in Cyrillic could include Дoня [Дoнa], Дocя,
Дoшa, Дycя, Aвдoня, Aвдoxa, Aвдoшa, Aвдyля, Aвдycя.) Beyond the dropping
of all but the medial consonant –d- (preceding the stressed syllable of Avdót’ya) in
this case, each addition of a diminutive suffix to the remaining consonantal stem
comports a further grade of affection, so that the speaker or writer can vary the
emotional investment in the person so addressed by the build-up of affective suf-
fixes. (This is not to touch upon the ramified means at a Russian speaker’s disposal
when going in the opposite direction affectively by adding pejorative or augmen-
tative suffixes to nominal stems, to those of common as well as proper nouns.)
While other aspects of the language of the original may cross over easily into a
translation without appreciable loss of meaning in the round, the force of affective
vocabulary—as the Russian case demonstrates—is liable to be lost completely
when trying to convey the nuances of affect the characters in a novel like Crime and
Punishment feel when speaking, especially when its author evidently places so
much stress on their variable forms.
No wonder one of the older (now obsolete) meanings of traduce was ‘translate’!
Or as they say in Italian, “Traduttore, traditore.”
Glossary
disyllabic, adj.: consisting of two syllables
iconicity, n. < iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically,
a sign related to its object by similarity
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2.49 The Rise of multiple as a Substitute for many 165
For more than a decade or two, contemporary American English speakers have
gotten into the habit of substituting the bookish adjective multiple for the simple
count adjective many, as in the followings usages (adapted from the Merriam-
Webster Unabridged Dictionary online):
1. ‘many, manifold, several’ < multiple achievements in politics and public life— <mul-
tiple minds functioning together>—<multiple copies of a speech> 2. ‘occurring more
than once or in higher degree than the first; repeated’ <multiple roots>
In all of the cited examples, the more direct way of denoting ‘more than few’
would be with the word many. Why, then, is there a trend in recent years to replace
it with multiple?
The answer may be the principle of ICONICITY AS THE TELOS OF
LINGUISTIC CHANGE (cf. Sect. 5.34 below). The word many has only two
syllables, whereas multiple, while seeming orthographically to have two as well, is
actually pronounced with a schwa vowel between the consonants at the end of the
word, making it tri- and not disyllabic. A trisyllabic word is more adequate icon-
ically to the meaning of multiplicity than is a disyllabic one. QED.
There is an alternate explanation, however (the two explanations are comple-
mentary, not mutually exclusive). Multiple may have arisen as a designator of
number because it is non-committal as to whether it means ‘many’ or ‘several’. This
new meaning—something between the two—evidently fits a semantic niche that
speakers and writers wish to exploit when neither many nor several fills the bill.
This new connotation of multiple is: ‘not as few in number as several and not as
great as many’.
Media reporters, particularly of the broadcast stripe, often misuse the word
gentleman, in referring to criminals or terrorists. A man who is EVIDENTLY the
perpetrator of a crime, as is the case of the brothers who committed the Boston
Marathon bombings and related murders—whether the crime has already been
proven at trial or not—ought not to be named in speech or writing by a designation
necessarily comporting a measure of politeness, elevation, or deference toward the
referent. The stylistically appropriate word in such instances is man, not gentleman.
166 2 Meanings
Glossary
affective, n.: (a word or form) expressing emotion
desuetude, n.: discontinuance from use, practice, exercise, or functioning
diminutive, n.: indicating small size and sometimes the quality or condition of
being loved, lovable, pitiable, or contemptible; used of affixes
forename, n.: first (given) name
hypocoristic, adj.: endearing; belong to affective vocabulary
onomastically, adv. < onomastic, adj. < onomastics, n.: the science or study
of the origin and forms of proper names of persons or places
Pale of Settlement: geographic area in Czarist Russia where Jews were
allowed to live (translation of R чepтa oceдлocти)
transliteration, n. < transliterate, v.: to represent or spell (words, letters, or
characters of one language) in the letters or characters of another language
or alphabet
Wunderkind, n.: a child prodigy (German)
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2.51 Lost in Transliteration (Russian Hypocoristics in English) 167
Wunderkinder (cf. David Oistrakh), but musical prodigies who post-dated the
Mischas and Jaschas of yesteryear did stop following the older practice.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
grading, adj. < grade, v.: to determine the grades or degrees of hypertrophy,
n.: inordinate or pathological enlargement morphological, adj. < mor-
phology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic) form neologism,
n. < neology, n.: the use of a new word or expression or of an established
word in a new or different sense; the use of new expressions that are not
sanctioned by conventional standard usage; the introduction of such
expressions into a language
prefixed, adj. < prefix, v. > prefix, n.: an affix, such as dis- in disbelieve, attached
to the front of a word to produce a derivative word or an inflected form
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
subserve, v.: to serve as an instrument or means in carrying on (as an activity)
or out (as a plan) or in furthering the ends of (as a person)
Glossary
diagrammaticity, n. < diagrammatic, adj. < diagram, n.: (in Peirce’s sign
theory) an icon of relation
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: (in Peirce’s sign theory) an image; a representation,
specifically, a sign related to its object by similarity
individuation, n. < individuate, v.: to give an individual character to; to
distinguish from others of the same kind; to individualize; to single out, to
specify
marked, adj. < markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a super-
structure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually
restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted)
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
semeiotic, adj. < semeiotic, n.: any system of signs, defined as anything
capable of signifying an object (meaning)
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2.54 Well and Good (anent “I’m good”) 169
Glossary
anent, prep.: in reference to
appositive, adj. < apposition, n.: a grammatical construction that consists of
two nouns or noun equivalents referring to the same person or thing,
standing in the same syntactical relation to the rest of the sentence without
being joined to each other by a coordinating conjunction, and typically
adjacent to each other
apropos, prep.: with respect to; concerning, regarding binomial, n.: having or
characterized by two names
concomitant, adj.: accompanying or attending especially in a subordinate or
incidental way; occurring along with or at the same time as and with or
without causal relationship
eponymous, adj. < eponym, n.: one for whom or which something is named
or supposedly named
gargantuan, adj.: of tremendous size or volume
hegemony, n.: preponderant influence or authority
irreversible, adj.: not capable of or lending itself to being reversed
lexical, adj.: pertaining or relating to the words or vocabulary of a language
neologism, n.: a new word
notional, adj.: of a thing, a relation, etc., not substantially or actually existent;
existing only in thought
penchant, n.: a strong leaning or attraction: strong and continued inclination
perfunctory, adj.: characterized by routine or superficiality; done merely as a duty
Pninesque, adj.: resembling the eponymous character in Vladimir Nabokov’s
(best) novel, Pnin
purport, n.: that which is conveyed or expressed, esp. by a formal document
or speech; effect, tenor, import; meaning, substance, sense
quasi, adv: as if; as it were; in a manner; in some sense or degree
risible, adj.: arousing, exciting, or provoking laughter
sesquipedalianism, n. < sesquipedalian, adj.: given to or characterized by the
use of long words
solecistic, adj. < solecism, n.: an impropriety or irregularity in speech or
diction; a violation of the rules of grammar or syntax
tropism, n.: with reference to people: a natural or innate instinct, tendency, or
impulse; now more generally: a preference, an inclination
as a child for his weekly piano lessons in Berlin in the early 1920s, a period when
Nabokov was also resident there among a notable group of Russian émigrés. While
the overwhelming majority of his gargantuan scholarly output was in the field of
Romance philology, Malkiel is perhaps best associated in a wider disciplinary
context with his much-cited article on “irreversible binomials” (“Studies in
Irreversible Binomials,” Lingua, 8 [1959], 113–160), of which well and good (like
thick and thin, dawn to dusk, part and parcel, etc.) is only one example among a
familiar and numerous lexical repertory in English.
This is by way—an admittedly eccentric one—of introducing the topic of a
contemporary change in American English, whereby well is being supplanted by
good, as in the all-but-ubiquitous retort, “I’m good” (instead of the traditional “I’m
well” or “I’m fine”) in answer to the question, “How are you?”; cf. the grotesque
present-day solecistic construction, *good-paying job. What is evidently at stake in
such cases, which can be characterized as the recession of the scope of well and the
concomitant hegemony of the scope of good, is a change in the
NOTIONAL CONTENT of the two words in appositive position. Thus, while one
can only say “You did the job well,” where the word well is an adverb, as an
adjective it has become restricted to a quasi-medical meaning (as in the neologism
wellness.) This then suggests that “How are you?” is no longer taken to be a query
apropos the addressee’s well-being or health but one aimed rather at eliciting (an
admittedly perfunctory) report on the latter’s STATE OF MIND, hence the lin-
guistic tropism toward good, with its ETHICAL PURPORT in the global sense.
Glossary
desuetude, n.: discontinuance from use, practice, exercise, or functioning
lexicon, n.: the morphemes of a language considered as a group
malefactor, n.: one who commits an offense against the law; one who does ill
toward another
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
obsolescent, adj.: going out of use; falling into disuse especially as unable to
compete with something more recent
English has a huge lexicon, probably the largest word stock of the world’s living
languages. As with all languages, some words in dictionaries carry the designation
‘obsolescent’, some ‘obsolete’, some ‘archaic’; and some are never (or very rarely)
used in speech or writing. One such word is desuetude, a very good substitute for
disuse, since it has a richer semantic range. But it has fallen into desuetude, just like
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2.55 Words in Desuetude 171
malefactor, which is infinitely superior in every sense to the currently popular but
utterly disposable phrases bad guy and bad actor. In this meaning field, evildoer is
also superior to the latter two phrases and unwarrantedly neglected.
English vocabulary is unequalled for richness and eminently mineable for the
most varied nuances of meaning that any writer or speaker might wish to express.
Sad to say, however, words like malefactor and desuetude sleep the slumber of the
dead in dictionaries, waiting only to be summoned into service by those who know
of their existence and can exploit their aptness.
Glossary
lexeme, n.: a meaningful speech form that is an item of the vocabulary of a
language
The cultural dominion of American English as reflected in language use is well known.
Native words in many languages of the world are habitually being replaced in ordinary
speech (especially in media language) by items adapted from American English.
Franglish has long been the bane of purist French speakers, and Japanese is increasingly
being overwhelmed by English lexemes in their American forms (with the appropriate
phonetic overlay). British English is no longer the default model for such adaptations.
Speaking of the British variant of English, it is noteworthy that the
Americanization of Britain has affected language as well as other aspects of culture.
When one listens to the BBC World Service, for instance, one regularly hears the
use of truck instead of lorry (which has practically disappeared from the speech of
English presenters), and even the noun patent pronounced to rhyme with latent has
all but disappeared under pressure to conform to the American pronunciation.
Apropos, it should be noted that for purist native speakers of American English the
adjectival form retains the traditional British phonetic form.
Glossary
agency, n.: the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power
concomitant, adj.: occurring along with or at the same time as and with or
without causal relationship
dichotomy, n.: division into two parts, classes, or groups and especially into
two groups that are mutually exclusive or opposed by contradiction
forma mentis: form/way of thought/thinking (Latin)
172 2 Meanings
locative, adj., n.: belonging to or being a grammatical case that denotes place
or the place where or wherein
mimic, v.: to copy or imitate very closely especially in external characteristics
motive, adj.: of or relating to motion or the causing of motion
quotidian, adj.: commonplace, ordinary
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between signs
and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system, and human
behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes, influences of
social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic assumptions
Over the last few decades the American finance industry has given birth to the
phrase “going forward” as a replacement for the quotidian and conventional phrase
“in the future” to designate time, e.g., “If it is true that America’s biggest banks are
too big to be ‘resolved’, this has profound implications for our banking system
going forward [emphasis added] …” (Joseph E. Stiglitz, Freefall: America, Free
Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy [New York, 2010, p. 118]). No one
in the finance industry doubtless thinks twice about the cognitive implications of
this substitution, but an analysis that links language necessarily to its users’ forma
mentis will demonstrate that the upshot is hardly trivial.
All languages of the world deal with time by spatializing it. Accordingly, in the
future is a phrase that localizes/locates future time, just as in the past and in the
present do. By contrast, going forward specifies future time as a point that is
achieved by motive force, with the added connotation of reaching that point through
AGENCY. Although it is true that time is conceptualized as something that
“goes/proceeds/travels forward,” the motion involved is embodied by an agent,
human or otherwise, as in the sentence fragment quoted above (“banking system
going forward”), where the phrase can also be secondarily interpreted as detached
from any agent to mimic the grammatical status of in the future.
The semantic content comported by the new phrase vis-à-vis its traditional
variant turns on the presence of the verb go, with its necessary grammatical ref-
erence to time and a concomitant implied agent—a content absent from the spa-
tialized phrase in the locative. There has thus been not merely a linguistic change
but a conceptual—and cultural—shift in the increasing preference for going for-
ward: time has thereby been assimilated to agency, showing (yet again) that the
purported traditional dichotomy between language and society is false.
Glossary
cognate, n.: (of languages) descended from the same original language; of the
same linguistic family; of words: coming naturally from the same root, or
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2.58 Etymology as Present Knowledge 173
As with any kind of knowledge, information about word origins varies from
speaker to speaker and affects language use accordingly. Clearly, one does not have
to know anything about the etymology of the words in one’s native language in
order to have an adequate command of the language. However, in speaking with an
interlocutor who uses etymological data implicitly in order to convey a meaning—
principally, in puns or other species of paronomasia—one is at a disadvantage in
fully understanding an utterance that utilizes paronomasia without sharing the
knowledge that underlies such word play.
The lack of etymological knowledge may also lead to erroneous word use.
A typical contemporary case in both British and American English is that of the
phrase “begging the question,” which is a direct translation of Latin petitio principii
and is a type of fallacy in which an implicit premiss would directly entail the con-
clusion (i.e., basing a conclusion on an assumption that is as much in need of proof or
demonstration as the conclusion itself). Speakers and writers ignorant of the phrase’s
origin use it more and more frequently as a substitute for “raising the question,” and
some usage manuals now recognize this erroneous meaning as acceptable.
Knowledge of a word’s origin and meaning field can also serve to heighten one’s
sense of the semantic implications of the word. A good case in point is filibuster,
which was notorious in the recent past in connection with a certain U. S. senator’s
legislative shenanigans. Here is the word’s etymology, as cited from The Oxford
English Dictionary Online:
174 2 Meanings
Etymology: The ultimate source is certainly the Dutch vrijbuiter in Kilian vrij-bueter (see
freebooter n.). It is not clear whether the 16th cent. English form flibutor, of which we have
only one example, was taken from Dutch directly or through some foreign language. Late
in the 18th cent. the French form flibustier was adopted into English, and continued to be
used, with occasional variations of spelling, until after the middle of the nineteenth century.
About 1850–54, the form filibuster, < Spanish filibustero, began to be employed as the
designation of certain adventurers who at that time were active in the W. Indies and Central
America; and this has now superseded the earlier flibustier even with reference to the
history of the 17th cent.
The original meanings of both filibuster and freebooter are now lost to most
speakers of English. A pity, given that the behavior of ‘one who practices
obstruction in a legislative assembly’ can and should be evaluated in the light of the
words’ etymology.
Glossary
appellation, n.: a name or title by which a person, thing, or clan is called and
known
bifurcation, n.: separation or branching into two parts, areas, aspects, or
connected segments
designee, n.: one who is designated or delegated
“Heiße Magister, heiße Doktor gar” (Goethe, Faust, Pt. 1, “Night”): ‘I’m
called Master [of Arts], and Doctor [of Philosophy] too’ (German)
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological
enlargement
nomina sunt odiosa: names are odious (Latin)
nonce, n.: the one, particular, or present occasion, purpose, or use
odious, adj. < odium, n.: the state or fact of being subjected to widespread or
deep hatred and severe condemnation and often loathing or contempt
usually as a result of a despicable act or blameworthy situation
sidebar, n.: something incidental
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2.59 “Heiße Magister, heiße Doktor gar” (Goethe, Faust, Pt. 1, “Night”) 175
Glossary
diagrammaticity, n. < diagrammatic, adj. < diagram, n.: (in Peirce’s sign
theory) an icon of relation
folk etymology: the popular perversion of the form of words in order to render
it apparently significant
icon, n.: a sign exhibiting a similarity relation to its object (meaning)
176 2 Meanings
Glossary
affixation, n. < affix, v. < affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix,
that can only occur attached to a base, stem, or root
apposite, adj.: suitable; well-adapted; pertinent; relevant; apt
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
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2.61 Words Qualified and Contrasted 177
Every culture regards words as special things, and languages often reflect this view
by qualifying them through the affixation of adjectives; or by contrasting them with
non-verbal realia, typically animals. Thus in English we have winged words,
fighting words, leaden words, etc., etc.
One feature of the spoken word from the perspective of folk wisdom and the
traditional agrarian milieu in which proverbs and sayings arise is the irretrievability
of words once uttered. Thus in Russian one says: Cлoвo нe вopoбeй, вылeтит
(выпycтишь)—нe пoймaeшь (slovo ne vorobej, vyletit/vypustish’-—ne poj-
maesh’), literally: ‘a word is not a sparrow; if it flies out/if you release it, you won’t
catch it’; or in Japanese (courtesy of my brother Jacob): 駟も舌に及ばず (shi mo
shita ni oyobazu, which goes back to Confucius’ Analects)—literally: ‘even a
four-horse team/carriage is not the equal of/cannot catch up with a tongue’. Ergo:
Watch what you say!
Glossary
abduction, n.: the formation or adoption of a plausible but unproven expla-
nation for an observed phenomenon; a working hypothesis derived from
limited evidence and informed conjecture
abductive, adj.: pertaining to or the product of abduction [vide supra]
adversion, n. < advert, v.: to turn one’s attention; to take notice, take heed,
attend, pay attention
178 2 Meanings
To a writer of the old school like the author of these pages, whose academic training
dates back to the ’50s and ’60s of the last century, working in a Latin phrase is akin
to flashing a badge of one’s scholarly credentials, and the lure is strong. At one
time, before the onset of the digital age, there was nothing unusual about reading
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2.62 The Lure of Latin (Sherlock Holmes and the Science of Abduction) 179
the following utterance of Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle’s
novel, The Sign of the Four:
“Quite so. They are in a state of extreme contraction, far exceeding the usual rigor mortis.
Coupled with this distortion of the face, this Hippocratic smile, or ‘risus sardonicus,’ as the
old writers called it, what conclusion would it suggest to your mind?”
Here, note Holmes’s stylistic qualification, viz. “as the old writers called it,”
marking the Latin phrase as already somewhat obsolescent at the time of writing.
Speaking of Holmes and the lure of Latin, here is a fresh example (meant originally
for the public press).
Lately, in these pages [The NY Times] and elsewhere in the media—including
movies, plays, and even letters to the editor—there have been numerous mentions
of and adversions to Sherlock Holmes, the fictional master detective created by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. In Conan Doyle’s early second novel, The Sign of the Four
(1890), the opening chapter is entitled “The Science of Deduction,” meant to
characterize the mode of reasoning (“deduction”) that is Holmes’s stock in trade
and that enables him to solve even the most abstruse cases. Indirectly, moreover,
that is what the famous retort—“Elementary, my dear Watson,” by which we all
know Sherlock but which he never actually utters in any of the Holmesian canon—
refers to, which is his power of making correct inferences or educated guesses from
seemingly unconnected pieces of evidence.
But the word “deduction” as used by Conan Doyle and all other writers before
and after is actually a misnomer. The correct name for the type of reasoning at stake
is “abduction,” and the distinction is far from trivial. The name was coined in 1867
by the greatest intellect the Americas have ever produced, the philosopher-scientist
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), whose work in logic alone places him in the
same rank as Aristotle and Leibniz.
Deduction, induction, and abduction are the three fundamental modes of rea-
soning that constitute the traditional syllogism of logic. Deduction proceeds from
correct premisses and valid cases to reach unassailable conclusions. Thus if “All
men are mortal” (premiss) and “Socrates is a man” (case), then the deduced con-
clusion “Socrates is mortal” follows without fail. Induction, by contrast, tests the
law (premiss) by applying extant cases to it. Hence, if “Socrates is mortal” is a valid
conclusion and “Socrates is a man” a valid case, then the law “All men are mortal”
is valid by induction.
But—crucially—stating that something is the case is the only mode of reasoning
that is fallible, since it is invariably subject to further testing, wherein its validity
may or may not be borne out. Knowing that (1) all men are mortal and that
(2) Socrates is mortal does not prove that (3) Socrates is a man because Socrates
may turn out to be a horse or an inanimate object and not a man at all. We may
guess wrong despite the evidence, although as Peirce argued, we have a propensity
to guess right, otherwise we wouldn’t have survived as a species. Using Peirce’s
word in its verbal form, we all have the power to abduce the truth from (typically
scant) evidence. In this respect, Sherlock Holmes is only a superlatively talented
exemplar of homo abducans.
180 2 Meanings
Glossary
artifice, n.: an ingenious expedient, a clever stratagem; (chiefly in negative
sense) a manoeuvre or device intended to deceive, a trick
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
Since sometime in the early 1990s, two words have entered American English
vocabulary that are frequently heard and read in the media, as noted in the Oxford
English Dictionary Online, namely:
game-changer n. orig. U.S. (a) Sport a player who, or tactic, goal, etc., which decisively
affects the outcome of a game; (b) (in extended use) an event, idea, or procedure that
produces a significant shift in the current way of thinking about or doing something.
game-changing adj. orig. U.S. (a) Sport that decisively affects the outcome of a game;
(b) (in extended use) that produces a significant shift in the current way of doing or thinking
about something.
Now, there is nothing out of the ordinary about these two words in their meaning
as applied to sports, but the “extended use” warrants commentary because it betrays
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2.63 The Mentality of a Neologism (game-changer) 181
Glossary
athwart, prep.: in opposition to; contrary to
beggar, v.: to exhaust the resources of, go beyond, outdo
conduce, v.: to lead or tend especially with reference to a desirable result
figurative, adj.: transferred in sense from literal or plain to abstract or
hypothetical (as by the expression of one thing in terms of another with
which it can be regarded as analogous)
privative, adj.: a word denoting the negation of a quality otherwise inherent
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
supersession, n. < supersede, v.: supplant and make inferior by better or
more efficiently serving a function
trope. n.: a figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a
metaphor
troping, n. < trope, v.: create a trope [vide supra]
tropologically, adv. < tropological, adj. < tropology, n.: the use of tropes in
speech or writing
valorize, v.: place a value on; assign a value to
In contemporary American English parlance (but not only), the words incredibly
and unbelievably have all but replaced very, highly, and extremely as designations
of the ultimate degree of the adjective they qualify. The fact that the literal meaning
of the former—namely, ‘not susceptible of belief’—runs athwart the assertion of
182 2 Meanings
Glossary
cognate, n.: (of languages) descended from the same original language; of the
same linguistic family; of words: coming naturally from the same root, or
representing the same original word, with differences due to subsequent
separate phonetic development
connote, v.: to signify in addition to its exact explicit meaning
etymology, n.: the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as
shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes
in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to
another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its
ancestral form where possible
icon, n.: A sign exhibiting a similarity relation to its object (meaning)
lascivious, adj.: tending to arouse sexual desire
portmanteau, n.: a word that is composed of parts of two words (such as
chortle from chuckle and snort), all of one word and part of another (such
as bookmobile from book and automobile), or two entire words and that is
characterized invariably in the latter case and frequently in the two former
cases by single occurrence of one or more sounds or letters that appear in
both the component words (such as motel from motor hotel, camporee
from camp and jamboree, aniseed from anise seed) (French)
In the twenty-first century generally, and more recently in particular, the verb twerk
(from which the dance called twerking is derived) has become widely known in
popular culture to denote ‘the rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a
lascivious manner with the intent to elicit sexual arousal or laughter in ones [sic]
intended audience’ (Urban Dictionary). The Oxford English Dictionary defines it
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2.65 Twerk: An Etymology 183
There is no accepted etymology for the word, but here is a plausible hypothesis
that reposes on the form-meaning relations between the initial and final sequences
in twerk, on the one hand, and a synthetic meaning that can be assembled from the
generalized meanings of words that contain these sequences, on the other. Far from
being a portmanteau word (blend), therefore, twerk is what should be called a
synthetic icon. Here is the evidence.
The initial sequence tw–occurring in words like twist, twerp, twine, twig, twit,
twitter, and (N.B.) twat can be generalized to signify an icon of an additive meaning
consisting of the elements ‘contorted’, ‘thin or of limited extent’, and ‘awkward or
devalued’. The final sequence—rk that occurs in words like jerk, quirk, dork
(N. B.!), and snark can be analyzed as connoting something that is ‘egregious’,
‘marginal’, ‘outlandish’, and ‘rude or sarcastic’.
Twerk, accordingly, is a composite or synthetic product of these semantic ele-
ments as realized in a verb that particularizes the elements by applying them to a
specific kind of dance. This, then, is the most plausible etymology of the word.
Glossary
admirative, adj.: characterized by or full of admiration; admiring
alas and alack: idiomatic phrase used to express regret or sadness
Anglophone, adj.: English-speaking
calque, n.: (= loan translation) a form of borrowing from one language to
another whereby the semantic components of a given term are literally
translated into their equivalents in the borrowing language. English
superman, for example, is a loan translation from German Übermensch
connotative, adj. < connotation, n.: the signifying in addition; inclusion
of something in the meaning of a word besides what it primarily denotes
demotic, adj.: of or relating to the people; common
emblematic, adj. < emblem, n.: a typical representative
184 2 Meanings
epistemological, adj. < epistemology, n.: the study of the method and grounds
of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity; broadly,
the theory of knowledge
epitomical, adj. < epitome, n.: a typical representation or ideal expression
hypostasis, n.: a reified abstraction
index, n.: something (such as a manner of speaking or acting or a distinctive
physical feature) in another person or thing that leads an observer to
surmise a particular fact or draw a particular conclusion patrimony, n.: an
inheritance from the past
pleophonic, adj.: (In the East Slavic languages) a type of vowel duplication
whereby the sequences -oro-, -olo-, and -ere- have developed from earlier
-ra-, -la-, -le-, and -re- occurring between consonants; the process of
development of this phenomenon
reception, n.: the action of receiving mentally; comprehension
reify, v.: regard (as an abstraction, a mental construction) as a thing: convert
mentally into something concrete or objective
root, n.: the simple element (as Latin sta) inferred as common to all the words
of a group in a language or in related languages
Russophone, adj.: Russian-speaking
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
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2.66 Cultural Differences in the Reception … 185
Glossary
affricate, adj., n.: a complex speech sound consisting of a stop consonant
followed by a fricative; for example, the initial sounds of child and joy
attenuate, v.: to lessen the amount, force, or value of
cognate, n.: (of languages) descended from the same original language; of the
same linguistic family; (of words) coming naturally from the same root, or
representing the same original word, with differences due to subsequent
separate phonetic development
constrict, v.: to draw together or render narrower (as a mouth, channel,
passage)
distinctive, adj.: serving or used to distinguish or discriminate (applied spec.
in linguistics to a phonetic feature that is capable of distinguishing one
meaning from another etymology, n.: the origin and historical develop-
ment of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements,
earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its trans-
mission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other
languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible
fricative, adj., n.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the forcing
of breath through a constricted passage icon, n.: a sign exhibiting a
similarity relation to its object (meaning)
lax, adj.: of a speech sound: produced with the muscles involved in a rela-
tively relaxed state (the English vowels [i] and [u̇] in contrast with the
vowels [ē] and [ü] are lax)
marked, adj.: vide infra under markedness
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
nasal, adj., n.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants (m), (n), and (ng) or the nasalized vowel of French bon; a
nasal consonant
nota bene: mark or note well (Latin)
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
onomatopoeia, n.: formation of words in imitation of natural sounds: the
naming of a thing or action by a more or less exact reproduction of the
sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss, bobwhite); the imitative or echoic
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2.67 Sound as an Icon of Sense (meld) 187
Glossary
descry, v.: to spy out or come to see especially with watchful attention and
careful observation of the distant, uncertain, or obscure gainsay, v.: to
deny, speak against, contradict
individuate, v.: to give an individual character to; to distinguish from others
of the same kind; to individualize; to single out, to specify
The meanings of words are generally stable over time, but when a shift does occur it
can often be attributed to a change of ideology in the culture. This is the case for the
fading of the word sex as the traditional designation of the biological category and
its replacement by the word gender, which was once restricted to the field of
grammar.
The Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED) gives the following definition as
the primary one for the word sex:
“Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and many other
living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions; (hence) the members
of these categories viewed as a group; the males or females of a particular species, esp. the
human race, considered collectively.” A secondary definition reads as follows: “Quality in
respect of being male or female, or an instance of this; the state or fact of belonging to a
particular sex; possession or membership of a sex.”
With regard to persons or animals, the entry supplies the following commentary:
“Since the 1960s increasingly replaced by gender … when the referent is human, perhaps
originally as a euphemism to distinguish this sense from … Physical contact between
individuals involving sexual stimulation; sexual activity or behaviour, spec. sexual inter-
course, copulation. to have sex (with): to engage in sexual intercourse (with). Now the most
common general sense. Sometimes, when denoting sexual activity other than conventional
heterosexual intercourse, preceded by modifying adjective, as gay, oral, phone sex, etc. …
The word sex tends now to refer to biological differences, while gender often refers to
cultural or social ones.”
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2.68 Ideology and Semantic Change (sex and gender) 189
It is both interesting and ideologically relevant to note that many foreign lan-
guages (and not just the European ones) have borrowed the English word sex in the
meaning “denoting sexual activity,” e.g., Russian ceкc (seks) and Japanese sekusu
(セクス).
With respect to the native English cultural development, there is no gainsaying
that the linguistic substitution of gender for sex serves to individuate the latter word
in its social sense as part of the pervasive sexualization (including that of children,
in the United States at least) so characteristic of modern culture all over the globe.
Insofar as a devaluation of the dignity of the individual human being can be
descried in this phenomenon, English as the language that first offered up its
linguistic expression can only be reckoned to bear full responsibility.
Glossary
by the bye: by the way; incidentally
connote, v.: to signify in addition to its exact explicit meaning
contiguity, n.: the state of being contiguous; intimate association or relation;
close proximity
couplet, n.: two successive lines of verse usually having some unity greater
than that of mere contiguity (as that provided by rhythmic correspon-
dence, rhyme, or the complete inclusion of a grammatically or rhetorically
independent utterance)
epistemological, adj. < epistemology, n.:the study of the method and grounds
of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity; broadly,
the theory of knowledge
excogitate, v.: to evolve, invent, or contrive in the mind
exemplar, n.: one that serves as a model or example
putative, adj.: commonly accepted or supposed; reputed
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
takeoff, n.: an imitation especially in the way of caricature
vocable, n.: a word considered only as a sequence of sounds or letters rather
than as a unit of meaning
190 2 Meanings
Because of the deep historical and cultural connectedness between world view and
language in traditional societies, it has often been pointed out by anthropologists
and linguists that words and phrases are not necessarily translatable from one
language into another. Yiddish stands as a well-known exemplar of this situation,
despite the steady penetration of Yiddish vocables into languages (like English or
Russian) whose speakers include sizable Jewish segments.
It has been remarked that for Jews—and not only those from the ghetto—life
consists of four elements, designated by the following Yiddish words (all derived
from Hebrew originals): tsores (‘ )צרהtroubles’, nakhes (‘ )מכּהpleasure, especially
that of a parent from a child’, makes (‘ )מכותabcess; scourge, plague’, and yikhes
(‘ )ייִחוסdescent, lineage, pedigree’. Of these, perhaps the most familiar one to
English speakers is tsores (also transliterated tsures and tsuris). But the translation
‘troubles’ cannot do justice to what the Yiddish word connotes in the Jewish world
view. Here is a piece of personal linguistic folklore that will illustrate this assertion.
A paternal distant cousin of the present author known in the family only as “Uncle
Misha” was routinely cited in the appropriate conversational context for his having
excogitated the humorous rhyming couplet (a takeoff on Cicero), “[Latin] O tempora
or mores/[Russian] O vremena, o tsores [O вpeмeнa, o цopec; see Sect. 1.27 above].
” The original has Cicero deploring the viciousness and corruption of his age, for
which the literal translation is ‘oh what times!, oh what customs!’
The use of the Yiddish word tsores in Uncle Misha’s version immediately shifts
the semantic dimension into the age-old experiential context of Eastern European
Jewry, a world utterly incompatible with that of ancient Rome. By the bye, this is
the same Uncle Misha who made an appearance at Sect. 2.6 above, namely the
picaresque personage who escaped death by firing squad in revolutionary Kiev,
immigrated to Paris, and lived there into his hundreds as a wealthy arms dealer.
Among his other (putative) witticisms was (in French) “Il y a une différance entre
air et courant d’air.”
Idiomatic phrases and constructions are part of linguistic usage and as such not
amenable to alteration. A command of one’s own language includes the knowledge
of idioms. Violation of the idiomatic norms of a language is a sign of deficiency.
In a recent utterance attributed by the media to Hillary Clinton, Mrs. Clinton
mentioned that when she and Bill left the White House, they were “dead broke.”
American English does not have such a phrase, the idiom being “flat broke.” One can
be “dead drunk” and “dead last,” but not *dead broke (in linguistic notation the
asterisk signifies either an incorrect or a reconstructed—hence questionable—form).
How should one evaluate a sin against usage? In the case of a prominent
politician like Hillary Clinton (who actually writes remarkably well), one can
perhaps chalk the mistake up to the heat of the media moment. At the same time,
usage is a form of truth, since by its very fixity it is immutable. A violation of usage
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2.70 Sinning Against Usage (Dead Last, but Flat Broke) 191
Glossary
plurale tantum: a noun which is used only in plural form, or which is used
only in plural form in a particular sense or senses (Latin)
Glossary
animadversion, n. < animadvert, v.: to comment critically (on, upon), to utter
criticism (usually of an adverse kind); to express censure or blame
192 2 Meanings
All languages have a store of proverbs and similar sayings, Russian Japanese, and
English (my three “native” tongues) having numerically the greatest ones. These
formulaic utterances are commonly stored in the linguistic data banks of users, to be
recalled, sometimes silently, when the occasion prompts them. Their typically
paronomastic form (“A stitch in time saves nine”) enhances the thought encapsu-
lated in them and makes them easier to remember.
Thus it was last week, when the author attended the Charles S. Peirce
International Centennial Congress at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (cf.
the account by Spencer Case, “The Man With a Kink in His Brain,” www.
nationalreview.com, July 21, 2014), that the perfusion of bearded men among the
attendees caused the Latin proverb, “Barba non facit philosophum” (‘A beard does
not a philosopher make’), to insinuate itself into his brain during all four days of the
gathering. The story of the origin of this saying includes an animadversion not only
on the concerned individual’s facial hair but on his beggarly attire as well.
Needless to say, in this day and age when academics—let alone philosophers—
have succumbed to the general impulse to dress informally, the attendees of the
male persuasion in Lowell strove mightily, not only to explicate Peirce’s cast of
mind but to replicate his (hirsute) physiognomy. One can only wonder whether the
Latin proverb ever gave them pause.
2.73 Irrefragably!
Three earlier essays (at Sects. 1.7, 3.2, and 3.62) have focused on the ubiquity in
contemporary English of the adverb absolutely as an intensified version of the
simple affirmatives yes, of course, etc. This speech habit has reached such a degree
of pervasiveness as to constitute a verbal tic and a source of annoyance.
In order to counteract the tendency to absolutize affirmation in English, the author
wishes to offer herewith a worthy substitute, viz. irrefragably, pronounced not as
recommended in dictionaries with stress on the second syllable but with the more
natural stress on the third syllable, the stressed vowel being the same as in ragged.
The word is based on the adjective irrefragable, characterized as follows in the
Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary:
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2.73 Irrefragably! 193
Readers are urged to try irrefragably on for size whenever the urge to say
absolutely comes over them.
Glossary
absolute, adj.: of a clause, construction, case, etc.: not syntactically dependent
on another part of the sentence; of a word: used without a (customary)
syntactic dependant; spec. (a) (of a transitive verb) used without an
expressed object; (b) (of an adjective or possessive pronoun) used alone
without a modified noun
adumbration, n. < adumbrate, v.: to suggest, indicate, or disclose partially
and with a purposeful avoidance of precision
complement, n.: one or more words joined to another to complete the sense
diagram, n.: an icon of relation
diagrammatize, v.: make (into) a diagram
(of) iconicity, n. < iconic, adj. < icon, n.: the conceived similarity or analogy
between the form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
portmanteau, n.: a word that is composed of parts of two words (such as
chortle from chuckle and snort), all of one word and part of another (such
as bookmobile from book and automobile), or two entire words and that is
characterized invariably in the latter case and frequently in the two former
cases by single occurrence of one or more sounds or letters that appear in
both the component words (such as motel from motor hotel, camporee
from camp and jamboree, aniseed from anise seed) (French)
provenience, n.: origin
reflexive, adj.: of, relating to, or constituting an action (as in “the witness
perjured himself” or “I bethought myself”) that is directed back upon the
agent or the grammatical subject
194 2 Meanings
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system, and
human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes, influ-
ences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic assumptions
semeiotic, adj. < semeiosis, n.: the process of signification, sign action
synchrony, n. < synchronic, adj.: of or relating to the study of phenomena,
such as linguistic features, or of events of a particular time, without
reference to their historical context
teleological, adj. < teleology, n.: the doctrine or study of ends or final causes,
esp. as related to the evidences of design or purpose in nature; also transf.
such design as exhibited in natural objects or phenomena
Glossary
hypertrophy, n.: inordinate or pathological enlargement
morphologically, adv. < morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the system or
the study of (linguistic) form
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2.75 Back-Formation and the Drift toward Linguistic Hypertrophy … 195
Among different types of language change, American English has had a long
history of what has come to be called back-formation, that is “the creation of a new
word by removing an affix from an already existing word, as vacuum clean from
vacuum cleaner, or by removing what is mistakenly thought to be an affix, as pea
from the earlier English plural pease.” (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.). But
this reduction of words is now being counter-balanced by engorged versions, in line
with an opposite tendency, viz. toward hypertrophy, instanced here on several
previous occasions.
Besides the verb commentate (< commentator) instead of comment, we now often
have cohabitate (< cohabitation) instead of cohabit. This enlargement of the verb is
given impetus by the relative frequency of its morphologically affiliated noun. In the
case of cohabitate, ignorance of the normative verb is also doubtless a factor.
What may now seem like an isolated instance can be reevaluated as the instan-
tiation of what the pioneering American linguist Edward Sapir called “drift”—alias
the principle of final causation in language—and characterized as follows:
“Wherever the human mind has worked collectively and unconsciously, it has striven for
and attained unique form. The important point is that the evolution of form has a drift in one
direction, that it seeks poise, and that it rests, relatively speaking, when it has found this
poise.”
Glossary
etymology, n.: the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as
shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes
in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to
another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its
ancestral form where possible
Fennicist, n.: specialist in Finnish and Finno-Ugric philology
Finno-Ugric, adj.: of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting the
Finno-Ugric languages
frisson, n.: an emotional thrill
196 2 Meanings
lexical, adj. < lexis, n.: the aggregate of a language’s words (vocabulary as
distinguished from grammar)
Ugric, adj.: of, relating to, or characteristic of the languages of the Ugrians
(an ethnological group including the Magyars [Hungarians] and related
peoples of western Siberia
unreflectively, adv. < unreflective, adj.: not reflective; unthinking, heedless
Every word has a history. But the history of most words in a speaker’s vocabulary
is obscured from view until discovered, often serendipitously and rarely by dint of
inquiry. For ordinary language use the etymology of a word need not be known to
speakers in order for them to have a command of the lexical stock of a language.
Words are tokens absorbed unreflectively in the process of acquiring a language’s
lexis, and whose meaning seems largely to have been established by convention
along with the habits of their proper usage.
Occasionally, however, even a professional linguist can experience the thrill of
etymological discovery. This is what happened to the author on January 31, 2015
while reading a history of music and learning that the word conservatory, which
now means a music school in all the European languages, goes back to the Italian
conservatorio and its original meaning ‘orphanage’ (= a hospital or school for
orphans and foundlings). It seems that orphans were “conserved” in institutions
that, besides giving them housing and sustenance, trained them in music so as to
enable them to make their way in the world when they left the orphanage.
For someone who loves language, the experience of learning the etymology of a
word for the first time is akin to hearing a passage of music performed with great
skill by a virtuoso. Closer to home, the linguistic experience akin to the musical one
can only be realized, for instance, by hearing the inexhaustibly rich explanations of
such an expert as the author’s lifelong friend, the great Finnish-American
Indo-Europeanist and Fennicist Raimo Anttila, whose knowledge of word origins
can only be called miraculous.
Glossary
epicene, adj.: having but one form to indicate either male or female sex (such
as Latin bos “a bull, ox, or cow”)
marked, adj. < markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a super-
structure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually
restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted)
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2.77 The Markedness of the Female Sex 197
Why do people (of all sexual orientations) speaking English persist in using the
syndetic phrase “gays and lesbians” when the epicene word gay alone would do for
both male and female homosexuals? As anyone who has read the author’s squib in
American Speech (65 [1990], 191–192) knows, the reason has to do with the
marked value of the female sex, as of the feminine gender. Since lesbian can only
pertain to females, whereas gay does service for both males and females, there is no
need to single out females unless males are explicitly being excluded from the
universe of discourse. That female homosexuals still require linguistic individuation
is strong evidence of the abiding marginal status of the feminine in an age that
strives for equality between the sexes.
Glossary
morphology, n.: the structure, form, or variation in form (including formation,
change, and inflection) of a word or words in a language; the branch of
linguistics that deals with this pluralia tantum: nouns which are used only
in plural form, or which are used only in plural form in a particular sense
or senses (Latin)
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system,
and human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes,
influences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic
assumptions
In the European languages, including English, there are words which either appear
exclusively in the plural form or do so with particular meanings. Thus, for instance,
the Russian word чacы ‘clock/watch’ is a plurale tantum in the meaning of a
timepiece, the singular form being used to mean ‘hour’.
In English there is a long history of pluralia tantum such as qualifications, finals,
negotiations, etc., but in contemporary speech (especially American English, but
not only) these words are being misconstrued to mean things rather than activities
(the latter being their proper semantic category). Thus, the last match in a tennis
tournament is properly called “(the) finals,” NOT “the final,” but this normative and
traditional form is now routinely being replaced by the word in the singular.
Speakers who make this mistake evidently take the event to be a thing rather than
an activity, whence the change in morphology.
198 2 Meanings
Glossary
conative, adj. < conation, n.: the conscious drive to perform apparently
volitional acts with or without knowledge of the origin of the drive
de rigueur: prescribed or required by fashion, etiquette, or custom especially
among sophisticated or informed persons
intercalate, v.: to insert between or among existing elements
phatic, adj.: of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to establish
a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas
The traditional designation for the form of a noun when a member of this word
class is used not just to name but to address someone or something is “vocative.”
Together with the imperative of verbs, the vocative, strictly speaking, serves the
so-called conative function. Thus the Indo-European languages (but not only) have
to one or another extent maintained a vocative case and its concomitant separate
desinence (ending) in the paradigm devoted to this naming or addressing function,
although the overarching tendency in the history of these languages is for the
vocative to fall together with the nominative in form. In a language like Russian, for
instance, where the vocative overwhelmingly gave way to the nominative (except
for the recent resurgence of the so-called “new vocative”), the form of the noun
used for address is the same as the nominative, although Russian still has fossilized
instances of the old vocative in religious terms like Бoжe (for nom. Бoг ‘God’) and
Гocпoди (for nom. Гocпoдь ‘Lord’), which are now just part of common parlance
as exclamations rather than terms of address.
Like any other language, English has a vocative intercalated in discourse that is
identical in form with the nominative (subjective); moreover, as in all languages,
English vocatives serve the phatic and emotive functions over and above the
conative. A word like sir in military practice, for example, is a token of deference
and is de rigueur in speech whenever a person of higher rank is addressed. This sort
of practice can be called the “formulaic” use of the vocative, which also occurs in
other contexts, such as in advertising and marketing, where agents who are serving
customers or clients are encouraged to sprinkle their utterances with the addressees’
names (usually preceded by a term of deference such as “Mr.” or “Miss/Mrs./Ms.”).
A particular instance that is worthy of further study is the variable phatic and/or
emotive use of the vocative as a feature of an individual speaker’s predilections
when addressing an interlocutor. Speakers typically differ from each other in the
frequency with which they resort to naming their interlocutors as part of discourse.
Constant interspersion of one’s wife’s or husband’s name in addressing a spouse
may start as a sign of endearment but may also ultimately devolve into a verbal tic
devoid of emotive meaning and destructive of genuine affection. Similarly, the
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2.79 The Vocative and Its Functions in Discourse 199
same speech habit in addressing a customer or client can easily lead to annoyance
on the part of the addressee and subvert the very psychological affect that the utterer
is aiming to engender in order to further their mercantile goal.
Glossary
hypertrophy, n.: inordinate or pathological enlargement
iconically, adv. < iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specif-
ically, a sign related to its object by similarity
In the last decade or more speakers of American English have almost dropped using
the word very as a modifier for emphasis or intensification and have resorted to the
near-ubiquitous use of incredible/incredibly, in the face of the literal meaning of
this adjective/adverb (‘that which cannot be believed’). Quantitative increase is one
way of iconically signifying semantic force, just as elongating the stressed syllable
of any word (as of very itself) necessarily adds emphasis to it over and above the
normal length of the vowel.
Of course, the use of incredibly can also be classed as HYPERBOLE. This fits
one of the overarching themes of contemporary American usage namely
HYPERTROPHY as has been instanced many times in this book.
2.81 Ticastic so
Glossary
ticastic, adj. < tic, n.: a frequent usually unconscious quirk of behavior or
speech
In a preceding essay (at Sect. 4.6 above), the increasing presence of the particle so
at the beginning of discourses was analyzed and its presence ascribed to the jargon
of geeks and to Yiddish. In the last few years it has also become evident—at least in
contemporary American English—that so is not limited to the beginning of dis-
courses but actually has spread to a much more frequent status as the initiator of
utterances regardless of their position in discourse. Moreover, when so occurs at the
beginning of discourses it serves as a linking particle not only to preceding utter-
ances but even to linguistically yet unexpressed material that has formed in the
speaker’s mind as content that is relevant to the conversational context.
200 2 Meanings
Beyond this linking function, for some speakers so has evidently become a
verbal tic, to the point where such speakers cannot initiate almost any utterance—
particularly at the beginning of a discourse, but not only—without prefixing so.
This ticastic so is especially prevalent among young female speakers but is
becoming increasingly characteristic of their male counterparts as well—and not
just of geeks. Without rising (yet?) to the frequency of ticastic like (cf. Sect. 2.33),
this trait has even become a habitual feature of the speech of some pre-teenagers
and is growing apace.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
allegro, adj.: in a quick, lively tempo (Italian)
antepenult, n.: the third syllable of a word counting from the end; the syllable
preceding the next-to-last syllable (as cu in accumulate)
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
elide, v.: to omit or slur over (a syllable, for example) in pronunciation
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the
addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form
of a base, as in English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical
features such as number, person, mood, or tense
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
onomastic, adj. < onomastics, n.: the science or study of the origin and forms
of proper names of persons or places
patronymic, n.: a name derived from that of a father or male ancestor, esp. by
addition of an affix indicating such descent; a family name
suffix, n.: an affix [vide supra] added to the end of a word or stem, serving to
form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness in
gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
ultima, n.: the last syllable
Although Russia is the biggest country in the world and has played a prominent role
in modern world history, few people have any first-hand knowledge of Russia or
the Russians, let alone of the Russian language. One of the special linguistic and
cultural features of the latter (which it shares with the other East Slavic languages)
is the obligatory use of an individual’s father’s name plus the suffix {ov/-ič} for
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2.82 Russian Patronymics 201
Glossary
adumbrate, v.: to suggest, indicate, or disclose partially and with a purposeful
avoidance of precision apothegm, n.: a short, pithy, instructive saying; a
terse remark or aphorism
202 2 Meanings
interpretant, n.: a sign or set of signs that interprets another sign; the response
or reaction to a sign
Latinate, adj.: of, relating to, resembling, or derived from Latin
Peirce: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist
recherché, adj.: rare, choice, exotic (French)
semiotically, adv. < semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of
signs, defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
Even if we adopt the translation theory of meaning, wherein every immediate object
(to use Peirce’s terminology) has an interpretation in terms of another immediate
object (meaning), there is one such “object” that escapes ultimate characterization:
the individual human being. This latter creature in its individuality can only be
captured linguistically by the use of two learnèd words and no other (in English, at
any rate) (1) haecceity defined as the status of being an individual or a particular
nature; otherwise individuality, specificity, thisness; specifically that which makes
something to be an ultimate reality different from any other; and (2) quiddity,
defined as the essential nature or ultimate form of something; what makes some-
thing to be the type of thing that it is.
These two Latinate words cannot be supplanted by any others from the rich
storehouse of native English vocabulary because only they capture what is semi-
otically true—and at the heart of Peirce’s apothegm (meant asexually), “Man is a
sign”—quite apart from such abstract defining characteristics of human personhood
as thought and consciousness. The haecceity (“thisness”) of any given human
person necessarily adumbrates a concomitant quiddity (“suchness”), and the two
jointly body forth a unique, unreplicable figura that underwrites all the interpretants
adumbrated thereby.
Only English, with its uniquely mottled Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman his-
tory, has the capacity to use learnèd vocabulary to such precise ontological effect.
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Chapter 3
Style
Glossary
antanaclasis, n.: the stylistic trope of repeating a single word, but with a
different meaning each time
antimetabole, n.: the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed
grammatical order (e.g., “I know what I like, and I like what I know”)
chiasmus, n.: the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to
each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point;
that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism
paronomasia, n.: a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings,
by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words,
for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect; pun
polyptoton, n.: the stylistic scheme in which words derived from the same
root are repeated (e.g. “strong” and “strength”)
trope, n.: figure of speech
Recent media interest in rhetorical figures (e.g., NPR’s program “On the Media,”
9/19/08) prompted by campaign speeches that exploit them has centered on an-
timetabole, which is (pace Janet Lapidos on Slate.com, 9/12/08) Lapidos, Janet a
species of chiasmus, defined as any structure in which the constituents are repeated
Glossary
assertory, adj.: being or containing an assertion
intonational, adj. < intonation, n.: the use of changing pitch to convey syn-
tactic information
lexical, adj. < lexis, n.: the aggregate of a language’s words (vocabulary as
distinguished from grammar)
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3.2 Absolutely the All-Purpose Emphatic 205
In contemporary spoken Englishes all over the world—i.e., not just the British and
American variety of English, but the Canadian, Australian, Pakistani, South
African, etc.—the word absolutely, typically prefixed, occurs as an emphatic or
intensifier of the word it precedes, so that “He’ll absolutely do it” is uttered when
the speaker wishes to communicate a high level of assertory force. This absolutely
is also often heard as a retort instead of the simple affirmative “Yes,” even when the
most mundane request (e.g., “Please pull up Claudia’s voucher” directed at the staff
of a gym where a client is requesting that his trainer Claudia’s voucher be presented
for his signature so that she can be paid) should have elicited only something as
denatured as “Yes, certainly,” “Yes, of course,” etc. In fact, for younger adult
speakers one can even go so far as to say that “Yes” has practically been replaced by
“Absolutely” as the automatic affirmative response when nothing more emphatic is
meant than simple acquiescence.
The kind of aggrandizement of the force of an utterance conveyed by absolutely,
used to connote intensification, can be seen as a proxy for intonational emphasis,
although the word clearly does not exclude being uttered with emphatic intonation
when the situation calls for extra assertory force.
But the evaluation of the process described extends beyond the matter of the
emasculation of this particular word, beyond its contemporary slippage into the
inventory of simple affirmatives lacking emphatic force.
It is to be seen as yet another instance of a type of linguistic pathology—namely
grammatical hypertrophy—which is a failure of thought. This type of failure is
normally coextensive with the pleonasms, redundancies, and tautologies of all sorts
that are rapidly pervading the language without being recognized as such by their
users—in other words, VARIETIES OF OVERDETERMINATION BY REPETITION. However,
absolutely uttered without emphatic intonation as a lexical item of maximal
assertory force, utilized to signify mere agreement, should also be understood as an
OVERDETERMINATION. Here this category is exemplified by a word voided of its
lexical meaning and relegated to a mere token of discourse accompanying a
recurring speech act.
Glossary
assertory, adj.: being or containing an assertion
conjugate, adj.: joined together, especially in a pair or pairs; coupled
206 3 Style
That young people in America in the early twenty-first century are tending toward
an androgynous self-fashioning is beyond doubt, but a sub-category of this trend
should also be noted as it pertains to speech patterns. Young males (adolescents and
those in their twenties, in particular) are steadily adopting the language of the
female members of their cohort, in two salient and conjugate respects: (1) inter-
rogative intonation on subordinate clauses in declarative sentences; and (2) the
(non-quotative) use of the word like to the point of verbal tichood as a way of
defanging every assertory element in the sentence, from single words to whole
phrases.
Both of these discourse strategies originate in strictly female speech and have
now invaded that of young males. This detail of language use in contemporary
American English is further evidence of the fact that a person’s sex is less and less
determinative of their role and their behavior in the culture than is class.
Glossary
anapestic, adj, < anapest, n.: a metrical foot composed of two short syllables
followed by one long one, as in the word seventeen; a line of verse using
this meter
lax, adj.: Latin lenis ‘soft’, opposed to fortis ‘strong’ (vide infra under tense
vs. lax)
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
prosody, n.: a particular system of versification; the metrical profile of a piece
of verse
quasi-paronomastic, adj. < paronomasia, n.: word play; punning): resem-
bling paronomasia
tense vs. lax: (acoustically) longer vs. reduced duration of the steady state
portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance regions of the
spectrum; (genetically) a deliberate vs. rapid execution of the required
gesture resulting in a lastingly stationary articulation
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3.4 At the End of the Day 207
In an interview aired on the BBC World Service (June 24, 2009), English wife of
the pastor of a church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was heard to utter the fatuously
silly phrase “at the end of the day” no fewer than four times in the span of under
forty seconds. She could easily have substituted synonymous phrases like “in the
end,” “in the final analysis,” or “ultimately” and avoided needless repetition.
Aside from its presumed formulaic usefulness, there must be some reason why
speakers cling so tenaciously to “at the end of the day” despite its rebarbativeness.
(It has even been lampooned in cartoons.) If one resorts to the tried-and-true
explanation that sound often trumps sense in such formulas of English, then there
are two features that call for attention. First, there is the anapestic prosody of the
bipartite structure: “at the énd” plus “of the dáy.” Second, there is the quasi-
paronomastic recurrence of the lax obstruent [d] in the words (end, day) that bear
the main stress. For all that, one can only wish that it would go away like all
doggerel.
3.5 Catachresis
Glossary
pendant: a supplement or consequence (French)
As a pendant to the last post (“Imperfect Learning”), this one will emphasize the
failure of thought involved in the error called CATACHRESIS, a term usually reserved
for rhetoric rather than grammar. Thus the one-volume American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006) gives an abbreviated definition,
as follows: (1) The misapplication of a word or phrase, as the use of blatant to mean
“flagrant.” (2) The use of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor.
A much more informative definition is displayed in that nonpareil multivolume
lexicographic source, The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (vol. 1, p. 853):
1. In rhet.: (a) A figure by which a word is used to designate an object, idea, or act to
which it can be applied only by an exceptional or undue extension of its proper sphere
of meaning: as, to stone (pelt) a person with bricks; a palatable tone; to display one’s
horsemanship in riding a mule; to drink from a horn of ivory. Catachresis differs from
metaphor in that it does not replace one word with another properly belonging to a
different act or object, but extends the use of a word in order to apply it to something for
which the language supplies no separate word. (b) A violent or inconsistent metaphor:
as, to bend the knee of one’s heart; to take arms against a sea of troubles. (c) In general,
a violent or forced use of a word—In philol., the employment of a word under a false
form through misapprehension in regard to its origin: thus, causeway and crawfish
or crayfish have their forms by catachresis [emphasis added].
208 3 Style
It is this last definition that characterizes a grammatical error in the strict sense.
Two such flagrant mistakes that can be heard constantly are the misuse of the phrase
“beg the question” (cf. petitio principii, i.e., circular reasoning, circular argument,
begging the question; in general, the fallacy of assuming as a premiss a statement
which has the same meaning as the conclusion.), when the speaker wishes simply to
say “raise the question;” and “vicious cycle” for “vicious circle” (circulus vitiōsus,
i.e., a circular or flawed argument).
Glossary
aporetic, adj. < aporia, n., a figure of speech in which the speaker expresses
or purports to be in doubt about a question; an insoluble contradiction or
paradox in a text’s meanings
ex parte: from or on one side only, with the other side absent or unrepresented
(Latin)
fatuity, n.: smug stupidity; utter foolishness; something that is utterly stupid
or silly
phatic, adj.: vide infra
If one is a regular listener to NPR News and the BBC World Service, for all the
Americanization of the British source one is still struck by the differences in the
way that the readers/hosts/presenters on the BBC deal linguistically with reporters
by way of their closing acknowledgement of the latter’s reports. Unlike their
American counterparts, who trip all over themselves to thank each other, the BBC
hosts either say nothing or limit themselves to repeating the name and location of
the reporter, occasionally thanking them ex parte (i.e. without waiting for or
expecting a response). This is as it should be. After all, courtesy is totally out of
place in such exchanges. The reporters are only doing their job, and thanks are not
in order. This utterly fatuous misemployment of the phatic function is tantamount to
a worker on an assembly line thanking a fellow-worker for passing along an item.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
(2006) defines PHATIC as “Of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or
to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas.”
The habit of NPR on-the-air personnel’s exchanging the phatic tokens “Thanks,”
“You’re welcome,” “My pleasure,” etc. is a kind of linguistic perversion of the
speakers’ statuses and roles. This kind of aporetic speech reaches grotesque pro-
portions when, for instance—as was heard recently—an NPR reporter is thanked by
the host for a report on the death of victims of a mass murder and responds “My
pleasure.”
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3.7 Fatuous Bookishness (“That Said,” etc.) 209
Glossary
fatuous, adj.: foolish, pretentious, and silly, especially in a smug or
self-satisfied way
With the global rise of literacy and the spread of mass communication in the
modern period has come the well-known phenomenon of what might be called the
“bookification” of spoken language. What is meant by this is the migration of
bookish expressions from the written domicile they previously inhabited exclu-
sively into the sphere of spoken language.
In American English a relatively recent example of this phenomenon is the
penetration into public speech of the written-language expressions “that (being)
said” and “having said that” as sentence-introductory clauses. Instead of sticking
with the tried-and-true, stylistically neutral “nevertheless,” “all the same,” and “at
the same time” to qualify what they had just said, persons who speak publicly (but
not only) frequently resort to these rebarbative expressions involving the past
passive participle “said” in what can be evaluated as an unconscious (?) bid to
sound more authoritative or well-informed. This is yet another instance of the
widespread and powerful influence of media language on changes in the stylistic
norms defining the boundaries between written and oral speech. The cumulative
result of such changes is a general growth in the pretentiousness and fatuousness of
spoken discourse—evaluated, moreover, as being stylistically neutral—where
plain-spokenness would have been normative heretofore. Ultimately, such changes
can only serve to undermine the truth-seeking impulse of the human animal in its
linguistic aspect.
Glossary
Geekish, n.: the jargon of geeks (nonce word)
hypocoristic, adj.: endearing; belong to affective vocabulary
phatic, adj.: of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or
ideas
210 3 Style
Glossary
gratias otiosae sunt odiosae: ‘otiose thanks are odious’ (Latin)
odious, adj.: arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense
displeasure
otiose, adj.: having no practical function; redundant; superfluous
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3.10 Heterolingual Interpolations (Latin Phrases) 211
Glossary
déformation professionnelle: a tendency to look at things from the point of
view of one’s own profession rather than from a broader perspective
(French)
heterolingual, adj.: of or relating to the use of different languages within one
utterance or discourse
paroemic, adj. < paroemia, n.: a proverb or adage; aphorism
réplique, n.: a reply or response (French)
In the course of a conversation in Russian a father says to his adolescent son, “Feci
quod potui, faciant meliora potentes,” meaning ‘I have done what I could; let those
who can do better’, which derives from a formula uttered by retiring Roman consuls
as they transferred the powers of office to their successors. Now, the son has only a
smattering of Latin, but having heard this phrase from his father many times before
comprehends the sense.
Knowing the father’s biography, which included many years of compulsory
Latin instruction in high school and three years’ study of jurisprudence at Moscow
University before the Revolution, one might suspect a kind of déformation pro-
fessionnelle. This would be incorrect, however. In the pre-Revolutionary Russian
milieu serving as the backdrop for this conversation, it was not unusual for educated
persons to sprinkle their native speech with Latin phrases. Here, for instance, is part
of a réplique by the schoolmaster Kulygin in Act I of Chekhov’s Three Sisters:
Kulygin: [To IRINA] In this book you will find a list of all those who have taken the full
course at our High School during these fifty years. Feci quod potui, faciant meliora
potentes. [Кyлыгин: (Иpинe.) B этoй книжкe ты нaйдeшь cпиcoк вcex кoнчившиx кypc
в нaшeй гимнaзии зa эти пятьдecят лeт. Feci quod potui, faciant meliora potentes.]
The presumption here is that Irina understands Kulygin’s recourse to Latin. This
is not an isolated occurrence. For instance, Konstantin Stanislavskii, the famous
Russian actor and stage director, uses exactly this phrase in a neutral context in his
widely-read memoirs, My Life in Art [Moя жизнь в иcкyccтвe] (1st ed., 1926).
This interpolation of Latin material in an otherwise straightforward Russian
discourse is clearly a cultural feature of Russian speech. It mimics and continues the
pan-European practice of quoting Latin locutions in order to give one’s utterances a
special punch, not necessarily connected with the aim of parading one’s erudition.
In this respect, modern Russian resembles older forms of English learned discourse
that have largely become extinct. There can even be an interesting interplay in
Russian between Latin and Church Slavonic (the liturgical language of Eastern
Slavic Orthodoxy), for example with reference to the Latin phrase vox clamantis in
212 3 Style
deserto ‘a voice crying in the wilderness’, which derives from Isaiah 40.3 (“A voice
cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.’”) via John 1:23 (“He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying
out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ as the prophet Isaiah
said.”). The Church Slavonic version is glas vopiiuscshego v pustyne (глac
вoпиющeгo в пycтынe). The latter is much more frequent today, but someone
speaking Russian can also recur to the Latin for extra paroemic force.
Glossary
errare humanum est: ‘to err is human’ (Latin)
lingua franca: a medium of communication between peoples of different
languages
(< Italian ‘Frankish [i.e., European] language’)
postposition, n.: a word or element placed postpositionally, as a preposition
placed after its object
tout court: ‘simply, briefly; just so’ (< French)
Unlike the genetic code, language is a learned, not an inherited code, and in this
arena of human activity as in all other human endeavor, errare humanum est. Error,
moreover, is exclusively within the human realm, having no direct counterpart in
nature despite having a natural history. Part of that history when it comes to
language, as with all social codes, is IMPERFECT LEARNING.
Children routinely make mistakes when learning their native language, and the
degree to which their mistakes are rooted out by parents and other adults (and older
children) in part determines the lineaments of linguistic change. Adult native
speakers with the requisite amount of education can be reckoned to have a more or
less complete command of their language, the range of completeness varying with
factors such as book or technical knowledge, by which syntax and, particularly,
vocabulary can continue to be expanded over the span of one’s entire life.
But even adult speakers make mistakes that are the product of imperfect
learning. This is evident to anyone who makes a special point of observing how
people speak (and write).
The opportunity to observe imperfect learning has been considerably expanded by
modern media. One hears many voices on the radio using English either as a native
language or a lingua franca, and one need not listen long before hearing a mistake.
Frank Deford, whose commentaries on sports are heard weekly on National
Public Radio, is described as a writer with many books and essays to his credit.
Nevertheless, in commenting on college football (“Morning Edition,” KPCC 89.3,
Pasadena, 1/7/09) he uttered the solecism “strange duck” instead of “odd duck;”
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3.11 Imperfect Learning 213
odd is apt here not simply because it is the traditional epithet but because of the
repeated [d] that led to these two words being juxtaposed in the set phrase odd
duck). One cannot blithely ascribe this error to a writer’s penchant for creative
idiosyncrasy: it’s a mistake tout court.
Foreigners who resort to English as a lingua franca, no matter how fluent, are
especially prone to mistakes that arise from imperfect learning. Thus the Israeli
novelist Amos Oz, whose thick accent belies a near-perfect command of English
syntax and vocabulary, when interviewed on National Public Radio (“Morning
Edition,” KPCC 89.3, Pasadena, Jan. 7, 2009) used the solecism “uprise” (obvi-
ously but nonetheless erroneously back-formed from the noun uprising) as if it were
a verb of English. Such instances of imperfect learning can even encompass the
most hackneyed items: Mr. Oz also changed at the end of the day to “in the end of
the day.” Interestingly, he closed his side of the interview by demonstrating a tacit
solidarity with contemporary American English grammar by uttering the erroneous
“Thanks for having me,” i.e., omitting the postposition on—a linguistic phe-
nomenon that has reached near ubiquity in the cloyingly unctuous etiquette of radio
interviewers and interviewees.
3.12 In a Shambles
Glossary
catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase; the use of a strained
figure of
speech, such as a mixed metaphor
The investor Warren Buffett is famous for his financial acumen, but this astuteness
does not seem to extend to his command of English phraseology. In this respect, his
omission of the indefinite article from the phrase in a shambles repeats a ubiquitous
error, as in the following excerpt from Mr. Buffet’s recent letter to his company’s
shareholders:
We’re certain, for example, that the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 –and,
for that matter, probably well beyond – but that conclusion does not tell us whether the
stock market will rise or fall [emphasis added]. Warren E. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway
Inc.: Shareholder Letters, 2008 (2/27/09, p. 4).
1.
a. A scene or condition of complete disorder or ruin: “The economy was in
a shambles” (W. Bruce Lincoln).
b. Great clutter or jumble; a total mess: made dinner and left the kitchen a
shambles.
2.
a. A place or scene of bloodshed or carnage.
b. A scene or condition of great devastation.
3. A slaughterhouse.
4. Archaic A meat market or butcher shop.
[From Middle English shamel, shambil, place where meat is butchered and sold, from Old
English sceamol, table, from Latin scabillum, scamillum, diminutive of scamnum, bench,
stool.]
Glossary
forma mentis: form of mind; mental framework (Latin)
idiolect, n.: the speech of an individual, considered as a linguistic pattern
unique among speakers of his or her language or dialect
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3.13 Just Plain Folks 215
The word folks in American usage has an established stylistic value, namely that of
informality or endearment vis-à-vis its neutral synonym people. Speakers in certain
regions may prefer to use folks rather than people to such an extent that the former
word becomes neutral in their variety of American English, and the latter formal.
But for most speakers of standard American English folks remains an informal
counterpart to people. Whatever the regional backdrop of an individual’s idiolect,
however, it is a miscarriage of the stylistic force of folks to use it with reference to
malefactors, terrorists, and generally to evildoers of all stripes. Such usage, when it
occurs—and is not ironic—can only be evaluated as perverse. But this perversion is
also perforce a sign of the mind set of a speaker who utters the word with such a
referent. To denote evildoers as folks is to extend a term of endearment to those
who, far from being endearing, are incontrovertibly repellent morally.
But that is precisely what President Barack Obama does, as recorded in the
following interview:
KATIE COURIC: Have you ruled out trying confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh
Muhammad in New York City?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I have not ruled it out, but I think it’s important for us to take into
account the practical, logistical issues involved. I mean, if you’ve got a city that is saying
no, and a police department that’s saying no, and a mayor that’s saying no, that makes it
difficult. But I think that the most important thing for the public to understand is we’re not
handling any of these cases any different than the Bush Administration handled them all
through 9/11.
They prosecuted the 190 folks in these Article III courts. Got convictions. And those folks
are in maximum security prisons right now. And there have been no escapes. And it is a
virtue of our system that we should be proud of. Now, what I’ve also said is that, you know,
it’s important for us to recognize that when we’re dealing with Al Qaeda operatives, that
they may have national security intelligence that we need.
And it’s important to make sure that the processes and procedures we approach with
respect to these folks are not identical to the ones that we would use if we’re appre-
hending the local drug dealer. And that’s why we’ve put in place some very particular
ways of dealing with these issues that ensure our security, but also still uphold our due
process.
KATIE COURIC: Are you talking about reading them the Miranda rights? Their Miranda
rights? In other words, like Abdul Matallab, who was read his Miranda rights? A lot of
people are very upset about that. Because he was giving information to the F.B.I. Then his
rights were read to him, and he clammed up.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, that’s actually not what happened. What happened was he
clammed up, and after we had obtained actionable intelligence from him, that’s when the
F.B.I. folks on the ground then read him his Miranda rights. But keep in mind, Richard
Reid was read his Miranda rights five minutes after he was arrested, under the previous
Administration. Some of the same critics of our approach have been employing this policy
for years.
KATIE COURIC: Chris from Falls Church, Virginia writes, “Mr. President, I lost my house
two years ago and I’ve been out of work for a year. Can the Federal Government really
216 3 Style
stimulate the economy enough to start creating new jobs any time soon?” Without getting
into too much policy speak, what would you say to Chris?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I’d say to Chris—I know how tough it’s been. I’d say that we are
seeing the corner turn on the economy growing again. Last year, at this time, the economy
had contracted, had shrunk by six percent. We know now that last quarter it had grown by
six percent. That’s a good sign that companies are starting to pick up hiring again, because
they see the opportunities to go out there and make money.
It’s not happening as fast as we’d like. And that’s why there’s still some things we can do in
terms of tax credits for small businesses. Taking some of that TARP money that’s been
repaid and giving it to community banks, so that they can lend it to small businesses.
Giving job credits to small businesses for hiring. Potentially, a million small businesses out
there could get $5,000 for each employee they hire this year. All those things, I think, are
moving us in the right direction. And my hope is, is that [note the reduplicative copula!]
for folks who are unemployed, they’re gonna start seeing concrete improvement in their
own lives in the next few months.” (Lynn Sweet, “Katie Couric Super Bowl Obama
Interview,” Chicago Sun Times, February 7, 2010)
Given the instances highlighted above (in boldface italics), one can only adjudge
President Obama’s use of the word, when referring to terrorists and drug dealers, to
be at complete variance with its ordinary stylistic value. Like all linguistic aber-
rations, his idiosyncratic usage must be seen as reflecting an aberrant forma mentis.
This is the only interpretation one can come to in the presence of the blithe
equalization of malefactors with morally neutral referents (F.B.I. agents and the
unemployed).
Glossary
fatuous, adj.: foolish, pretentious, and silly, especially in a smug or
self-satisfied way
otiosity, n. < otiose, adj.: having no practical function; redundant;
superfluous
The utterly fatuous phrase let me be clear, favored especially by speciously artic-
ulate politicians like Barack Obama, is bleated constantly these days. Naturally,
nothing that follows this phrase is necessarily clearer than what came before, so its
complete otiosity is like a linguistic poke in the eye of those who are forced to hear
it. Hopefully, it will soon have run its course as another token of insincerity and be
dumped on the scrap heap of history.
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3.15 No(t a) Problem 217
Glossary
calque, v. < calque (= loan translation), n.: a form of borrowing from one
language to another whereby the semantic components of a given term are
literally translated into their equivalents in the borrowing language.
English superman, for example, is a loan translation from German
Übermensch
equipossible, adj.: what can occur equally in a probability experiment
réplique, n.: a reply or response (French)
tout court: and nothing else; simply; just (French)
trebuchet, n.: a medieval catapult for hurling heavy stones (French)
viva voce: orally rather than in writing (Latin)
Glossary
alliteration, n.: the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of
sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables
anacrusis, n.: one or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of
verse, before the reckoning of the normal meter begins
anapestic, adj. < anapest, n.: a metrical foot consisting of two short or
unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable
The rebarbative and utterly supererogatory phrase, on the ground, bleated by all and
sundry in current media speech, preceded or not by the word boots in military
contexts, may owe its popularity to metrical structure, namely its anapestic stress
(with boots serving as an anacrusis when prefixed). (Cf. at the end of the day.)
This shows yet again the persistent recurrence in English to poetic devices
willy-nilly, heedless of the doggerelesque imprint features like alliteration, so
prominent in advertising lingo, invariably leave on phraseology, thereby tending to
push its units even further into the category of verbal pollutants.
Glossary
paralinguistic, adj. <paralinguistics, n.: the aspects and study of spoken
communication that accompany speech but do not involve words, such as
body language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice
timbre, n.: the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from
other sounds of the same pitch and volume
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3.17 Paralinguistic (Mis)Behavior 219
If the face is the window of the soul (cf. Latin vultus est index animi), then speech is
the window of the mind. Pauses between words are also part of speech, and as such
are to be reckoned as indices of mental states.
Pauses may be motivated by a number of performance factors, including inde-
cision and habitual stammering. But nothing except some kind of deficiency
explains pausing between “President” and “Komorowski,” as did President Barack
Obama in his recorded remarks from Poland, broadcast over the radio, addressing
his Polish counterpart. Not only does this particular pause—i.e., between gram-
matically closely-bound words—signify a lack of fluency, it also betrays a lack of
connection to the addressee and to the context on the utterer’s part.
The language of Mr. Obama’s public speaking, despite all the praise heaped on it
by commentators for its putative rhetorical skill, is actually often less than fluent,
which is to say that the words do not flow (Latin fluens, fluēnt-, present participle of
fluere, ‘to flow’). When these commentators say—as did the one on the BBC World
Service, whose words accompanied the clip—that Mr. Obama sounds “professo-
rial,” the mind boggles (v. intrans.). Unnatural hesitation, pauses between words,
elongated enunciation: are these the phonetic characteristics that make speech
“professorial?” If this is an accurate judgment by the public, it can only reflect badly
on the professoriate..
3.19 Phonostylistics
Glossary
gavotte, n. music for a French peasant dance of Baroque origin in moderately
quick duple meter
220 3 Style
Glossary
voice, n.: a property of verbs or a set of verb inflections indicating the relation
between the subject and the action expressed by the verb: “Birds build
nests” uses the active voice; “nests built by birds” uses the passive voice
The word please is so ubiquitous that one hardly gives a second thought to how it is
used—and whether there may have been a change in how it is construed in its status
as a verb. Here is how the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
(4th ed., 2006) defines it:
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3.20 Please in the Passive Voice 221
v. tr.
1. To give enjoyment, pleasure, or satisfaction to; make glad or contented.
2. To be the will or desire of: May it please the court to admit this firearm as evidence.
v. intr.
1. To give satisfaction or pleasure; be agreeable: waiters who try hard to please.
2. To have the will or desire; wish: Do as you please. Sit down, if you please.
When it comes to the use of the passive voice, there is a generational difference
applying to the acceptance or rejection of pleased (past passive participle) as uttered
by a speaker of inferior status/rank toward an interlocutor of superior status/rank.
A member of the older generation will, for instance, tend to reject as impolite (if not
impertinent) a greeting by a waiter of a diner couched in the form “We’re pleased to
have you,” since the expression of pleasure by a person rendering service can
hardly be relevant to the context of such an interaction, the rank of the waiter being
necessarily construed as inferior to that of the customer. But for speakers of the
younger generation—as well as generations of older speakers with less finely-tuned
sensitivities to matters of rank—such uses of the passive voice of the verb to please
routinely pass muster without raising a stylistic eyebrow.
It should be noted that the asymmetric rank relations obtaining between par-
ticipants in the speech act of significantly different ages can be neutralized and
inverted when special circumstances intervene, as in the student-teacher relation.
Accordingly, a seventy-one-year-old man being instructed by a twenty-six-year-old
fitness trainer could hardly take umbrage at being told that the instructor “is
pleased” with his progress.
Glossary
anaphoric, adj. < anaphora, n.: the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase
at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs; for
example; the use of a linguistic unit, such as a pronoun, to refer back to
another unit
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological
enlargement
hyperurbanism, n.: a pronunciation or grammatical form or usage produced
by a speaker of one dialect according to an analogical rule formed by
comparison of the speaker’s own usage with that of another, more pres-
tigious, dialect and often applied in an inappropriate context, especially in
an effort to avoid sounding countrified, rural, or provincial;
hypercorrection
222 3 Style
All linguistic variety, including social and dialectal differentiation within a given
language, is necessarily the product of historical changes, some of which are still in
progress at a given point in that language’s development. Members of a speech
community use such innovations to signal a variety of messages, such as “stronger
meaning,” “group solidarity,” “greater intimacy,” or their opposites. Innovations
can be motivated not only by strictly linguistic reasons but by systems of values that
also apply to aspects of human behavior beyond speech.
Particularly frequent in present-day American English are spontaneous gram-
matical innovations that redundantly repeat, duplicate, or extend elements of their
traditional normative counterparts without any apparent gain in communicative
content. Pleonasm is the most familiar category of such hypertrophic forms, some
of which have in fact become part of the norm. A rational explication of such
changes rests on the key assumption that any novel expression, apart from the
content invested in it by grammar and pragmatics, has a specific value—or con-
notative content—by virtue of being different from a traditional expression with the
same grammatical and pragmatic content. But in a more abstract sense such changes
are ultimately to be explained as instantiations of broader cultural and ideological
values.
A. VALUE
When one speaks of values as a determinant of linguistic changes, many small
examples come to mind, for instance
(1) informant vs. informer,
where the older and traditional second variant is being replaced by first. Note
that the two suffixes differ in length, and that the newer variant displays the longer
of the two. This means that the older variant, informer, has taken on a pejorative
value and hence is to be avoided.
Or take the common practice of dropping the article the before specifying per-
sons by their class membership, as in
(2) [Ø]commentator Dan Goldman vs. the commentator Dan Goldman.
Here the values-oriented interpretation suggests that Americans who habitually
drop the article have incorporated the attitude summarized by the formula “you ARE
what you DO.”
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3.21 Pleonasms and Other Hypertrophies 223
Another common switch in values accounts for the replacement of the traditional
treatment of class designations as inanimate, when referring to them with the rel-
ative pronouns who and what, with a focus on their human membership, resulting in
the occurrence of who rather than which, as in
(3) companies who vs. companies which; cf. “The computer who tracks the
standings…” (John Feinstein, sports commentator, N[ational] P[ublic] R
[adio], “M[orning] E[dition],” 11/30/07).
This is paralleled by the difference in grammatical number between British and
American English when referring to mass nouns, as in
(4) the family/cabinet are vs. the family/cabinet is.
When one hears examples like
(5) “marquee issues” (unidentified male commentator, NPR, “All Things
Considered,” 1/10/06—discussing the Alito confirmation hearings)
(6) “The internal conflict between Fatah and Hamas may get equal billing with
the struggle against Israel.” (Eric Westervelt, reporter, NPR, “ME,” 5/22/06)
(7) “… before helping other customers [instead of ‘passengers’] with their
oxygen mask.” (Continental Airlines in-flight safety announcement, 7/7/06),
the attitude of the speaker towards the content of each utterance dictates the
choice of words. The very serious matter of confirmation hearings for a nominee to
the Supreme Court of the United States is being treated as if it were merely an
entertainment or show business (“marquee issues”), as is the terrible strife resulting
in numerous deaths in the Middle East (“get equal billing”). In the last of this triplet
of examples, there has been a subtle shift in the way the airline personnel regard
their human cargo: instead of focusing on their status as “passengers,” they are now
addressed as producers of revenue (“customers”).
B. ERRORS
A shift in value is not the only matter at stake in discussing pleonasm and other
hypertrophies. The latter term is apt because of its medical connotations, since a
linguistic hypertrophy is not merely an unwarranted enlargement or bloating but an
error, a failure of thought, hence akin to something somatically abnormal. While
linguists rarely acknowledge the importance of outright error in language change,
the histories of all languages are littered with cases. Here are some recent ones:
(8) “I’m picking you and I.” (John Feinstein [?], NPR, “ME,” 5/24/93); cf. “And
those two deaths bound you and she together indissolubly for life.”
(P. D. James, Shroud for a Nightingale [New York: Popular Library, 1971],
p. 278)
(9) “Their effort is geared at getting out the vote …” (Cokie Roberts, com-
mentator, NPR, “ME,” 6/5/06)
224 3 Style
(10) “The cup is half-empty, the cup is half-full …” [twice in the same interview]
(Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California Emeritus, NPR, “Talk of the
Nation,” 11/29/07)
The last example is particularly revealing because the speaker doesn’t realize
that the locution depends on a transparent container—glass—but for which no
liquid could be observed to be measured.
C. CATEGORIES AND EXAMPLES
Here is a broad range of hypertrophic examples by category, with commentary
when appropriate:
I. CONTEXTUAL HYPERTROPHY
(11) “There was a moment back in 2002 when… [opening sentence]” (Caryn
James, “Aniston Agonistes: Good Girl, Bad Choices,” NYT, 6/5/06, p. B1)
(12) “But none has gone quite so spectacularly to the bad as John Amery, the
elder son of Churchill’s old friend and wartime Secretary of State for India,
who ended up being hanged for treason in 1945. Back in 1949 Amery was
one of the subjects…
(John Campbell, “Nasty and Short,” TLS, 11/18/05)
(13) “back in January”—said in February (unidentified man, viva voce; cf. [way]
back [when])
The almost de rigueur contemporary insertion of back before temporal expres-
sions headed by such words as in and when is an innovation in American English
(and perhaps in British as well), and an instance of hypertrophy when the time
referred to is relatively proximate, not distal.
II. ANAPHORIC HYPERTROPHY
(14) “The days when blue-collar work could be passed down the family line,
those days are over.” (Gay N. Chaison, Prof. of Labor Relations, Clark
Univ., quoted in NYT, 11/19/05, p. B7]
(15) my sister-in-law, she … [possible interference from Romance langs.]
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3.21 Pleonasms and Other Hypertrophies 225
(45) “But far too many seemed to be innocents or lowly foot soldiers …”
(Editorial, NYT, 3/8/06, p. A26)
(46) It is simply that simple.” (Sen. Diane Feinstein, quoted in NYT, 1/25/06,
p. A16—also heard on NPR)
(47) “I for one would have very strong opposition to any kind of star chamber
proceeding that’s held in private.” (eadem, quoted in NYT Magazine, by
William Safire, “On Language,” 1/17/99, p. 18)
(48) “The one statistic that keeps China’s leaders up awake at night is …” (Andy
Rothman, stock broker, NPR, Marketplace, 1/16/06)
(49) “As we advance ahead timewise …” (Bob Stokes, weather forecaster, The
Weather Channel, 10/25/99)
(50) “Each video contains two 1-hour episodes on each video.” (attributed to
Columbia House [home-video mail-order company], by William Safire, “On
Language,” NYT Magazine, 7/18/99, [p. ?])
(51) “Currently as of now we have spent…” (Rep. Jerry Lewis, “Newshour,”
PBS, 7/27/99)
(52) “My other fellow senators …” (Sen. Robert Bennett, “CNN Saturday,”
1/23/99)
(53) “ …four straight days in a row” (stock broker, viva voce, Manchester, Vt.,
1999)
(54) “ …also received cash payments as well.” (unidentified news reader, “World
Today,” CNN, 1/24/99)
(55) “ …increasingly more violent.” (John W. Slattery, letter to the editor, NYT
Magazine, [?/?/]99, p. 14)
(56) “Obviously I’m stating the obvious.” (lawyer, viva voce, Manchester, Vt.,
6/6/06)
(57) “Kissinger and Putin met at Putin’s country dacha.” (Daniel Schorr, com-
mentator, NPR, “All Things Considered,” 6/7/06); cf. “shrimp scampi,”
“PIN number,” etc.
(58) “ …to move progress [in the Serbia—Kosovo negotiations] forward …”
(Emily Harris, reporter, NPR, “All Things Considered,” 7/24/06)
(59) “‘It was like, “Oh, my God, we’re on the cusp of something big about to
happen”,’ Mr. Washington said.” (Diane Cardwell, “Daring to Believe,
Blacks Savor Obama Victory,” NYT, 1/5/08, p. A1)
VI. HYPERBOLE
(60) absolutely
(61) great, tremendous, terrific, awesome, etc.
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3.21 Pleonasms and Other Hypertrophies 227
(63) “There’s a lot of sadness here.” ([in a context where the place has already
been stipulated] attributed to Jamie Dettmer, director of media relations, Cato
Institute, in “Columnist Resigns His Post, Admitting Lobbyist Paid Him,”
NYT, 12/17/05, p. A15)
(64) “Where’s your heart rate at?” (female fitness trainer [with a B.A.], viva voce
[speaking to a client wearing a monitor], W. LA, 6/5/06); cf. “What’s your
heart rate at?”
The use of the adverbial phrase out there is particularly interesting because it
betokens some sort of “avoidance of placeless existence,” if one may call it that.
VIII. DEICTIC INTRODUCTION
(65) “The reality is is [that] …”
(66) “The fact of the matter is is [that] …”
D. ANALYSIS
One could easily think that some of these hypertrophies arise from a need to be
explicit, to repeat for emphasis, but a close analysis reveals that this is not so. They
are all examples of redundancy and tautology. Pleonasms always exhibit a
broadening of boundaries, and it is undoubtedly true that boundaries are among the
most unstable of linguistic entities, more liable to shift over time than other such
units. But a stereoscopic view of the entire variety of cases where an enlargement
has occurred reveals what is at bottom A FAILURE OF THOUGHT in a “culture of
excess.” Linguistic hypertrophy may, in the final analysis, be particularly true of the
grammars of historically marginalized groups in society, for whom literacy and
education have only recently become as common as among the traditional elites. It
would be tempting to speculate that pleonasm and other hypertrophies in speech
and writing are—in their aspect of characteristically displaced boundaries—a lin-
guistic manifestation of an unstable social identity.
Glossary
Church Slavonic: the medieval Slavic language used in the translation of the
Bible by Cyril and Methodius and in early literary manuscripts and still
used as a liturgical language by several churches of Eastern Orthodoxy
idée fixe: a fixed idea; an obsession (French)
lexical, adj,: of or relating to the words or vocabulary of a language
228 3 Style
Plato says that “thought and speech are the same; only the former, which is a silent
inner conversation of the soul with itself, has been given the special name of
thought” (Sophist 263E). (My hero, C. S. Peirce, agrees.) What flows from this is
that there is no thought worth the name apart from language.
However, the form that inner speech takes may vary almost without limit. In
those for whom poetry is second nature, verse often serves as a mnemonic. Thus the
poems of my father, Constantine Shapiro (1896–1992), are firmly embedded in my
memory and can be disinterred therefrom by random occurrences, as was the case
with the following lyric this morning:
Oнa, кaк вeтepoк, лeгкa,
И гoлoc нeжный,
И чepный лoкoн c милoгo чeлa
Ha лик cпaдaeт бeлocнeжный.
Oткyдa пpилeтeлa
Tы, дyнoвeниe пoлeй?
Mнe милы poщи пoтeмнeлы
И coлoвeй.
Я им в млaдeнчecтвe внимaл,
To тaк дaлёкo!
Ho этoт гoлoc внoвь вce paccкaзaл
B мгнoвeньe oкa.
1937
Readers sensitive to the notion of idées fixes will have no difficulty divining the
object in my mind associated with this poem.
[Analytical addendum (“lost in translation”): The poem in the above essay is
lexically nuanced in a way that enhances its stylistic subtlety but that cannot be
rendered into English. The vocabulary of classical Russian poetry includes items
that are traditional high-style equivalents, drawn from the language’s Church
Slavonic stratum, of ordinary (vernacular) words. Here, in the last two lines of the
first stanza (И чepный лoкoн c милoгo чeлa/Ha лик cпaдaeт бeлocнeжный ‘And a
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3.22 Poetic Consciousness and the Language of Thought 229
black lock of hair from her lovely forehead/Falls onto her snow-white face’), this
pertains to chelo ‘forehead’ for lob (also ‘forehead’) and lik ‘visage’ for litso ‘face’.
These grandiloquent words serve to elevate the person described.]
Glossary
lexicon, n.: the morphemes of a language considered as a group
Glossary
contraindicated, adj.: inadvisable
syndeton, n.: a form of syntactic coordination of the elements of a sentence
with the help of a coordinating conjunction
Some speakers, when pronouncing the numerals in the designation of years of the
current first decade of the 21st century, place the conjunction and between the
words thousand and nine (for instance). No such conjunction appears when
speaking the dates of the 20th century (or earlier). One can hear this trait consis-
tently on the radio in the speech of Garrison Keillor (The Writer’s Almanac), among
his other verbal idiosyncrasies (which include—despite his excellent diction and
230 3 Style
Glossary
exogenous, adj.: produced from without; external to a group
unreflexively, adv. < unreflexive, adj.: spontaneous; unpremeditated
With the onslaught of mass media and the entrenchment of standard languages,
regional accents are becoming an endangered species throughout the industrialized
world. To be sure, these varieties continue to play a role in cementing solidarity
among members of a (relatively) homogeneous speech community without nec-
essarily excluding newcomers whose speech adheres without exception to the
standard. From the perspective of an outsider looking in, moreover, regional
accents can be seen to have a certain connotative content, one that arouses a kind of
exogenous aesthetic admiration for the colorful, unadulterated, and authentic fea-
tures of language in use. What is routinely taken unreflexively by the speaker of a
regional dialect as nothing more than linguistic habit, in the service of purely
utilitarian communicative goals, can alternately be perceived by the speaker of the
standard as an aesthetic object.
Thus, episodic exposure to an authentic native pronunciation in a region (like
rural Vermont) where the colorless standard otherwise reigns supreme can have the
effect of causing a positive reevaluation of dialects for their (unintended) symbolic
byproduct, viz. a heightened awareness of the historical persistence of linguistic
mores that connote a subtle form of human solidarity.
Glossary
axiological, adj. < axiology, n.: the study of the nature of values and value
judgments
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3.26 The Linguistic Acknowledgment of Human Identity 231
When a large sign directing patients and ambulances to the entrance of a hospital’s
emergency room has the words EMERGENCY and EMERGENCIA emblazoned
on it in neon-lit majuscules, the first (in English) above the second (in Spanish), one
might justifiably question why any literate Spanish speaker would require the
second for guidance at all, the meaning being completely transparent from the
English version alone despite the minor orthographic discrepancy.
There are two reasons for the seeming redundancy that suggest themselves, one
practical, the other ontological and axiological. First, the occurrence of the Spanish
version below the English signifies that, though subordinate in status, Spanish is
spoken by at least some members of the hospital staff. Second, and more impor-
tantly, it is a sign—in the Peircean as well as the quotidian sense—that acknowl-
edges soundlessly to Latino patients that their cultural status as speakers of a
minority language in contemporary America does not ipso facto render them a
quantité négligeable at precisely the vulnerable moment when they appear as
suffering human beings most in need of succor.
Glossary
catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase; the use of a strained
figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
contamination, n.: the process by which one word or phrase is altered because
of mistaken associations with another word or phrase; for example, the
substitution of irregardless for regardless by association with such words
as irrespective
One characteristic of idioms is their FIXITY, which is to say that they are not subject
to alteration at the whim of the speaker/writer.
When a radio announcer with good diction, who is otherwise articulate, says “cut
him a break” (as did Steve Inskeep, “Morning Edition,” NPR, 12/20/10) instead of
the idiomatic “give him a break,” one can easily trace the source of the mistake (“cut
him some slack”) and recognize it as an instance of contamination. All the same, it is
a catachresis nonetheless, stylistically offensive and bordering on the ungrammatical.
Glossary
dissyllabic, adj.: consisting of or having two syllables only
marked/unmarked, adj. <markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all
semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a
superstructure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptu-
ally restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted)
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3.29 Stylistic Retention of Unproductive Stress Patterns 233
Glossary
catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase; the use of a strained
figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
denotative, adj. <denotation, n.: the most specific or direct meaning of a
word, in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings
lexicalized, adj. <lexicalization, n.: the treatment of a formerly freely com-
posed, grammatically regular, and semantically transparent phrase or
inflected form as a formally or semantically idiomatic expression
pragmatistic, adj. <pragmatism, n.: an American movement in philosophy
founded by C. S. Peirce and William James and marked by the doctrines
that the meaning of conceptions is to be sought in their practical bearings
tout court: ‘simply, briefly; just so’ (< French)
trope, n.: figure of speech
What has happened here is evident when compared with the etymology of the
word pantheon and the senses adduced for it in Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary, Unabridged (Merriam-Webster, 2002):
Etymology: Middle English Panteon, temple at Rome built by the Roman statesman
Agrippa died 12 B.C. and rebuilt by the Roman emperor Hadrian died A.D.138, from Latin
Pantheon, from Greek pantheion temple dedicated to all gods, from pan- + theion, neuter
of theios of the gods, from theos god
1: a temple dedicated to all the gods
2: a treatise on the pagan gods
3: a building serving as the burial place of or containing memorials to the famous dead of
a nation
4 a: the gods of a people; especially: the gods officially recognized as major or state
deities b: the persons most highly esteemed by an individual or group
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3.30 Metaphors We Die by (Metaphorically) 235
That two journalists and their editors, for whom writing is presumably their
stock in trade, could conceive of pantheon as the metaphorical locus of anger is a
failure of thought tout court—and a particularly telling one for the current state of
American English in its pragmatistic dimension.
Glossary
aetiological <aetiology, n.: a science or doctrine of causation or of the
demonstration of causes; a branch of knowledge concerned with the
causes of particular phenomena
divinatory <divination <divine, adj.: being in the service or worship of a
deity; sacred
hieratic, adj.: of or associated with sacred persons or offices; sacerdotal
illud tempus: a mythical or paradisiacal time before time existed (Latin)
Glossary
timbral <timbre, n.: the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes
it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume
Where communication of information or reference are not the main focus of speech,
the classical rhetoricians conceive of language, broadly speaking, as serving the
ends of persuasion, but they do not speak of language as power. However, it is
obvious that speakers vary in the degree to which their utterances are adjudged to
be well-formed stylistically, and not just grammatically. When speech is
acknowledged as rising to the level of ELOQUENCE, it becomes an instrument of
POWER, specifically as a means of establishing the speaker’s PRESTIGE. Practically,
then, prestige as power can be increased linguistically in the measure of the
speaker’s eloquence.
Contemporary American speech, both public and private, is characterized,
however, not by eloquence but by DISFLUENCY or DYSLALIA. What is meant here by
these two terms is not their clinical sense (‘impairment of the ability to produce
smooth, fluent speech’; ‘a speech defect caused by malformation of or imperfect
distribution of nerves to the organs of articulation’), but a species of linguistic
INEPTNESS (‘an interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the
repetition of a word or syllable’); more specifically, by the inability to speak well,
which involves word choice more than delivery.
The analogy with musical performance is particularly apt. A musician who does
not have a superior technical command of their instrument will produce a disfluent,
inarticulate, ineloquent performance, just as a speaker who does not have a superior
command of their language’s vocabulary and syntax will produce inarticulate
utterances (without any necessary violations of grammatical well-formedness).
Casting aside clinical terminology and expressing oneself in demotic vocabu-
lary, those who habitually speak their mother tongue in a TONGUE-TIED manner—
their number is now legion—not only subvert the referential function of language
but, more importantly, lessen their prestige and hence their power.
It is interesting, in this connection, to compare Russian to American English.
Notably, where English has no such designation in ordinary speech, Russian has a
specific word for inarticulacy, кocнoязычиe, which is a Church Slavonic com-
pound noun consisting of the two lexical elements ‘stagnant’ + ‘tongue/language’.
The very fact that such a word exists in the ordinary lexicon of Russian connotes a
different SOCIAL SET (attitude) by speakers of Russian toward their language from
those of English speakers. In practice, there is no gainsaying that even Russian
children and adolescents—not to speak of adults with a fully developed command
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3.32 Eloquence as Power 237
of vocabulary and syntax—are typically much more articulate than their American
counterparts and exhibit none of the disfluencies that mar the latter’s utterances.
Closer to home, comparing British speakers of English to American, the musical
analogy comes to mind yet again. Every written piece of music can be performed
with different stylistic inflections and timbral emphases, depending on the skill and
taste of the musician. Speech implementing an arresting choice of lexical units or
syntactic constructions is akin to notes played not just accurately but with a variety
of embellishments. In this respect British speakers are generally more adroit than
are their American counterparts.
Glossary
trope, n.: a figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a
metaphor
American public discourse is full of clichés, especially of the figurative kind, so that
shallow phrases like “low-hanging fruit” and “kick the can down the road” are
inevitably to be met with at every turn. In fact, there are certain speakers—not just
politicians or persons in the media—who cannot put anything into words without
resorting to locutions of this sort. By extension, the use of figurative expressions
from one stylistic domain in referring to material in another—for instance, calling a
physician’s practice a “hustle” (without any necessary pejorative connotation)—is
to be regarded as yet another prevalent form of linguistic self-indulgence.
In all such instances, what we have in current speech is a tilt toward meaning by
indirection, which amounts to an avoidance of precision. Plainspokenness and
direct designation of concepts and actions are sacrificed at the altar of what is
erroneously taken to be enhanced expressiveness, whereas all that this discourse
strategy achieves is a reliance on clichés and dead tropes that exposes their utterers’
fundamental impoverishment of thought.
Glossary
illocutionary, adj.: pertaining to a linguistic act performed by a speaker in
producing an utterance, as suggesting, warning, promising, or requesting.
238 3 Style
Certain species of language are not mainly intended to convey information (which
they may also do concomitantly) but to designate the performance of an act (“I
pronounce you man and wife.”). They are called “performatives,” the acts so
designated then being termed “illocutionary.” Such cases of words serving as acts
are—in the round—called “speech acts.”
Different languages have different norms when it comes to speech acts. An
interesting difference culturally is the one associated with the act of thanking one’s
interlocutor (or an audience). For instance, judging by close observation of Finnish
speakers using fluent English as a lingua franca in America, the act of thanking
through speech (oral as well as written) is much less frequent for Finns than for
native speakers of American English. The same is true for the act of congratulation.
For such speakers, when using English, the words expressing these acts (“Thanks,”
“Congratulations”) do not naturally come into speech when embedded in an
American cultural context. A kind of mental code-switching is required in order to
produce the words in a foreign language that are adequate to the cultural norms of
that language, and not all speakers are either able or willing to perform the switch
consistently. They may not even realize that they are violating politesse.
This sort of cultural overlay in the case of performatives can even prompt
meta-linguistic commentary when multilingual speakers interact. For example, the
author remembers at least one occasion when his otherwise completely native
Russian was criticized in Russia for being too polite.
Glossary
anent, prep.: regarding, concerning
conjoined, adj.: being, coming, or brought together so as to meet, touch, or
overlap
idiomaticity, n. < idiomatic, adj. < idiom, n.: an expression established in the
usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical
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3.35 Idiomaticity (Anent Freedom and Constraint in Language Use) 239
All languages have idioms, defined in Webster’s ‘as an expression established in the
usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical construction (as
no, it wasn’t me) or in having a meaning that cannot be derived as a whole from the
conjoined meanings of its elements (as Monday week for “the Monday a week after
next Monday”; many a for “many taken distributively”; had better for “might
better”; how are you? for “what is the state of your health or feelings?”).’ In
learning a language, speakers have to learn not just the rules of grammar but also
the rules defining idiomatic use of the language. This happens naturally in the case
of native speakers acquiring their own language from childhood on; and more or
less naturally in the acquisition of a foreign language as well.
Idioms involve a certain degree of arbitrariness with respect to their incorporation of
a language’s collocation rules, and a non-native speaker has to navigate these linguistic
shoals in learning to distinguish between idiomaticity and normative grammar. Here is
an example of the difficulty involved as overheard in an interview broadcast recently
on the BBC World Service with the Belorussian ethno-jazz singer Rusia, who appears
to have a fluent command of English. It has to do with the unidiomatic word
*schoolguy concocted on the pattern of schoolboy and schoolgirl. Rusia uttered this
word during the interview as part of the phrase “schoolguys and schoolgirls,” thereby
violating the rules of idiomatic word formation in English, even as she followed the
rules of compounding. It just so happens that English has only schoolboy but no
*schoolguy. Hence Rusia could be said to have failed to observe the boundary between
freedom and constraint inhering in the rules of English word formation.
By contrast, a seven-year old boy with English as a first language already
“knows” that he has the freedom to coin the phrase word blind on the model of
color blind, when he utters it in reference to his golden retriever in the process of
asserting to his ten-year-old sister that the their pet dog is not “word-blind” qua dog
despite being unable to read. Cf. Psalms 8:2 “Out of the mouth of babes and
sucklings hast thou ordained strength …,” etc.
Glossary
prandial, adj.: of or relating to a meal
réplique, n.: a reply, a response (French)
240 3 Style
Glossary
creole, n.: a language that has evolved from a pidgin (vide infra) but serves as
the native language of a speech community
for the nonce: for the particular or express purpose; for the one, single, or
particular occasion
idiolect, n.: the language or speech pattern of one individual at a particular
period of their life
lingua franca: a medium of communication between peoples of different
languages
(< Italian ‘Frankish [i.e., European] language’)
pidgin, n.: a form of speech that usually has a simplified grammar and a
limited often mixed vocabulary and is used principally for intergroup
communication
sociolect, n.: a variety of a language that is used by a particular social group
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3.37 Cacoglossia (Broken English) 241
affects their speech. This is immediately apparent when one listens (on the BBC
World Service, for instance) to speakers who struggle with the global lingua franca,
English.
As a medium of effective linguistic communication, of course, broken English
must often serve because its producers may not have the luxury of speaking only
when they know their version of English is grammatically correct. What they say,
unfortunately, can easily grate on the ear of a native speaker (or of a foreigner
whose English is impeccable) because it is a species of what can—for the nonce—
be called CACOGLOSSIA (< Gk jajό1 [kakós] ‘bad, evil’ + ckῶrra [glóssa]
‘tongue, language’).
Cacoglossia is a phenomenon that ought to alert one to the conceptual truth of
the assertion that speaking a language is like playing a musical instrument. When a
person plays an instrument badly and produces cacophony, it is strictly parallel to
the ill-formedness of the speech of those who have an imperfect command of the
language they are using to communicate. Beauty, as regards both music and speech,
can only obtain when the product and the underlying design (= grammar, score) of
each sound domain are in harmony.
Glossary
autres temps, autres moeurs: other times, other customs (French)
catachrestic, adj. < catachresis, n.: the misuse of words
extempore, adv.: extemporaneously, on the spur of the moment (Latin)
grandiloquent, adj.: marked by a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or
bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language
in situ, adv.: in the natural or original position (Latin)
Listening to the BBC World Service two days ago, one heard the correspondent
John Donnison, reporting from Israel on the conflict in Gaza, utter a sentence in
which the “neither …nor” construction was mangled as “neither …or”—a clear
violation of English grammar. The utterance was delivered with such clarity as to
allow no possibility for mishearing due to a vagary of radio transmission. The mind
boggled at hearing a native speaker of British English commit such an egregious
grammatical error.
Another example, this time from America. Attending a talk (delivered extem-
poraneously) at a university by a female biologist—a professor and native speaker of
American English in her sixties—one was struck by how many grammatical errors
she made in the course of forty minutes. During the discussion that followed, several
other persons—all evidently native speakers of American English—offered
242 3 Style
comments and questions extempore, and in almost every case their speech was not
entirely free of grammatical error. Under the circumstances, these data, caught on the
fly, might seem unusual and merely anecdotal. But as a matter of actual fact, partially
catachrestic speech is rather to be seen as habitual than exceptional in America.
Indeed, if one is multilingual, one notices that contemporary American English
speech in the raw stands out for its high incidence of grammatical error. By contrast,
in other languages that are either habitual for or are known to the present writer, even
children—let alone educated speakers—do not routinely make mistakes in their
native speech. Listening in situ to the language of Japanese or Russian children as
young as five or six, for instance, one rarely detects errors that are not simply
imitations of adult misapplied analogical extensions of grammatical patterns.
It pays to remind oneself that America has a long history of a distinct
socio-cultural aversion to and mistrust of grandiloquent diction in ordinary lin-
guistic practice. Indeed, in our own time speaking well is less and less prized as a
cultural value—if it ever was at all. Moreover, eloquence outside public speaking
has long been regarded with suspicion as a means by which snake oil is sold and
other confidence tricks perpetrated. When it comes to professors and other aca-
demics, one need only remember the obsolete American designation ‘egghead’ for
‘intellectual’, used to comport not only a direct reference to the typically bald pate
of such persons but indirectly to their speech as well. Autres temps, autres moeurs.
Glossary
de rigueur: prescribed or required by fashion, etiquette, or custom especially
among sophisticated or informed persons
for the nonce: for the particular or express purpose; for the one, single, or
particular occasion
pamplemousse, n.: grapefruit (French)
Human beings behave in a number of ways, many of which involve the use of
language. Speech, for example, is typically accompanied by gesticulation with the
hands and shoulders (and other parts of the body). As a whole, these phenomena
form the object of study called PARALINGUISTICS. But paralinguistic behavior
may extend to events where speech is answered by gesture and non-speech more
generally. Here is a fresh example.
A man in his seventies (let’s call him Monsieur Pamplemousse, for the nonce)
walks into the laundry room of his apartment building to wash some clothes and
greets a young woman, unknown to him and the only other person present, with his
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3.39 Uber die Motive des menschlichen Handelns … 243
customary “Good morning.” The woman smiles but does not answer. This strikes
M. Pamplemousse as rude. However, the woman’s motive(s) for not answering are
unclear. Perhaps she is unused to speaking to strangers, even to the routine extent of
answering an utterly automatic greeting. Perhaps she thinks (or has been taught to
think) that any linguistic act, even something as innocent as a morning greeting, is
not to be answered when coming from a strange man because it may be a (hidden)
overture to something less innocent.
By contrast, when M. Pamplemousse returns to retrieve his laundry from the
dryer, the only other occupant of the room is a young man (wearing the de rigueur
baseball cap characteristic nowadays of all persons of his age group), also a
stranger, whom he likewise greets with the customary “Good morning.” This time
his greeting is reciprocated (albeit sotto voce).
M. Pamplemousse’s sole evaluation of the young woman’s non-response is that
it violates his code of manners. But on reflection, he can understand the range of
possible motives of the woman’s behavior. Moreover, even such an unremarkable
event, particularly in the context of contemporary American urban life and its
mores, can provide food for thought about broader issues of language and culture,
witness the present vignette.
Glossary
adstructure, n.: substructure; subsidiary or particular structure within a
structural whole
anodize, v.: render anodyne, i.e., soothing to the mind or feelings
decorum, n.: propriety and good taste, especially in conduct, manners, or
appearance
finesse, n.: fineness or delicacy especially of workmanship, structure, texture,
or flavor
instantiate, v.: to represent (an abstraction or universal) by a concrete instance
meliorative, adj. < meliorate, v.: to make better or more tolerable
sentient, adj.: capable of sensation and of at least rudimentary consciousness
relations is forestalled and the transaction of the business of living with one’s
fellows is anodized and rendered more bearable.
When encountering an interlocutor who is extraordinarily polite and respectful,
one not only has the feeling of linguistic finesse but that of melioration in general of
the human condition. Every language has the wherewithal to fulfill this function,
but speakers necessarily vary (due to upbringing and temperament) in the degree to
which they are adept at implementing it. In this respect, perhaps more than in any
other aspect of interpersonal behavior, language has the capability of helping one
fulfill one’s capacity to realize what could even be called the religious dimension of
human consciousness that is at the root of our peculiarity as sentient beings.
Glossary
autochthonous, adj.: indigenous, native, aboriginal
condign, adj.: entirely in accordance with what is deserved or merited; neither
exceeding nor falling below one’s deserts
élan, n.: vigor, spirit, or enthusiasm typically revealed by assurance of
manner, brilliance of performance, or liveliness of imagination (< French)
paroemic, adj.: of the nature of a proverb; proverbial
perambulate, v.: to cover ground at a leisurely pace
Apart from poetry and art prose, language serves a purely utilitarian purpose, and its
users rarely have occasion to comment on its form, although an apt turn of phrase or
memorable formulation may call forth condign praise from an interlocutor.
One was reminded of the ability of language to elicit admiration for its aesthetic
force by the following vignette on a Manhattan street. The parents of a two-year-old
daughter were perambulating restaurant-wards in the company of an adult friend, a
native speaker of a pre-Revolutionary variety of Russian. The father, an Italian, and
the mother, a Russian, both in their forties, were discussing the question, which of
them their daughter resembled, when their companion offered the following rhymed
paroemic comment in Russian: Hи в мaть, ни в oтцa, a в пpoeзжeгo мoлoдцa.
Literally, this phrase—a well-known cliché—amounts to saying that the child takes
after neither the mother nor the father but “a passing swain.”
Upon hearing this utterance, the mother immediately expressed pleasurable
amazement, not at the content or purport of the proverb, but at the fact that their
walking companion had summoned it up (in what amounts to an alien,
non-autochthonous environment) , and at its poetic form. It should be added for
clarity that the mother, an art historian with a keen linguistic sense but little
opportunity to speak her mother tongue, was expressing an aesthetic appreciation
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3.41 Language as an Aesthetic Object 245
that is so characteristic of Russians when they hear their native language spoken
with élan in even the most humble contexts.
Glossary
divagation, n. < divagate, v.: to wander about or stray from one place or
subject to another
effete, adj.: totally devoid of an original positive drive or purposiveness
ironize, v.: to use irony: speak or behave ironically
literalist, n.: one that advocates or practices literalism, viz. adherence to the
explicit substance of an idea or expression
prolixity, n. < prolix, adj.: unduly prolonged or drawn out; diffuse, repeti-
tious, verbose
promiscuously, adv. < promiscuous, adj.: indiscriminate, careless
umbrage, n.: displeasure, resentment, annoyance
Apropos, only the most dogged literalist, without any real-life experience of the
situational use of the proverb cited in the preceding vignette (“Language as an
Aesthetic Object”), could comment that the mother must have “taken umbrage” at
having her child’s provenience ascribed to adultery, thereby implying some kind of
misplaced cosmic irony in her expressed admiration withal of the proverb’s poetic
form and of its utterer.”
Glossary
aqueous, adj.: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of water
advert, v.: to turn the mind or attention; pay heed or attention
beggar, v.: to reduce to inadequacy; exceed the resources of
demos, n.: the people of a nation considered as a political unit as distin-
guished from a tribe or kinship group
don, n.: a head, tutor, or fellow in an English university
flummoxer, n. < flummox, v.: to throw into perplexity; embarrass greatly
grandiloquent, adj.: marked by a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or
bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language
handmaiden, n.: something whose essential function is to serve and assist
lapidary, adj.: having the elegance and precision associated with inscriptions
on stone
letzten Endes: ‘in the end’, in the final analysis (German)
lexical, adj.: pertaining to the lexicon or to words
paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same word is used in
different senses or words similar in sound are set in opposition so as to
give antithetical force
semantic, adj.: of or relating to meaning in language
English is a marvelous language, verily a miracle of nature. It has the largest lexical
corpus of any language on earth, allowing nigh on an infinity of expressive means,
including a stylistic range unmatched by any other form of human communication.
But like a musical instrument and the repertoire at the player’s disposal, this rich
linguistic lode demands an awareness of one’s audience’s competence in under-
standing the form and content of what is being expressed. There is, in other words,
a discourse strategy involved in every linguistic utterance, no matter how trivial or
grandiloquent.
As a rule, British speakers (like British actors) have always enjoyed a decided
advantage vis-à-vis their American cousins when it comes to native linguistic
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3.43 Adjusting Speech to the Linguistic Competence of One’s Interlocutor(s) 247
competence. English is, letzen Endes, a creation of the English nation, and only
secondarily that of the American demos. In speaking any language, but particularly
English, one’s speech must be adjusted to suit one’s interlocutor(s): speaking like
an Oxford don to a six-year-old child can only be observed in quasi-pathological
situations, when the utterer persists in taking no account of his/her conversation
partner’s knowledge of the language. In normal speech situations, the utterer always
makes allowances for the interlocutor(s) linguistic competence—assuming, of
course, the latter is a known—and adjusts his/her speech, consciously or not, to
assure comprehension. After all, only a deliberate or pathological flummoxer
wishes to speak in such a way as to beggar understanding.
Here is a contemporary example: “I did somehow manage to keep up a heroic
correspondence with our son H., who nostalgically enough was at Tōdai this year,
and that made me feel like the fons et origo of all wisdom. Most of it was water off a
duck’s back, of course.” The phrase fons et origo, embedded in the first sentence, is
Latin for ‘font and origin’, common enough in educated Anglo-American written
discourse. But its use on the writer’s part presupposes a discourse strategy that takes
into account the addressee’s knowledge of the phrase, i.e., of the addressee’s lin-
guistic competence. And whether or not the writer intended it, in an addressee alert
to paronomasia, fons here may have inadvertently adverted to the “water” in the
phrase “like water off a duck’s back,” given the aqueous semantic link between the
two phrases.
To repeat: English is a marvelous linguistic instrument, truly the handmaiden of
lapidary expression when wielded by a virtuosic player.
Glossary
apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil or danger
constate, v.: to assert positively
dross, n.: something that is base, gross, or commonplace
explanans, n.: the explaining element in an explanation; the explanatory
premisses (Latin)
hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
intercalate, v.: to insert between or among existing elements
leitmotif, n.: something resembling a musical leitmotiv (as a word or phrase,
an emotion, an idea) that is repeated again and again; a dominant recur-
ring theme
pleonasm, n.: the use of more words than are required to express an idea;
redundancy; a superfluous word or phrase
248 3 Style
When it comes to discourse strategy, American English in the last twenty-five years
or so has undergone a marked decline in what can be called “straight talk” for want
of a better phrase or term, meaning discourse patterns that are not engorged by a
variety of fillers. The most common instance of linguistic superfluity, particularly
among younger speakers, is the hiccup-like insertion of the word like. Another such
word is the clause-initial basically; and to a lesser extent, so. All of these items have
been characterized for what they are elsewhere in these pages (see Index), as has the
general prevalence of HYPERTROPHY in its myriad forms, among which the
varieties of PLEONASM figure prominently.
What becomes clear as a leitmotif is the overarching concept of
QUALIFICATION. Speakers seem more and more unable to clothe their ideas in
linguistic dress that is not weighted down with dross. Here, again, as in so many
cases chronicled herein, what comes to mind as explanans is APOTROPAISM.
Qualification invariably comports some degree of pulling back from constating
things/ideas directly. The more hedges speech is intercalated with, the less likely
that its purport will entail (potential) danger.
Glossary
colloquialism, n.:an expression considered more appropriate to familiar
conversation than to formal speech or to formal writing
suprasegmental, adj.: of or relating to significant features of pitch, stress, and
juncture accompanying or superadded to vowels and consonants when the
latter are assembled in succession in the construction of a
speaker-to-hearer communication
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3.46 A Case of Linguistic Atavism (“Kick the Can Down the Road”) 249
Glossary
alliteration, n.: the repetition usually initially of a sound that is usually a
consonant in two or more neighboring words or syllables (as wild and
woolly, threatening throngs)
atavism, n.: recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook,
approach, or activity
bipartite, adj.: being in two parts
fatuous, adj.: marked by want of intelligence and rational consideration;
esp. marked by futile ill-founded hope or desire, by witless complacent
disregard of reality, or by inane lack of consideration
foot, n.: a unit of poetic meter consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables
in any of various set combinations
infantilistic, adj. < infantilism, n.: a condition of being abnormally childlike;
a retention of childish physical, mental, or emotional qualities in adult life
metrical, adj. < meter, n.: systematically arranged and measured rhythm in
verse
odious, adj.: deserving of hatred; exciting hatred or repugnance; hateful;
disagreeable; offensive; repulsive
paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same word is used in
different senses or words similar in sound are set in opposition so as to
give antithetical force
phraseological, adj. < phraseology, n.: the selection or arrangement of words
and phrases in the expression of ideas; manner or style of expression; the
particular language, terminology, or diction which characterizes a writer,
work, subject, language, place, etc.
phraseologism, n.: typical modes of expression that assemble words in order
to signify something that is not limited to the sum of the meanings of the
single words that compose them
predilection, n.: a preference or particular liking for something; a bias in favor
of something; a predisposition, a proclivity; also: the fact of having such a
liking or preference
prosodic < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
substrate, n.: something that is laid or spread under or that underlies and
supports or forms a base for something else; an underlying structure,
layer, or part
suprasegmental, adj.: a vocal effect that extends over more than one sound
segment in an utterance, such as pitch, stress, or juncture pattern
250 3 Style
trochaic, adj. < trochee, n.: a prosodic foot of two syllables of which the first
is long and the second short (as in Latin ante) or the first stressed and the
second unstressed (as in English motion)
truncate, v.: to abbreviate by or as if by cutting off
The utterly fatuous and stylistically odious phrase “kick the can down the road,” to
which the American media cling as a phraseological cliché with such tenacity,
might be explained as a case of linguistic atavism, specifically as an infantilistic
predilection for the alliteration of the two/k/’s of kick and can. Additionally, with
the metrical substrate of phraseologisms always a potential motivation for their
preservation, the one at issue falls into a trochaic pattern, namely a bipartite
structure consisting of two feet each, with the second foot in each case being
truncated by one syllable. Given the general lack of sophistication in media speech,
the lure of an infantile variety of paronomasia is evidently difficult to keep at bay.
Glossary
noisome, adj.: offensive to the smell or other senses
Every speaker of a language has their own individual manner of speaking, and this
extends beyond pronunciation to include word choice and syntax. Some features of
an individual’s speech habits may be considered annoying to one’s interlocutors or
audience, thus coming under the compass of what are called mannerisms. Of
course, what one person regards as an annoying mannerism in another’s speech
may be highly subjective and therefore not shared by all interlocutors or hearers.
The frequency with which a mannerism tends to occur obviously has an impact on
its assessment as annoying. In fact, any feature of speech that is highly repetitious is
in itself liable to be perceived as a mannerism and evaluated accordingly as an
annoying habit.
An example of the latter is the constant introduction at the beginning of prac-
tically every other utterance of the word look, which has the force of peremptoriness
and condescension toward one’s interlocutor. This annoying habit can be heard
with unfailing regularity in the responses of the NPR commentator Cokie Roberts
on Monday broadcasts of the program “Morning Edition.” The fact that what
follows this interjection is a string of commonplaces being paraded as insights only
exacerbates its noisome effect.
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3.48 Variable Forms of Address as an Indicator of Social Instability 251
Glossary
forename, n.: given (first) name
purport, n.: the meaning, import, or sense
sic, adv.: so; thus (Latin); usually written parenthetically to denote that a
word, phrase, passage, etc., that may appear strange or incorrect has been
written intentionally or has been quoted verbatim
to wit, adv.: that is to say
verbatim, adv.: in exactly the same words; word for word (Latin)
vexed, adj. (< vex, v.): much discussed or disputed
Forms of address in every language are always a reliable indicator of the norms of
interpersonal behavior in any given society. The American situation in the
twenty-first century as it pertains to this matter is a picture of instability and of a
marked disintegration of traditional norms. Here is some interesting evidence as
contained in a contemporary set of data.
While grading a total of 19 papers turned in by 18 freshmen and 1 sophomore in
a Masterpieces of European Literature course at an Ivy League university, I noticed
a lack of uniformity in the notation of my name on the first page, to wit: (1) no
designation whatever—5; (2) “Professor Shapiro”—7; (3) “Professor Michael
Shapiro”—1; (4) “Mr. Shapiro”—1; (5) “Prof Michael Shapiro”—1; (6) “Michael S
[c]hapiro”—3; (7) “Shapiro”—1.
Summing up the distribution, one notes the predominance (14 out of 19 cases) of
some form of the instructor’s name, with the word “Professor” (abbreviated or not)
prefixed in 9 cases, and 4 cases lacking it. Curiously, 4 papers include the
instructor’s forename as well as the surname.
Whatever the upshot of this distribution, it is patently clear that the problem of
deciding on a proper form of address in contemporary American society is a vexed
one. When speaking with strangers answering queries over the telephone, for
instance, one is routinely addressed by one’s first name whether one has licensed
such informality or not, and attempts to right this incivility are only to be met with
incredulity. Another increasingly common example: in some so-called progressive
schools, students are encouraged to address their teachers by their first names, a
situation that would have been unthinkable fifty years ago.
An anecdote to conclude. Some years ago I taught a course as a visiting professor
on “The Philosophy of the Russian Novel” at a small private college in Vermont,
where students are in the habit of addressing their instructors by their first names
[sic!]. On the first day of class, just before I was about to start lecturing, and sensing
the awkwardness of such a practice to a newcomer, a (clearly sophisticated) student
252 3 Style
raised his hand and asked me how I would like to be addressed, to which I answered
(taking a leaf from my father’s book), “You may call me Your Excellency.” I said this
with a smile, but its purport was not lost on the group, and from that moment on the
students all addressed me in accordance with the traditional norm.
Glossary
affected, adj. < affectation, n.: manner of speech or behavior not natural to
one’s actual personality or capabilities; artificiality of behavior especially
in display of feelings
incipient, adj.: beginning to be or become apparent
All languages change over time, although some are more conservative than others.
The causes of sound change have been at the center of the historical study of
language for many generations. One such cause—no doubt a marginal one—is
affectation, i.e., a largely unconscious imitation of a prestige pronunciation whereby
a speaker of a socially lower class aspires to be considered for accession to a socially
higher class by adopting a speech trait that is characteristic of the latter group.
This is apparently the cause of the recent raising of the vowel [æ], as in past,
pad, and palindrome, to the vowel [a:] of arm, father, etc. among young female
speakers (adolescents and younger women). As has been remarked in these pages,
the latter (so-called broad vowel) is to be heard as the affected variant in foreign
borrowings like Iran and Iraq instead of the traditional (so-called flat) vowel [æ]
and native words like rather.
This particular affectation is especially favored by those who wish to sound
“educated” or “cultivated” despite the fact that their brand of American English in
other respects merits neither of these designations.
Since this trait is an incipient one manifested by young females, it is worth
noting that affectations as innovations that fall short of full-fledged changes in
language typically begin among speakers who are socially less powerful but aspire
through borrowed prestige to elevate themselves linguistically. If this innovation
spreads beyond its original locus, it bids fair to displace the traditional norm.
Glossary
fulsome, adj.: exceeding the bounds of good taste
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3.50 Prior to Instead of Before: A Hyperurbanism 253
Glossary
censorious, adj.: severely critical; faultfinding; carping
gambit, n.: a remark or comment designed to launch a conversation or to
make a telling point
mollify, v.: to soothe in temper or disposition
254 3 Style
Glossary
animus, n.: ill will, antagonism, or hostility usually controlled but deep-seated
apotropaic, adj. < apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil
or danger
baneful, adj.: creating destruction, woe, or ruin
declarative, adj.: having the characteristics of or making a declaration
interrogative, adj.: having the form or the force of a question
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3.52 The Communicative Upshot of Uptalk 255
The manner of speaking that has come to be called ‘uptalk’, in which declarative
sentences and clauses are rendered with interrogative instead of declarative into-
nation, has spread from its origin in the speech of adolescent girls to children of all
ages and both sexes; and even to male young adults. As a linguistic phenomenon
with social consequences, uptalk has also become part of a speech strategy that
betrays largely unconscious motives which are worthy of note.
As has been detailed in earlier posts, the main thrust of uptalk is clearly
APOTROPAIC, by which is meant a strategy employed in order to forestall danger,
in this case the danger of possible censure or criticism as a result of what is being
said. Asserting something with the normal declarative intonation runs the risk of
being disapproved or criticized, whereas phrasing a non-question with interrogative
intonation takes the assertory edge off whatever is being said, thereby softening the
utterance and removing or attenuating the risk of censure for the content of the
utterance.
A subsidiary motivation for uptalk is the communicative desirability on the part
of the utterer for reinforcement that the utterance is being understood and (at least)
provisionally agreed with on the part of the utterer’s adressee(s). The appropriate
gloss of uptalk in this aspect is something like ‘Do you follow me?’ or ‘Do you
know what I’m saying?’, phrases which are in actual use in speech without the
presence of uptalk as tags to assertions in normative English anyway.
The semeiotic upshot of a fundamentally apotropaic speech strategy abuts in
conceptions of the self and the other in their communicative interrelations as part of
social interaction. When one has to be careful to mask assertions as questions for
fear of potential censure in order to get along socially with others, this attitude
clearly betrays a fundamental lack of confidence in the society’s members’ ability to
weigh assertions on their merits instead of automatically reacting with some
measure of bias or animus to so much as the mere articulation of linguistic content
that is not implicitly unquestionable.
The urge to promote a society speciously free of communicative risk—specifi-
cally, THE RISK OF BEING (PROVEN) WRONG—is at bottom the motivation of
uptalk. Where it might have been understandable as a speech strategy of adolescent
girls, evidently involving matters of gender and power, its latter-day spread to
groups beyond its original locus can only be assessed as a peculiar—and baneful—
failure of thought.
256 3 Style
Glossary
allophone, n.: one of two or more articulatorily and acoustically different
forms of the same phoneme
apotropaic, adj. < apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil
or danger
atavism, n.: recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook,
approach, or activity
cachinnation, n. < cachinnate, v.: to laugh usually loudly or convulsively
extirpate, v.: to pull up or out by or as if by the roots or stem; pluck out; root
out
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n.: the branch of linguistics which
studies non- phonemic aspects of speech, such as tone of voice, tempo,
etc.; non-phonemic characteristics of communication; paralanguage
phoneme, n.: the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one utterance from
another in all of the variations that it displays in the speech of a single
person or particular dialect as the result of modifying influences (as
neighboring sounds and stress)
phonemic, adj. < phonemics, n.: a branch of linguistic analysis that consists
of the study of phonemes and often includes a study of their allophones
propitiation, n. < propitiate, v.: to appease and make favorable
uptalk, n.: speech in which each clause, sentence, etc., ends like a question
with a rising inflection
Amid the recurrent media chatter concerning the obstacles encountered by women
attempting to make their way in what remains a man’s world, it is remarkable how
little mention is ever made of the paramount role of language. Importantly, what-
ever else is true of one’s persona, nothing has both the immediate and the lasting
impact of one’s speech on one’s interlocutors.
In this respect, girls whose native language is American English, from early
childhood through adolescence and into adulthood, now acquire two speech habits
that can only have the goal of propitiating their (specifically male) interlocutors but
do so at the expense of having their utterances taken as less than serious or neg-
ligible: (1) paralinguistic laughter (often to the point of cachinnation); and
(2) uptalk (uttering clauses and even whole sentences with interrogative rather than
declarative intonation) . As noted earlier, these typical features of female speech are
both apotropaic (meant to forestall danger or censure), but they are an atavism that
should have no place in twenty-first century America.
Girls and women need explicitly to be made aware of the perils of propitiation
and trained to avoid it in speech, by parents in the first instance and by teachers
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3.53 The Perils of Propitiation in Female Speech 257
thereafter. Eliminating uptalk is now perhaps nigh on impossible, but the habitual
laughter accompanying speech is assuredly a trait that can be extirpated from the
utterances of women who wish to be taken seriously.
Glossary
cacoglossic, adj. < cacoglossia, n.: a language full of mistakes and imper-
fections (nonce word)
ersatz, adj.: substitute, counterfeit (German)
lingua franca: any of various hybrid or other languages that are used over a
wide area as common or commercial tongues among peoples of diverse
speech (as Hindustani, Swahili) (Latin)
nonce word: a word created ‘for the nonce/occasion’
pidgin, n.:a form of speech that usually has a simplified grammar and a
limited often mixed vocabulary and is used principally for intergroup
communication
wayward, adj.: characterized by extreme willfulness and by determination to
follow one’s own capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations to the point
of being ungovernable
With globalization has come the rise of English as the world language and the
concomitant development of various Englishes, i.e., versions of what started as
the language of England and then spread throughout the globe as a lingua franca. In
the twenty-first century this development has involved the use of English with
varying degrees of grammatical well-formedness, quite apart from the matter of
different regional accents characterizing the language of native speakers and
second-language learners alike.
When one listens to the BBC World Service over the radio, one sometimes
encounters a peculiar version of English that can only be called ‘cacoglossia’. This
is speech that is identfiably English, spoken at a fluid rate of delivery but with many
grammatical mistakes. Psycholinguistically, the interesting thing about this phe-
nomenon is the realization on the hearer’s part—but evidently not on the speaker’s
—that the person uttering string upon string of cacoglossic language is not speaking
grammatically well-formed English while communicating a completely under-
standable meaning. One recent example of such speech heard on the BBC was that
of a Syrian national born in Syria but raised in the United States, who spoke with
what passed for an American accent but whose utterances constituted some kind of
258 3 Style
idiosyncratic grammatical pidgin that the speaker had internalized as an ersatz form
of English with its own wayward structure.
Glossary
blather, n.: voluble, foolish, or nonsensical talk
factitious, adj.: produced artificially or by special effort (as for a particular
situation
maladroitness, n. < maladroit, adj.: revealing a lack of perception, judgment,
or finesse
parsimony, n.: economy in the use of a specific means to an end
slovenliness, n. < slovenly, adj.: negligent of neatness and order especially in
dress or person
Speech can be precise, even eloquent, but it can also be slovenly, promiscuous, and
maladroit. One sign of linguistic maladroitness is the constant recurrence to clichés
of all sorts, as often happens in media language and the blather of politicians. Take
the following factitious example:
The low-hanging fruit can be picked anytime and canned, but just remember not to kick the
can down the road because at the end of the day the fact is is that you’ll bump up against the
bottom line, which could be a slippery slope that’ll drop you over the fiscal cliff.
Glossary
gloss, n.: a comment, explanation, interpretation
opacity, n. < opaque, adj.: hard to understand, solve, or explain; not simple,
clear, or lucid
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3.56 Linguistic Tokens and Grammatical Opacity … 259
Glossary
autotelic, adj.: having a self-contained goal or purpose
introversive, adj. < introversion, n.: the act of directing one’s attention
toward or getting gratification from one’s own interests, thoughts, and
feelings
onomastic, adj.: of, relating to, or consisting of a name or names
phatic, adj.: of, designating, or relating to speech, utterances, etc., that serve
to establish or maintain social relationships rather than to impart infor-
mation, communicate ideas, etc.
referential, adj. < reference, n.: the action or fact of applying words, names,
ideas, etc., to an entity; the relation between a word or expression and that
which it denotes; the entity or entities denoted by a word or expression, a
referent (freq. contrasted with sense)
scant, v.: to treat slightingly or inadequately; to neglect, do less than justice to
self-reflexive, adj.: disposed to or characterized by self-reflection
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
Every speaker has their own way of speaking, which is called an idiolect (see
Introduction). Repetition of certain words or expressions can rise to the status of a
characteristic feature of an idiolect when it is of sufficient frequency to be classed a
verbal tic. For instance, one can hear native speakers of American English inserting
the name of the addressee of an utterance—or some non-onomastic substitute like
“honey,” “baby,” or “darling” (a loving husband speaking to his wife)—at such a
rate as to be self-reflexive (call attention to the utterer). Perhaps such behavior is an
instance of linguistic adaptation, wherein the history of interpersonal relations
between two speakers (such as husband and wife) has habituated one or both to
constantly reinforce the feeling of intimacy that assures communicative solidarity.
This puts this species of language use solidly in the phatic and emotive categories
and scants the referential one.
Another sort of verbal tic is the prefacing of practically every utterance with
phrases like “incidentally” or “by the way.” What could this mean? The only
explanation that comes to mind is some kind of mental habit that transforms every
linguistic exteriorization of thought into a tag or comment on what the speaker was
thinking just before the utterance, regardless of the fact that the addressee had no
access to it. This manner of language use can only be a sign, as with other verbal
tics, of a self-reflexive focus on the speaker. Such linguistic signs are all autotelic
(“introversive” rather than “extroversive”) and communicate information about the
utterer’s mental state rather than anything referential. Only when recognized as part
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3.57 You Are What You Say (Verbal Tics) 261
Glossary
epenthetic, adj. < epenthesis, n.: the occurrence of an intercalated consonant
(such as a homorganic stop after a nasal consonant) or vowel in a suc-
cession of speech sounds without a counterpart in etymon or in orthog-
raphy (such as [t] in [ˈfents] fence or [ə] in [ˈathəˌlēt] athlete)
homorganic, adj.: sharing one or more of the articulating vocal organs;
articulated with the same basic closure or constriction but differentiated by
one or more modifications
hypermetrical, adj.: having one or more (stressed) syllables beyond those
normal to the meter
lexical, adj.: pertaining to the lexicon or to words
nasal, adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in the
nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants/m/,/n/, and/ng/or the nasalized vowel of French bon
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound [p] in pit or [d] in dog
schwa, n.: a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed
syllables, as the final vowel of English sofa; The symbol (ə) used to
represent an unstressed neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic
transcription, a stressed mid-central vowel, as in but
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
Every language has ways of emphasizing all or parts of utterances, either by altering
the phonological makeup of words (phonological emphasis) or by inserting or
repeating words (lexical emphasis). In English the most common mode of emphasis
is (1) lengthening stressed vowels or adding stress where it is otherwise absent
(hypermetrical stress); and (2) lengthening stressed or unstressed vowels or both.
This can be observed in items like/pəˈliːz/(sometimes written puhleeze) for please,
i.e., pronounced with an epenthetic (inserted) semi-stressed schwa vowel between
the initial consonants and an extra-long stressed vowel on what is now the second
syllable. Any word that denotes the extreme grade of anything, typically an
262 3 Style
Glossary
artfully, adv. < artful, adj.: performed with, characterized by, or exhibiting
art or skill
attendant, adj.: accompanying, connected with, or immediately following as
consequential
fatigued, adj.: hackneyed; stale, as a joke, phrase, or sermon
formulaic, adj. < formula, n.: a set form of words for use in a ceremony or
ritual
hackneyed, adj.: used so frequently and indiscriminately as to have lost its
freshness and interest; made trite and commonplace; stale
perfunctoriness, n. < perfunctory, adj.: characterized by routine or superfi-
ciality; done merely as a duty
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3.59 Linguistic Formulas and Sincerity (“Thanks for Asking.”) 263
Glossary
characterological, adj. < characterology, n.: the study of character including
its development and its differences in different individuals
connote, v.: to signify in addition to its exact explicit meaning
lexis, n.: vocabulary, word-stock
provenience, n.: origin
With the modern-day establishment of standard languages in most parts of the globe,
the status of dialects and non-standard language has changed from a strictly regional
phenomenon to a potential source of stylistic variety. For example, in Europe and
North America (but not only) playwrights are known to write in characters who
speak in dialect by contrast with the rest of the cast in order to lend characterological
depth through speech as well as ideological traits. More generally, people who
otherwise adhere in their everyday speech to the standard may occasionally deviate
from this pattern in order to lend local color to their utterances. Thus politicians who
wish to pander to class differences in their public pronouncements often deliberately
resort to colloquial or non-standard grammar and lexis, hoping thereby to ingratiate
themselves with the lowest common denominator.
An interesting case in point is the signage on the façade of a New York pizzeria,
which among other information has the sentence “It Don’t Get Better Than This!”
painted below its name. The use of the dialectal “Don’t” (for standard “doesn’t”) is
clearly not accidental. It connotes through its emotive (= stylistic) value the idea
that people of all stripes are welcome, including persons whose class or provenience
is reflected in speech that is grammatically not (entirely) normative.
Glossary
auto-, pref.: referring to itself
264 3 Style
What (at 3.8 above) was characterized as “discourse-introductory so” should now
receive a more expansive characterization in terms of REFERENCE, namely either
to (1) what the speaker was/is thinking before beginning the utterance headed by so;
or (2) the content of an interlocutor’s utterance, to which the utterance headed by so
is a retort.
This increasingly common discourse strategy in American English has an
obvious binding and linking function, in that—for younger speakers in particular—
so has become an almost obligatory opening word without a strictly semantic
function. It tends in fact to add little or nothing to the preceding or following
content. In this respect it resembles the near-ubiquitous (and vacuous) word basi-
cally that one hears qualifying what would in earlier times have been offered up
without qualification.
Glossary
ahem, interj.: sound sequence used especially to attract attention, often as a
humorously exaggerated warning to a minor social error or oversight
catachresis, n.: the misapplication of a word or phrase; the use of a strained
figure of speech
countenance, v.: extend approval or toleration to
countermand, v.: to counteract; to frustrate; to counterbalance
jocular, adj.: said or done in joke; of, containing, or of the character of a joke
promiscuously, adv. < promiscuous, adj.: indiscriminate, careless
sensu stricto: in the struct sense, strictly speaking (Latin)
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3.62 The Tyranny of Usage—Literally (Ahem!) 265
Speech in every language is replete with locutions that are, sensu stricto, un-
grammatical or illogical but are tolerated under the colors of current usage (L usus
loquendi). Into this category falls the adverb literally, used promiscuously as an
emphatic in English (similarly abused by its equivalents in most other European
languages). A more recent and widespread case sanctioned by usage is the emphatic
absolutely.
Usage can countermand grammar to the point of becoming normative. For
instance, no ordinary speaker of English would countenance “It is I” as the
non-jocular answer to the question “Who is it?” Even the grammatically correct
“Whom did you see?” is rarely to be heard instead of the (originally colloquial)
construction “Who did you see?”
The membrane separating usage and catachresis appears to be increasingly
permeable in English. All the same, certain cases can only be considered un-
grammatical, no matter how common. The frequently heard construction “between
you and I” (in British as well as American English) falls into this category and is to
be censured accordingly.
Glossary
contravention, n. < contravene, v.: to go or act contrary to
extant, adj.: currently or actually existing
lexically, adv. < lexical, adj.: pertaining or relating to the words or vocabu-
lary of a language
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
morphologically, adv. < morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the system or
the study of (linguistic) form
tic, n.: a frequent usually unconscious quirk of behavior or speech
vis-à-vis: in relation to; over against
Glossary
marked, adj. < markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a super-
structure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually
restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted)
referent, n.: person referred to
sem(e)iotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs (vide infra)
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
virgule, n.: slash, i.e., a short, usually slanting stroke or mark used to indicate
alternation
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3.64 Gender-Specific Designations of Human Referents … 267
In contemporary American English usage, the words on either side of the virgule
man/woman, boy/girl, gentleman/lady, male/female can be used more or less
interchangeably, but in some cases it remains unclear which of the two alternatives is
stylistically appropriate. (This is the sort of vacillation that facilitates the well-known
sexist joke: Q: “Who was that lady I saw you with? A: That was no lady, that was my
wife.”). Women in particular are sensitive to being referred to by the word “woman”
rather than “lady.” Colloquially, of course, women refer to themselves and to other
members of the female sex casually as “girls,” even when the referents are well
beyond girlhood in age. Groups of girls/women can now even be referred to by the
word “guys,” despite its older confinement to persons of the male sex.
Occasionally, with women designees in particular, one becomes unsure as to the
stylistically appropriate term. This was brought to mind recently when the author was
being tended to by two nurses (female) in a hospital examining room. When one nurse
left the room, the patient asked the other the first’s name and vacillated in refeffirng to
her before choosing woman. Lady would clearly have been inappropriate, but at the
same time woman seemed coarse, especially after being treated so kindly and gently
by her. Once having uttered woman nevertheless, the patient wished that he had
avoided the impasse by choosing “other nurse” (“colleague” would doubtless have
sounded pompous under the circumstances) in framing the question. This sort of
linguistic problem, let it be noted, rarely comes up in referring to adult males, a
reminder of the semiotic fact that the feminine is the marked gender in all languages,
regardless of whether that opposition is grammatically codified or not.
Glossary
ersatz, adj.: a substitute or imitation; usually, an inferior article instead of the
real thing (German)
faux, adj.: false, fake, ersatz (French)
lingua franca: a medium of communication between peoples of different
languages (Italian ‘Frankish tongue’)
patois, n.: a variety of language specific to a particular area, nationality, etc.,
which is considered to differ from the standard or orthodox version
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the study and systematic classification of the
sounds made in spoken utterance as they are produced by the organs of
speech and as they register on the ear and on instruments
simulacrum, n.: something having merely the form or appearance of a certain
thing, without possessing its substance or proper qualities
specious, adj.: calculated to make a favourable impression on the mind, but in
reality devoid of the qualities apparently possessed
268 3 Style
English in the twenty-first century is veritably the global lingua franca, the universal
medium of linguistic communication between people whose native language is not
English; and between people in situations where only some of the interlocutors have
English as a native (or “near-native”) language. This sometimes leads to the psy-
chologically interesting phenomenon of a person imagining that he/she is speaking
English, but in fact the version of English being produced is defective grammati-
cally as well as phonetically and can only at best be called something like “ersatz
English,” the meaning of ersatz being ‘a substitute or imitation (usually, an inferior
article instead of the real thing)’. This sort of faux English is often heard, for
instance, in interviews with African and Asian speakers on the BBC World Service
—in a phonetic rendering, moreover, that is so impenetrable as to be barely rec-
ognizable and hardly comprehensible even by professional linguists.
Unfortunately, this kind of ungrammatical patois can now be found in written
form as well. In an era when book publishing is in retreat and economically less and
less viable, publishing houses leave the written form of English unedited to its
authors and routinely offer books for sale that are rife with grammatical and stylistic
errors. This species of ersatz English is especially to be found in publications by
authors whose native language is Spanish or one of the Germanic tongues. Thus
some Scandinavian and Dutch authors, having studied and heard English from early
childhood on, have obviously been lulled into thinking that they have a command
of the language that is error-free and adequate to the demands of scholarly dis-
course, when in fact what they say and write is grossly short of the mark. The loss
in some global sense redounds to the great English language itself as a cultural
institution, whose native speakers must often suffer in silence while being assaulted
by speech (written and oral) that is only a specious simulacrum of the norm.
Glossary
affect, n.: the conscious emotion that occurs in reaction to a thought or
experience
episodic, adj.: of or limited in duration or significance to a particular episode
obsolescent, adj.: going out of use; falling into disuse especially as unable to
compete with something more recent
patency, n. < patent, adj.: open to view; readily visible or intelligible
peregrination, n.: he action or an act of travelling or going from place to place
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation; the sound system of a language
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3.66 Fossilized Speech and Its Episodic Disinterment … 269
The way any living language is spoken (synchrony) always inevitably includes ele-
ments—phonological, grammatical, and stylistic—that are characterized as obsolete
or obsolescent. This situation answers to what in the Prague School (a group of
linguists of the first rank) was described as “dynamic synchrony,” i.e., the presence as
relics of older stages of any given language’s historical development, which is to say
that there are always fossilized (“old-fashioned”) strata in any living language.
This idea was exemplified with striking patency when the author attended a
meeting of a scholarly society in Seattle and had occasion to speak his mother
tongue (Russian) to a fellow scholar, a Russian émigré many years his junior who
was born and educated in the former USSR. At several points in the extended
conversations that took place between them over the span of three days, it was
remarked with repeated amazement and delight by his interlocutor how the author
had somehow managed to preserve and continue in what can only be described as
fossilized form the refined pre-Revolutionary speech of the Russian educated elite
to which his parents belonged and preserved over the long span of their worldwide
peregrinations as refugees.
In order to understand the astonishment and incredulity of the author’s interlocutor,
one needs to know that Russians as an ethnic group have a traditionally heightened
fondness for their mother tongue. This affect was captured by the great Russian
novelist Turgenev in his most famous prose poem (1882), which goes as follows:
«Bo дни coмнeний, вo дни тягocтныx paздyмий o cyдьбax мoeй poдины, ты oдин мнe
пoддepжкa и oпopa, o вeликий, мoгyчий, пpaвдивый и cвoбoдный pyccкий язык!.. He
бyдь тeбя — кaк нe впacть в oтчaяниe пpи видe вceгo, чтo coвepшaeтcя дoмa. Ho
нeльзя вepить, чтoбы тaкoй язык нe был дaн вeликoмy нapoдy!»
[“In days of doubt, in days of dreary musings on my country’s fate, thou alone art my stay
and support, mighty, true, free Russian speech! But for thee, how not fall into despair,
seeing all that is done at home? But who can think that such a tongue is not the gift of a
great people!” (translated by Constance Garnett)]
Glossary
constituent, n.: any meaningful element of a linguistic form
270 3 Style
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3.68 Macaronic Language (A Contemporary Specimen) 271
Glossary
faux, adj.: artificial; fake (French)
interlard, v.: to insert between; mix, mingle; esp. to introduce something that
is foreign or irrelevant into
macaronic, adj.: characterized by a mixture of two or more languages
malgré lui: in spite of himself (French)
mélange, n.: mixture (French)
potpourri, n.: a general mixture of often disparate or unrelated materials or
subject matter
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
ticastic, adj.: pertaing to or resembling a tic
uptalk, n.: speech in which each clause, sentence, etc., ends like a question
with a rising inflection
When two or more languages are mixed in the same utterance or text, the term
“macaronic” is traditionally applied to such linguistic products, defined as being
‘characterized by a mixture of vernacular words jumbled together with Latin words
or Latinized words or with words from one or more other foreign languages’
(Collins English Dictionary). A fuller, historically based definition is that of the
Oxford English Dictionary Online:
Of or designating a burlesque form of verse in which vernacular words are introduced into
the context of another language (originally and chiefly Latin), often with corresponding
inflections and constructions; gen. of or designating any form of verse in which two or more
languages are mingled together. Hence of language, style, etc.: resembling the mixed jargon
of macaronic poetry.
In the linguistic literature one can find terms such as “Japlish” or “Franglish”
used to designate words that are of hybrid construction, drawing on a combination
of English words or roots to form new Japanese or French vocabulary.
272 3 Style
Glossary
fons et origo: source and origin (Latin)
foreground, v.: to place in or bring to the foreground; esp. to give prominence
or emphasis to
manus manum lavat: one hand washes the other (Latin)
paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same word is used in
different senses or words similar in sound are set in opposition so as to
give antithetical force
self-reflexive, adj.: disposed to or characterized by self-reflection
Latin is the fons et origo of much of English literary phraseology and has been
deployed to good rhetorical effect for centuries. Contemporary speakers are not as
prone to utilize it as were language users in the past, due to the decline of Latin as a
required school subject, but it is still available to be summoned up when the
discourse invites it.
This was illustrated in the January 30, 2015 broadcast on NPR of “Morning
Edition,” when the presenter used the phrase “one hand washes the other” in
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3.69 Latin as the Verbal Weapon of Choice in English 273
As has been instanced in more than one essay above, contemporary English
wherever it is spoken all over the globe takes its cue for stylistic and grammatical
development from the native speech of America in particular and the United
Kingdom in second place. This characterization seems to apply to discourse
274 3 Style
markers like “as it were,” “if you like,” “so to speak,” “honestly,” etc., as well as to
the strictly grammatical composition of speech.
The interpolation of the word “basically” to qualify or fudge what is being
asserted is an increasing presence in all the Englishes. What this phenomenon
means is the global impulse, when resorting to English as the means of one’s
linguistic expression, not to make categorical assertions, to protect oneself from the
potential repercussions that may ensue from blanket statements signifying the
veracity of the content of one’s utterances. This resort to “basically” in non-native
as well as native varieties of English is a sign of a fundamental attitudinal shift in
how speakers have come to construe the social and behavioral contexts of
expressing themselves linguistically. This retreat from old-fashioned British and
American English plainspokenness is much to be regretted.
Glossary
plenitude, n.: a more than ample amount or number; great sufficiency;
abundance
riposte, n.: a retaliatory verbal sally; retort
segment, n.: a unit forming part of a continuum of speech or (less commonly)
text; an isolable unit in a phonological or syntactic system
semeiosis, n.: the process of signification, sign action
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
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3.72 Contraction in Language and Its Stylistic Dimension 275
Glossary
adumbrate, v.: to suggest, indicate, or disclose partially and with a purposeful
avoidance of precision
ejaculation, n.: the hasty utterance of words expressing emotion
épater le bourgeois: to shock people who have attitudes or views perceived as
conventional or complacent (French)
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n.: the aspects and study of spoken
communication that accompany speech but do not involve words, such as
body language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice
psyche, n.: the whole conscious and unconscious mind, esp. when viewed as
deciding or determining motivation, emotional response, and other psy-
chological characteristics
sequela, n.: a secondary result; consequence (Latin)
withal, adv.: for all that; nevertheless
Glossary
agrammatistically, adv. < agrammatistic, adj. < agrammatism, n.: loss of the
ability to use correct grammar; a form of aphasia characterized by this
ameliorative, adj. < ameliorate, v.: to make better; to better, improve
aphasia, n.: the loss or impairment of the power to use words as symbols of
ideas that results from a brain lesion
1: to inflame with love: charm, captivate—usually used in the passive with of <tourists
were enamored of the town> and sometimes with with <a beautiful Indian girl with
whom he was enamored—Walter Havighurst>
2: to cause (someone) to feel a strong or excessive interest or fascination—usually used in
the passive with of or with <… kids who grew up enamored of both Black Sabbath and
Black Flag …—Gillian Garr, Rolling Stone, 19 May 1994> <In 1999 Wall Street was
enamored with anything dot-com …—Donna Seaman, Booklist, July 2003>
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3.74 Non-pathological Agrammatism 277
This particular example is relatively benign. But the wholly erroneous use of the
Italian borrowing graffiti as a singular instead of graffito (an error compounded by
the use of graffitis as a plural [sic!]), heard emanating on August 27, 2015 from the
mouth of a published author on the American Public Media radio program
“Marketplace Morning Report” (and noticed publicly in an ameliorative tag by the
show’s literate host), can only be adjudged agrammatistically wholly beyond the
linguistic pale.
Glossary
honorific, adj.: of a title, form of address, or linguistic form given or used as a
mark of respect
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation,
specifically, a sign related to its object by similarity
index, n.: a sign that is related to its object (meaning) by contiguity
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n.: the aspects and study of spoken
communication that accompany speech but do not involve words, such as
body language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice
phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
semiosis, n.: the process of signification
semiotic, adj. < semiotics, n.: the theory of signs
vive la différence: (jocular)expression denoting approval of the difference
between the sexes (French)
All languages exhibit differences between the speech of males and females, ex-
tending in differing degree across grammar, including phonetics and stylistics. In
Japanese, for instance, women’s speech is markedly different from that of men, to
the point that women resort to a special subset of grammatical categories when
speaking (for example, the consistent use of the passive mood instead of the active
that is characteristic of honorific language for both sexes).
When speaking, both men and women do other things with their bodies beside
utter words: they gesticulate with their hands, raise their eyebrows, open their eye
sockets beyond normal size, take sharp intakes of breath, hunch their shoulders, nod
their heads up and down or side to side, etc. Among speakers of contemporary
American English, the paralinguistic gap between males and females has been
widening for some time: women’s speech today is accompanied by much more
paralinguistic behavior than is that of men. All one need do to be convinced of this
is to spend some time observing women talking—particularly to each other and
without the participation of male interlocutors or listeners—preferably without their
being aware of being observed.
278 3 Style
Glossary
beg the question: to take for granted the matter in dispute; to assume without
proof (translation of Latin petitio principii)
penultimate, adj.: next to last
provenience, n.: origin
Any language is a system of habits that tolerates variety (stylistic among others)
while subscribing wholly to the rule of norms. We all speak our native language in
such a way as to be understood by our fellows, and that means deviating from the
norm sparely under rational circumstances.
This is by way of introducing the topic of what can only be called “willful
mistakes.” For example, recently the author audited a series of lectures in typically
fluent (but heavily accented) English by an eminent mathematician of South
American provenience. For some reason, this person kept pronouncing the English
word category incorrectly, with stress on the second rather than the initial syllable.
Now, the same item in Spanish (categoría) has penultimate stress. Why, then, the
constant mispronunciation of the English word? Even categorizing the mistake as
“willful” only begs the question.
One attempt at an answer could lie in the level of awareness that we all exhibit to
differing degrees of our actions, including speech. Speakers may be innocently
unaware that they are exhibiting an idiosyncratic linguistic habit even when the
specimen is unambiguously erroneous from the standpoint of the norm. This is true
in spades when the language spoken is not native but foreign.
The question remains open.
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Chapter 4
Syntax
Glossary
appositive, adj. < apposition, n.: a construction in which a noun or noun
phrase is placed with another as an explanatory equivalent, both having
the same syntactic relation to the other elements in the sentence; for
example, Copley and the painter in The painter Copley was born in
Boston
complement, n.: a word or words used to complete a predicate construction,
especially the object or indirect object of a verb; for example, the phrase
to eat ice cream in We like to eat ice cream
gradience, n.: the property of being continuously variable between two
(esp. apparently disjunct) values, categories, etc.; an instance of this
property, a continuum
hypotaxis, n.: the dependent or subordinate relationship of clauses with
connectives
parataxis, n.: the juxtaposition of clauses or phrases without the use of
coordinating or subordinating conjunctions, as It was cold; the snows
came
syntagm, n.: a sequence of linguistic units in a syntagmatic relationship to one
another
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006) sup-
plies a “Usage Note” after its entry for the adjective different, in which it is claimed
that “Different from and different than are both common in British and American
English.” An attempt is then made to fashion (out of whole cloth) a series of
rationales to counter unnamed “language critics” who “since the 18th century …
have singled out different than as incorrect, though it is well attested in the works of
reputable writers.”
What is beyond dispute is that increasingly in contemporary speech and writing
one finds the adjective different (and the adverb differently) taking the complement
than instead of the normative from, e.g., Peirce is different than Wittgenstein, etc. In
colloquial American English the construction with from appears to be diminishing
in frequency, although there are certainly still many speakers who never use than
instead of from after different(ly).
An explanation of this change in syntax can begin with a consideration of the
two semantic relations involved in the concept of difference—distinction and
comparison—together with the condition of their being ranked hierarchically vis-à-
vis each other within the semantic syntagm (complex unit) that comprises this
concept and its realizations. (Note, incidentally, that the semantic asymmetry that
emanates from the ranking of the relations in a linguistic syntagm is not the same
thing as asymmetric relations in logic.)
What we have here is an alternative ranking of the two relations embodied in the
concepts of distinction and comparison. These two hierarchies reflect two possible
emphases, which can be called HYPOTAXIS and PARATAXIS. The normative construction
different from can be analyzed as a syntactic diagram (in the Peircean sense) of a
hypotactic emphasis in the ranking of the two relevant components: distinction is
ranked higher than comparison (i.e., the latter is dampened or bracketed in the
syntagm). This ranking emphasizes the ASYMMETRICAL aspect of the terms juxtaposed
or combined in the syntagm. The non-normative construction different than, on the
other hand, can be analyzed as a syntactic diagram of a paratactic emphasis in the
hierarchy: comparison is ranked higher than distinction (it is distinction that is now
dampened or bracketed rather than comparison). This second ranking emphasizes
the SYMMETRICAL aspect, that the terms ARE juxtaposed in the syntagm. Cf. the use of
different predicatively (A is so different!) or appositively (A is a different product!—
i.e., ‘distinctive’) in advertising lingo (but not only).
From the point of view of linguistic structure, then, one could conclude from this
analysis that the ranking difference (alternative hierarchies) in the semantic syntagm
associated with the concept and word different is manifested syntactically as a
difference in complements: from means difference or non-equivalence, and than
means comparison or equivalence of the terms on either side of the construction.
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4.1 Different(ly) From/Than 281
Notionally, one could interpret this change as a shift away from the understanding
(inherently, in the grammar) of different as embodying contradictory relations
(opposition), to that of its embodying contrary relations (gradience).
An analysis that trades in competing semantic hierarchies may not seem to
constitute an explanation of the change from one syntactic pattern to another, but
this is not strictly so. The nature of grammar is such that what appears in speech or
is expressed can always be traced to underlying grammatical relations—which are
semantic in their essence—as its cause. But in the syntactic change discussed
above, one unsatisfied with this type of intrinsic explanation might which to
speculate about causes inherent in the larger communicative situation.
Although hard evidence is unavailable, perhaps the change has its transcendent
explanation in THE LARGER TENDENCY WITHIN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CULTURE TO
NEUTRALIZE SOCIAL HIERARCHIES, i.e., to scant hypotaxis in favor of parataxis. With
the encompassing social structure and its flux as a reference point, the change in
grammar would find its place as a piece of worldmaking.
Glossary
complement, n.: a word or words used to complete a predicate construction,
especially the object or indirect object of a verb
hypotaxis, n.: the dependent or subordinate relationship of clauses with
connectives
parataxis, n.: the juxtaposition of clauses or phrases without the use of
coordinating or subordinating conjunctions
postposition, n.: a word or element placed postpositionally, as a preposition
placed after its object
syntagm, n.: a sequence of words in a particular syntactic relationship to one
another; a construction
telic, adj.: directed or tending toward a goal or purpose; purposeful
For some time now in American English, there has been a strong tendency to
replace the traditional complement—here a postposition—after the verb head,
namely for, by the formerly non-normative to, resulting in a contemporary vacil-
lation between the two constructions, with the latter being all but ubiquitous in the
twenty-first century. This variation can be used to illustrate many aspects of the
entire process of change, each of which merits separate treatment.
Leaving aside all but the raison d’être, we can first compare the meanings of the
alternating postpositions. To generally means ‘in the direction of’ something after
verbs of motion, as in the prototypical go to, without, however, precluding the
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4.3 Anaphora 283
4.3 Anaphora
Glossary
anapest, n.: a metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables
followed by one long or stressed syllable
anaphora, n.: the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of
several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs
The repetition of the word otchego ‘why’ intensifies its meaning and betokens
the absence of an answer, thereby heightening the pathos of the entire poem’s
(emotional) purport.
[Authorial gloss: Papa’s [Constantine Shapiro, 1896–1992] anapests were
brought to mind when I looked out the twelfth-floor window of my apartment and
saw the resplendency of the day.]
284 4 Syntax
Glossary
aspect, n.: a category of the verb designating primarily the relation of the
action to the passage of time, especially in reference to completion,
duration, or repetition
back-formation, n.: a new word created by removing an affix from an already
existing word, as vacuum clean from vacuum cleaner, or by removing
what is mistakenly thought to be an affix, as pea from the earlier English
plural pease; the process by which such words are created
imperfective, adj.: of, related to, or being the aspect that expresses the action
denoted by the verb without regard to its beginning or completion
perfective, adj.: of, related to, or being the aspect that expresses the com-
pletion or the result of the action denoted by the verb
univerbative, adj. < univerbation, n.: the creation of one word from two or
more
Back-formation (ept < inept, enthuse < enthusiasm, etc.) is a frequent process in the
history of English and the source of interesting neologisms. One subset of the
process which is particularly typical of trade jargons (but not only) is a kind of
UNIVERBATION, whereby a phrase consisting of verb + direct object is transformed
into a compound verb containing the object as the first constituent, viz. fundraise (<
raise funds), schoolteach (< teach school), bartend (< tend bar), bikeride (< ride a
bike), etc.
It may seem as if there is no semantic difference between the verb phrase and its
univerbative back-formation, but there is, namely the meaning of HABITUAL ACTION,
as in a trade. Thus someone who bikerides does so habitually, and explicitly so,
whereas someone who rides a bike is non-committal as to habitual action.
Similarly, someone who bartends does so for a livelihood, and so on.
This situation is akin to the verbal category of aspect, perfective and imper-
fective, in languages like the Slavic family—or English, for that matter—where
habituality is associated exclusively with (one of the meanings of) the imperfective.
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4.5 Derived Compound Adjectives: gesunkenes Kulturgut? 285
Glossary
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed
from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or
undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from
sing, or by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or
base, as electricity from electric
gesunkenes Kulturgut: ‘buried cultural patrimony’ (German)
nonce word: a word used only ‘for the nonce’, i.e., for the specific purpose
typology, n.: comparative study of languages or aspects of languages as to
their structures rather than their historical relations
Glossary
argot, n.: a specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group
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4.6 Discourse-Introductory so in Geekish 287
Up & Coming Man v. 49 ‘How much profit…?’ ‘Impossible to do more than make
a wild guess.’ ‘So make a wild guess.’
The trajectory from (Yiddish-)American “So where did you go?” and “So make
a wild guess” to discourse-introductory Geekish “So the program needs to be
downloaded…, etc.” is a short and plausible one.
Glossary
icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related to its object by
similarity
intransitive, adj., designating a verb or verb construction that does not require
or cannot take a direct object; an intransitive verb
transitive: adj., expressing an action carried from the subject to the object;
requiring a direct object to complete meaning (used of a verb or verb
construction); a transitive verb
In the recent past, American English has resuscitated what had fallen into disuse in
the grammatical range of the verb advocate, namely its intransitivity, with the
concomitant government of the postposition for. What the Century Dictionary and
Cyclopedia marked as rare in 1906 has come back as the dominant syntactic profile
of this verb, as in:
“It is an organization that has made a decision to cast aside its journalistic
integrity and to advocate for the defeat of one candidate … and advocate for the
election of another candidate,” he [a spokesman for the McCain campaign] said.
(“McCain Aide Blows Gasket, Rips New York Times,” Jimmy Orr, “The Vote
Blog,” The Christian Science Monitor, 9/22/08).
It is in fact this syntax that has all but displaced the traditional transitive gov-
ernment of the verb.
The Oxford English Dictionary Online entry shows that what may seem to be a
contemporary innovation is actually a resuscitated archaism, witness the following
attestations:
1. intr. To act as advocate, to plead for. arch. 1641 MILTON Animadv. §1 (1847) 58/2 It
had been advocated and moved for by some honourable and learned gentlemen of the
house. 1659 FULLER App. Inj. Innoc. (1840) 339 I wonder that the Animadvertor will
advocate for their actions, so detrimental to the church. 1661 HEYLIN Ref. I. ii. 37, I will
not take upon me to Advocate for the present distempers and confusions of this wretched
Church. 1872 F. HALL False Philol. 75, I am not going to advocate for this sense of actual
[i.e. as = present].
288 4 Syntax
As a curious sidebar to the story, the transitive meaning, which we take for
granted and as needing no exemplification, was one that Benjamin Franklin found
worthy of “reprobation,” as in the following OED attestation given under 3. trans.
To plead or raise one’s voice in favour of; to defend or recommend publicly:
1789 FRANKLIN Lett. to N. Webster 26 Dec. Wks. 1840 X. 414 During my late absence in
France, I find that several new words have been introduced into our parliamentary lan-
guage. For example I find a verb from the substantive advocate; the gentleman who
advocates or has advocated that motion. If you should happen to be of my opinion with
respect to these innovations you will use your authority in reprobating them.
Glossary
binomial, n.: something consisting of or relating to two names or terms
hyperurbanism, n.: a pronunciation or grammatical form or usage produced
by a speaker of one dialect according to an analogical rule formed by
comparison of the speaker’s own usage with that of another, more
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4.8 Fear of the Objective Case 289
(1) “I’m picking you and I.” (John Feinstein, NPR, “Morning Edition,” 5/24/93);
(2) “Mozart wrote the Concerto for he and his sister.” (Bill Winans, WMHT-FM,
11/19/10)
(3) “And those two deaths bound you and she together indissolubly for life.” (P.D. James,
Shroud for a Nightingale [New York: Popular Library, 1971], p. 278)
While this mistake can easily be reckoned to result from a fear of the objective
case in compounds involving one or more pronouns, a deeper analysis would take
into account the creation of a spurious boundary separating the compound from the
preposition. The speaker/writer who countenances this hyperurbanism implicitly
erects a boundary on both sides of the compound, as if the latter were a binomial—a
single unit—rather than two units joined by a conjunction, hence immune to case
government and, therefore, in the uninflected (direct, non-oblique) subjective case.
Glossary
deictic, adj.: of or relating to a word, the determination of whose referent is
dependent on the context in which it is said or written
deixis, n.: the function of a deictic word in specifying its referent in a given
context
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: inordinate or pathological enlargement
locative: (1) adj., of, relating to, or being a grammatical case in certain inflected
languages (like Latin or Russian) that indicates place in or on which or time
at which; (2) n., the locative case; a form or construction in the locative case
290 4 Syntax
pleonastic, adj. < pleonasm, n.: the use of more words than are required to
express an idea; redundancy; a superfluous word or phrase
viva voce: by word of mouth (Latin)
Over the last decade or more, what used to be the standard manner of referring to
events in the past by designating their dates in a prepositional phrase is being
replaced by a hypertrophic form whereby the word back is inserted before the
preposition regardless of the proximity of the past event to the speech event. Here
are some recent examples:
(1) “There was a moment back in 2002 when… [opening sentence]” (Caryn James,
“Aniston Agonistes: Good Girl, Bad Choices,” The New York Times [all references to
the National Edition], 6/5/06, p. B1);
(2) “The author of seven other books, she was a fellow at the library when she first got the
idea back in 2001, on 9/11″ (Patricia Cohen, NYT, 2/14/08, p. B9);
(3) “back in January” – said in February (unidentified man, viva voce; cf. [way] back
[when]).
(4) “Back in the seventeenth century, the original text had been registered for publication
as” (Jonathan Bate, Soul of the Age [New York: Random House, 2009], p. 341)
(5) “There are rarely purely ideological movements out there.” (Barack Obama, quoted by
David Brooks, “Obama Admires Bush,” NYT, 5/16/08, p. A23)
(6) “There’s a real world out here where people are offered…” (Ruth Lewin Sime, letter to
the editor, NYT, 6/5/06, p. A22);
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4.9 Hypertrophic Designations of Past Time: Avoidance of Placeless Existence? 291
(7) “There’s a lot of sadness here.” ([in a context where the place has already been stip-
ulated] attributed to Jamie Dettmer, director of media relations, Cato Institute, in
“Columnist Resigns His Post, Admitting Lobbyist Paid Him,” NYT, 12/17/05, p. A15).
These examples can be compared to the otiose colloquial use of at after where
and what, as in:
(8) “Where’s your heart rate at?” (female fitness trainer [with a B.A.], viva voce [speaking
to a client wearing a monitor], W. LA, 6/5/06); cf. “What’s your heart rate at?”
They are of a piece with the occurrence of the prepositional phrase in place after
the verbs be and have.
Returning now to the habitual but redundant use of the locative adverb back with
designators of time, I would like to suggest a motivation that might be labeled the
avoidance of placeless existence. A past event is by definition no longer existent in
the same sense as a present event. This fundamental “non-is-ness” of a past event
makes its designation unstable, and thereby in need of extra temporal determina-
tion. The most routine way in which all languages fix or anchor time expressions,
with their quintessential instability, is by localizing them through the use of words
denoting space. Accordingly, the near-obligatory extension of the emphatic word
back before prepositional phrases as a designator of remoteness in time to
non-emphatic contexts in contemporary speech may be yet another example of what
is clearly a general grammatical tendency.
Glossary
ellipsis, n.: the omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syn-
tactical construction but not necessary for understanding
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
292 4 Syntax
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4.12 Passage Out of Passivity 293
Glossary
deverbal, adj.: formed from a verb, such as the noun worker derived from the
verb work
intransitive, adj.: designating a verb or verb construction that does not require
or cannot take a direct object, as snow or sleep
passivization, n. < passivize, v.: turn an active verb into its passive
counterpart
predicative, adj.: of or belonging to the predicate of a sentence or clause
stative, adj.: belonging to or designating a class of verbs that express a state or
condition
suffixation, v.: the process by which a suffix (grammatical element)is added to
the end of a word or stem, serving to form a new word or functioning as
an inflectional ending, such as -ness in gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in
sits
transitive, adj.: expressing an action carried from the subject to the object;
requiring a direct object to complete meaning
English has a long history of changing a verb that starts out life as exclusively
transitive into a concomitant intransitive (stative) variant without any alteration in
form (i.e., no suffixation), just a change in category. In recent times this develop-
ment has affected verbs like launch, ship, and even complete. Instead of sentences
like “The package was shipped yesterday” we now habitually get “The package
shipped yesterday.” Similarly, rather than “A rocket was launched at the Kennedy
Space Center,” we now hear and read “A rocket launched today at the Kennedy
Space Center.” (Incidentally, then, the subsequent creation of a deverbal substantive
launch (instead of launching)—a postwar neologism—is but a predictable and
understandable progression.
One could explain this drift away from the construction with the past passive
participle as a concession to compactness of expression, but there is a more potent
explanation close to hand. Despite remaining the topic notionally, the subject in a
passivization always experiences a hierarchical devaluation in meaning vis-à-vis its
unpassivized counterpart, i.e., with an active (transitive) verb. So the status of the
subject in “the rocket launched…” is necessarily of higher value semantically than
in “the rocket was launched…” Shifting the passivized subject out of this secondary
status by changing the verb from transitive to intransitive thus upgrades its meaning
by making it the predicative focus of the sentence.
294 4 Syntax
Glossary
hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
pleonastic, adj. < pleonasm, n.: a tautological or redundant word or form
Adjectival phrases like small handful and young kid keep being uttered and written
in contemporary American English, evidently without their producers being aware
of the fact that they are pleonastic, i.e., the adjective is redundant: the meaning of
the adjective is already contained in the semantic makeup of the noun it modifies.
Handful, meaning ‘the amount that can fit in one’s hand’, is ‘small’ by definition.
Likewise, kid, whether the referent is the young of a goat (its original sense) or of a
human being, is just that: ‘young’.
Why “extruded?” Because the meaning of the adjective is already included in
that of the noun it modifies but is linearized as a word that is an excrescence.
These constructions are further evidence—if one needed any—of the fact that
American speech is teeming with pleonasms of all sorts (fresh example: “Through
the debate, he [Obama] was reassuring and self-composed [instead of composed] .”
David Brooks, “Thinking About Obama,” The New York Times, October 17, 2008,
A27). Some have become so firmly ensconced in the language—like safe haven,
prior experience, and advance planning—that we use them without giving them a
second thought. But they are pleonastic nonetheless.
This sort of grammatical and lexical hypertrophy (a word used here advisedly,
with allusion to its medical sense) is to be rooted out not just because of its stylistic
demerits but because it is a manifestation of something ultimately much more
important: it is a FAILURE OF THOUGHT.
[ADDENDUM: This particular failure of thought is proliferating exponentially; cf.
an example heard from an otherwise good writer, Sidney Blumenthal: “external
trappings” (interviewed by Guy Raz, “All Things Considered,” NPR, 1/24/10,
KPCC-FM, Pasadena).]
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
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4.14 Pluriverbation (Skill Set, Data Point) 295
deriving, adj. < derive, v.: to generate (one structure) from another or from a
set of others
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological
enlargement
metanalysis, n.: the analysis of words or groups of words into new elements
involving a shift of boundaries (as an apron for a napron)
pleonasm, n.: a tautological or redundant word or form
pluriverbation, n.: the transformation of one word into a phrase
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
stem, n.: the main part of a word to which affixes are added
suffix, n.: an affix [vide supra] added to the end of a word or stem, serving to
form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness in
gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
univerbation, n.: the transformation of a phrase into a single word
unsuffixed, adj.: without a suffix
The past two decades have seen the general hypertrophic trend in American English
extended to what could be called (for lack of an accepted term) PLURIVERBATION,
i.e., the converse of UNIVERBATION, the latter being a designation of the process by
which two or more words are turned into one. In the case of skill set and data point,
two phrases that constantly crop up in contemporary speech and writing, the plural
substantives skills and data are both decomposed into the phrases at issue, but in
divergent ways. In the first example, where a simple plural skills would have
sufficed, the deriving base skill (sg.) is transformed into an unsuffixed adjective. In
the second example, the deriving base data, construed as a collective singular
(through suppression of the singular form datum), assumes the form of the
adjective.
Why? In the case of skill set, beside the impulse toward hypertrophy, one could
speculate that the collective meaning conveyed by set imparts a semantic nuance
lacking in the simple plural. And in the case of data point, the desire to focus on a
specific datum is not well served because of the growing obsolescence of the
singular.
But over and above these details, there is a strong tendency in American culture
toward the engorgement of diction through redundancies, tautologies, and pleo-
nasms of all stripes (as in “advance planning,” etc.). One could easily surmise that
some of these hypertrophies arise from a need to be explicit, to repeat for emphasis,
but a close analysis reveals that this is not so. Pleonasms, etc. always exhibit a
widening of boundaries, and it is undoubtedly true that boundaries are among the
most unstable of linguistic entities, more liable to shift (metanalysis) over time than
other such units.
296 4 Syntax
Glossary
axiological, adj < axiology, n.: the study of the nature of values and value
judgments
neutralization, n.: the suspension of an opposition
prosopopoeia, n.: personification
simulacra, n. pl. < simulacrum, n. sg.: an image or representation
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4.15 Pronominal Prosopopoeia 297
Idioms have an interesting status. Every language is replete with them, and they are
among the first items that the learner confronts, be it native speakers acquiring their
own language or foreigners learning a new one. Proverbs constitute the longest
idioms, and in some languages (like Russian), despite industrialization (most
proverbs sprang historically from an agricultural setting), they are as prevalent as
ever in speech and writing.
A subspecies of idioms is the syntactic kind. Typically, this sort of idiom
involves the choice of a verb and its complement, i.e., the noun the verb governs.
A measure of imperfect learning is the failure to learn what verb goes with what
noun, and in this age of the internet and video games, such instances of misuse turn
up constantly in the media and in ordinary speech.
Here is a fresh example from writers whose education would seem to protect
them from such elementary mistakes. On The New York Times Op-Ed page for
Tuesday, June 23, 2009, two doctoral candidates in economics at Harvard have the
following first sentence in the second paragraph of their contribution, “A Fairer
Credit Card? Priceless” (National Edition, p. A23): “But the example of cards
issued by credit unions puts the lie to these claims.”
Now, it is part of the idiomatic syntax of English that one “gives the lie” not
“puts the lie” to something. Neither the writers nor the editors evidently have a
command of English syntax that extends completely to idiomatic structure.
Glossary
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: inordinate or pathological enlargement
298 4 Syntax
The phrase increasingly heard introducing utterances emanating from the mouths of
American speakers of English (but not only), the reality is, typically followed by
the reduplicative copula is + that—i.e., the reality is is that—can only be adjudged
a hypertrophic way of saying what could easily be said more succinctly by using the
word actually.
This particularly odious case of hypertrophy is of a piece with all such instances
—especially of pleonasm proper—that are inundating American English. One could
perhaps provide some weak justification by assessing it as a form of emphasis, where
the substantive reality gives the phrase some modicum of substance missing from
the adverb actually, but rarely is any emphasis intended by the speaker or demanded
by the context. Stylistically, the widespread use of the phrase the reality is can be
chalked up to the inbred prolixity of speakers used to passing off hyperurbanisms as
if they were the coin of the realm instead of the counterfeit that they are.
Glossary
back-formed, adj. < back-formation, n.: a new word created by removing an
affix from an already existing word, as vacuum clean from vacuum
cleaner, or by removing what is mistakenly thought to be an affix, as pea
from the earlier English plural pease
plurale tantum: occurring only in the plural (Latin)
The rise of mass communications and the concomitant spread of literacy to pre-
viously marginalized users of a national language present a problem to language
historians who have heretofore had the luxury of dismissing variation attributable to
imperfect learning and outright grammatical error as invalid. That is to say, what
would have been ignored as a non-datum in the past must now be taken into
account, especially if it becomes a constant presence in the written language.
A prominent contemporary example in American English is the reinterpretation
of the plurale tantum troops—strictly a collective or mass noun in traditional usage
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4.18 Triumph of the Ungrammatical 299
Glossary
aspectual, adj. < aspect, n.: a category of the verb designating primarily the
relation of the action to the passage of time, especially in reference to
completion, duration, or repetition
postposition, n.: a word or element placed postpositionally, as a preposition
placed after its object
Glossary
complement, n.: a word or words used to complete a predicate construction,
especially the object or indirect object of a verb; for example, the phrase
to eat ice cream in We like to eat ice cream
intransitive, adj.: designating a verb or verb construction that does not require
or cannot take a direct object, as snow or sleep
postposition, n.: a word or element placed postpositionally, as a preposition
placed after its object
transitivization, v. < transitive, adj.: expressing an action carried from the
subject to the object; requiring a direct object to complete meaning
Transitive verbs are verbs that govern direct objects without the intervention of
postpositions, whereas intransitive verbs are those that do not require or cannot take
a direct object. In contemporary American English, especially in the language of
advertising and the media, there has been an extended trend toward the transi-
tivization of traditionally intransitive verbs, as in “ski Bromley,” “shop Target,”
“surf the web,” “lean Republican,” etc., all of which constructions, strictly speak-
ing, are missing postpositions (i.e., “ski on Bromley [Mountain],” “shop at Target,”
etc.). This trend was illustrated yet again on the front page of today’s issue of The
New York Times: “Mr. Reid said he would vote [instead of “vote for”] Huntsman in
the Republican presidential primary on Tuesday.” (Jim Rutenberg, “Ready or Not,
Huntsman Faces His Moment in New Hampshire,” January 8, 2012, Late Edition,
p. 1).
The omission of the postposition has the effect of increasing the emotive force of
the verbal action on the direct object. The intercalation of a postposition between
the verb and the object makes the latter necessarily indirect. The indirection of
verbal force accompanying intransitivity, by comparison with transitivity, can be
reversed by simply changing the grammatical category of the verb and dropping the
postposition. Closing the distance between verb and complement in this way—as
with all instances of relative closeness between governing and governed form—
eventuates in a rise in emotive value, and it is precisely this value that is at a
premium in language styles that aim at predisposing the utterer/writer to the
listener/reader.
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4.21 Leaning Obama, Voting Romney 301
Glossary
intransitivity, n. < intransitive, adj.: designating a verb or verb construction
that does not require or cannot take a direct object
nomina propria: proper nouns (Latin)
postposition, n.: the placing of a word or suffixed element after the word to
which it is grammatically related; a word or element placed postposi-
tionally, as a preposition placed after its object
transitivity, n. < transitive, adj.: expressing an action carried from the subject
to the object; requiring a direct object to complete meaning
The use of nomina propria in adverbial position after verbs that normally govern a
postposition is a fairly recent innovation in American media language, derived no
doubt from the language of advertising (shop Gucci, ski Bromley). Eliminating the
postposition (i.e., lean Democratic instead of the orthoepic lean toward the
Democrats) is stylistically colloquial, consonant grammatically with the greater
immediacy of transitivity versus intransitivity.
Those speakers who use such locutions may or may not be motivated by the goal
of a certain stylistic rakishness, but what this violation of collocation rules confers
on phrases like leaning Obama and voting Romney in any event is the impression of
greater closeness to the topic of discourse—here, the political fray—when com-
pared with their normative syntactic equivalents.
Glossary
amicus, n.: friend (Latin), as in amicus curiae ‘friend of the court
pragmatism, n.: an American movement in philosophy founded by Peirce and
James and marked by the doctrines that the meaning of conceptions is to
be sought in their practical bearings, that the function of thought is as a
guide to action, and that the truth is preeminently to be tested by the
practical consequences of belief
vis-à-vis, prep.: in relation to; over against
302 4 Syntax
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “A well regulated
Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Gun owners assert a right to own and use
firearms on the basis of the main clause of the amendment. In the so-called Heller
case, the United States Supreme Court has sustained their right, ignoring in 2007
the well-reasoned amicus brief filed by professional linguists that argued that the
grammar of the amendment does not allow such an interpretation. Here is a sum-
mary (from Dennis Baron, “Guns and Grammar: the Linguistics of the Second
Amendment” (www.english.illinois.edu/-people/faculty/debaron/essays/guns.pdf):
“In our amicus brief in the Heller case we attempted to demonstrate, • that the Second
Amendment must be read in its entirety, and that its initial absolute functions as a sub-
ordinate adverbial that establishes a cause-and-effect connection with the amendment’s
main clause; • that the vast preponderance of examples show that the phrase bear arms
refers specifically to carrying weapons in the context of a well-regulated militia; • that the
word militia itself refers to a federally-authorized, collective fighting force, drawn only
from the subgroup of citizens eligible for service in such a body; • and that as the linguistic
evidence makes clear, the militia clause is inextricably bound to the right to bear arms
clause. 18th-century readers, grammarians, and lexicographers understood the Second
Amendment in this way, and it is how linguists have understood it as well.”
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4.23 “It’s OK By Me” As a Syntactic Calque 303
Glossary
calque (= loan translation), n.: a form of borrowing from one language to
another whereby the semantic components of a given term are literally
translated into their equivalents in the borrowing language, e.g., English
superman for German Übermensch
instrumental, adj.: of, relating to, or being a case in grammar expressing
means or agency
semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between signs and what
they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system, and human
behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes, influences
of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic assumptions
Glossary
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
304 4 Syntax
ontological, adj. < ontology, n.: the science or study of being; that branch of
metaphysics concerned with the nature or essence of being or existence
phraseologism, n.: typical modes of expression that assemble words in order
to signify something that is not limited to the sum of the meanings of the
single words that compose them
In the past several decades or more, there has been a tendency in American English
to omit the article where it previously was obligatory in phraseologisms. Thus, for
instance, one could hear today the phrase in the wake of uttered by a reporter on the
NPR program “Morning Edition” without the article, i.e., “in wake of…” Other
examples of this phenomenon are “on par with” and “on air” (instead of the
traditional on a par with and on the air). By the bye, the absence of an article in the
phrase in hospital differentiates British usage from American, where in the hospital
is steadfastly maintained despite the tendency to drop the article elsewhere.
There already exist many examples of phraseologisms that omit the article (like
in cahoots with, in defense of, etc.), so it is not surprising to see that the trend is
toward omission of the article rather than toward its insertion.
A possible explanation resides in the nature of a phraseologism, as contrasted
with a simple prepositional phrase containing an article. In the first case, a unified
meaning of the words as parts of a whole is paramount, rendering the individuating
function of the article as a grammatical category subordinate to the syntactic unity
of the phraseologism. But in the second case—that of a simple prepositional phrase
—the article retains its role as an individuator.
This ongoing change toward phraseologization as it affects articles is an
instantiation of the principle of language structure whereby the implementation of
the rules of grammar always tends over time toward the iconic realization of the
ontological definition of the categories involved.
Glossary
configure, v.: to arrange in a certain form, figure, or shape
diagrammatize, v. < diagrammatic, adj. < diagram, n.: (in Peirce’s sign
theory) an icon of relation
explanans, n.: the explaining element in an explanation; the explanatory
premisses (Latin)
haecceity, n.: what makes something to be an ultimate reality different from
any other
head, adj. < head, n.: occurring at the head (beginning) of a construction
hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
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4.25 A Case of Pleonasm Syntactically Diagrammatized 305
Glossary
auxiliary, n.: a verb used to form the tenses, moods, voices, etc. of other verbs
de rigueur: obligatory (French)
gambit, n.: a remark or comment designed to launch a conversation or to
make a telling point
multifarious, adj.: having great diversity or variety
postposition, n.: a word or element placed postpositionally, as a preposition
placed after its object
306 4 Syntax
The English verb to have is, along with be and do, the most multifarious member of
its class, with a great variation of senses and uses, including that of an auxiliary. An
extended case is the use of have with postpositions. For example, to have on means
‘to puzzle or deceive intentionally; to chaff, tease; to hoax’.
The interference from this last construction’s meaning may be partly responsible
for the all-but-ubiquitous contemporary use of have without the postposition on—
i.e., “Thanks for having me”—in the response of interviewees to a radio or tele-
vision interviewer’s expression of thanks as an opening gambit in such media
conversations. But this form of the response is actually the result of a further
grammatical contamination from the meaning of have without a postposition in the
usage that is shorthand for invite or entertain. From the beginning of radio as a
medium of communication, the postposition has been de rigueur in denoting ap-
pearance on a program. One can still hear careful speakers saying “Thanks for
having me on,” although this correct usage is lamentably receding into oblivion
under the onslaught of the erroneously conflated one. Tant pis!
Glossary
affective, adj.: expressing emotion
dative, adj.: of a grammatical case: marking typically the indirect object of a
verb
ethical dative: a use of the dative case signifying that the person denoted has
an interest in or is indirectly affected by the event
ut pictura poesis: as is painting so is poetry (Latin)
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4.27 The Ethical Dative, Lost But Not Forgotten 307
something one doesn’t want oneself) which literally means something like ‘you can
steal it from me’. The possessive dative pronoun mir here makes all the difference
in the world and is hardly reflected in the English phrase from me.
This kind of discrepancy between English, which lacks the ethical dative, on the
one hand, and those languages like German (or Russian or Serbian), which have it,
on the other, makes translating poetry into English a particular problem. Take the
following lines from the first panel (Beчe ‘Evening’) of the triptych Na liparu (‘On
Lipar Hill’) by the Serbian poet Đura Jakšić:
One doesn’t have to know Serbian to follow the alternation of the possessive
pronoun moje with the ethical dative mi in this beautiful poem about how the poet’s
mood is affected by seeing birds flying about at night. When Jakšić says in the
308 4 Syntax
opening verse, addressing the little birds, ‘Are you my kin?’, he uses the ethical
dative mi in referring to the fourth word rod ‘kin’ (Jecтe ли ми poд, cиpoчићи
мaли?), which would normally be rendered ‘Are you my kin, little orphans’, i.e.,
‘are you kin to me’, where the ethical dative of the original has to be supplanted by
a prepositional phrase, blunting the emotional force of the original sense. Those
who have Serbian will notice how often the poet here plays on the distinction
between the possessive pronoun and the ethical dative to convey the affective aura
of his lived experience. Ut pictura poesis.
Glossary
binomial, adj.: having or characterized by two names
deictically, adv. < deictic, adj.: directly pointing out, demonstrative
hyperurbanism, n.: a pronunciation or grammatical form or usage produced by
a speaker of one dialect according to an analogical rule formed by com-
parison of the speaker’s own usage with that of another, more prestigious,
dialect and often applied in an inappropriate context, especially in an effort
to avoid sounding countrified, rural, or provincial; hypercorrection
insinuate, v.: to impart or communicate with artful indirect wording or
oblique reference and without direct or forthright expression
objective, adj.: relating to, characteristic of, or being the case which follows a
verb used transitively or a preposition; being the case that denotes the
relation of object
solecism, n.: a nonstandard usage or grammatical construction; an impro-
priety, mistake, or incongruity
subjective, adj.: being or relating to a grammatical subject
syndetic, adj.: serving to unite or connect; connective
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4.28 Baring the Grammatical Underbelly of a Hypercorrection 309
the pronoun in this sentence, in the specific context of its juxtaposition to the name
of a male. The use of the correct pronoun her in this context would have lowered
the importance that the speaker wishes to insinuate of Yellen as compared to
Bernanke, given that the former is being elevated to the rank of the latter. The
objective case is hierarchically not as highly-valued as the subjective, since subject
is always necessarily more germane than object. Hence placing the normative
objective case form her in initial position in the syndetic phrase between A and B
would have devalued the referent (A) vis-à-vis its counterpart (B) in the binomial
portion of the phrase. The subjective case form of the personal pronoun, while
flying in the face of its grammatical position after a preposition, restores and
foregrounds the importance of the actual person denoted deictically. In other words,
here person trumps case in the teeth of the resultant ungrammaticality.
Glossary
attendance, n. < attend, v.: fix the mind upon; give heed to
concord, n.: formal agreement between words as parts of speech, expressing
the relation of fact between things and their attributes or predicates
diagrammatic, adj. < diagram, n.: an icon of relation
en bloc: as a body or whole (French)
icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related to its object by
similarity
instantiate, v.: to represent (an abstraction or universal) by a concrete instance
interpretant, n.: a sign or set of signs that interprets another sign; the response
or reaction to a sign
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
neutralization, n.: the suspension of an opposition
notionally, adv. < notional, adj.: of a thing, a relation, etc., not substantially
or actually existent; existing only in thought
promiscuousness, n. < promiscuous, adj.: indiscriminate, careless
punctilious, adj.: marked by exact accordance with the details of codes or
conventions
semeiosis, n.: the process of signification, sign action
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
supervene, v.: to supersede
unmarked, adj.: vide supra under markedness
valorize, v.: assign a value to
310 4 Syntax
Glossary
government, n.: the influence of a word over the morphological inflection of
another word in a phrase or sentence
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4.30 Adjectival Government 311
Glossary
collective, adj.: of a word or term: indicating a number of persons or things
considered as constituting one group or aggregate
implicature, n.: the act or an instance of (intentionally) implying a meaning
which can be inferred from an utterance in conjunction with its conver-
sational or semantic context, but is neither explicitly expressed nor logi-
cally entailed by the statement itself; a meaning that is implied
contextually, but is neither entailed logically nor stated explicitly
inter alia: among others (Latin)
312 4 Syntax
Glossary
complement, n.: one or more words joined to another to complete the sense
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
tropism, n.: a preference, an inclination
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4.32 Hypertrophic Prepositional Complements of Verbs 313
Increasingly in the last decade, American media English has been swept up in the
tide of hypertrophic variants in all sectors of grammar. This tendency has now come
to affect the form of prepositions after verbs, such that the standard transitive variant
enter in—as in “enter in the lottery”—is being routinely replaced by “enter into the
lottery,” etc. Perhaps a contributing factor in this case is the related intransitive
form, as in phrases like “enter into an agreement,” but the fact of a powerful
contemporary tropism toward hypertrophy in American English is undeniable on its
face, of which bloated prepositions as verbal complements are yet another instance.
Chapter 5
Theory
Abstract The linguistic theory animating the author’s analyses is made explicit
and occasionally placed in contrast to prevailing theoretical holdovers from the last
century. This theory is based on a thorough assimilation of the semeiotic of the
founder of modern sign theory, Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), located at
the core of his entire pragmatist philosophy. Theory is conceived of, not as ad hoc,
but as uniformly immanent in the examples adduced for analysis, which range over
the entirety of language structure, English in particular, including style.
Glossary
disfluency, n.: impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent speech; an
interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the repetition
of a word or syllable
horror silentii: fear of silence (Latin)
horror vacui: fear of empty spaces (Latin)
phatic, adj.: Of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or
ideas
vocable, n.: a word considered only as a sequence of sounds or letters rather
than as a unit of meaning
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discourse, is of a piece with the insertion of fillers such as you know, if you like, and
the juvenile pollutant like, and is to be explained not only by speakers’ varying skill
in thinking through the grammar of an intended utterance in advance of its artic-
ulation but by a near-compulsive need to maintain the intactness of the PHATIC
FUNCTION, alias the channel of communication.
This horror of empty discourse spaces is responsible for stammering as for other
non-pathological disfluencies and is, moreover, a peculiar feature of American
English in its present-day form, markedly distinct from ordinary educated speech in
(for instance) French, German, Russian, or Japanese—all of which, to be sure, have
their own fillers. Keeping the channel of communication open by filling it with
otiose vocables is, at bottom, a (largely unconscious) way of asserting one’s ego at
the expense of the interlocutor’s right to interrupt. This is a characteristically
American phenomenon that is part of the general tendency in American culture to
prize individualism over communitarianism, akin to slamming instead of simply
closing the door upon stopping of a car one was riding in or driving—a totally
gratuitous, percussive punctuation of one’s presence.
Glossary
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n.: the aspects and study of spoken
communication that accompany speech but do not involve words, such as
body language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice
When a youngish female speaker of American English uses air quotes—i.e., a gesture
produced with hands held shoulder-width apart and at the eye level of the speaker, the
index and middle fingers on each hand flexing at the beginning and end of the item
being quoted—so frequently as to constitute a VERBAL TIC, what does that signify?
One could easily interpret this paralinguistic behavior as a species of STAMMERING
and thereby subsume it under the general cultural avoidance, especially among the
younger generation, of any utterance constituting a straightforward assertion.
Glossary
apotropaic, adj.: intended to ward off evil or danger
apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil or danger
5.3 Basically, the Attenuation of Assertory Force 317
There are several ways speakers have of blunting the assertory force of an utterance
including fillers (like, you know, know what I’m saying, basically, etc.). When they
edge over the line and start polluting speech, these linguistic elements are called
disfluencies. One such filler that has been growing in frequency in American
English is the adverb basically. More than ample recorded evidence of this word’s
prominence is available in an interview with the Indian-American (Sikh) internet
executive, Gurbaksh Chahal (conducted on the BBC World Service by Mike
Williams, 11/19/10) . Mr. Chahal, (aged 28 at the time) speaks standard American
English without an accent, came to the USA at the age of four from Punjab, and
grew up in Northern California. Though there is no precise count of the number of
times that basically cropped up in his responses (the interview lasted 28 min),
suffice it to say that it could not have been less that 20–30.
The frequent insertion of this word in one’s speech serves an EMOTIVE, not a
referential function. The speaker is moved to attenuate the assertory force of his
utterances, and in this respect the word’s appearance serves exactly the same
function as one of those fulfilled by that other frequent speech pollutant, like.
Whatever their primary semantic load, these words now function to qualify or deflect
the force of anything being (nominally) asserted. They are thus analogous in effect
segmentally to the near-ubiquitous suprasegmental feature of contemporary female
speech, viz. an interrogative intonation contour on clauses that are not questions.
Like the apotropaic smile (of females in particular), any gratuitous attenuation or
deflection of assertory force can be seen as an APOTROPAISM, an atavistic survival
mechanism that likely has deep evolutionary roots. The emergence of a linguistic
apotropaism in present-day circumstances means only that the evil being warded off
need not be confined to mastodons or saber-toothed tigers: it lurks as well in the jungles
of modern life, albeit not in the form of wild beasts but in that of fellow humans.
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318 5 Theory
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
archaic, adj.: of, relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were
once in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier
style or period
archaism, n.: an archaic word, phrase, idiom, or other expression < archaic,
adj. [vide supra]
base, n.: a morpheme or morphemes regarded as a form to which affixes or
other bases may be added
diachrony, n. < diachronic, adj.: of or concerned with phenomena, such as
linguistic features, as they change through time
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the
addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form
of a base, as in English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical
features such as number, person, mood, or tense
lexicon, n.: the morphemes of a language considered as a group
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic) form
paradigm, n.: a set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its
grammatical categories
phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or a language with
reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit rules governing
pronunciation
synchrony, n. < synchronic, adj.: of or relating to the study of phenomena,
such as linguistic features, or of events of a particular time, without
reference to their historical context
All living languages have elements at every level that are regarded by their users as
obsolescent, obsolete, or archaic. (“Old-fashioned,” while descriptive enough, is not,
strictly speaking, a linguistic term.) Dictionaries register this fact when they label
certain words or meanings archaic, historically older elements perduring alongside
normatively contemporary ones. For instance, the first definition of knave in Webster’s
Unabridged prefaces the designation “archaic” to three meanings, namely (a) ‘a serving
boy’, (b) ‘a male servant or menial’, (c) ‘a man of humble birth or position’ before
proceeding to give its modern definition as ‘a tricky deceitful fellow: rogue: rascal:
jack’. (Note that for most American card players, at least, the last definition is obsolete.)
5.4 Diachrony in Synchrony: Archaisms 319
Even though the designation ‘archaic’ largely affects the lexicon, it may also
extend to phonology and morphology. For instance, older speakers may adhere to
pronunciations that were dominant when they first learned them as children but
have subsequently gone out of general use over the speakers’ lifetimes. Thus the
increasingly common American English leveling of the paradigm for the word
house, which makes the plural into [háusiz] instead of the traditional [háuziz], is an
innovation that bids fair to eventually render the latter an archaism. And speakers
who follow the norm in forming the plural of wife and knife may still incorporate
the newer form for house, where the stem-final /s/ of the singular does not change to
/z/. No speaker of English, however, would use an archaism like kine as the plural
of cow except for purposes of stylization.
Some archaisms are fossilized in fixed expressions. For instance, in the
injunction attributed to Jesus, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s,
and unto God the things that are God’s” (“Ἀpόdose oὖm sὰ Kaίraqo1 Kaίraqi jaὶ
sὰ soῦ Heoῦ sῷ Heῷ,” Matthew 22:21), the contextually archaic preposition unto
is sustained into modern English from its origin in the King James Bible.
Interestingly, the same situation obtains in the Russian equivalent, “Boздaй кecapю
кecapeвo, a Бoгy Бoгoвo,” wherein the form of the possessive adjectives for the
substantives in question (‘Caesar’s’, resp. ‘God’s’) is archaic.
Glossary
epiphenomenon, n.: a secondary phenomenon that results from and accom-
panies another
morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic)
form
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320 5 Theory
constructions. But some can also be innovations that have the capacity to be copied
and to spread throughout the speech community. One of the tasks of historical
linguists interested in the theory of change is explaining just this capacity.
Glossary
preciosity, n.: extreme meticulousness or overrefinement, as in language,
taste, or style
quod erat demonstrandum: ‘which was to be proved’ (Latin)
There is always a kind of figure-ground relation between linguistic errors and the
grammatically correct context in which they are embedded. Consequently, when a
native speaker who is otherwise articulate and speaks the standard language makes
an error, it tends to create an outsized effect.
This phenomenon was recently demonstrated in an NPR report broadcast by its
Middle East and Africa correspondent, Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, a speaker of
standard American English (despite the Hispanic name) educated in the U.K. and
the U.S.A. Her speech generally makes the impression of a carefully cultivated
preciosity bordering on prissiness, so that when she mispronounced the monosyl-
labic word cache to rhyme with cachet, it had a jarringly percussive effect on this
listener. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Glossary
Freudian slip, n.: a verbal mistake that is thought to reveal an unconscious
belief, thought, or emotion
lapsus linguae: a slip of the tongue (Latin)
pragmatistic, adj. < pragmatism, n.: a movement consisting of varying but
associated theories, originally developed by Charles S. Peirce and William
James and distinguished by the doctrine that the meaning of an idea or a
proposition lies in its observable practical consequences
Spoonerism, n.: a transposition of sounds of two or more words, especially a
ludicrous one, such as Let me sew you to your sheet for Let me show you
to your seat
Ur-, prefix: original, prototypical (German)
5.7 Error, a Natural History 321
Only humans err (cf. St. Augustine: Errare humanum est > Alexander Pope: “To err
is human, to forgive divine.”). If we attribute error to animals, it is because we are
grounded by our habits of thought, our native penchant for the anthropomorphiza-
tion and metaphorization of everything. When it comes to language, the least
interesting domain within this sub-category of human behavior is what linguists call
speech errors and are typically on about, namely slips of the tongue (lapsus linguae),
Spoonerisms, and the whole panoply of performance errors that are easily correctible
and, indeed, usually corrected on the spot (including so-called Freudian slips).
A mistake is an error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient
knowledge, or carelessness. It is also a misconception or misunderstanding. The
etymology is from Middle English mistaken ‘misunderstand’ < Old Norse mistaka
‘take in error’ < mis- ‘wrongly’ + taka ‘take’. Error is from Middle English
errour < Old French < Latin error < errāre ‘wander’. From the perspective of
Latin, then, the ultimate meaning involves ‘wandering’, alias straying, deviating
from the right path. Compare this Ur- meaning to that found in the root of the
Russian word for error, viz. oshibka, a verbal noun: -shib- means ‘throw, hurl,
sling’, and o- is a prefix with ‘mis-’ as one of its senses, e.g., ogovorit’sia ‘make a
speech error’ < o- + govori- ‘speak, say’. The modern verb for ‘err’ is oshibit’sia,
which originarily must have been derived from something like ‘mis-’ + ‘throwing’,
i.e., ‘missing the mark’. In Japanese, to extend the comparative scope, the quotidian
word for error is machigai, where the element ma means ‘space’ or ‘time’, and
chigai is the deverbal nominal stem (<chigau ‘differ’) meaning ‘difference, diver-
gence’; hence error in Japanese is ultimately, as in Russian, something like ‘di-
vergence from the right point/mark in space (or time)’.
The upshot—linguistic, moral, and pragmatistic—of this natural history of (the
words for) error is support for Charles Sanders Peirce’s IDEA—also to be disinterred
from the etymologies of the words right and wrong—that
men and words reciprocally educate each other; each increase of a man’s information
involves and is involved by, a corresponding increase of a word’s information … My
language is the sum total of myself.
Glossary
lingua franca: a medium of communication between peoples of different
languages (< Italian ‘Frankish [i.e., European] language’)
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322 5 Theory
Glossary
aleatory, adj.: dependent on chance, luck, or an uncertain outcome
insouciantly, adv. < insouciant, adj.: marked by blithe unconcern; nonchalant
pleonasm, adj.: a tautological or redundant word or form
postposition, n.: a word or element placed postpositionally, as a preposition
placed after its object
When speakers make grammatical errors, linguists typically label them “slips” or
“speech errors” and qualify them as episodic phenomena. However, repeated
deviations from the linguistic norm, for example the dropping of postpositions, as in
“Thanks for having me” instead of “Thanks for having me on”—the near-ubiquitous
response of radio call-in guests—or “caving” instead of “caving in” and “bailing”
instead of “bailing out” should not so insouciantly be ignored as merely aleatory.
Grammar is not just a set of rules characterizing linguistic behavior. It is the
reflection of patterns of thought that have been codified as the received form of
expression of grammatical relations. The coherence of these patterns is, naturally,
not etched in stone, but innovations in grammar that are patently incoherent—such
as the dropping of postpositions, or the mindlessly redundant generation of pleo-
nasms—should be recognized for what they are, namely failures of thought, and
rooted out as inimical to one’s mental health as an instance of linguistic pathology.
5.10 Homo Figurans, Not Sapiens 323
Glossary
bipedal, adj.: having two feet; two-footed
differentia specifica: a property which distinguishes it from others (Latin)
figurational, adj. < figuration, n. < figure, v.: to symbolize (as a figure of
speech)
hominidae, pl. n.: a family of mammals, of which Homo sapiens is the only
extant species (Latin)
homo figurans: ‘figurational man’ (Latin)
homo sapiens ‘wise or knowing man’ (Latin)
quiddity, n.: the real nature of a thing; the essence
trope, n.: a figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a
metaphor
trope, v.: create a trope [vide supra]
tropism, n.: the turning or bending movement of an organism or a part toward
or away from an external stimulus
Nothing could be more misleading than to taxonomize modern humans by the Latin
phrase homo sapiens ‘wise or knowing man’. A more appropriate label would be
homo figurans ‘figural or troping man’ because nothing defines the difference
between humans and other bipedal primates more essentially than our ability and,
more importantly, our propensity to simultaneously say one thing while meaning
another. This tropism toward tropes is the differentia specifica of human beings.
If ever one needed further evidence of the quiddity of this existential truth, it was
supplied obliquely in an interview on the BBC World Service with a British soldier.
Recalling his first meeting with his deceased fiancée, a medical doctor killed in an
ambush in Afghanistan, he described her as having “ticked all the boxes” for him.
One could, of course, easily fault the soldier for resorting to such an utterly flat and
colorless figure of speech to limn what was evidently an emotionally freighted
recollection. His mode of expression instantiated, nonetheless, just that essentially
human cognitive capacity which separates us from the other hominidae.
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
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In those languages of the world that are inflected the plurals of nouns are routinely
formed by adding a desinence (=inflectional suffix) to the stem of the singular.
English is no exception. There is thus an iconic relation between the forms of the
two grammatical numbers, viz. the plural is longer (=numerically greater) than the
singular.
However, English also has a set of plurals which are shorter than their singular
counterparts, namely the learnèd words of Latin and Greek origin such as medium,
phenomenon, criterion, etc., whose plurals (media, phenomena, criteria, etc.) are
formed by replacing the desinence of the singular with –a. This is admittedly a
small lexical class, but its frequency has also conditioned a change in the history of
English whereby the plural forms commonly supplant the singular for both
5.11 Iconism and Learnèd Plurals 325
Glossary
ablaut, n.: vowel change, characteristic of Indo-European languages, that
accompanies a change in grammatical function; for example, i, a, u in
sing, sang, sung; also called gradation (German)
compact, adj.: a phonological distinctive feature value represented acousti-
cally in a relatively narrow, central region of the auditory spectrum and a
higher concentration of energy (opposed to non-compact [vide infra])
marked, adj.: vide infra
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
non-compact, adj.: a phonological distinctive feature value represented
acoustically in a relatively non-central region of the auditory spectrum and
a lower concentration of energy (opposed to compact [vide supra])
nota bene: note well (Latin)
paradigm, n.: a set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its
grammatical categories
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326 5 Theory
preterit, adj.: of, relating to, or being the verb tense that describes a past
action or state
strong, adj.: of or relating to those verbs in Germanic languages that form
their past tense by a change in stem vowel, and their past participles by a
change in stem vowel and sometimes by adding the suffix -(e)n, as sing,
sang, sung or tear, tore, torn
unmarked, adj.: vide supra
Glossary
conative, adj. < conation, n.: the conscious drive to perform apparently
volitional acts with or without knowledge of the origin of the drive
derivational, adj. < derivation, n.: the process by which words are formed
from existing words or bases by adding affixes, as singer from sing or
undo from do, by changing the shape of the word or base, as song from
sing, or by adding an affix and changing the pronunciation of the word or
base, as electricity from electric
inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the addition of an affix, as
in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form of a base, as in English
spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical features
in potentia: in potentiality; potentially (Latin)
in statu nascendi: in the state of being born; in the nascent state; in the course
of being formed or developed (Latin)
metalanguage, n.: a language or vocabulary used to describe or analyze
language
metalinguistic, adj.: of or relating to a metalanguage
morphology, n.: a study and description of word-formation in a language
including inflection, derivation, and compounding; the system of
word-forming elements and processes in a language
phatic, adj.: of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or
ideas
referential, adj.: containing, denoting, or constituting a reference or meaning
The seven (eight?) year old boy was talking to his mother on a Manhattan bus,
which was slowly making its way down Columbus Avenue through thick traffic
occasioned by the New York City Marathon. “It’s really trafficky,” said the mother.
“‘Trafficky’ is not a word,” retorted the boy. “It’s a word if people understand it,”
was the mother’s response, putting paid to the exchange and a quietus on her son.
In a sense, the little boy and his mother were both right. The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006) agrees with the boy (trafficky is
unattested therein), but any non-juvenile native speaker of contemporary American
English would agree with the mother.
Every linguistic utterance takes place in a communicative context defined by the
speaker’s orientation and the latter’s associated function. When the orientation is
toward establishing contact, the function is called PHATIC; when toward the content,
REFERENTIAL; when toward the code, when toward the addressee, CONATIVE when
toward the addresser, EMOTIVE; when toward the message, POETIC.
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328 5 Theory
For the boy, whose utterance was an exercise of the metalinguistic function the
judgment expressed thereby reflected a good command of the norm, i.e., of his-
torically sanctioned usage, but only an incomplete, juvenile knowledge of the
grammatical system that also countenances usage in statu nascendi. For the mother,
by contrast, the internalized system (of derivational morphology) was mature and,
therefore, elastic enough to encompass everything functional that is productive in
the language, including usage that exists in potentia.
Glossary
behaviorist, adj. < behaviorism, n.: a school of psychology that confines
itself to the study of observable and quantifiable aspects of behavior and
excludes subjective phenomena, such as emotions or motives
chorale, n.: a harmonized hymn, especially one for organ
deontic, adj.: of, relating to, or concerning duties or obligations
inter alia: among other things (Latin)
metagrammatical, adj. < metagrammar, n.: a formal grammar that describes
a set of possible grammars
nomina sunt odiosa: it would be inappropriate to name names; ‘names are
odious’ (Latin)
prescriptivist, adj. < prescriptivism, n.: the support or promotion of pre-
scriptive grammar
scalar, adj.: describable by a number that can be represented by a point on a scale
Sprachgefühl, n.: a feeling for language; an ear for the idiomatically correct or
appropriate (German)
When an author of a linguisticusage manual has a prescriptivist bias and does not
shrink from proscribing certain contemporary usage as incorrect when it violates the
traditional norm, this attitude still rubs almost all professional linguists the wrong
way, owing to the fact that in their hearts there lurks the old behaviorist antipathy to
prescribing—as against faithfully describing—whatever usage is extant. In post-war
American linguistic circles, the idea that language usage should be viewed through
the prism of correctness was rejected as unscientific, an attitude epitomized by the
Romanist Robert A. Hall Jr.’s 1950 book, Leave Your Language Alone!
But the social science approach to language norms, no matter how it is couched or
what terminology it recognizes, ultimately comes a cropper when confronted with the
undeniable presence of the criterion of correctness in every language user’s
Sprachgefühl, or what a prominent contemporary theoretician of historical linguistics
(nomina sunt odiosa) calls “metagrammar.” This includes the knowledge every
5.14 Norms and Correctness 329
speaker possesses of what constitutes infractions of the linguistic norm, whether or not
a given language has a codified standard. This metagrammatical superstructure, as it
concerns correctness, is necessarily present in every act of language use—most often
in the null mode—irrespective of school learning or modern-day usage manuals.
A useful illustrative comparison is with music. When a father teaches a child the
rudiments of chorale writing, he instructs him inter alia to “avoid parallel fifths.”
Writing such sequences is simply an error. It violates the norms of chorale writing
as codified in books on harmony and composition. This is not a matter of scalar
values, deontic logic, or “norms of appropriateness.” Even less so is it dependent on
taste or preferential behavior.
To continue in the same vein, a cellist who plays a wrong note in a Bach
Unaccompanied Suite cannot justify it by appealing to creative freedom: the note is
either right or wrong, either what Bach wrote or not what Bach wrote. No inter-
pretation of Bach licenses wrong notes. Any minimally musically-literate listener
would know when the cellist erroneously played a B flat instead of a B natural.
Returning to language, naturally, attitudes toward norms and correctness vary in
strength across the speech community depending on speakers’ education and per-
sonal preferences. Contemporary dictionaries like The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed., 2006) routinely reflect this spectrum
explicitly by citing the results of polling data from “Usage Panels.” For example,
the verb err has a traditional pronunciation which is rapidly disappearing in
American speech, as registered in AHD‘s report immediately following the entry:
Usage Note: The pronunciation (ûr) for the word err is traditional, but the pronunciation
(er) has gained ground in recent years, perhaps owing to influence from errant and error, and
must now be regarded as an acceptable variant. The Usage Panel was split on the matter: 56
percent preferred (ûr), 34 percent preferred (er), and 10 percent accepted both pronunciations.
When a fitness trainer (a native speaker of American English in his thirties with a
college degree) pronounces err in the common phrase “to err on the side of caution”
to rhyme with air, his linguistically sophisticated client will immediately register it
as incorrect, a violation of the (traditional) norm, even though he knows full well
that the pronunciation is not idiosyncratic. This phonetic trait does not necessarily
lower the trainer in his client’s estimation, but for better or worse it does auto-
matically align the trainer with those who are ignorant of (or knowingly ignore) the
norm that characterizes the client’s own speech.
Glossary
argot, n.: a specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group
lexis, n.: the aggregate of a language’s words (vocabulary as distinguished
from grammar)
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330 5 Theory
phonological, adj. < phonology, n.: the study of speech sounds in language or
a language with reference to their distribution and patterning and to tacit
rules governing pronunciation; the sound system of a language
Every language has social as well as regional dialects, and the social variety
includes professional argots whose special features may resort to vocabulary that is
different from, or not to be found in standard lexis. A well-known example from the
languages of Europe and Asia is thieves’ argot, i.e., the special jargon developed by
criminals in order to conceal the meaning of their utterances or written messages
from the public and, more particularly, from the police.
This kind of linguistic specialization can affect any level of a language, including
the phonological and the syntactic. For instance, in Russian the language of mar-
iners places the stress in the word kompas ‘compass’ on the second syllable,
whereas the normative stress is on the initial. American weather forecasters on the
radio habitually violate the cooccurrence rules of English grammar when they
couch their predictions in terms of “a chance for showers/rain/snow, etc.” (instead
of the normative postposition of after chance). In a similar vein, radio interviewers
have developed fatuous formulas when transacting business with their interviewees
like “help me/us understand” and “thanks for joining us,” some of which are
locutions not to be heard in ordinary speech. Whatever the practical considerations
that conspire to condition such innovations, stylistically they are to be judged as
rebarbative and totally avoidable.
5.16 Repetition
Glossary
bilateral, adj.: relating to the right and left sides of the body or of a body
structure
diapason, n.: the entire compass, scope, or range (as of an activity or other
phenomenon)
disfluency, n.: impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent speech; an
interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the repetition
of a word or syllable
filler, n.: a short word or phrase that is largely devoid of meaning and has
mostly a phatic function
phatic, adj.: of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or
ideas
5.16 Repetition 331
Variety may be the spice of life, but repetition is its foundation. Bilateral symmetry,
biorhythms, cyclical bodily functions, night and day—everything involves repeti-
tion. When it comes to language, repetition may be stylistically benign or malign,
with instances of the former lending themselves to rhetorical utility. Thus Hamlet’s
“Words, words, words.” (Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 2, line 192) is a device that classical
rhetoric classifies as epizeuxis or palilogia, defined as the repetition of a single
word, with no other words in between, for emphasis or to convey vehemence.
There is also the kind of repetition in speech, such as stammering or the insertion
of “you know” or “like” at every turn, that belongs to a generally harmless class of
disfluencies, i.e., those that are, or border on, VERBAL TICS. When a person habitually
and profusely interlards his utterances with phrases like “in other words,” “inci-
dentally,” or “by the way,” a benign interpretation would grant speakers prone to
them the use of these aimless interruptions of the speech flow as slot fillers or place
markers they evidently need to fill out the diapason of discourse time while sorting
out in their mind exactly what to say and in what order.
But the question nevertheless hangs in the air as to why such fillers are needed at
all; why, indeed, a simple pause wouldn’t do. The easy answer is that many
speakers value the phatic function over the referential: they wish, in other words, to
keep their listeners/interlocutors rhetorically at bay, so to speak, by elongating their
utterances and thereby gaining discourse time at the expense of their partners’. (In
the last sentence I have used fillers of the sort being discussed advisedly.) In the
final analysis, even this speech strategy can be seen as nothing more than a
(puerile?) aggrandizement—possibly an unconscious one—of the utterer’s ego.
Glossary
assertory, adj.: being or containing an assertion
disfluency, n.: impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent speech; an
interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the repetition
of a word or syllable
filler, n.: a short word or phrase that is largely devoid of meaning and has
mostly a phatic function
phatic, adj.: of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or
ideas
set, n.: a particular psychological state, usually that of anticipation or
preparedness
vocable, n.: a word considered only as a sequence of sounds or letters rather
than as a unit of meaning
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The success of the recent movie “The King’s Speech” has brought public awareness
to what the British call STAMMERING and Americans call STUTTERING. In the movie,
stuttering is a speech disorder in need of therapy, but stammering is actually part of
a whole range of non-pathological phenomena now called DISFLUENCIES, including
all sorts of interruptions of speech flow. These are typically inserted vocables like
“you know,” “I mean,” and various combinations of vowels and consonants (“eh,”
“uh,” “uhm,” etc.), not to mention the currently near-ubiquitous (in North American
English at least) filler like, to be heard debouching from the mouths of female
speakers below a certain age (40?) in particular.
This last-mentioned word is sometimes dignified by being labeled a “discourse
marker” with an approximative or quotative function (among others). A more
encompassing characterization would accurately ascribe its pervasive use to a
discourse strategy resting on a cultural set toward the message by speakers who use
it, viz. that no content is in need of direct ASSERTION. In fact every message, in this
strategy, needs to be hedged. The word like is a compact means of implementing
such a cultural set because it immediately weakens the assertory value of anything
to which it pertains in the utterance.
Nothing could be a surer symptom of a shift in cultural values than the ubiquitous
insertion of a word that immediately undercuts the directness of what is being stated.
In the last analysis, it is a sign (an index, to be precise) of the speaker’s inability or
unwillingness to be responsible for the VALIDITY OF ANYTHING that can be asserted.
Glossary
au fond: at bottom; fundamentally (French)
binomial, n.: something consisting of or relating to two names or terms
hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological enlargement
interpretant, n.: a sign or set of signs that interprets another sign; the response
or reaction to a sign
nota bene: note well (Latin)
pleonasm, n.: a tautological or redundant word or form
semiosis, n.: the process of signification
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sub rosa: in secret; privately or confidentially (Latin)
thirdness, n.: a fundamental category in Peircean philosophy consisting of the
connecting bond between firstness and secondness and expressive of law,
generality, purpose, and habit
tout court: and nothing else; simply; just (French)
trinomial, adj.: consisting of three terms
tri-relative, adj.: comprised by three relations
5.18 Three, Not Two 333
Glossary
abductive, adj. < abduction, n.: : the formation or adoption of a plausible but
unproven explanation for an observed phenomenon; a working hypothesis
derived from limited evidence and informed conjecture.
acronym, n.: a word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC
for Women’s Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a
series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging
explanans, n.: The explaining element in an explanation; the explanatory
premisses
hypocoristic, adj.: endearing; belong to affective vocabulary
neologism, n.: a new word, expression, or usage
Peircean, adj.: of, pertaining to, or deriving from the philosophy of C.
S. Peirce (1839–1914)
semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs, defined as
anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
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Glossary
atavism, n.: the return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a
period of absence; throwback; reversion
dialectism, n.: a form or feature characteristic of originating in a dialect
5.20 Residual Dialectisms as Shibboleths 335
Glossary
disfluency, n.: impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent speech; an
interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the repetition
of a word or syllable
filler, n.: a short word or phrase that is largely devoid of meaning and has
mostly a phatic function
phonation, n.: the act or process of producing speech sounds
Ways of blunting the assertory force of an utterance can be subsumed under the (ad
hoc) designation “linguistic anaesthetics,” in that they are discourse strategies
designed to propitiate one’s interlocutor by lessening the sensitivity to potentially
dangerous or harmful topics. Political correctness in language use is of a piece with
this phenomenon. More specifically, two such strategies are the insertion of the
word like in the speech of adolescents (particularly girls, but not only), where it has
no grammatical function; and the use of interrogative intonation instead of
declarative where no question is being asked (fashionably labeled “uptalk”). The
insertion of like is akin to the repetitive use by some adult speakers of if you like in
British English and you know in all Englishes (and “ya know what I’m sayin” in
Black English).
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Glossary
anadiplosis, n.: rhetorical repetition at the beginning of a phrase of the word
or words with which the previous phrase ended; for example, He is a man
of loyaltykloyalty always firm
antepenult, n.: the third syllable from the end of a word, such as te in
antepenult
Anttila, Raimo: Finnish-American linguist
explanans, n.: the explaining element in an explanation; the explanatory
premisses (Latin)
Peircean, adj.: pertaining to or deriving from the philosophy of C.S. Peirce
(1839–1914)
pentasyllable, n.: a word consisting of five syllables
pragmatistic < pragmaticism, n.: the philosophic doctrine of the founder of
American pragmatism, C.S. Peirce
5.22 The Pragmatistic Force of Analogy in Language Structure … 337
Every now and then no matter how large one’s vocabulary, one encounters a word in a
recondite text that requires a special effort to pronounce (to oneself) because of its
exoticism. Thus, when reading the introduction to Proverbs in The Jewish Study Bible,
I came upon the title of the Egyptian wisdom book, Instruction of Amenemope, and
stumbled over the third word before settling on the correct stress on the antepenult.
Contemporary linguists are enamored of saying that language is “rule-governed,”
by which they mean that the surface phenomena—just like the correct stress in
Amenemope—are the predictable result of applying a rule that governs the assign-
ment of primary stress in an English pentasyllable of the type anadiplosis, i.e., the
sort of learned vocabulary that is derived from our Graeco-Latinpatrimony.
This notion of language being governed by rules, typically of the form “IF-THEN,”
i.e., “IF this structure, THEN this outcome,” no matter how apt descriptively, is
theoretically utterly misleading, since what determines the assignment of the stress
in the word at issue is ANALOGY, specifically the force that a pentasyllabic segmental
structure (the fact of its having five syllables) exercises on the suprasegmental
(prosodic) structure. More generally, it is THE PATTERN OF THE ANALOGICAL RELATIONS
between syllabic structure and prosody (stress distribution) that determines where
the stress is to be placed in a word.
The mechanicalist conception (aping modern physics) that holds sway in con-
temporary linguistics when theorizing about the structure of language is funda-
mentally misguided because it attributes the facts of language use to mechanical
(efficient) causes instead of recognizing them for what they are: the results of A REAL
TENDENCY TOWARD A TYPE OF OUTCOME, i.e., the results of a FINAL CAUSE (in the Peircean
sense,). This is precisely what is meant when one invokes analogy as EXPLANANS.
Glossary
synchrony, n.: < synchronic, adj.: of or relating to the study of phenomena,
such as linguistic features, or of events of a particular time, without
reference to their historical context
viva voce: by word of mouth (Latin ‘live voice’)
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A wide range exists among speakers as concerns the degree to which they are aware
of the extant differences in speech at any given point in a language’s development.
These disparities are due to variation in speakers’ knowledge and experience,
including awareness of etymology (word origins). Also, speakers differ in their
alertness to stylistic variation, including the kind that is conditioned by overlapping
generations and the attendant linguistic peculiarities (dynamic synchrony). Older
speakers may preserve features that are regarded as archaic by younger ones.
Here are two examples, the first from Russian, the second English, taken from
recent viva voce exchanges, where in each case there is a wide gap between the
interlocutors’ age:
(1) A woman art historian/curator in her mid-thirties, born and bred in Moscow,
remarks on what she recognizes and immediately labels as a refined word use in
the diction of a male native speaker (a scholar) in his early seventies, whose
speech reflects pre-Revolutionary usage no longer commonly heard among the
Russophone public. Specifically, he has used the verb иcпapитьcя ‘evaporate’
in a metaphorical sense that the art historian comments on as exemplary.
(2) A restaurant customer in his early seventies says to a waitress in her
mid-twenties, “I like the wine,” to which the waitress retorts, “It’s a nice red,”
pronouncing red with the vowel [æ] so that it rhymes with bad instead of the
normative sound of bed. She is doubtless unaware of the fact that her pro-
nunciation of /e/ as [æ] between consonants marks her speech as belonging to
the newly emerged variety of American English heard particularly frequently
from young females. To the customer’s ear—given that he is a linguist with a
detailed knowledge of language history and contemporary dialectology—the
waitress’s pronunciation registers immediately as a departure from the norm
connoting all manner of possible inferences about his interlocutor’s
background.
These examples illustrate not just the probability of a differential consciousness
of linguistic features in actual use between speakers but of their sociolinguistic
upshot for the salient role language plays in determining the value system condi-
tioning human communication.
Glossary
homologous, adj.: corresponding or similar in position, value, structure, or
function
hypertrophy, n.: (primarily) a nontumorous enlargement of an organ or a
tissue as a result of an increase in the size rather than the number of
constituent cells; (secondarily) any unwarranted or erroneous enlargement
5.24 Zero, Nil, and the Philological Method 339
There is a rigid distinction between American and British English in the use of the
words zero (<French zéro or Italian zero < alteration of Medieval Latin
zephirum < Arabic çifr ‘nothing, cipher’) and nil (<classical Latin nīl, con-
tracted < nihil ‘nothing’), whereby the former is favored by Americans and the
latter by Britons in designating the lack of a score when tabulating the numerical
results of sporting events. This minimal pair of lexis opens out onto a possibly
interesting cultural difference and illustrates in nuce what is meant by “the philo-
logical method.”
The philological method can be seen at work when, for instance, an art historian
looking at a Renaissance painting concentrates on small details of subject and
composition (like the folds of the human subject’s dress) in order to discover the
work’s iconography; or when a physician posits a diagnosis by analyzing a patient’s
symptoms (NB: “symptomatology” is the older name [rooted in ancient medicine]
for what is now called “semiotics”). In both examples, what is important to keep in
mind is the fact that physical and behavioral features may be both intended and
unintended consequences of CHOICES, and thereby reflective of VALUES. Every
outward manifestation of the human person (whether linguistic, art-historical, or
medical) is a SIGN that is capable of “causing” an interpretation (in the context of a
relational network of homologous signs).
Returning to zero and nil, note that the American word of choice is dissyllabic,
the British monosyllabic, i.e., the first is longer than the second. Analyzed in
cultural perspective, what we have here is yet another instantiation of the general
American tendency toward hypertrophy and the British one toward understatement
(but yielding inexorably today to the American pattern).
Glossary
apothegm, n.: a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or apho-
rismcontra, prep.: not in conformity with; contrary to (Latin)
ecology, n.: the interrelationship between any system and its environment; the
product of this
hermeneutic, n., adj.: an explanatory system; interpretative, explanatory
paradigmatic, adj.: pertaining to a relationship among linguistic elements that
can substitute for each other in a given context, as the relationship of sun
in The sun is shining to other nouns, as moon, star, or light, that could
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Recalling the singular appearance of the word hermeneutic in the title of any article
published over the multi-year history of the journal Language (“Russian
Conjugation: Theory and Hermeneutic,” 56 (1980): 67–93) andrelying anew on
Charles Sanders Peirce’s pragmaticism and his apothegm “My language is the sum
total of myself,” a program for reorienting linguistics in the twenty-first century can
be advocated, prompted by the conviction that the prevailing conception of lan-
guage as rule-governed behavior tout court has driven linguistics into barren
byways which are powerless to explain speech as it is manifested in nature (in the
spirit of the physis versus thesis debate in Plato’s Cratylus).
This sterility can be overcome by postulating as a fundamental principle the idea
that the locus of linguistic reality is the ACT, THE CREATIVE MOMENT OF
SPEECH—a moment made possible by the existing structure of language with its
general rules but which transforms that structure, so that linguistic structure is itself
always in flux, always being modified by acts of speech.
This principle then encompasses the following five postulates: (1) language is
like a piece of music or a poem—i.e., a made (aesthetic = L formosus) object, a
work that unfolds in time (unlike an art work which is static), always dynamic,
while remaining changeable and stable simultaneously; (2) linguistic competence
can only transpire in performance, and in ensembles of performances, and is not a
work; (3) the ecology of language is constituted by discourse rather than by
structural relations; (4) linguistic theory is immanent in the concerted—i.e., syn-
tagmatic—data [=performance] of language in its variety notmerely in its
paradigmatic structure; (5) hence the goal of theory is THE RATIONALIZED
EXPLICATION OF LINGUISTIC VARIETY.
Style suffuses so much of what it means to be human and has been the subject of so
much analysis, that in order to move style away from problems of introspection and
self-awareness one needs to redirect the age-old discussion into a more public arena
where the contrast with custom allows insight into the ontology of human activity
5.26 Style Reconceived (Toward a Global Theory) 341
in general. This can be accomplished when style as a phenomenon that cuts across
disciplinary boundaries is viewed tropologically as a fundamentally cognitive
category. A global theory of style entails arguing more closely for the concept of
style as a trope of meaning; and demonstrating how stylistic analysis can reveal
itself not just as a compendium of traditionally taxonomized information but as the
means whereby individual manifestations of style, their structural coherences, and
their mirroring of signification can be identified and evaluated.
Style is a system of values that informs many types of human activity and is
central to the practice of several academic disciplines. In examining style, one needs
to utilize a working definition of the term ‘style’ as a form or mode that is iden-
tifiable, in an individual or a group, through a range of specific acts and the
structures they reflect, with an organizing and stabilizing function. Moreover, style
can be seen to appertain ultimately to the symbolic functioning of anything that is a
manifestation of human behavior: actions, works, performances, made objects.
In developing a global theory of style—one that cuts across disciplinary
boundaries—one needs to explore a series of general topics and the issues they
subtend, as follows:
I. Form and content. Insofar as the distinction can be clear at all, it does not
actually coincide with but cuts across the boundary between what is style
and what is not. Style then comprises characteristic features both of what is
said or performed or made and of how it is said/performed/made. If it is
obvious that “style is the regard that what pays to how” the faults of this
formula are equally obvious. Architecture, nonobjective painting, and most
music have no subject, nor do they literally say anything. So the “what” of
one activity may be part of the “how” of another. No rule based on lin-
guistic form alone could determine, for instance, whether or not a discursive
meaning is ironic. In considering linguistic style at least, and perhaps even
style generally, it soon emerges that the relation between form and content
must in part be described metaphorically.
II. Content and expression. One famous theory of style, that of the French
scholar Charles Bally, identifies linguistic style with “the affective value of
the features of organized language and the reciprocal action of the
expressive features that together form the system of the means of expression
of a language.” From this Roman Jakobson (the greatest linguist of the 20th
century) fashioned a definition of style as “a marked—emotive or poetic—
annex to the neutral, purely cognitive information.” Aside from the
impossibility of consistently separating cognitive from affective information
without remainder, it is equally transparent that definitions of style that trade
in feelings, emotions, or affects go awry by overlooking not only structural
features that are neither feelings nor expressed but also features that though
not feelings ARE expressed.
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Glossary
lexical, adj.: of or relating to the vocabulary, words, or morphemes of a
language
mélange, n.: a mixture (French)
morpheme, n.: a meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
quotidian, adj.: everyday, commonplace
Glossary
derived, adj.: formed by derivation, i.e., in descriptive linguistics (1): the
relation of a word to its base as expressed usually in terms of presence of
an affix (as in peddler, base peddle, or teaches, base teach), vowel
alternation (as in rode, base ride, or song, base singular), consonant
alternation (as in spent, base spend, or German halb [hälp] “half”, base
5.28 The Prowess of Systemzwang 345
Glossary
apotropaic, adj. < apotropaism, n.: an act or ritual conducted to ward off evil
or danger
cachinnation, n. < cachinnate, v.: to laugh usually loudly or convulsively
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Glossary
copula, n.: the connecting link or relation between the subject and predicate of
a strictly formulated proposition; especially; such a link when it is a form
of the verb to be (as in “he is a shoemaker” instead of “he makes shoes”)
counterfactual, adj., n.: pertaining to, or expressing, what has not in fact
happened, but might, could, or would, in different conditions; counter-
factual conditional, a conditional statement of this sort, normally indi-
cating its character by the use of the subjunctive mood in its protasis. So
as n., a counterfactual conditional
5.30 Markedness, Tense-Number Syncretism, and the Etiolation of the Subjunctive 347
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English grammar has an interesting peculiarity of its verb morphology in that the
subjunctive moodgoverning wishes and counterfactualsof the type headed by if
triggers the use of the past tense rather than the present in the copula. Thus the
normative pattern is I wish I were in Dixie, but the song goes “I Wish I Was In
Dixie,” exemplifying a long-established deviation from the traditional norm
whereby the number of the verb to be in the subjunctive can be singular rather than
plural, while the tense remains past (rather than present) in both normative and
colloquial usage.
The very fact that the number requirement in the copula has been relaxed—but
not the tense—is evidence of the weakening of the grammatical force (salience,
restrictedness) of the subjunctive mood as a verbal category in the history of
English. It is also a sign (in the strict semeiotic sense) that tense is superordinate to
number in the hierarchy of grammatical categories participating in English verbal
syntax.
Both past tense and plural number are the marked members of their respective
oppositions, non-past (present, future) and singular being the unmarked members.
The subjunctive mood is also marked vis-à-vis the indicative, and it is this fact that
elicits the appearance of the two marked members of the tense and number cate-
gories of the syncretic copula, a process called markedness assimilation, whereby
marked grammatical contexts are coordinate with (govern the use of) marked units.
The upshot of this analysis for those contemporary speakers who habitually
adhere to and insist—as parents offering a model of language use to their children
on the use in the subjunctive mood of both marked members—the past tense as well
as the plural number—in the copula is not just a dogged grasping at linguistic
straws but a sign that their internalized grammar valorizes not just the semantic but
the EXISTENTIAL AND PRAGMATISTIC distinction between wishes and
counterfactuals, on the one hand, and all other sentence types utilizing the copula,
on the other.
Glossary
abduce, v. < abduction, n.: (originally in the writings of C.S. Peirce) the only
fallible mode of reasoning, viz. the formation or adoption of a plausible
but unproven explanation for an observed phenomenon; a working
hypothesis derived from limited evidence and informed conjecture
Chomskyan, adj. < Chomsky, n.: Noam Chomsky, American linguist, founder
of generative (transformational) grammar
denominate, v.: to give a name or appellation to; to call by a name, to name
5.31 Nominalism and Realism in Linguistics from a Neostructuralist Perspective 349
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of doing linguistics to which doctrinal nominalists could not object, but that would
seem deficient to those who are doctrinal realists. For if there are no classes in
reality, but they exist in name only, as doctrinal nominalists claim, then any way of
dividing up phenomena, including linguistic phenomena, is as good—or at least as
true—as any other. And by ‘nominalistic linguistics’ I mean the practice of
imposing an arbitrary taxonomy on linguistic phenomena.
This use of terms and concepts from the history of philosophy to make headway
in linguistic theorizing may be interesting but also possibly confusing, the latter for
the following reason. The linguistic phenomena classified might include linguistic
universals (the Peircean ‘types’) as well as linguistic individual events (the Peircean
‘tokens’). And one who is familiar with the nominalist/realist distinction as a matter
of doctrine only might naturally suppose that by ‘nominalist linguist’ is meant one
who denies the reality of linguistic universals. That, of course, would be an
application of the nominalist doctrine to linguistic phenomena; but that, one can see
now, is distinct from nominalist linguistics as a practice or method. Nominalism as
a practice would not necessarily deny that universals are real; rather, it consists in
deciding their classification arbitrarily—both their classification into subtypes, if
they are segregated from individuals, and whether to so segregate them. Even their
classification as real or unreal would be quite arbitrary.
The Chomskyan (=mainstream linguistics) search for deep structure and gen-
erative principles looks relatively realist from a doctrinal point of view. For whether
or not surface phenomena are conceptualized in terms of types as well as tokens, the
deep structure and principles look like universals, and especially so the way
Chomsky and his followers speak of them. Chomsky and his school are nominalist
linguists, not realist linguists, because their taxonomy of surface phenomena—the
phenomena they wish to explain as following from deeper principles—is arbitrary.
(It would follow that the hypothetical structure must be arbitrary too, for it is
justified only by its capacity to explain those phenomena.)
‘Realism’, of course, is used to designate the opposite of phenomenalism as well
as the opposite of nominalism. With respect to doctrine exclusively, not method,
Jakobson and his structuralist continuators (like the author) look like phenome-
nalists in contrast to Chomsky and his followers, since the former seem much more
concerned with the description of what is here being called surface phenomena,
whereas the latter plunge quickly to the (putative) underlying realities that explain
them. One could say that Chomsky et al. are in error for proceeding too quickly:
after all, how can they abduce explanatory realities when they are wrong about the
explanandum? But this is not so simple an issue as that. For if the classification of
phenomena is to be real, not nominal, then it is often impossible to know what that
classification is until the underlying realities have been identified.
As an example from a domain other than language, consider whether it was
possible to know that rusting, fire, and metabolism should be classed together as
members of the same natural kind before they were all explained as different forms
of oxidation. The circle here is like the hermeneutic circle: the explanans and the
explanandum are found together, not first one and then the other.
5.31 Nominalism and Realism in Linguistics from a Neostructuralist Perspective 351
But there is another way of looking at this which can be identified, mutatis
mutandis, with that of semeiotic neostructuralism in linguistics Realism in con-
tradistinction to nominalism (doctrinally) is connected with teleology—or so, at
least, Peirce appears to have thought. A natural class is one the members of which
exist because each satisfies the same idea. That idea has a certain potency, and
hence the class exists independently of anyone’s having named it. This idea is
consistent with the argument of the preceding paragraph, according to which some
natural classes may be those classes entailed by a true explanatory theory. But it is
not limited to cases where the explanatory structures lie beneath the surface
phenomena.
Suppose language qua phenomenon has a history, and suppose that history can
be understood by postulating goals not involving any underlying mechanisms. For
example, linguistic change might be seen as tending toward a more adequate dia-
grammatization (as it is, in fact, by semeiotic neostructuralists). Then we have a
teleological basis for identifying natural linguistic classes, namely those that we
have to attend to in order to understand language as diagrammatization. (This too
involves a hermeneutic circle: neither the right description of the process nor the
goal that explains it can be discovered without also discovering the other.)
If the preceding is a roughly correct account of the linguistic practice of se-
meiotic neostructuralism then it would seem that one who espouses the latter is in
method, if not in doctrine, a realist as opposed to a nominalist, but a phenomenalist
as opposed to a realist, and a teleologist to boot. One may doubt whether a
semeiotic neostructuralist is a phenomenalist in doctrine. For such a linguist does
not deny, in fact, he presupposes that there are realities beyond or beneath language
but for which his teleological account of linguistic change would make no sense.
That is, there must be flesh-and-blood bodies that speak and listen, and it is their
desires and needs that explain why ever more adequate diagrammatization is an
inevitable if unintended goal. If the research program subtended by semeiotic
neostructuralism can be made to work then it will indeed conflict with Chomskyan
linguistics—and prove superior to it.
Glossary
complement, n.: one or more words joined to another to complete the sense
coordinate, adj.: standing in the same rank or relation in a sentence
explanans, n.: that which explains; an explanation (Latin)
gestalt, n. a structure or configuration of physical, biological, or psycholog-
ical phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with
properties not derivable from its parts in summation (German)
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government, n.: the influence of one word on another word that is required to
be in a certain case or mood when it occurs in the same construction
hyperurbanism, n.: a pronunciation or grammatical form or usage produced
by a speaker of one dialect according to an analogical rule formed by
comparison of the speaker’s own usage with that of another, more pres-
tigious, dialect and often applied in an inappropriate context, especially in
an effort to avoid sounding countrified, rural, or provincial;
hypercorrection
inflection, n.: the modification of the form of a word to express the different
grammatical relations into which it may enter; including the declension of
substantives, adjectives and pronouns, the conjugation of verbs, the
comparison of adjectives and adverbs
metanalysis, n.: the reinterpretation of the form of a word resulting in the
creation of a new word; esp. the changing of the boundaries between
words or morphological units
mood, n.: a form or set of forms of a verb in an inflected language, serving to
indicate whether the verb expresses fact, command, wish, conditionality,
etc.; the quality of a verb as represented or distinguished by a particular
mood
morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the structure, form, or variation in
form (including formation, change, and inflection) of a word or words in a
language; the branch of linguistics that deals with this
objective, adj.: relating to, characteristic of, or being the case which follows a
verb used transitively or a preposition; being the case that denotes the
relation of object
solecism, n.: a nonstandard usage or grammatical construction; an impro-
priety, mistake, or incongruity
solecistic, adj. < solecism (vide supra)
subjective, adj.: being or relating to a grammatical subject
supervening, adj. < supervene, v.: to come after so as to take the place of; to
supersede
syncretic, adj. < syncretism, n.: the merging of two or more inflectional
categories
(hypercorrection), meaning the use of the wrong form as a result of the speaker’s
wishing to sound educated. However, one can explore the possibility of there being
a deeper reason for this substitution, and to propose a different interpretation, one
that relies on an understanding of METANALYSIS or boundary shift.
First a short description of the grammatical facts. When grammatical govern-
ment is involved, as it is in between you and I/me, the normal domain of the
preposition extends to each constituent in the complement, as it does to the direct
object of the verb in picking you and me. Thus whether there is a preposition
preceding the coordinate phrase or not, the form of all constituents in the com-
plement should be in the objective case. The second person pronoun you is syn-
cretic; it does not differentiate the subjective from the objective form, but the first
person does. Why do some speakers place the subjective form I in objective
position?
The first thing to point out is the fact of a coordinate construction. We are
dealing here not with a simple complement but with a compound. Even in non-
standard American English there are no attested instances of sentences like *He
picks I or *She talks to I (although British dialects do have them). So the compound
character of the complement is evidently a necessary precondition for the solecism.
Now, one property of a unit is its boundedness. In a compound unit, the
boundaries envelop all of the constituents; otherwise the compound would lose its
character as a unit. In other words, disregarding the conjunction, a coordinate
phrase of the type you and I is bracketed [you and I] rather than [you] and [I]; it
has only two major boundaries, at the two margins of the construction, rather than
six minor boundaries—the number it would have if it were simply the additive
product of two personal pronouns separated by a conjunction.
In the solecistic construction, the individual constituents inside the boundaries
that enclose the compound seem to be insulated from case government. They
undergo no change, even while being syntactically liable to it, apparently because
compounds of this type are interpreted (implicitly by speakers who utter these
solecisms as being unitary, undifferentiated gestalts. Such speakers ignore the
internal noun phrase boundaries, assigning case only to the whole compound noun
phrase. In standard American English, by contrast, the boundaries are observed, and
each constituent receives its appropriate morphological inflection.
The grammatical solecism can thus be understood as the effect of boundaries
being suppressed, specifically the minor boundaries around the pronouns. (This
might also explain why solecisms like *to he and I are heard, but not *to him and I.)
Which is not to say that the boundaries on either side of the individual con-
stituents cease to exist just because the coordinate construction has boundaries
enclosing it. Not at all. Here we have an example of the variable strengths of
linguistic boundaries. In the hierarchy of boundaries involved in the phrase at issue,
the supervening compound boundary is the major or salient one, while the
remaining minor ones are present but not germane.
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Glossary
actualization, n. < actualize, v.: to make actual
automorphism, n.: an isomorphism of a set (such as a group) with itself
diachrony, n.: change or development in a linguistic system over a period of time
diagram, n.: an icon of relation
diagrammatic, adj.: pertaining to or embodying a diagram
diagrammatization, n. < diagrammatize, v.: render diagrammatic
icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related to its object by
similarity
isomorphism, n.: a one-to-one correspondence between the form of two items
or contexts; strict parallelism of form
markedness, n.: markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a super-
structure, characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually
restricted) and ‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted); of or relating to
that member of a pair of sounds, words, or forms that explicitly denotes a
particular subset of the meanings denoted by the other member of the pair.
For example, of the two words lion and lioness, lion is unmarked for
gender (it can denote either a male or female) whereas lioness is marked,
since it denotes only females
morphophonemic, adj. < morphophonemics, n.: the changes in pronunciation
undergone by allomorphs of morphemes as they are modified by neigh-
boring sounds, as the plural allomorphs in cat-s, dog-s, box-es, or as they
are modified for grammatical reasons in the course of inflection or
derivation, as house versus to house and housing
ontology, n.: the science or study of being; that branch of metaphysics con-
cerned with the nature or essence of being or existence
panchronic, adj.: designating or relating to a linguistic structure or theory that
may be applied to all languages at all stages of their development
Peirce, n.: Charles Sander Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and sci-
entist, modern founder of sign theory
raison d’être: reason for being (French)
resp., abbrev.: respectively
semeiotic, adj. = semiotic, adj.: of or pertaining to signs [vide infra]
sign, adj. = semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs,
defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
structuralist, n. < structuralism, n.: any theory or mode of analysis in which
language is considered as a system or structure comprising elements at
various phonological, grammatical, and semantic levels, the interrelation
of these elements rather than the elements themselves producing meaning
5.33 Diagrams and Diagrammatization in Language 355
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kind Peirce called a diagram. Since diagrams are panchronic signs, it is not sur-
prising that they subtend both linguistic synchrony and linguistic diachrony.
Diagrammatization can be seen as one species of the process by which unconfor-
mities in language are reduced or eliminated over time. These dynamic tendencies
can be couched in structuralist terms: system is brought into conformity with type,
while norms are brought into conformity with system.
Diagrams and diagrammatization in language are states, resp. processes,
whereby relations mirror relations, as between form and content (isomorphism) or
between form and form (automorphism). They are states in synchrony and real
tendencies in diachrony. As a corollary, all language states are the cumulative
results of preceding states (ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny). Moreover, there is
no telos in language “beyond” diagrammatization: (1) conformity to a pattern is
diagrammatic in itself; and (2) language conforms to nature by diagrammatizing
content in form.
These two positions effectively put an end-stop to the debate in Plato’s Cratylus
over whether “names” (i.e., words) mean arbitrarily. In the dialogue, Socrates is
asked by two men, Cratylus and Hermogenes, to tell them whether names are
“conventional” or “natural”, that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs
or whether words have an intrinsic relation to the things they signify. But the
question as formulated by Plato is not the one that is relevant to the ontology of
language. Rather, the question is: are the RELATIONS between the form of words
arbitrary (conventional) or natural (motivated)? And the answer, we now know, is
fundamentally the latter because it has been discovered that there is an ICONIC
(diagrammatic) relation between form and meaning such that SETS OF FORMS
DIAGRAMMATIZE SETS OF (CORRELATED) MEANINGS.
Glossary
count noun: a noun that forms a plural and is used with a numeral, with words
such as many or few, or in English with the indefinite article a or an (as
bean, stick, sheet, beer in “a dark beer”)
diagrammatization, n. < diagrammatize, v. < diagram: an icon of relation
difformity, n.: irregularity or diversity of form
heterogeneity, n.: the quality or state of being heterogeneous
hypostasis, n.: a reified abstraction
iconic, adj. < icon, n.: an image; a representation, specifically, a sign related
to its object by similarity
marked, adj. < markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure,
5.34 Drift as the Triumph of the Iconic in Language Change (less vs. fewer) 357
Why don’t languages just stay the same? Why does each generation of speakers
introduce changes even though a steady state would seem to have served the
communicative goals of a language adequately? These are questions to which
answers are to be found by considering language as a semeiotic, a system of signs.
One’s first recourse in a productive approach to understanding the rationale of
language change should be to thinking about change in a broader framework, to wit:
“[U]nderlying all other laws is the only tendency which can grow by its own virtue, the
tendency of all things to take habits…. In so far as evolution follows a law, the law or habit,
instead of being a movement from homogeneity to heterogeneity, is growth from difformity
to uniformity. But the chance divergences from laws are perpetually acting to increase the
variety of the world, and are checked by a sort of natural selection and otherwise…, so that
the general result may be described as ‘organized heterogeneity,’ or, better, rationalized
variety” (Charles S. Peirce, Collected Papers 6.101; emphasis added).
This quotation from the modern founder of the theory of signs is to be combined
with what the prominent interwar theoretician of historical linguistics, Edward
Sapir, characterized as “drift” both passages are from his Selected Writings, p. 382):
Language moves down time in a current of its own making. It has a drift…. The linguistic drift
has direction. In other words, only those individual variations embody it or carry it which
move in a certain direction, just as only certain wave movements in the bay outline the tide.
Wherever the human mind has worked collectively and unconsciously, it has striven for and
attained unique form. The important point is that the evolution of form has a drift in one
direction, that it seeks poise, and that it rests, relatively speaking, when it has found this poise.
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Glossary
advert, v.: to direct or call attention in the course of speaking or writing
complement, n.: an added word or expression by which a predication is made
complete (such as president in “they elected him president” and white in
“she painted the house white”)
episodic, adj.: of or limited in duration or significance to a particular episode
ex tempore: extemporaneously (Latin)
fundament, n.: an underlying ground or theory; basic principle
5.35 Grammar as Fundament of Thought and Knowledge 359
A command of the grammar of one’s native language is typically taken for granted
as something a speaker acquires from childhood on through acculturation and
education into adolescence and adulthood. The basic rules of grammar are generally
taken to be securely embedded in one’s knowledge by around the age of twelve.
Naturally, neophyte speakers make mistakes, and the correcting done by parents
and teachers eventually remedy such episodic defects so that they are not perpet-
uated. Some errors that are unattended to may eventually enter the language and
change its norms over the language’s history. But at any given stage in a language’s
development, the grammatical norms are fundamentally stable and adhered to by a
broad population of speakers (and writers) of the standard.
When grammatical norms are violated by adult native speakers, assuming such
errors are not merely ‘slips of the tongue’, they ought to be regarded as lapses in
competence that betoken, at bottom, not just a lacuna in one’s knowledge but a
fundamental failure of thought Language is not just the outer garment in which
knowledge is dressed (expressed) but the very stuff of thought. Hence a failure to
adhere to the rules of grammar is not just a contravention of social norms but a sign
of wrong thinking no less significant than faulty reasoning or factual inaccuracy.
In the light of such general cognitive considerations, when a native speaker
makes, viva voce, a fundamental grammatical error that goes uncorrected—i.e., is
not just a lapsus linguae—one is justified in considering this phenomenon as a
token of a species of defective knowledge, with all the consequences that such a
judgment entails. Here is a contemporaneous example.
In a speech on June 30, 2013 to a gathering at the University of Cape Town,
South Africa, which was broadcast on NPR (“Morning Edition”), President Barack
Obama, a native speaker of English with both a college and a law degree, is heard
uttering the erroneous complement of the verb confer—viz., saying “confer to”
instead of “confer on”—in referring to an honorary degree that had been awarded to
Nelson Mandela by the University. This speech (as evidenced by the photos online)
was delivered without a text or teleprompter, which means that the grammatical
error was produced spontaneously, in context (though probably not ex tempore).
However one regards the current president, latter-day occupants of the office
have not routinely distinguished themselves by an exemplary command of their
native language (witness George W. Bush), so it is perhaps no surprise to note an
occasional linguistic lapse in their public pronouncements. But a mistake in verbal
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360 5 Theory
government cannot simply be written off in the way a stylistic infelicity might be
because it adverts to a fundamental consideration of the speaker’s competence.
Glossary
ethology, n.: the scientific study of animal behavior especially under natural
conditions
indirection, n.: Indirect movement or action; a devious or circuitous course to
some end; round-about means or method
semeiotic, adj. (< semeiotic, n..): of or pertaining to signs [vide infra]
sign, adj.: semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of signs,
defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
tropological, adj. < tropology, n.: the study of tropes (figures of speech)
withal, adv.: for all that, nevertheless
“Heads roll at the Vatican bank,” was the opening statement of a radio broadcast on
July 2, 2013 (“Marketplace Morning Report,” NPR), which any person with a
sufficient knowledge of English automatically understood to mean nothing to do
with decapitation literally, only metaphorically, i.e., in a transferred sense, via the
visceral image used in English to connote persons who had been dismissed from
their positions.
The tropological use of language, which can be called MEANING BY
INDIRECTION, is the unique semeiotic capacity of the human species. Despite
claims in the ethology literature about primates like chimpanzees and bonobos, and
even non-primates like parrots and whales, nothing reported about the communi-
cation systems of animals (including mimicry, camouflage, and other forms of
deceptive behavior) is even remotely comparable to the capability at the heart of
human language, namely the routine ability of saying one thing while meaning
another—and being understood correctly withal.
Glossary
iconicity, n. < iconic, adj. < icon, n.: the conceived similarity or analogy
between the form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
5.37 Swimming in Semeiosis 361
imperative, n. < imperative, adj.: of, relating to, or being the grammatical
mood that expresses the will to influence the behavior of another (as in a
command, entreaty, or exhortation)
interpretant, n.: a sign or set of signs that interprets another sign; the response
or reaction to a sign
lax, adj.: of a speech sound: produced with the muscles involved in a rela-
tively relaxed state (the English vowels [i] and [u̇] in contrast with the
vowels [ē]and [ü] are lax)
markedness, n.: the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic (‘sign-theoretic’)
oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure, characterized
in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and ‘unmarked’
(conceptually unrestricted)
nominal, adj.: pertaining to nouns and adjectives
Peirce: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist
protensity, n.: category of phonological distinctive features comprising the
acoustic opposition tense versus lax, defined by the longer (vs. reduced)
duration of the steady state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined
resonance regions in the spectrum
quiddity, n.: the real nature of a thing; the essence
raison d’être: reason for being (French)
schwa, n.: a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed
syllables, as the final vowel of English sofa; the symbol (ə) used to
represent an unstressed neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic
transcription, a stressed mid-central vowel, as in but
semeiosis, n. = semiosis, n.: the process of signification, sign action
semeiotic, n.: (Peirce’s) sign theory, any system of signs
sign, n.: sign, adj.: semiotic, adj.: pertaining to elements of or any system of
signs, defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
tense, adj.: of a speech sound: produced with the muscles involved in a
relatively tense state (the English vowels [ē] and [ü] in contrast with the
vowels [i] and [u̇] are tense)
Charles Peirce, the modern founder of the theory of signs, made a special point of
saying that we should think of ourselves as “being in semeiosis” just exactly as we
think of a body “being in motion.” Parsing “semeiosis” as a more encompassing
designation for “meaning,” and utilizing Peirce’s insight for the purposes of lin-
guistic analysis (but not only), we become more acutely alert to explanations of
phenomena—following Peirce—as THE RATIONALIZED EXPLICATION OF
VARIETY.
Here is a concrete example that presented itself to the author on the afternoon of
September 2, 2013 as he looked out the window of a restaurant on York Avenue in
Manhattan. On a fitness studio’s awning across the street one read the following
phrase meant to communicate the establishment’s name: “Regenerate Fitness.”
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Glossary
collective, adj.: of a word or term: indicating a number of persons or things
considered as constituting one group or aggregate
copula, n.: a verb, such as a form of be or seem, that identifies the predicate of
a sentence with the subject
govern, v.: to require (a word) to be in a certain case or mood
substantive, n.: a noun
In a clip from a news conference held in Sweden that was replayed many times over the
radio in September 2013, Barack Obama is heard uttering the following sentence: “The
use of chemical weapons are abhorrent.” This sentence contains a flat-out grammatical
error, since the subject of the sentence use is in the singular, whereas the verb are is the
plural of the copula be. Obama is undeniably a native speaker of American English,
and he nevertheless uttered this sentence without correcting himself.
5.38 Is There a Logic of Linguistic Error? 363
Native speakers, let alone foreigners, make mistakes when speaking their own
language. The gamut of errors is fairly broad, ranging from simple slips of the
tongue to the most egregious grammatical errors of the sort just instanced by
Obama. A number of causes for error come to mind, all of which come under the
compass of linguistic competence, including the stress of the moment, memory
lapses, etc. But is there such a thing as a logic of linguistic error? The question
remains open, although in the case of a failure to coordinate grammatical number
between subject and verb, one could appeal to the force of assimilation (however
weak), since constructions involving a collective noun in the singular governing
substantives in the plural is idiomatically aligned with plural number in the verb,
e.g. a bunch of guys are standing in line, etc.
All the same, a grammatical error that goes uncorrected always raises the
question of cognitive competence in general, not just one that pertains strictly to the
utterer’s command of language.
Glossary
accoutrement, n.: an identifying but usually extraneous characteristic;
a nonessential but usual accompaniment
affective, adj.: concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions; emotive
biuniqueness, n. < biunique, adj.: being a correspondence between two
sets that is one-to-one in both directions
configure, v.: to arrange in a certain form, figure, or shape
connotative, adj.: having the quality of connoting; pertaining to connotation,
or to an additional or implied signification
contiguity, n. < contiguous, adj.: next or adjoining with nothing similar
intervening
datum, n.: given, fact (Latin)
definiens, n.: whatever serves to define (Latin)
denotative, adj.: Of a word: Having the quality of designating,
as distinguished from connotative
discontinuous, adj.: not continuous; marked by breaks or gaps
figuration, n.: the act or action of creating or providing a figure
figurative, adj.: transferred in sense from literal or plain to abstract
or hypothetical (as by the expression of one thing in terms of another
with which it can be regarded as analogous)
genealogy, n.: an account or history of the descent of a person, family,
or group from an ancestor or ancestors or from older forms
hermeneutically, adv. < hermeneutic, adj., n.: an explanatory system;
interpretative, explanatory
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thereby for its symbolic functioning? The answer to this question involves the
relationship between stylistic and nonstylistic value that can loosely be correlated
with affective and cognitive content. More precisely, in style the affective content
supersedes the cognitive, which is tantamount to saying that the affective meaning
is made to dominate the cognitive.
It is specifically this process of ranking that is meant in my definition of style as
a trope of meaning. This formulation also has the notable effect of partly vindicating
the widespread understanding of style as an affective superstructure (but not an
“annex,” as R. Jakobson would have it) that dominates the nonaffective (“neutral”)
information inhering in any work that is taken to have stylistic purport. It is
important to recognize as something organic to the nature of style that the definition
of affective (“stylistic”) and nonaffective (“nonstylistic”) rests on a circularity that
is hermeneutically systematic: the hierarchy that utilizes these categories and the
meaning of these categories are in a relation of biuniqueness or mutual implicature.
Consequently, it is not enough for style to remain at the metonymic level if it is
to be more than an index and to rise to the status of a symbol, thereby becoming
part of the symbolic content of the work, text, performance, etc. In every case, the
symbolic content also immediately adheres in varying degree as a characteristic
mark to the author, producer, creator et al. of the entity in which style is embedded.
Narratorial incisions might seem like a trivial example, but it is the cumulative
force of just such details that contributes teleologically to the impact of style on
understanding. Such details are in fact very frequently the metonymic symptoms of
much larger symbolic complexes. In music, for instance, the interpretative signif-
icance of a performance often hinges on the treatment of what might at first sight
appear to be merely a technical matter.
As a clarinetist myself I can cite the stylistic impact of a marked vibrato sound
contrasted with sounds produced without vibrato. A clarinet tone that does not
waver is overwhelmingly a mark of the classical style. In the recent history of
classical clarinet performance the consistent promiscuous use of vibrato is associ-
ated notably with the British clarinetist Reginald Kell (one of Benny Goodman’s
teachers) and has been continued in our own time by the virtuoso Richard
Stoltzman.
On the analysis I have presented, it is easy to see that the vibrato style is not
primarily a particular physical manifestation of musical sound because it has come
to be identified as a musical value. But what is important to notice beyond that fact
is the parallelism of structure between the symbolic value of a particular way of
performing music and the symbolic functioning of language in literature. Just as in
the Wodehouse examples, the employment of what appears to be a particular
“device” or “technique” rises to the status of a stylistic datum in the genuine sense
when it symbolically configures a whole semantic world together with its system of
values. In the case of the clarinet, one of the properties of such a world is an
adherence to the meaning of “classical” (strictness of interpretation vis-à-vis tra-
dition), a perpetuation of the received value system whose terminus a quo is a
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certain corpus of musical classics, and possibly even a whole worldview that
includes a more determinate, culturally conservative attitude to art and life.
Such a global attitude might, for instance, have serious implications for the way
in which other types of music—like jazz—are regarded. With reference to the
clarinet, which is also a jazz instrument, the resort to vibrato tends to lead to an
openness and receptivity to jazz as a system of musical values. This in turn has the
effect of influencing the production and evaluation of performances of classical
music.
The very term “classical” is a reminder that style cannot be understood except in
historical perspective, retrospectively. As one perceptive analyst of style (B. Lang)
has noted, “style it seems, is never pristine, never without historical reference; it
never reveals an object without also revealing a genealogy of means. For style,
intentionality is destiny.” But the historical embeddedness of style is not just an
account of origins; it enters into its ontology and into its structure in the same
crucial way that comparability, selection, combination, and hierarchy do.
Recurring to the discussion of the structure of tropes, I can now amplify and
complete the parallelism established between style and troping by mentioning the
“life cycle” of tropes, which can now be renamed “life spiral” to reflect the
cumulative and complementary nature of the changes involved in their structural
interrelations.
The analogous feature to be discerned in such changes for the purposes of an
inquiry into style is the delineation of a life spiral. The original metaphor fades and
dies. When a revivification takes place by means of a rehierarchization of the
signata in a new figural syntagm, there is a return to tropehood. The process has
come full circle, and the possibility henceforth exists for the initiation of a new
voyage from metonymy and/or metaphor to paronomasia via idiomatization, lexi-
calization, and petrification. (Note that the analogy with fashion, as in clothing, is
obvious.)
Style starts out as an innovation linked to an individuated creative act that
defines its uniqueness by establishing a hierarchical contrast with some relevant
aspect of norm or custom. This external connection—a metonymization—is
invariably accompanied by or results soon thereafter in the reevaluation of the
datum’s place in the overall system of which the datum is a part. In order to go
beyond its incipiency as a piece of style, the datum must effect a reversal of its
status: it must cease to be primarily a fact of physical substance and become one of
symbolic form. In short, it must be metaphorized. Petrified stylistic features in
artifacts and texts from historically remote epochs and cultures are often the only
source for subsequent recovery of meanings and values. Just as the teleology
inherent in the relation of phenomena to ends leads ineluctably to the triumph of
Law or Custom or Norm, so the lexicalization of tropes and the normalization of
styles furnish us with the grounds for describing and evaluating those objects that
are the material representatives of a culture’s or civilization’s spiritual legacy.
5.39 Style as Troping 369
The singling out of hierarchy as the definiens of style in parallel to the alignment
of rank relations involved in troping places style and its function squarely in the
supervening domain of order and rationality, since in this understanding style
“makes appeal to extra-linguistic and extra-stylistic values, to the harmony and
coherence of a work of art, to its relation to reality, to its insight into the meaning of
life; and hence to its social and generally human import” (R. Wellek).
The parallelism of structure between style and troping makes perspicuous the
understanding of style as figuration. It is very much to the point to recall the
connection between style and person that is emblematized in Buffon’s famous
dictum “le style est [de]l’homme même” (‘style is [of] the man himself’). Defining
style as figuration points in the direction of and ultimately substantiates Buffon’s
insight but does so through an emphasis on figure (Latin figura), specifically in its
meaning of the human form. Recalling also that Latin fingere has a whole con-
stellation of meanings that center on notions of moulding (as from wax, clay, or
molten metal), creating, producing, and arranging as applied to the most diverse
matter, including works of art and literature, it becomes possible to assert the
natural union of style, figuration, and personhood or humanity. Interpreting this
bond for its overarching conceptual purport we can conclude that humanity and
figuration imply each other: being human means being a “figuring animal,” and
being able to “figure” means being human.
The analysis of style as figuration, as a trope of meaning, will remain in the
status of an interesting thought experiment so long as no practical consequences
flow from it. It is therefore appropriate to suggest in conclusion what the most
important of these are.
First, what transpires is the centrality of ranking, of hierarchization, to any
stylistic analysis. The ranking of features or elements of the “work” is not optional,
either from the viewpoint of the work’s immanent structure or that of the analyst’s
methodology or procedure. Anyone seeking to discover and describe the style of a
work must attend explicitly to the matter of hierarchy, to the rank relations among
the elements or features uncovered.
Second, and as a direct corollary of the first, the analysis implies that there is no
such thing as “value-free” criticism—whatever the artistic or behavioral sphere—
just as there is no value-free perception or conceptualization. This may seem an
unsurprising consequence unless one recalls the whole recent history of the (largely
sterile) debate over value in art and literature. Style understood as figuration coheres
perfectly with the notion that all works are hierarchical by their very nature. The
identification of hierarchy with value, coupled with the conception of style as
emanating from the ranking of values, means that the avoidance of value as a goal
of criticism can only result in a distortion of the nature of the object being studied,
hence in bad criticism.
In the sense that style has now come under the compass of figuration, it ceases to
be essentially a series of accoutrements (i.e., an adstructure) and assumes its rightful
place as a central species of meaning through symbolization.
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Glossary
mimicry, n.: the action, practice, or art of copying or closely imitating;
esp. imitation of the speech or mannerisms of another in order to entertain
or ridicule
parodic, adj. < parody, n.: a form or situation showing imitation that is
faithful to a degree but that is weak, ridiculous, or distorted
While it is undoubtedly true that every speaker of a language possesses unique traits
of speech production that constitute what is called an idiolect (cf. Introduction), it is
nonetheless also true that native speakers of any language adhere to certain sta-
tistical norms in producing speech that are characteristic of that language. These
norms are what make it possible for speakers to identify linguistic tokens of a given
language as authentically English, German, Russian, etc., although they may not be
able to state what these norms are. It is also what enables speakers to make correct
judgments about speech that deviates from authentic instances of native speech.
The intuitive grasp of statistical norms of speech production is illustrated by the
following occurrence on the streets of New York, where over eight hundred lan-
guages are purportedly spoken at the present time. The author was walking west on
East 71st Street in Manhattan a few yards behind a woman pushing a stroller, close
enough to hear her speaking on a cell phone without being able to tell what she was
saying. To a native speaker of Russian able only to recognize the intonation and the
general phonetic profile of speech being produced “into the air,” it was still possible
to make an educated guess that the woman with the stroller was speaking Russian.
This guess was indeed confirmed when the distance between speaker and hearer
became narrow enough for the language to be recognized.
In the same way, every person with a sufficient command of a language (and not
just native speakers) can identify a foreign accent, although the ability to “place”
the accent varies with individual linguistic acuity and experience. Some foreign
accents are so common and so broad as to be routinely identifiable without diffi-
culty. These are the accents that commonly lend themselves to mimicry and to
theatrical imitation for comic or parodic effect.
Glossary
cacoglossic, adj.: exhibiting or characteristic of distorted language
cacophonic, adj. < cacophony, n.: harsh or discordant sound; dissonance
5.41 Harmony, Linguistic and Musical 371
dialogism, n.: the principle that all utterances (and hence all communication)
acquire meaning only in the context of a dialogue to which they contribute
and in which the presence and contributions of other voices (or other
discourses, languages, etc.) are inescapably implied, with the result that
meaning and expression cannot be reduced to a single system or subjected
to a single authority; the embodiment of this principle in a form of
expression, esp. a literary text
figurative, adj.: transferred in sense from literal or plain to abstract or
hypothetical (as by the expression of one thing in terms of another with
which it can be regarded as analogous)
forma mentis: cast of mind, form of thought, way of thinking (Latin)
Heraclitus: [pre-Socratic] Greek philosopher (c. 535–c. 475 B.C.)
lexically, adv. < lexical, adj.: of or relating to words, word formatives, or the
vocabulary of a language as distinguished from its grammar and
construction
Peirce: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist
triadic, adj. < triad, n.: a union or group of three especially of three closely
related persons, beings, or things
My hero, Charles Peirce, rightly says that logic exists in the service of ethics, and
ethics in the service of aesthetics. Following this triadic characterization of the
foundations of knowledge, both language and music, in order to be good and beau-
tiful, must be underpinned by well-formedness, alias logic. Thus even a child’s
grammatically and lexically well-formed utterance is to be deemed superior to an
adult’s cacoglossic one, just as the harmonically grammatical commercial jingle
always puts the typically cacophonic piece of contemporary classical music to shame.
In this matter, my favorite pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus “The Obscure” (of
“No man ever steps in the same river twice” fame), has something pertinent to say.
One of Heraclitus’ most famously enigmatic fragments goes like this:
Oὐ ntmίari ὅjx1 diaueqόlemom ἑxtsῷ ὁlokocέeipakίmsqopo1 ἁqlomίη ὅjxrpeq
sόnot jaὶ kύqη1.
Ou xyniasin hokōs diaferomenon heoutoi homologeei palintropos harmoniē hokōsper
toxou kai lyres.
(“They do not comprehend how a thing agrees at variance with itself [literally how being
brought apart it is brought together with itself]; it is an attunement turning back on itself,
like that of the bow and the lyre.”)
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372 5 Theory
Glossary
countermand, v.: to counteract; to frustrate; to counterbalance
figural, adj.: pertaining to figures of speech and their action (=figuration)
figuratively, adv. < figurative, adj.: transferred in sense from literal or plain to
abstract or hypothetical (as by the expression of one thing in terms of
another with which it can be regarded as analogous)
gloss, n.: a comment, explanation, interpretation
Heraclitus: [pre-Socratic] Greek philosopher (c. 535–c. 475 B.C.)
ontology, n.: the science or study of being; that branch of metaphysics con-
cerned with the nature or essence of being or existence
polyphonic, adj. < polyphony, n.: a style of musical composition employing
two or more simultaneous but relatively independent melodic lines
trope, n.: figure of speech
Further to the Heraclitean fragment cited in the previous vignette, a further expli-
cation as it bears on the nature of speech suggests itself, as follows.
When Heraclitus says of palintropos harmoniē that it is “like that of the bow and
lyre,” one can take it as a description of physical events that apply to these two
“instruments” with respect to the movement of a string in each case: the string
returns to a state of rest after being drawn or plucked, and harmony is thereby
reestablished. Although this explanation is not countermanded by any other and
does not itself contradict any figuratively oriented one, still the fragment might be
more generally explicated by referring it to the cultural circumstances of a poetic
competition. It would, in other words, represent a Heraclitean figuration of the
polyphonic nature of speech—and, by extension, of men and the world—all of
5.42 A Heraclitean Gloss on the Nature of Speech 373
which are in their essence defined by a form of conflict that requires an ultimate
resolution. If one were to say that Heraclitus is the first great master of artistic prose,
then he might also be called the first polyphonic author.
For modern readers (let alone for Heraclitus) the word palintropos could allude
to the figurative meaning of bow and lyre in virtue of its use of—tropos (‘turning’)
to configure tropes or metaphors. “A thing at variance with itself” would be a
particularly apt and profound way of describing the ontology of a trope, in which
the opposition of figural and literal meaning must simultaneously be present and
resolved. A text of this sort—no matter how fragmentary—requires the same
approach.
Glossary
adhesion, n. < adhere, v.: to pertain to; to be associated with
déformation professionnelle: conditioning by one’s job (French)
ensemble, n.: a system of items that constitute an organic unity
lexical, adj.: pertaining to the lexicon or to words
patently, adv. < patent, adj.: readily visible or intelligible; obvious
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
supervening, adj. < supervene, v.: to come after so as to take the place of; to
supersede
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The adhesion of the word “foreign” to the word “accent” is a different matter. In
such a case, we are obviously not talking about a regional dialect lying at the base
of a native speaker’s phonetic profile because the accent is identifiable as a variety
of speech stemming from the superimposition of a foreign language’s pronunciation
habits on the target (non-native) language. Thus, American English spoken by
native Russians has typical features with a clear source in Russian phonetics, and it
is the ensemble of such features that constitutes a “Russian accent” (as occasionally
exemplified in the public consciousness via some famous utterance, as in the case of
“I [vant] to be alone,” attributed in this slightly inaccurate form to Greta Garbo [a
Swede playing a Russian] in the movie Ninotchka). Foreign accents occupy an
interesting place in a native speaker’s (typically unarticulated) conceptualization of
their language in the round. Stylistically, there is typically a range of values
attaching to the production by foreigners of one’s native language. Thus, a
Frenchman’s heavily accented English is regarded by most people as “charming;”
not so that of a Japanese or a Chinese (or a Russian, for that matter), regardless of
the degree of adherence to the grammatical norm.
Finally, the word “dialect” can extend terminologically beyond its regional
(geographical) home terrain to encompass speech that is characteristic of a social
group, such as a profession. Social dialects in this sense are often called “jargons”
or (more strictly) “argots,” as in “thieves’ argot” or “sailors’ argot.” An interesting
linguistic variety of the condition the French call déformation professionnelle is the
supervening preference for jargon in the speech of professionals like academics,
scientists, lawyers, and doctors. This habit is so seductive for some younger
speakers, who are not professionals themselves but aspire to elevated social status,
as to cause them to mimic such argots incongruously enough to elicit the (disap-
proving) comment from older family members (e.g., an uncle to a nephew), “You
talk like a lawyer!”.
Glossary
adhere, v.: to hold, follow, or maintain loyalty steadily and consistently (as to
a person, group, principle, or way)
ascription, n. < ascribe, v.: to refer especially to a supposed cause, source, or
author
autonomous, adj.: of a thing, esp. an abstract concept: self-contained, unre-
lated to anything else; able to be considered in isolation
autres temps, autres mœurs: other times, other customs (French)
copula, n.: the connecting link or relation between the subject and predicate
of a strictly formulated proposition; especially; such a link when it is a
form of the verb to be (as in “he is a shoemaker” instead of “he makes
shoes”)
5.44 Prestige and Language Change 375
The linguistic norm for any language in the world that has a standard (usually set by
academies or by traditional ascription to a prestigious social group) is subject to
change over time like any other aspect of human behavior. We all aspire to speak
like our fellows—specifically, members of our own community, starting with our
immediate family and working outward as we grow older and come in contact with
a widening circle of individuals.
Languages change for extrinsic (heteronomous) reasons as well as intrinsic
(autonomous) ones. A typical extrinsic cause of linguistic change is prestige. While
all speakers generally are impelled to speak like their fellows, the spur to imitate the
speech of others is particularly potent when prestige is involved.
What speakers conceive of as the norm is variable and fluid. No sane person
whose native language is American English would normally (i.e., excepting a
jocular intent) say something like “It is I” in answer to a question instead of “It’s
me,” even though the subjective case of the personal pronoun is traditionally
required after the copula (and may have been inculcated by old-fashioned school
teachers). On the other hand, older speakers may still adhere to “whom” rather than
“who” with pre- and postpositions (cf. “To whom did you give it?” vs. “Who did
you give it to?”). The drift of the language is clear, in any event: the colloquial has
been replacing the formal as a general trend for some time.
When the norm is violated by speakers who have great prestige even the fact of
the solecism’s perception as such may not deter other speakers from imitating the
mistake. A recent example is President Barack Obama’s use of the catachrestic
“good-paying job” (instead of the correct “well-paying job” [explained at 2.19]) in a
speech on the economy broadcast on January 14, 2014. Within a speaker’s lifetime
the choice of linguistic variant may change, of course: Mr. Obama may have
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376 5 Theory
adhered to the norm at an earlier stage of his life and adopted the contemporary
(incorrect) form under subcutaneous pressure to sound “like one’s fellows.”
Whatever the biographical facts in this case, the prestige of a public figure’s office
and of his persona typically works to give powerful impetus to the perpetuation and
spread of an innovation—no matter how erroneous—among speakers whose
admiration for a model overrides linguistic probity.
This situation is true of institutionally regulated speech as well. Thus, in the
recent past, speakers of British English (as heard, for instance on the BBC World
Service) have largely converted to using the word sports in the plural rather than the
traditional British English singular sport. This change can only be reckoned as
resulting from the influence of American English (where sports is de rigueur),
whose prestige has grown to such an extent that even speakers from the mother
country must now bow to child’s status as the world language and change their
idiolect accordingly. Autres temps, autres mœurs.
Glossary
bilabial, adj.: produced with both lips
coda, n.: the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus
dental, adj.: articulated with the tip of the tongue near or against the upper
front teeth
diminutive, adj.: small, esp. in size
explanans, n.: that which explains; an explanation (Latin)
glide, n.: the transitional sound produced by passing from the articulatory
position of one speech sound to that of another, specifically a sound that
has the quality of one of the high vowels, and that functions as a con-
sonant before or after vowels, as the initial sounds of yell and well and the
final sounds of coy and cow
iconicity, n.: the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign
(linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
liquid, adj, n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
morpheme, n.: meaningful linguistic unit consisting of a word, such as man,
or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that cannot be divided into
smaller meaningful parts
nasal, n., adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants /m/, /n/, and /ng or the nasalized vowel of French bon
nucleus, n.: the part of a syllable having the greatest sonority
5.45 Of Twits, Twitters, and Tweaks (Sound-Sense Parallelism as Explanans) 377
obstruent, n.: a sound that is produced with complete blockage or at least partial
constriction of the airflow through the nose or mouth; a true consonant
onset, n.: the part of a syllable that precedes the nucleus
parallelism, n.: resemblance, correspondence, similarity between two entities
or groups
plosive, adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by complete
closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied by a burst
of air, as in the sound p in pit or d in dog
semantic, adj.: pertaining to meaning, esp. word meaning
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
simplex, n.: a word or other linguistic unit that has no grammatical mor-
phemes and is not part of a compound
spirant, n.: a consonant which admits of a continued emission of some
amount of breath, so that the sound is capable of being prolonged
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
tense, adj.: vide infra
tense versus lax: (acoustically) longer versus reduced duration of the steady
state portion of the sound, and its sharper defined resonance regions of the
spectrum; (genetically) a deliberate versus rapid execution of the required
gesture resulting in a lastingly stationary articulation
tropism, n.: a preference, an inclination
yod, n.: the voiced glide or spirant sound /y/ that is the first sound of the
English word yes
In the last twenty or thirty years, particularly in American English, there has been
the curious ascendance of the word tweak in the meaning ‘to make small adjust-
ments in; especially: fine-tune’, deriving from the primary meaning ‘to pinch and
pull with a sudden jerk and twist’; cf. the OED version: ‘to seize and pull sharply
with a twisting movement; to pull at with a jerk; to twitch, wring, pluck; esp. to pull
(a person) by the nose (or a person’s nose) as a mark of contempt or insult; to press
(the lips) together so as to pinch’. This verb takes its place in a whole inventory of
words whose initial sounds are tw-, i.e., the voiceless (properly, tense) dental stop
t plus the bilabial glide w: cf. twit, twitter, twitch, twaddle, etc.
Among this rather long list, if one compares, at random and for example, the
meanings of twit ‘a fool; a stupid or ineffectual person; to blame, find fault with,
censure, reproach, upbraid (a person), esp. in a light or annoying way; to cast an
imputation upon; to taunt’ with twaddle ‘senseless, silly, or trifling talk or writing;
empty verbosity; dull and trashy statement or discourse; empty commonplace;
prosy nonsense’(<OED), one detects a semantic thread of a rather abstract sort that
binds them, namely the meaning of QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE
INSIGNIFICANCE, a connotation of partiality or diminutive weight. Thus the
sound denoted by twitter is small in volume and can only be attributed to a
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diminutive bird; a tweak is but a small adjustment; and a twit is a lightweight fool;
and so on.
The question that needs to be asked is: what is it about the word-initial sequence
tw- that renders it fit for use (built up over the entire history of English) in words
that all share this abstract sense of partiality or small quantity? The answer lies in
the structure of the English syllable.
The structure of the syllable is composed of what are called onset, nucleus, and
coda. The optimal English syllable consists of the sequence CVC, i.e., consonant
(=onset) + vowel (=nucleus) + consonant (coda). Where in the word and at what
boundaries a syllable occurs in English is important because only certain combi-
nations of sounds are allowed by the syllable structure rules. In word-initial posi-
tion, more to the point of this discussion, one can have, for instance, the
combination sl- (as in slide, slip, etc.) but not *sr-, even though both l and r are
liquids. Similarly, the onset tw– (obstruent + bilabial glide) is allowed but not *tj–
(obstruent + yod).
Linguists have long identified the group consisting of words like slide, slink,
slither, and slip as sharing the meaning of a certain kind of movement but have
never been able to identify the link between the particular syllable onset and the
meaning of the group as a whole. But in the case of words beginning in tw– the
sound-sense parallelism can now be understood as a case of ICONICITY (relations
between sounds mirrored by relations between meanings), once the character of the
onset in these words is recognized as a partialization of the optimal onset. In other
words, the combination tw-, consisting of a cluster (complex) rather than one sound,
constitutes a reduced version of the optimal combination (simplex) of obstru-
ent + vowel. This partialization or reduction at the level of sound is mirrored at the
level of sense by its alignment with words whose abstract general meaning is
DIMINISHED SUBSTANCE. That is what explains the tropism of tweak in con-
temporary English.
Glossary
compass, n.: range or limit of perception, cognizance, knowledge, interest,
concern, or treatment
irrefragable, adj.: impossible to gainsay, deny, or refute
lexical, adj. < lexis, n.: the aggregate of a language’s words (vocabulary as
distinguished from grammar)
QED: quod erat demonstandum ‘which was to be demonstrated’ (Latin)
5.46 Language as a Template for the Conceptualization of Reality 379
root, n.: the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word
and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or
inflectional endings or by phonetic change
Glossary
affix, n.: a word element, such as a prefix or suffix, that can only occur
attached to a base, stem, or root
childish, adj.: of, relating to, befitting, or resembling a child
desinence, n.: a grammatical termination, suffix, or ending of a word
extancy, n. < extant, adj.: continuing to exist; that has escaped the ravages of
time, still existing
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n.: an alteration of the form of a word by the
addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form
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A five-year-old boy whose native language is American English answers his mother
and uses two forms of the past tense in consecutive sentences that exemplify
productive rules of verb morphology but happen to be wrong, viz. *holded (hold)
and *bended (bend; but cf. on bended knee). Eventually, of course, typically after
having been corrected, he will learn that the correct preterits are held and bent,
respectively, and are part of the class of verbs with irregular past-tense forms (the
so-called strong verbs).
The bulk of a language’s morphology conforms to rules that determine the
productive sector of its structure, and unproductive rules (like the change of root
vowel in English accompanied by the suffixation of a desinence in the preterit) tend
to disappear with time Children understandably apply the productive rules first
when learning their native language and only later acquire a mastery of the
unproductive sector.
An interesting question of linguistic theory is why unproductive forms (=ex-
ceptions) perdure in every language despite the general tendency to whittle away
exceptions and replace them by productive ones. Some unproductive sectors of the
morphology are large enough (like the English strong verbs) to constitute a distinct
class of exceptions with its own localized raison d’être, although it may be difficult
to define. Others are isolated enough to drop out of the language with time,
although they persist in the speech of those who—perhaps unconsciously—use
them to define their linguistic identity in terms of superiority to speakers who are
ignorant of the traditional norm. Eventually, of course, the norm changes with the
death of those who adhere to it, and the productive rules inevitably triumph,
solidifying the new norm.
5.47 Productive but Wrong (Childish Linguistic Errors) 381
Even within unproductive sectors of the vocabulary there may occur changes
toward the elimination of certain forms. Thus, to continue with the English preterit,
not all vowel alternations in strong verbs are being sustained in contemporary
speech and writing. Instead of the normative shrank and stank, for instance, one
increasingly observes the substitution of the past participle form shrunk and stunk
for shrank and stank. In the long run, given the strength of this shift, the traditional
forms will wither away and disappear. Meanwhile, those speakers who adhere to
the older norm will thereby define themselves linguistically and culturally vis-à-vis
the increasingly larger group who use only the newer forms while recognizing the
extancy of what used to be their only correct counterparts.
Glossary
conation, n.: the conscious drive to perform apparently volitional acts with or
without knowledge of the origin of the drive
conative, adj.: having the characteristics of or involving conation
metalanguage, n.: a language or vocabulary used to describe or analyze
language
metalinguistic, adj.: of or relating to a metalanguage
orthoepic, adj. < orthoepy, n.: the study of the pronunciation of words; the
customary pronunciation of words
pater, n.: father (usu. jocular)
phatic, adj.: of, relating to, or being speech used to share feelings or to
establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or
ideas
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
referential, adj. < reference, n.: the action or fact of applying words, names,
ideas, etc., to an entity; the relation between a word or expression and that
which it denotes
self-referential, adj. referring to oneself
viva voce : by word of mouth (Latin)
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The incidence of free variation in language may provide the opportunity for the
metalinguistic function to be utilized on any given occasion. This was in fact
manifested on November 10, 2014 within the author’s hearing when his inter-
locutor (a college-educated male native speaker of American English in his twen-
ties) first pronounced the word data to rhyme with platter and then corrected
himself by pronouncing it to rhyme with pater within the span of the same sen-
tence. For the speaker in this viva voce example, this phonetic change evidently
comported a higher self-valuation of the second variant over the first and may have
been prompted by a latent orthoepic sense that was externalized by the felt lin-
guistic requirements of the social situation, wherein the speaker’s interlocutor was
also his intellectual superior.
Glossary
abductive, adj. < abduction, n.: the formation or adoption of a plausible but
unproven explanation for an observed phenomenon; a working hypothesis
derived from limited evidence and informed conjecture
bipedal, adj.: having two feet
epistemological, adj. < epistemology, n.: the study of the method and grounds
of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity; broadly,
the theory of knowledge
hermeneutic, adj. < hermeneutics, n.: the study of the methodological prin-
ciples of interpretation and explanation;
hominid, n.: any of a family (Hominidae) of erect bipedal primate mammals
that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related
forms and in some recent classifications the gorilla, chimpanzee, and
orangutan
homo habilis: ‘handy/skillful man’ (Latin)
homologous, adj. < homology, n.: a similarity often attributable to common
origin
iconicity, n.: the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign
(linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
notional, adj.: of a thing, a relation, etc., not substantially or actually existent;
existing only in thought
Peirce: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist
phonetics, n.: the study and systematic classification of the sounds made in
spoken utterance as they are produced by the organs of speech and as they
register on the ear and on instruments
5.49 Homo habilis and Language: Linguistic Theory as a Theory of Habit 383
semantic, adj. < semantics, n.: the study dealing with the relations between
signs and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system, and
human behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes, influ-
ences of social institutions, and epistemological and linguistic assumptions
sem(e)iotic, adj. < semeiotic, n.: Peirce’s sign theory
sign, n.: anything that is capable of signifying an object (meaning)
teleology, n.: the doctrine or study of ends or final causes, esp. as related to
the evidences of design or purpose in nature; also transf. such design as
exhibited in natural objects or phenomena
telos, n.: goal (Greek)
The recent discovery of the oldest human jawbone in Africa has pushed the date of
Homo habilis, our ancient ancestor, back another million years or so. This particular
iteration is defined as ‘an extinct species of humans considered to be an ancestor of
modern humans and the earliest hominid to make tools’ (American Heritage
Dictionary). The most significant part of this definition is ‘the earliest hominid to
make tools’. The Latin word habilis means ‘skillful’ and is derived from the verb
habēre/habeō ‘have, possess’, the derivational source of Latin habitus (which is its
past participle), alias our habit. The upshot of this definition amounts to the further
understanding of a skill as a HABIT WITH MEANING.
The most important arena for the implementation of this idea of meaningful habit
is, of course, human language. Moreover, a meaningful habit is necessarily a sign in
the sense of Peirce’s theory of signs (or semeiotic). For the most part, linguists have
looked on words, including their positional shapes and alternants, simply as artifacts
of description which facilitate an economical, mutually consistent statement of
distributional facts. But a semiotic analysis differs from this kind of accounting by
resting on the fundamental assumption that all linguistic units have VALUES, which
vary coherently and uniformly in alignment with contexts and their hierarchies.
The coherence of linguistic units among each other is by no means a static one,
for we have incontrovertible empirical evidence that languages change over time.
But the fact of change must be correctly understood as a dynamic based on tele-
ology, where the telos is greater goodness of fit (iconicity, coherence) between
underlying structure and its overt manifestation in speech. This teleology is always
undergoing examination as a language changes and new speech habits come into
being as patterned alterations of old ones.
Human language is a body of facts that every new speaker masters (in the
absence of pathology) by becoming a member of society. The way in which lin-
guistic units are used involves a mastery not only of the physical side (phonetics)
but the notional one as well. Explanation of this mastery cannot be achieved by the
prevailing self-confinement to goals that are fundamentally (if unwittingly)
non-explanatory. The rule-formalism approach that has driven contemporary lin-
guists into sterile byways (what used to be known as the transformational-
generative theory of grammar) cannot ever produce explanations of language use
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because a theory of grammar is not a theory of knowledge but a theory of habit (in
the sense of Peirce). Explanation must focus on why the data cohere as signs, and
not on the mechanisms by which grammatical forms can be derived by the judicious
choice and application of rules. This requirement removes predictability-via-rules
from the agenda of theory. The entire recent history of linguistics shows with great
clarity the feasibility of kneading data into a wide number of mutually-compatible
formalized configurations (‘notational variants’). What is needed, however, is an
attitude toward the object of study which matches the structure of that object.
Language is a system, both in its diachronic and synchronic aspects, that is
informed by a pattern of inferences, deductive and abductive. The role allotted to
interpretation in language as a structure—to its very nature and function as a
hermeneutic object—demands that the methods of inquiry into and the theory of
language be homologous with the principles of its organization.
It is this very nature of language itself, the inherent organization of grammar as a
patterned relationship between form and meaning—of meaningful habits— that
necessitates transposing the theoretical enterprise of linguistics to another dimen-
sion, one defined by the subsumption of all linguistic analysis under the rubric of
meaning or hermeneutic. As Roman Jakobson put it: ‘Any linguistic item, from
speech sounds and their constituents to discourse, partakes—each in its own way—
in the cardinal, viz. semantic, tasks of language and must be interpreted with respect
to its significative value.’
Glossary
advert, v.: to turn one’s attention; to take notice, take heed, attend, pay
attention
immanent, adj.: existing or operating within; inherent
Peirce: Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logician and scientist;
modern founder of pragmatism and the theory of signs
Peirce’s seminal paper, “The Law of Mind” (1892), from which much of his
philosophy can be derived, has a passage that is particularly pertinent to the concept
of a rule of grammar, viz.: “To say that mental phenomena are governed by law
does not mean merely that they are describable by a general formula; but that there
is a living idea, a conscious continuum of feeling, which pervades them, and to
which they are docile.” When it comes to language, of course one can fairly advert
to an attenuation of the “continuum of feeling” because when we speak we are
typically not conscious of the habits that constitute grammatical rules even as we
follow the laws that govern the mental phenomena underlying speech.
5.50 Habit, Consciousness, and the Rule of Grammar 385
Although contemporary standard languages all have written codes that one can
turn to when in doubt, no speaker in ordinary discourse needs to consult the canon
of rules that exist in written sources in order to be able to use a language, which is
to say that the rules are already immanent in one’s consciousness—just as they are
in speech. The set of habits that transpire through speech has its counterpart in
consciousness. That is what assures regularity, hence ease of linguistic communi-
cation, between speakers.
Variation between individual sets of speech habits can generally not exceed the
bounds of the rules of a particular grammar. In a homogeneous speech community,
all members who have mastered the language adhere to the rules as a matter of
course. Where violations of the contemporary standard occur, they are generally
due to imperfect learning rather than to dialectal deviation.
Apropos, in contemporary media language one often hears such spontaneous
violations, even when their utterers are otherwise speakers of the standard. The
extent to which errors matter to interlocutors or hearers depends on a variable
sensitivity to what Peirce expressed (above) when he cited “a conscious continuum
of feeling” as the “living idea” that pervades the law of mind.
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Chapter 6
Poetics
Abstract The aesthetic impact of language use is illustrated and evaluated by the
examination of verse excerpts from several poetic traditions, including English,
Russian, and German. Prosody as well as lexicon provide fertile ground for an
understanding of how great poets fashion the inherent potential of a language’s
overall inventory into products of a creative linguistic imagination.
6.1 Poetry—Not!
Glossary
mirabile dictu: wonderful to relate (Latin)
nomina sunt odiosa: names are odious [i.e., to be omitted] (Latin)
nota bene: note well (Latin)
voilà: there [you are] (French)
Sandcastle
The architect is ready to begin;
All plans are laid on tables in her mind.
A streak of crystal marks her tiny chin,
And wispy hair is blown back by the wind.
The small pink hands work quickly, stirring sand;
They shape the fragments of a day gone by
And make new forms the old can’t understand,
Although the past will never really die.
A castle of illusions quickly grows;
It towers high above the rippling sea.
But, though it is invincible for now,
Soon swirling eddies down it by degrees.
What once shone so intensely in the sun
Now with the somber shoreline becomes one.
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6.2 Rhyme and Its Impact 389
Glossary
apothegmatic, adj. < apothegm, n.: a terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim
burlesque, n.: a literary or dramatic work that ridicules a subject either by
presenting a solemn subject in an undignified style or an inconsequential
subject in a dignified style
mutatis mutandis: the necessary changes having been made; having substi-
tuted new terms; with respective differences taken into consideration
(Latin)
name day: the day of the saint whose name one bears
octave, n.: a poem or stanza containing eight lines
palette, n.: the range of qualities inherent in nongraphic art forms such as
music and literature
sans, prep.: without (French)
The rhyme pattern throughout this poem is abababcc In this particular stanza the
a position is filled by the words muzhchina ‘man’, china ‘rank [gen.]‘, and dist-
siplina ‘discipline’; the b position by three substantives in the instrumental case:
litsom ‘face’, rebrom ‘rib’, and serebrom ‘silver’. The series ‘man’, ‘rank’, and
‘discipline’ forms a semantic amalgam in that the latter two items qualify the first,
and the third qualifies the second. Moreover, the qualification is reciprocal,
strengthening the cumulative purport of the rhyme-fellows as a group. The same
applies, mutatis mutandis, to the series ‘face’, ‘rib’, and ‘silver’.
In a lesser vein, but applicable all the same, here is a piece of doggerel confected
in German by Constantine Shapiro (a poet with a lyric palette that included friendly
caricatures; see his Selected Writings, 2nd ed., 2008) about a fellow musician, a
Viennese refugee violinist, Josef Schlesinger, in the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra, who was known for being ill-tempered but who softened up after
receiving an invitation to visit his sister in Australia:
Saison beendet das Orchester,
Und Josef eilt schon zu der Schwester.
Mit Auslandspass und neuem Hut,
Kennt er nur Liebe, keine Wut.
[The orchestra finished its season,
And Josef is hurrying to his sister.
With a passport and a new hat
He knows only love, no rage.]
[variant]
Mit neuem Hut und Auslandspass,
Kennt er nur Liebe, keinen Hass.
[With a new hat and a passport
He knows only love, no hate.]
What is jocose about the rhymes Hut ‘hat’/Wut ‘rage’ and Auslandspass
‘passport’/Hass ‘hate’ is the juxtaposition of utterly prosaic concrete nouns with
emotionally charged abstract ones. Thus doth rhyme work its charm in e’en the
humblest poetic precincts.
[Addendum: What triggered this essay was the following. I was sitting in a New
York subway going downtown when I noticed that the woman sitting opposite me
had a shopping bag on her lap festooned with sayings and slogans, one of which
was “Friendship Is More Important Than Money.” I immediately thought of the
corresponding Russian proverb “He имeй cтo pyблeй, нo имeй cтo дpyзeй,”
which means “Don’t have a hundred rubles but have a hundred friends,” and where
the words rubles and friends rhyme. What apothegmatic force in the Russian
proverb, with its meter and rhyme, compared to its utterly flat English equivalent!]
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6.3 The Genius of the Mot Juste 391
Glossary
mot juste: exactly the right word or expression (French)
While the first two members of the holy trinity of post-classical Western literature,
Shakespeare and Dante either need no translation or are well-served by several, its
third member, Pushkin, alas, can only be honored in the breach by those who have
no Russian.
One does not have to be Nabokov to discountenance all attempts to translate into
English the most famous love poem in the Russian language, Pushkin’s “Ia pomniu
chudnoe mgnoven’e” (“I remember the miraculous moment”), published in 1827
and learned by heart—to this day!—by every Russian schoolchild. Here it is
untranslated (the truncated title, with asterisks standing for the remainder of her
surname, hides its dedicatee, Pushkin’s “whore of Babylon,” Anna Kern):
K***
What is never mentioned in any of the learned commentaries on this poem is the
marked status of the word гeний (genij ‘genius’) , which occurs in the last line of the
opening stanza and recurs in the last line of the penultimate. (NB: all English trans-
lations change or omit ‘genius’ by which they unwittingly destroy the meaning not
only of the line but of the whole poem.) This word, in every European language, has as
one of its sub-meanings the definition found in Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged (1961), viz. “a personification or
embodiment esp. of a quality or condition: INCARNATION.” As a borrowing into Russian
from Latin via French, the lexeme by the first quarter of the nineteenth century had
admittedly achieved the status of a cliché in the diction of romantic poetry.
The use of the word genius by Pushkin in the meaning of “the quasi-mythologic
personification of something immaterial (e.g. of a virtue, a custom, an institution),
esp. as portrayed in painting or sculpture. Hence transf. a person or thing fit to be
taken as an embodied type of (some abstract idea)” (Oxford English Dictionary
Online) was taken over from French génie into the quotidian poetic vocabulary of
Russian and eventually lost its freshness through repeated use but is here rescued
from banality, recovering a semantic miraculousness via its very obsolescence.
Nonetheless, to a twenty-first century reader this word—in the context of
Pushkin’s love lyric—has a special resonance undiminished by its other senses.
This is indirectly substantiated by the citation, as the sole example under the fourth
and final meaning of the word in the authoritative four-volume Academy dictionary
(Cлoвapь pyccкoгo языкa в чeтыpex тoмax [Moscow, 1981], I: 305:
“oлицeтвopeниe, выcшee пpoявлeниe чeгo-л” ‘personification, highest manifes-
tation of something’), of Pushkin’s line from the opening stanza.
Any lover of Russian poetry who does not savor this word in Pushkin’s poem at
its first occurrence will automatically run the risk of succumbing to the vulgar
judgment that routinely consigns the familiar to the dust bin of the banal. To be
convinced of this one need only listen to the music of the verse as SPOKEN—not as
sung in the many romansy ‘art songs’ composed to the poem’s words (from Glinka
on). Perhaps this is too much to ask of us moderns, saturated as we are by the beat
of the humdrum. As Pushkin has Mozart say to Salieri in his nonpareil masterpiece,
the closet drama Mozart and Salieri:
Кoгдa бы вce тaк чyвcтвoвaли cилy
Гapмoнии! Ho нeт: тoгдa б нe мoг
И миp cyщecтвoвaть; никтo б нe cтaл
Зaбoтитьcя o нyждax низкoй жизни;
Bce пpeдaлиcь бы вoльнoмy иccкycтвy.
Hac мaлo избpaнныx, cчacтливцeв пpaздныx,
Пpeнeбpeгaющиx пpeзpeннoй пoльзoй,
Eдинoгo пpeкpacнoгo жpeцoв.
He пpaвдa ль?
[Author’s note: Some readers of my blog have occasionally asked me how I get
my ideas for posts, and in this case I am especially happy to oblige. As I was
walking up Broadway on Manhattan’s Upper West Side after exiting a restaurant
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6.3 The Genius of the Mot Juste 393
where I normally have pancakes early Sunday morning, for some reason I started
declaiming this poem out loud, there being no one else within earshot. As I reached
the word and the phrase in question, I once again realized their special poetic value
and thought immediately of my late wife Marianne, whom they invariably resurrect,
and of whom I think every day of my life.]
This story begins with three elegiac distichs (dactylic hexameters) by Pushkin (with
rough prose translations):
ЦAPCКOCEЛЬCКAЯ CTATУЯ
Уpнy c вoдoй ypoнив, oб yтec ee дeвa paзбилa.
Дeвa пeчaльнo cидит, пpaздный дepжa чepeпoк.
Чyдo! нe cякнeт вoдa, изливaяcь из ypны paзбитoй;
Дeвa, нaд вeчнoй cтpyeй, вeчнo пeчaльнa cидит.
1830
OTPOК
Heвoд pыбaк paccтилaл пo бpeгy cтyдeнoгo мopя;
Maльчик oтцy пoмoгaл. Oтpoк, ocтaвь pыбaкa!
Mpeжи иныe тeбя oжидaют, иныe зaбoты:
Бyдeшь yмы yлoвлять, бyдeшь пoмoщник цapям.
1830
*****
Юнoшy, гopькo pыдaя, peвнивaя дeвa бpaнилa;
К нeй нa плeчo пpeклoнeн, юнoшa вдpyг зaдpeмaл.
Дeвa тoтчac yмoлклa, coн eгo лeгкий лeлeя,
И yлыбaлacь eмy, тиxиe cлeзы лия.
1835
394 6 Poetics
[1] Alludes to Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765), the great Russian poet and
scientist.
[2] The “back-story” (as they say now) is as follows. While living in Japan and
mixing with other Russian refugees, my father was helped with his work on
translating Japanese poetry by a certain fellow Japanologist named Mikhajlov,
hence the reference to brat Mikhajlo ‘brother Mikhajlo’ in the third line.
Constantine Shapiro was a musician, composer, poet, and essayist. A direct
descendant through his father of the founder of the yeshiva system of Jewish edu-
cation, Hayyim of Volozhin (the « Volozhiner Rebbe »), he was born in Saratov
into a family that included the distinguished philologists, Viktor Zhirmunsky and
Yury Tynianov. He graduated from the Medvednikov Gymnasium in Moscow in
1914 and in 1915 matriculated at the Law Faculty of Moscow University where he
studied with I. A. Il’in, a direct continuator of the Russian philosophical tradition of
Vladimir Solovyov and Sergey Trubetskoy. His studies were interrupted by the
Revolution, and he emigrated to Germany in 1919, first to Freiburg, where he
studied philosophy at the University under Edmund Husserl, then Leipzig, where he
received a certificate in cello from Julius Klengel. Until his departure from Germany
for France and Palestine in 1926, he was first cellist with the Frankfurt Opera
Orchestra. Constantine Shapiro was among a small group of Russian and German
Jewish refugees who pioneered the establishment of Western classical music in
Japan. In 1928, at the invitation of Viscount Hidemaro Konoye, he settled in Japan
where he remained through the Second World War, lecturing as professor of
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6.4 Latter-Day Homage to Pushkin: A Linguistic Exemplum 395
Glossary
archaic, adj.: of, relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were
once in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier
style or period
chef d’oevre: masterpiece (French)
iambic, adj. < iamb, n.: a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a long
syllable, as in delay
I was driving down Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills and happened to look up to
see a very tall palm tree. For some reason, just at that moment, I was reminded of the
great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov’s 1837 poem “Sprig of Palestine” (R Beткa
Пaлecтины), which I had once memorized but now only remembered fragments of.
This triggered the memory of the utterly bizarre reason why my family had
chosen Los Angeles to move to from Japan when we immigrated in 1952. My
father had seen a photo of a palm tree on a postcard from L. A. and decided while
we were still living in Tokyo that our new home in America would be the City of
the Angels.
Here is Lermontov’s (iambic) poem:Cкaжи мнe, вeткa Пaлecтины:
Гдe ты pocлa, гдe ты цвeлa,
Кaкиx xoлмoв, кaкoй дoлины
Tы yкpaшeниeм былa?
У вoд ли чиcтыx Иopдaнa
Bocтoкa лyч тeбя лacкaл,
396 6 Poetics
Those who have no Russian will, unfortunately not be able to appreciate the
sublime beauty and consummate skill of this poem (Alas, there exists no decent
translation into English.)
Suffice it to say that this chef d’oevre was composed at one sitting on 20 February
1837 (O. S.) when Lermontov came to visit his friend the writer, A.N. Murav’ëv, at
the latter’s apartment but found him absent. Murav’ëv (to whom the poem is
dedicated in the original manuscript copy) relates in his memoirs that Lermontov had
“long been waiting for my return and wrote his wonderful verses, which at a sudden
inspiration burst out of him (R y нeгo иcтopглиcь) in my icon room (R в мoeй
oбpaзнoй) at the sight of the Palestinian palms which I had brought from the East”
(A.N. Murav’ev, Znakomstvo s russkimi poètami [Kiev, 1871], p. 24).
I remembered the last stanza in particular, with its archaic stress on the word for
symbol in the second line (R cимвóл cвятoй ‘sacred symbol’; cf. G Symbol, F
symbole, both with final stress and the likely sources of the Russian word). The
linguist and poetic analyst will immediately understand when I say that it is
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6.5 Sprig of Palestine 397
precisely this archaic stress (where modern Russian has initial stress) which gives
the entire poem a special flavor by punctuating its religiosity.
Glossary
accusative, adj.: of, relating to, or being the grammatical case that is the direct
object of a verb or the object of certain prepositions
archaic, adj.: of, relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were
once in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier
style or period
archaism, n.: an archaic word, phrase, idiom, or other expression < archaic,
adj. [vide supra]
cutaway, n.: a man’s formal daytime coat, with front edges sloping diagonally
from the waist and forming tails at the back
desinential, adj. < desinence, n.: grammatical ending
frac, n.: cutaway (French)
frisson, n.: a moment of intense excitement; a shudder (French)
illusionist, n.: a ventriloquist or sleight-of-hand performer or magician
instrumental, adj.: of, relating to, or being the case used typically to express
means, agency, or accompaniment
morphological, adj. < morphology, n.: the system or the study of (linguistic)
form
nonce word: a word (as ringday in “four girls I know have become engaged
today: this must be ringday”) coined and used apparently to suit one
particular occasion sometimes independently by different writers or
speakers but not adopted into use generally
oblique, adj.: designating any noun case except the nominative or the
vocative
post-tonic, adj.: occurring after the stressed syllable
schwa: a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed sylla-
bles, as the final vowel of English sofa; the symbol (ə) used to represent
an unstressed neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic transcrip-
tion, a stressed mid-central vowel, as in but
transliterate, v.: to represent or spell (words, letters, or characters of one
language) in the letters or characters of another language or alphabet
Vermontian, adj.: of or pertaining to Vermont (nonce word)
vocative, adj,: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case in certain inflected
languages to indicate the person or thing being addressed
398 6 Poetics
There are two archaisms in this lyric poem, one morphological, the other pho-
netic. The fifth word of the first line in the second stanza, drúgi ‘friends [pl.]’, was
already archaic in Pushkin’s own time, the normal nominative plural form of drug
‘friend’ being the same as the present-day one, viz. druz’já. Pushkin uses the
archaism here because the word is syntactically in the vocative case (“oh, friends”),
which had already disappeared from Russian except for relics (like Gospodi ‘Lord’
and Bozhe ‘God’) but which ipso facto comports well with the elevated style of the
whole poem.
The second archaism, already receding in frequency even in Pushkin’s time
occurs in the rhyme word of the penultimate line, viz. pechál’nyj ‘sad’ in the
accusative case. In contemporary standard Russian pronunciation, this case does not
rhyme with instances of the oblique cases (here, the instrumental): proshchál’noj
‘farewell’ [adj.] has a schwa for the post-tonic desinential vowel, whereas the direct
cases (nominative and accusative) have a so-called barred i for the Cyrillic ы
(transliterated y). For Pushkin, however, the accusative and the instrumental cases
did rhyme, both having the schwa post-tonically. Hence in order to preserve
stylistic/poetic fidelity in reading this poem (out loud or silently), one must pro-
nounce the word pechál’nyj with a schwa in the final syllable.
The effect of both instances of archaism is the same despite their disparate
origins: a stylistic frissson a heightened feeling of poetic texture, a fleeting but
potent realization that in uttering these words one is reproducing—for the nonce—
the speech of its author in just those respects where his differs from ours, thus
joining Pushkin—albeit most humbly—in the artistic pleasure of his creation.
[ADDENDUM ON A PERSONAL NOTE: As I silently declaimed Pushkin’s poem of a
morning while looking out on the glistening Vermontian snowscape, I thought of
what my mother tongue means to me psychically. This put me in mind of another
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6.6 The Poetic Frisson of Archaism 399
(continued)
Константин Шапиро (1896–1992) Constantine Shapiro
Мне с острым клювом снилась птица I dreamt of a bird with a sharp beak
И вот ко мне летит уж вкось And it’s already flying at me at an angle
В руке моей вдруг вижу––спица Suddenly I see a needle in my hand
Ее прогнать мне удалось I was able to chase it away
Омлет в вагоне–ресторане I ate an omelet in the dining car
Я скушал, кофеем запил And drank it down with coffee
Потом, рассевшись на диване Then, relaxing on the divan
Судьбу свою благословил I blessed my fate
Блажен, кто может вдохновенье Blessed is he who can know inspiration
Познать душой и отдохнуть In his soul and rest
Ему грехов его забвенье The oblivion of his sins
В нирвану открывает путь Opens a path for him to Nirvana
Блажен, кого небесным звоном Blessed is he whom the Angel
Наполнил Ангел с юных лет Has filled with the heavenly peal
Кому в глаза, как пред амвоном Before whose eyes, as before the ambo
Сияет философский свет Shines forth the light of philosophy
Glossary
ad libitumAd libitum: variable according to a performer’s pleasure (Latin)
ambience, n. a surrounding or pervading atmosphere; environment, milieu
anthropomorphize, v.: to attribute a human form or personality to (as an
animal or inanimate object)
apropos, adv.: with regard to; concerning
blandishment, n.: speech, action, or device that flatters and tends to coax or
cajole; allurement (often used in the plural)
cajolery, n.: use of delusive enticements
courtly, adj.: marked by highbred polish, stateliness, and ceremony; charac-
teristic of court usage or of courtiers
epithet, n.: a characterizing word or phrase
nonpareil, adj.: having no equal; peerless (French)
oeuvre, n.: a substantial body of work constituting the lifework of a writer, an
artist, or a composer (French)
patrimony, n.: an inheritance from the past
promiscuously, adv. < promiscuous, adj.: indiscriminate, careless
wile, n.: a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive; a sly artifice
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6.8 When Animals Speak (Gender in Fables) 401
Grammatical gender and biological sex do not necessarily coincide in those lan-
guages of the world (like Greek, French, and Russian) that have masculine, femi-
nine and neuter gender as obligatory categories of their nominal and pronominal
systems (nouns, adjectives, pronouns). Thus German Weib ‘woman’ is neuter, as is
Mädchen ‘girl’. There is similarly no naturalistic explanation why Greek Kόqan
‘crow, raven’ or ἀkώpηn ‘fox’ are masculine, whereas their ordinary counterparts
in Russian, вopoнa and лиca/лиcицa, are feminine (with much less frequent
masculine variants that overtly mark sex, viz. вopoн and лиc, also being extant). In
English, where gender is not an inherent grammatical category, biological sex can
be narrowly specified by resorting to lexical pairs like fox and vixen, goose and
gander, dog and bitch, etc., where one member of the pair is generic (referring to
either sex), the other specific (referring only to one sex).
Humans tend to anthropomorphize animals, nowhere more prominently than in
myth/folklore and fable, where animals speak to each other in a human voice and
language. With respect to the latter, the literary subgenre of the fable in the
post-classical West can boast two great poets, the Frenchman La Fontaine and the
Russian Krylov. Both used Aesop’s prose fables (among others from the classical
patrimony) as material for their own verse productions, along with original oeuvres.
Many have become classics in their own right. Every French and Russian child
learns the famous ones by heart and can recite them into adulthood ad libitum.
Among their best-known fables are adaptations of the Aesopian one about the
Crow and the Fox (accompanied here by a modern prose translation):
Aesop (Aἴrxpo1, Aisōpos, ca. 620–564 BC)
Kόqan ja Ἀkώpηn
The raven seized a piece of cheese and carried his spoils up to his perch high in a
tree. A fox came up and walked in circles around the raven, planning a trick. ‘What is
this?’ cried the fox. ‘O raven, the elegant proportions of your body are remarkable, and
you have a complexion that is worthy of the king of the birds! If only you had a voice
to match, then you would be first among the fowl!’ The fox said these things to trick
the raven and the raven fell for it: he let out a great squawk and dropped his cheese. By
thus showing off his voice, the raven let go of his spoils. The fox then grabbed the
cheese and said, ‘O raven, you do have a voice, but no brains to go with it!’
If you follow your enemies’ advice, you will get hurt.
402 6 Poetics
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6.8 When Animals Speak (Gender in Fables) 403
BOPOHA И ЛИCИЦA
Apropos of the speaking animals’ gender in the two languages, French and
Russian, where the category inheres in nouns, note that both animals are masculine
in the former and feminine in the latter. As was so astutely pointed out to me by my
mother Lydia Ita Shapiro (1905–1983), whose linguistic and literary range extended
to a mastery of Russian, French, German, and English, and under whose tutelage I
first learned this fable, the entire character of the Fox’s speech is determined by
both animals’ gender. In the French version by La Fontaine, where both Fox and
Crow are males, the honorific title Maitre ‘Sir’ is prefixed to their names, and the
tenor of the Fox’s flattery is in a style befitting the speech of nobles and courtiers.
By contrast, in Krylov’s Russian version, where both protagonists are females (a
crucial point, in which the English verse translation fails by calling the Fox “him”),
their pithy epithets (плyтoвкa ‘trickster’ for the Fox, вeщyнья ‘prophetess’ for the
Crow) and the diction as a whole betoken an overtly folkloric ambience, in which
the Fox’s cajolery connotes purely feminine wiles that are as remote in linguistic
embodiment as they can be from the language of courtly blandishments.
Glossary
anacrusis, n.: one or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of
verse, before the reckoning of the normal meter begins
hypertrophic, adj. < hypertrophy, n.: an inordinate or pathological
enlargement
iambic, adj. < iamb, n.: a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a long
syllable, as in delay
jejune, adj.: devoid of interest or significance; dull, flat, inane, vapid
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6.9 A Possible Metrical Substrate for a Phraseological Cliché (“Exactly Right”) 405
English is a language with a long verse tradition, including epic and folk poetry (jingles,
counting rhymes, etc.), which makes it plausible to suspect that poetic form may
unconsciously penetrate ordinary language. This may be one of the reasons (aside from
the current penchant in American English for hypertrophic—specifically, pleonastic—
constructions, due to a failure of thought) why the jejune phrase “exactly right” (or its
further engorged variant, “that’s exactly right”) has become so odiously common.
Judged metrically, “exactly right“ has two stresses, each of which is preceded by an
unstressed syllable, rendering the phrase iambic. If “that’s” is added to the beginning,
it can be counted as an anacrusis, even though it bears its own stress. QED.
One should never discount the possibility of a subterranean presence of the
poetic impulse in even the most platitudinous precincts of ordinary language use.
Glossary
anacrusis, n.: one or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of
verse, before the reckoning of the normal meter begins
foot, n.: the basic unit of verse meter; a single instance of the recurring pattern
which constitutes metrical rhythm; a group of syllables constituting a
metrical unit
hypermetrical, adj.: having one or more (stressed) syllables beyond those
normal to the meter
penultimate, adj.: next to last
prosodic < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
spondee, n.: a metrical foot consisting of two long or stressed syllables; a foot
with a hypermetrical stress
trochaic, adj. < trochee, n.: a prosodic foot of two syllables of which the first
is long and the second short (as in Latin ante) or the first stressed and the
second unstressed (as in English motion)
406 6 Poetics
Three little children, none older than four, get on a Manhattan bus (the 86th Street
Crosstown) and sit down. Soon the usual recorded announcement comes over the
PA system: “Please exit through the rear door.” The children immediately start
repeating the sentence, bouncing it back and forth to each other like volleys on the
tennis court. One child even alters it slightly by substituting/l/for/r/in the penulti-
mate word so that the sentence comes out, “Please exit through the real door.” The
children have a good laugh over this innovation but then go right back to bandying
the original.
Why are these juvenile speakers of American English so enamored of the lan-
guage of the announcement? Because of its prosodic structure, to wit: the sentence
consists of a perfectly good trochaic line, with a stressed anacrusis and a spondee in
the last foot.
From such perfectly prosaic material is poetry born, on the lips of a child.
Glossary
aborning, adv.: while being born or produced; at the moment of birth; before
coming to completion
anapestic, adj. < anapest, n.: a metrical foot composed of two short syllables
followed by one long one, as in the word seventeen
explanans, n.: the explaining element in an explanation; the explanatory
premisses (Latin)
metrical, adj. < meter, n.: systematically arranged and measured rhythm in
verse
prosodic, adj. < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
raison d’être: reason for being (French)
substrate, n.: something that is laid or spread under or that underlies and
supports or forms a base for something else; an underlying structure,
layer, or part
ultima, n.: the last syllable of a word (Latin)
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6.11 The Metrical Substrate of a Phraseological … 407
In that connection, following a line of reasoning that has been explored several
times in these pages, one must keep prosody (“the metrical substrate”) in mind as a
possible explanans—without, however, falling into the fallacy of the single cause.
A good candidate for such an explanation is the phraseological cliché “at the end
of the day” that is constantly bleated about in contemporary media-speak (as
elsewhere). Its prosodic structure is straightforwardly anapestic, i.e., with a metrical
foot consisting of three syllables and stress on the ultima. This fact alone seems to
have induced both its rise and its ultimate tenacity in contemporary speech.
Chapter 7
The Psycholinguistic Pathos
of Everyday Life
Abstract This chapter is, strictly speaking, conceived of as a pendant to the others,
in which stray thoughts from the authors linguistic consciousness are recorded as
illustrations of one speaker’s psychic response to his environment based on the
peculiarities of his biography.
7.1 Paroemics
Glossary
disinter, v.: to bring out of concealment; bring from obscurity into view
epenthetic, adj. < epenthesis, n.: the occurrence of an intercalated consonant
(such as a homorganic stop after a nasal consonant) or vowel in a suc-
cession of speech sounds without a counterpart in etymon or in orthog-
raphy (such as [t] in [ˈfents] fence or [ə] in [ˈathəˌlēt] athlete)
etymon, n.: the original form of a word either in the same language or in an
ancestral language
homorganic, adj.: sharing one or more of the articulating vocal organs;
articulated with the same basic closure or constriction but differentiated by
one or more modifications
iambic, adj. < iamb, n.: a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a long
syllable, as in delay
intercalate, v.: to insert between or among existing elements
juncture, n.: the manner of transition between two consecutive speech sounds
or between a speech sound and a pause
nexus, n.: connection, interconnection, tie, link
orthography, n.: orthography, n.: (correct) spelling
paroemics, n.: the stock of, and study of, proverbs in a given language
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410 7 The Psycholinguistic Pathos of Everyday Life
paronomastic, adj. < paronomasia, n.: a play upon words in which the same
word is used in different senses or words similar in sound are set in
opposition so as to give antithetical force
prosodic, adj. < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
suprasegmental, adj.: of or relating to significant features of pitch, stress, and
juncture accompanying or superadded to vowels and consonants when the
latter are assembled in succession in the construction of a
speaker-to-hearer communication
The language of thought includes inner speech, i.e., speaking silently to oneself, which
can be a significant indicator of one’s mental state at any given moment, as well as over
the span of one’s mental life. In this second respect, a person with a good knowledge of
their native language’s stock of proverbs (paroemics) can habitually disinter them from
memory in order to punctuate a thought linguistically. Here is an illustration.
Over many years I have been in the habit of looking down from time to time while
walking in a city and have often espied stray pennies lying on the pavement, which I
invariably pick up. Whenever this happens, my inner speech always silently utters the
Russian proverb, кoпeйкa pyбль бepeжeт, a literal translation of which is ‘a kopeck
preserves a ruble’, meaning that without that last kopeck/penny the ruble/dollar would
not be what it is, being short one kopeck/penny. The literal meaning in Russian
exploits one of the senses of the verb berech’ ‘to preserve, guard’, which is used in
other proverbs as well (cf. бepeги чecть cмoлoдy ‘guard your honor from youth
onward’). The transferred meaning, of course, goes beyond kopecks to apply to any
whole that would be deficient if even as little as one constituent unit were lacking.
Why a presumably sane person would want to repeat the same proverb every
time he picks up a stray penny from the sidewalk is, of course, open to interpre-
tation. Perhaps one reason is the prosodic structure of the proverb, which falls
neatly into an iambic line so long as the word pyбль ‘ruble’ is pronounced (as it
normally is) with an epenthetic (inserted) vowel—a schwa, i.e., [ə]—between the
two consonants of the final cluster. The paronomastic nexus of sound and sense
evidently gives this particular individual pleasure above and beyond the trivial
monetary gain that seems to attend his everyday life with some regularity.
7.2 Ronkonkoma
Glossary
affricate, n.: a complex speech sound consisting of a stop consonant followed
by a fricative; for example, the initial sounds of child and joy
7.2 Ronkonkoma 411
anacrusis, n.: one or more syllables at the beginning of a line of poetry that are
regarded as preliminary to and not a part of the metrical pattern of that line
clausula, n.: a rhythmic close or terminal cadence especially in ancient and
medieval Latin prose rhythm
constricted, adj. (< constrict, v.): drawn together; narrowed, contracted
constructivist, adj. < constructivism, n.: a nonobjective art movement origi-
nating in Russia and concerned with formal organization of planes and
expression of volume in terms of modern industrial materials (such as
glass and plastic)
dactylic, adj. < dactyl, n.: a metrical foot of three syllables, the first being
stressed and the last two being unstressed (as in “take her up tenderly”)
detritus, n.: a product of disintegration or wearing away; fragment or frag-
mentary material
foot, n.: the basic unit of verse meter; a single instance of the recurring pattern
which constitutes metrical rhythm; a group of syllables constituting a
metrical unit
fricative, n. < adj.: consonant, such as f or s in English, produced by the
forcing of breath through a constricted passage
limn, v.: to describe or portray in symbols (as words or notes)
liquid, n.: a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being
prolonged like a vowel, such as English l and r
lower, v.: to be dark, gloomy, and threatening
metrical, adj. < meter, n.: systematically arranged and measured rhythm in
verse
nasal, n. < adj.: articulated by lowering the soft palate so that air resonates in
the nasal cavities and passes out the nose, as in the pronunciation of the
consonants /m/, /n/, and /ng/or the nasalized vowel of French bon
obstruent, n.: a sound, such as a stop, fricative, or affricate, that is produced
with complete blockage or at least partial constriction of the airflow
through the nose or mouth
phonetic, adj. < phonetics, n.: the system of sounds of a particular language
plosive, n. < adj.: of, relating to, or being a speech sound produced by
complete closure of the oral passage and subsequent release accompanied
by a burst of air, as in the sound p in pit or d in dog
prosodic, adj, < prosody, n.: a suprasegmental phonological feature such as
intonation and stress; also: such features collectively; the patterns of stress
and intonation in a language
sonorant, n.: a usually voiced speech sound characterized by relatively free
air flow through the vocal tract and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel,
liquid, or nasal
stop, n.: one of a set of speech sounds that is a plosive or a nasal
unbidden, adj.: not asked or invited; not commanded or directed
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412 7 The Psycholinguistic Pathos of Everyday Life
One is comfortably seated on an LIRR train traveling from Penn Station to Mineola,
New York. The terminus is Ronkokoma, one of several towns on Long Island
whose names evoke American Indian tribes and their language. Note that
Ronkokoma (an adaptation of an Algonquin word) has a decided prosodic structure:
a monosyllabic anacrusis followed by a dactylic clausula. It has three sonorants (r,
n, m) and only one obstruent (k), but this true consonant is placed immediately
before the stressed vowel (Ronkónkoma). It is this phonetic structure that limns the
word and invites repetition for the sound’s sake alone.
Great thunderheads in the October sky lower as the train makes its way through
the derelict houses and household detritus trackside. Airplanes coming in for a
landing in Queens at JFK International Airport intersect with the clouds and
buildings to suggest a constructivist painting.
One learns a new use of the word platform, viz. as a verb: “The front cars do not
platform at Woodside,” proclaims the public address system. One announcement in
particular, delivered in flawless diction by a disembodied but sure-footed baritone,
begins to sound poetic: “As you leave the train, be careful to step over the gap
between the train and the platform.”
It is then, for some mysterious reason, that the final four lines from a Russian
poem dedicated to his wife (the author’s mother, of blessed memory) by the
musician-poet Constantine Shapiro (1896–1992) float unbidden into one’s
consciousness:
Пoэт Baм cчacтия жeлaeт,
Oн жизнь cпoкoйнyю cyлит
Toмy, в дyшe чьeй oбитaeт,
Любoвь и пpaвды вepный щит.
(The poet wishes you happiness, /He foretells a peaceful life/For one in whose
soul reside/Love and truth’s faithful shield.)
Having Sunday breakfast before the crack of dawn at my neighborhood eatery (as is
my wont), I was reminded of a line from a famous Goethe poem, “Willkommen und
Abschied” (“Welcome and Farewell;” set to music by Schubert, among others),
that I had memorized in my German course at Hollywod High, taught by my
favorite teacher there, Russell Wilson. Here is the strophe in which the line appears
Der Mond von einem Wolkenhügel
Sah schläfrig aus dem Duft hervor,
Die Winde schwangen leise Flügel,
7.3 Goethe: “Die Nacht schuf tausend Ungeheuer” 413
[“From out a hill of clouds the moon/With mournful gaze began to peer:/The
winds their soft wings flutter’d soon,/And murmur’d in my awe-struck ear;
The night a thousand monsters made,/Yet fresh and joyous was my mind;/What
fire within my veins then play’d!/What glow was in my bosom shrin’d! trans.”
Edgar Alfred Bowring]
One’s mental set at any given point in life is determined by the cumulative
weight of reminiscences such as these, deposited at different levels in the mineshaft
of the psyche, and one’s surroundings at any given moment may serve as the
stimulus that brings a particular reminiscence to the surface. Since language is the
vehicle of thought, nothing else has the power to frame one’s emotions to the same
degree, and poetry of all linguistic products is the most powerful repository on
which to draw in realizing the inner dialogue that Plato calls the silent converse of
the soul with itself.
Glossary
congeries, n.: a collection or mass of entities (as objects, forces, individuals,
ideas)
fellow, n.: that which makes a pair with something else
Readers may remember the staircase wit who has turned up more than once in these
pages (cf., 1.27, 2.6. and 2.69 above), my father’s Uncle Misha, whose life was
saved after the Russian Revolution through the intervention of a waiter whom he
was in the habit of tipping generously during his frequent visits to the Hotel
Continental in Kiev. Among the numerous pieces of doggerel verse in Russian he
excogitated for his family’s enjoyment was one that included the following closing
couplet: “Ho c xopoшeнькими миcc/Я идy нa кoмпpoмиcc!” (“But with
good-looking misses/I reach a compromise.”)
These two rhyming lines came to mind when the author was sitting in a barber’s
chair on November 24, 2014 and heard the barber say to a young woman who had
walked in and was looking around for reading material while waiting her turn to be
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414 7 The Psycholinguistic Pathos of Everyday Life
shorn: “The magazines are over there, miss.” The one word “miss” immediately
triggered a remembrance of Uncle Misha and his doggerel, followed by an
approving glance at the young lady’s svelte figure and the mental congeries it
prompted via the word’s rhyme fellow.
Glossary
anima: ‘air, breath, life, soul, spirit’ (Latin)
homo loquens: ‘talking man’ (Latin)
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n.: the aspects and study of spoken
communication that accompany speech but do not involve words, such as
body language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice
When one observes people speaking, especially when not participating in the
conversation, what comes through is not so much the particulars of speech but the
paralinguistic behavior, viz. shrugs, smiles, hand gestures, etc. that accompany
speech and which are culturally coded. These body movements define the per-
sonality of speakers much more vividly than do the words they utter. It is, indeed,
these gestural accompaniments that more than anything contribute to the image that
is created in the mind of one’s interlocutors, which is what is meant by the word
persona, the Latin forebear of the English word in common use today.
It is noteworthy that in Classical Latin the word persōna meant ‘mask, character,
role’, a meaning preserved in the phrase dramatis personae ‘cast of characters’ for
stage use. This implies that in speaking we always put on a mask, as it were, play a
role, represent a character, and that the “real” self is to some extent always con-
cealed from public view. Perhaps this trait of homo loquens—that of donning a
mask while speaking—is an evolutionarily developed one involved in the process
of getting along with others, including placating them when necessary. A poker face
is not something altogether natural and hence not easily maintained. The expres-
sivity of our face and bodies (especially the hands) goes along with the process of
communicating meaning verbally and plays a significant role in the creation and
maintenance of meaning.
The etymology of person is a useful backdrop to understanding this aspect of
human semiosis. Here is it from the Oxford English Dictionary Online:
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman parsone, parsoune, person, persoun,
Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French persone, personne (French per-
sonne) presence, appearance (c1135), important person (c1140 in Anglo-Norman),
the body (c1170), individual human being (1174 in Anglo-Norman), person of the
Trinity (1174 in Anglo-Norman), grammatical person (first half of the 14th century
7.5 Latin persona ‘mask’ 415
One morning the author had to telephone the call center of a bank in order to
transact some business. The voice that eventually got on the line sounded like a
middle-aged woman who announced that she was speaking from South Dakota,
so I said to her: “You sound like a native South Dakotan.” Her happiness was
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416 7 The Psycholinguistic Pathos of Everyday Life
clearly audible: “Born and bred,” she answered, with a lilt in her voice, and
repeated the phrase to punctuate her pride. “I’ve lived in South Dakota all my life!
I’ve lived in the eastern part, and I’ve lived in the western part.” For my part, I said
nothing about my being a linguist and being able to discern a South Dakota accent.
(Listening to “Prairie Home Companion” for many years helped, of course, since
Minnesotan and South Dakotan American English are similar.)
In an era when regional dialects are fading under the onslaught of media lan-
guage, it is clear that natives of rural areas still cling tenaciously to their traditional
linguistic forms of expression, and for them the fact that a stranger on the other end
of the telephone line has acknowledged the authenticity of their speech is of con-
siderable personal and social import.
Epilegomenon
The goal of this book is the explanation of social variation in language, otherwise
the meaning and motivation of language change in its social aspect. It is directly
concerned with the rational explication of linguistic variety as evidenced by
spontaneous innovations in present-day American English. For the most part, I
examine the ascription of social value to novel linguistic entities, as one of the areas
in which the effects of spontaneous innovations are most notable. A special feature
of the data is the plethora of examples drawn from media and colloquial language.
In fact, what I present here is an exploration of the ideological value of a whole
list of changes-in-progress in American English. To a certain extent, I am contin-
uing the older tradition of books like Mencken (1957), Pyles (1952), and
Marckwardt (1980), while also investigating an important area of contemporary
sociolinguistics not illuminated by books like Wolfram (1974), McDavid (1980),
Dillard (1992), Wolfram and Schilling-Estes (1998), or even Labov (1973).
The theoretical question posed here (following Andersen 1989) is informed by
the idea of linguistic change as a form of communication—the title of a study by
Labov, who concluded that members of a speech community use innovations to
signal a variety of messages, such as “stronger meaning,” “group solidarity,”
“greater intimacy,” or their opposites (1974: 253 ff.). Labov’s study clarifies some
of the reasons why innovations are adopted and is significant for its key assumption
alone that any novel expression, apart from the content invested in it by grammar
and pragmatics, has a specific value by virtue of being different from a traditional
expression with the same grammatical and pragmatic content.
It is this “connotative content” (Hjelmslev 1960: 114 ff.) of novel linguistic
expressions that is the object here. But whereas, for instance, Labov’s study refers
the specific values carried by the innovations to such established categories of
connotative content as those mentioned above, my investigation concentrates on
uncovering the purport of innovations before their definite, collectively understood
connotative content has been widely adopted; and before the stage of consolidation
of their values has been reached.
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420 Epilegomenon
In the last thirty years, for instance, there has been a change in the government of
the verb commit whereby the reflexive complement tends to be omitted. This
syntactic innovation can be analyzed as an indicator of a change in the core
meaning of the verb from that of ‘bind/pledge oneself’ to something more equiv-
ocal (‘non-binding/non-committal’). Speakers who habitually use the verb without
the reflexive may be said to have a different attitude—and therefore, a different
value system—from those speakers of American English who follow the older
norm.
Semantics is the most fluid of linguistic subsystems and furnishes the richest
evidence of the correlation between language use and value systems. An example is
that of pleonasm or redundancy. Locutions like equally as (for equally) or also … as
well abound in contemporary American speech (and even in writing). In some cases
pleonasms become part of general usage (past experience, advance warning, safe
haven, etc.), but there are many others that arise spontaneously. An “ideological”
analysis of pleonastic constructions—and of redundancy in general—will seek to
explore how such usage coheres with a particular attitudinal set toward the relation
between form and content that crosses strictly linguistic boundaries to embrace
modes of cognition correlated with beliefs and the predispositions toward action
they account for.
“Wherever the human mind has worked collectively and unconsciously, it has
striven for and attained unique form. The important point is that the evolution of
form has a drift in one direction, that it seeks poise, and that it rests, relatively
speaking, when it has found this poise.” This is how Sapir (1949: 382) famously
characterizes the principle of final causation in language. Present possibilities with
greater or lesser powers of actualization exist at any given historical stage of a
language. Innovations that come to be full-fledged social facts, i.e., changes, must
have something about their form that enables them to survive. The ensemble of
such innovations-become-changes is what constitutes the drift of a language.
References
Andersen, H. (1989). Understanding linguistic innovations. In L. E. Breivik & E. H. Jahr (Eds.),
Language change: Contributions to the study of its causes (pp. 5–28). Berlin: Mouton de
Gruyter.
Bloomfield, L. (1935). Language. New York: Holt.
Coseriu, E. (1958). Sincronía, diacronía e historia: el problema del cambio lingüístico.
Montevideo: Universidad. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias.
Dillard, J. L. (1992). A history of American English. London: Longman.
Hjelmslev, L. (1960). Prolegomena to a theory of language (F. Whitfield, Trans.). Madison:
University of Wisconsin Press.
Labov, W. (1973). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Labov, W. (1974). Linguistic change as a form of communication. In A. Silverstein (Ed.), Human
communication: Theoretical explorations (pp. 221–256). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Marckwardt, A. H. (1980). American English (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford UP.
Epilegomenon 421
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Master Glossary
abduce, v. < abduction, n. (originally in the writings of C.S. Peirce) the only
fallible mode of reasoning, viz. the formation or adoption of a plausible but
unproven explanation for an observed phenomenon; a working hypothesis
derived from limited evidence and informed conjecture
abductive, adj. < abduction, n. vide supra
ablative, adj. of, relating to, or being a grammatical case indicating separation,
direction away from, sometimes manner or agency, and the object of certain
verbs (found in Latin and other Indo-European languages); the ablative case; a
form in this case
ablaut, n. vowel change, characteristic of Indo-European languages, that accom-
panies a change in grammatical function; for example, i, a, u in sing, sang, sung;
also called gradation (German)
aborning, adv. while being born or produced; at the moment of birth; before
coming to completion competence
absolute, adj. of a clause, construction, case, etc., not syntactically dependent on
another part of the sentence; of a word: used without a (customary) syntactic
dependant; spec. (a) (of a transitive verb) used without an expressed object;
(b) (of an adjective or possessive pronoun) used alone without a modified noun
abstracta, n. [pl] abstract words (Latin)
abut, v. to bring (two things) together
accoutrement, n. an identifying but usually extraneous characteristic; a
nonessential but usual accompaniment
accusative, adj. of, relating to, or being the grammatical case that is the direct
object of a verb or the object of certain prepositions
acronym, n. a word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for
Women’s Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of
words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging
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Master Glossary 427
relation to the other elements in the sentence; e.g., Copley and the painter in The
painter Copley was born in Boston
apropos, prep. with respect to; concerning, regarding
aqueous, adj. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of water
archaic, adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were once
in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier style or
period
archaism, n. an archaic word, phrase, idiom, or other expression
argosy, n. a rich source or supply
artfully, adv. < artful, adj. performed with, characterized by, or exhibiting art or
skill
artifice, n. n ingenious expedient, a clever stratagem; (chiefly in negative sense) a
manoeuvre or device intended to deceive, a trick
arytenoid, adj. relating to or being either of two small cartilages to which the vocal
cords are attached and which are situated at the upper back part of the larynx
aspectual, adj. < aspect, n. a category of the verb designating primarily the
relation of the action to the passage of time, especially in reference to com-
pletion, duration, or repetition
aspirate, adj. pronounced with an immediately following h-sound in a syllable in
which the h is not usually represented (as in English)
aspirated, adj. pronounced with the initial release of breath associated with
English h, as in hurry; followed with a puff of breath that is clearly audible
before the next sound begins, as in English pit or kit
aspiration, n. the pronunciation of a consonant with an aspirate, i.e., the speech
sound represented by English h; the puff of air accompanying the release of a
stop consonant like p or t
assertory, adj. being or containing an assertion
assimilation, n. the process by which a sound is modified so that it becomes
similar or identical to an adjacent or nearby sound. For example, the prefix in-
becomes im- in impossible by assimilation to the labial p of possible
assimilatory, adj. < assimilate, v. to be or become similar or alike
atavism, n. recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, approach, or
activity
athwart, prep. in opposition to; contrary to
attendance, n. < attend, v. fix the mind upon; give heed to
428 Master Glossary
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Master Glossary 429
their equivalents in the borrowing language, e.g., English superman for German
Übermensch
capacious, adj. not narrow or constricted; marked by ample scope
cartographer, n. map maker
case, n. a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express one
or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence
castrato, n. a male singer castrated in boyhood so as to retain a soprano or alto
voice
catachrestic, adj. <catachresis, n. the misapplication of a word or phrase; the use
of a strained figure of speech, such as a mixed metaphor
censorious, adj. severely critical; faultfinding; carping
ceteris paribus with all other factors or things remaining the same (Latin)
chaconne, n. a slow, stately dance of the 18th century or the music for it
characterological, adj. < characterology, n. the study of character, especially its
development and its variations
chattel, n. an item of tangible movable or immovable property except real estate,
freehold, and that movable property which is by its nature considered to be
essential to such an estate
chef d’oeuvre masterpiece (French)
Cheshirely, adv. < Cheshire Cat a fictional cat, known for its distinctive grin,
popularized by Lewis Carroll’s in his Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
chevelure, n. [a head of] hair (French)
chiasmus, n. the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each
other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the
clauses display inverted parallelism
childish, adj. of, relating to, befitting, or resembling a child
Chomskyan, adj. < Chomsky, n. Noam Chomsky, American linguist, founder of
generative (transformational) grammar
chorale, n. a harmonized hymn, especially one for organ
Christological, adj. < Christology, n. the theological study of the person and deeds
of Jesus; a doctrine or theory based on Jesus or Jesus’s teachings
Church Slavonic the medieval Slavic language used in the translation of the Bible
by Cyril and Methodius and in early literary manuscripts and still used as a
liturgical language by several churches of Eastern Orthodoxy
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coup de grâce a blow by which one condemned or mortally wounded is ‘put out of
his misery’ or dispatched quickly; hence fig. a finishing stroke, one that settles or
puts an end to something (French)
couplet, n. two successive lines of verse usually having some unity greater than
that of mere contiguity (as that provided by rhythmic correspondence, rhyme, or
the complete inclusion of a grammatically or rhetorically independent utterance)
courtly, adj. marked by highbred polish, stateliness, and ceremony; characteristic
of court usage or of courtiers
creole, n. a language that has evolved from a pidgin (vide infra) but serves as the
native language of a speech community
creolize, v. to make Creole; cause to adopt Creole qualities or customs; to cause to
become a creolized language
cutaway, n. a man’s formal daytime coat, with front edges sloping diagonally from
the waist and forming tails at the back
dactylic, adj. < dactyl, n. a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable fol-
lowed by two unaccented or of one long syllable followed by two short, as in
flattery
dative, adj. (of a grammatical case) marking typically the indirect object of a verb
datum, n. something that is given either from being experientially encountered or
from being admitted or assumed for specific purposes; a fact or principle granted
or presented; something upon which an inference or an argument is based or
from which an intellectual system of any sort is constructed
declarative, adj. having the characteristics of or making a declaration
decorum, n. propriety and good taste, especially in conduct, manners, or
appearance
deduction, n. the process of deducing or drawing a conclusion from a principle
already known or assumed; spec. in logic, inference by reasoning from generals
to particulars; opposed to induction
definiens, n. whatever serves to define (Latin)
déformation professionnelle conditioning by one’s job (French)
deictically, adv. < deictic, adj. directly pointing out, demonstrative
deixis, n. the function of a deictic word in specifying its referent in a given context
dejotation, n. the elision of a liquid or a glide following a consonant and preceding
the medial vowel of a syllable
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diminutized, v. < diminutive, adj. indicating small size and sometimes the quality
or condition of being loved, lovable, pitiable, or contemptible; used of affixes
diphthongal, adv. < diphthong, n. a complex speech sound or glide that begins
with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syl-
lable, as [oi] in boil or [ai] in fine
discontinuous, adj. not continuous; marked by breaks or gaps
disfluency, n. impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent speech; an
interruption in the smooth flow of speech, as by a pause or the repetition of a
wordor syllable
disinter, v. to bring out of concealment; bring from obscurity into view
dissyllabic/disyllabic, adj. consisting of two syllables
distinctive, adj. phonemically relevant and capable of conveying a difference in
meaning, as nasalization in the initial sound of mat versus bat
divagation, n. < divagate, v. to wander about or stray from one place or subject to
another
divinatory, adj. < divination, n. < divine, adj. being in the service or worship of a
deity; sacred
doctrinal, adj. < doctrine, n. that which is taught or laid down as true concerning a
particular subject or department of knowledge, as religion, politics, science, etc.;
a belief, theoretical opinion; a dogma, tenet
don, n. a head, tutor, or fellow in an English university
doublet, n. one of two words or forms that are identical in meaning or value
dross, n. something that is base, gross, or commonplace
echt, adj. real; genuine (German)
ecology, n. the interrelationship between any system and its environment; the
product of this
effete, adj. totally devoid of an original positive drive or purposiveness
ejaculation, n. the hasty utterance of words expressing emotion
élan, n. vigor, spirit, or enthusiasm typically revealed by assurance of manner,
brilliance of performance, or liveliness of imagination (< French)
elide, v. > elision, n. omission of an unstressed
elision, n. the act or an instance of dropping out or omitting something
ellipsis, n. the omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical
construction but not necessary for understanding
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etymologically, adv. < etymological, adj. < etymology, n. the origin and historical
development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements,
earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission
from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and
reconstructing its ancestral form where possible
etymon, n. a foreign word from which a particular loan word is derived
evince, v. show, display, contain
excogitate, v. to evolve, invent, or contrive in the mind
exemplar, n. one that serves as a model or example
exeunt ‘they go out’ (Latin); used as a stage direction to indicate that two or more
performers leave the stage
exogenous, adj. produced from without; external to a group
ex parte from or on one side only, with the other side absent or unrepresented
(Latin)
explanandum, n. the thing to be explained (Latin)
explanantia, n. pl. < explanans, n. the explaining element in an explanation; the
explanatory premisses (Latin)
extancy, n. < extant, adj. continuing to exist; that has escaped the ravages of time,
still existing
ex tempore extemporaneously (Latin)
extirpate, v. to pull up or out by or as if by the roots or stem; pluck out; root out
façade, n. a superficial appearance or illusion of something
factitious, adj. produced artificially or by special effort (as for a particular
situation)
facultatively, adv. < facultative, adj. optional
faiblesse, n. weakness (French)
falsetto, n. a forced voice of a range or register above the natural
fatigued, adj. hackneyed; stale, as a joke, phrase, or sermon
fatuity, n. smug stupidity; utter foolishness; something that is utterly stupid or silly
fatuous, adj. marked by want of intelligence and rational consideration; esp.
marked by futile ill-founded hope or desire, by witless complacent disregard of
reality, or by inane lack of consideration
faux, adj. resembling something else that is usually genuine and of better quality;
not real (French)
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fee simple, n. a freehold estate of inheritance in land or hereditaments that may last
forever and may be inherited by all classes of both lineal and collateral heirs of
an individual owner or grantee
fee tail, n. an estate in fee granted to a person and his issue or a designated class of
his issue that is subject to the possibility of reversion if there is no such issue or
no alternative gift to a designated person in case there is no such issue, that is
subject under modern statutes to being converted into a fee simple absolute by
the owner's barring the entail by executing a deed in his lifetime or to being
converted to other types of estates more in harmony with present social
conditions
fellow, n. that which makes a pair with something else
Fennicist, n. specialist in Finnish and Finno-Ugric philology
figural, adj. pertaining to figures of speech and their action (= figuration)
figurational, adj. < figuration, n. < figure, v. to symbolize (as a figure of speech)
figuratively, adv. < figurative, adj. transferred in sense from literal or plain to
abstract or hypothetical (as by the expression of one thing in terms of another
with which it can be regarded as analogous)
filler, n. a short word or phrase that is largely devoid of meaning and has mostly a
phatic function
fillip, n. a spur or impetus; an embellishment that excites or stimulates
finesse, n. fineness or delicacy especially of workmanship, structure, texture, or
flavor
Finno-Ugric , adj. of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting the Finno-Ugric
languages
flap, n. a sound articulated by a single, quick touch of the tongue against the teeth
or alveolar ridge, as [t] in water
flat vowel the vowel a as pronounced in bad or cat
flummoxer, n. < flummox, v. to throw into perplexity; embarrass greatly
folk etymology the popular perversion of the form of words in order to render it
apparently significant
fons et origo source and origin (Latin)
foot, n. a unit of poetic meter consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables in any
of various set combinations
foreground, v. to place in or bring to the foreground; esp. to give prominence or
emphasis to
forename, n. first (given) name
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after next Monday”; many a for “many taken distributively”; had better for
“might better”; how are you? for “what is the state of your health or feelings?”)
idiomatization, n. < idiomatize, v. make into an idiom
idiosyncratic, adj. < idiosyncrasy, n. a structural or behavioral characteristic
peculiar to an individual or group; a physiological or temperamental peculiarity
illocutionary, adj. pertaining to a linguistic act performed by a speaker in pro-
ducing an utterance, as suggesting, warning, promising, or requesting
illud tempus a mythical or paradisiacal time before time existed (Latin)
illusionist, n. a ventriloquist or sleight-of-hand performer or magician
immanent, adj. existing or operating within; inherent
imperative, n. of, relating to, or being the grammatical mood that expresses the will
to influence the behavior of another (as in a command, entreaty, or exhortation)
imperfective, adj. of, related to, or being the aspect that expresses the action
denoted by the verb without regard to its beginning or completion
impetigo, n. a contagious bacterial skin infection, usually of children, that is
characterized by the eruption of superficial pustules and the formation of thick
yellow crusts, commonly on the face (Latin)
implicature, n. the act or an instance of (intentionally) implying a meaning which
can be inferred from an utterance in conjunction with its conversational or
semantic context, but is neither explicitly expressed nor logically entailed by the
statement itself; a meaning that is implied contextually, but is neither entailed
logically nor stated explicitly
inanition, n. the condition or quality of being empty
incipiency, n. > incipient, adj. beginning; commencing; coming into, or in an early
stage of, existence; in an initial stage
incision, n. the effect of cutting into something; a division produced by cutting
inculcate, v. to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
indecorous, adj. not proper; conflicting with accepted standards of propriety or
good taste or good breeding
indexical, adj. < index, n. a sign that is related to its object (meaning) by conti-
guity; something (such as a manner of speaking or acting or a distinctive
physical feature) in another person or thing that leads an observer to surmise a
particular fact or draw a particular conclusion
indicative, adj. that points out, states, or declares; applied to that mood of a verb of
which the essential function is to state a relation of objective fact between the
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subject and predicate (as opposed to a relation merely conceived, thought of, or
wished, by the speaker)
indirection, n. Indirect movement or action; a devious or circuitous course to some
end; round-about means or method
individualism, n. an individual characteristic; a quirk
individuation, n. < individuate, v. to give an individual character to; to distinguish
from others of the same kind; to individualize; to single out, to specify
induction, n. the process of inferring a general law or principle from the obser-
vation of particular instances
ineluctable, adj. unavoidable, inescapable
infantilistic, adj. < infantilism, n. a condition of being abnormally childlike; a
retention of childish physical, mental, or emotional qualities in adult life
inflected, adj. modified by inflection [vide infra]
inflectional, adj. < inflection, n. an alteration of the form of a word by the addition
of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form of a base, as in
English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical features such as number,
person, mood, or tense
in potentia ‘in potentiality’; potentially (Latin)
insinuate, v. to impart or communicate with artful indirect wording or oblique
reference and without direct or forthright expression
insouciantly, adv. < insouciant, adj. marked by blithe unconcern; nonchalant
instantiation, n. < instantiate, v. to represent (an abstraction or universal) by a
concrete instance
in statu nascendi ‘in the state of being born’; in the nascent state; in the course of
being formed or developed (Latin)
instrumental, adj. of, relating to, or being a case in grammar expressing means or
agency
intentionality, n. the quality or state of being intentional; specifically, the char-
acteristic of being conscious of intending an object
inter alia ‘among other things’ (Latin)
intercalation, n. < intercalate, v. to insert between or among existing elements
interdental, adj. formed with the tip of the tongue protruded between the upper
and lower front teeth
interlard, v. to insert between; mix, mingle; esp. to introduce something that is
foreign or irrelevant into
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lapidary, adj. having the elegance and precision associated with inscriptions on
stone
lapsus linguae slip of the tongue (Latin)
larynx, n. voice box, vocal cords
lascivious, adj. tending to arouse sexual desire
Latinate, adj. of, derived from, or suggestive of Latin
lax, adj. of a speech sound: produced with the muscles involved in a relatively
relaxed state (the English vowels [i] and [u̇] in contrast with the vowels [ē] and
[ü] are lax)
laxing, n. < lax, adj. Latin lenis ‘soft’, opposed to fortis ‘strong’ (vide infra under
tense vs. lax)
leitmotif, n. something resembling a musical leitmotiv (as a word or phrase, an
emotion, an idea) that is repeated again and again; a dominant recurring theme
lenis, adj. ‘soft’ (Latin), opposed to fortis ‘strong’
lenited, adj. < lenite, v. cause lenition (vide infra)
lenition, n. laxing; production of a lax sound
lentigo, n. a small, flat, pigmented spot on the skin (Latin)
lento, adj. in a slow tempo (Italian)
letzten Endes ‘in the end’, in the final analysis (German)
lexeme, n. a meaningful speech form that is an item of the vocabulary of a
language
lexicalized, adj. < lexicalization, n. the treatment of a formerly freely composed,
grammatically regular, and semantically transparent phrase or inflected form as a
formally or semantically idiomatic expression
lexically, adv. < lexical, adj. of or relating to words, word formatives, or the
vocabulary of a language as distinguished from its grammar and construction
lexicon, n., pl. lexica the words of a language considered as a group
lexis, n. vocabulary, word-stock
license, n. excessive liberty; abuse of freedom; disregard of law or propriety; an
instance of this
limn, v. to describe or portray in symbols (as words or notes)
lingua franca a medium of communication between peoples of different languages
(Italian ‘Frankish tongue’)
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liquid, adj., n. a consonant articulated without friction and capable of being pro-
longed like a vowel, such as English l and r
literalist, n. one that advocates or practices literalism, viz. adherence to the explicit
substance of an idea or expression
locative, adj., n. belonging to or being a grammatical case that denotes place or the
place where or wherein
locus, n. a center or source, as of activities or power
lower, v. to be dark, gloomy, and threatening
macaronic, adj. characterized by a mixture of two or more languages
maladroitness, n. < maladroit, adj. revealing a lack of perception, judgment, or
finesse
malapropism, n. ludicrous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of
similar sound
malefactor, n. one who commits an offense against the law; one who does ill
toward another
malgré lui in spite of himself (French)
manus manum lavat one hand washes the other (Latin)
marked, adj. < markedness, n. the evaluative superstructure of all semiotic
(‘sign-theoretic’) oppositions, as well as the theory of such a superstructure,
characterized in terms of the values ‘marked’ (conceptually restricted) and
‘unmarked’ (conceptually unrestricted); of or relating to that member of a pair of
sounds, words, or forms that explicitly denotes a particular subset of the
meanings denoted by the other member of the pair. For example, of the two
words lion and lioness, lion is unmarked for gender (it can denote either a male
or female) whereas lioness is marked, since it denotes only females
marriage portion, n. dowry
mass noun a noun characteristically denoting in many languages a homogeneous
substance or a concept without subdivisions (as sand, butter, beer, accuracy
distinguished from a grain of sand, a pat of butter, a glass of beer, a degree of
accuracy), having in this usage in English only the singular form, and preceded
in indefinite constructions by some rather than a or an
media, adj., pl. mediae ‘intermediate in degree of aspiration’ (Latin)
medial, adj. being a sound, syllable, or letter occurring between the initial and final
positions in a word or morpheme morpheme, n., a meaningful linguistic unit
consisting of a word, such as man, or a word element, such as -ed in walked, that
cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts
mélange, n. mixture (French)
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ontological, adj. < ontology, n. the science or study of being; that branch of
metaphysics concerned with the nature or essence of being or existence
opacity, n. < opaque, adj. hard to understand, solve, or explain; not simple, clear,
or lucid
open, adj. pronounced with a relatively wide opening of the mouth and the tongue
held low in it
orthoepic, adj. < orthoepy, n. the study of the pronunciation of words; the cus-
tomary pronunciation of words
orthographically, adv. < orthographic, adj. < orthography, n. a method of rep-
resenting the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
otiose, adj. lacking use or effect; superfluous
pace, prep. with the permission of; with deference to; used to express polite or
ironically polite disagreement (Latin)
palatal, adj. produced with the front of the tongue near or against the hard palate,
as the [y] in English young; produced with the blade of the tongue near the hard
palate, as the [ch] in English chin
palatalization, n. < palatalize, v. to modify the utterance of (a nonpalatal sound)
by simultaneously bringing the front of the tongue to or near the hard palate
[vide infra]
palate, n. the roof of the mouth in vertebrates having a complete or partial sepa-
ration of the oral and nasal
palette, n. the range of qualities inherent in nongraphic art forms such as music and
literature
Pale of Settlement geographic area in Czarist Russia where Jews were allowed to
live (translation of R чepтa oceдлocти)
palliate, v. to reduce the violence of (a disease); cause to lessen or abate; ease
without curing
pamplemousse, n. grapefruit (French)
panchronic, adj. designating or relating to a linguistic structure or theory that may
be applied to all languages at all stages of their development
paradigm, n. a set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its
grammatical categories
paradigmatic, adj. pertaining to a relationship among linguistic elements that can
substitute for each other in a given context, as the relationship of sun in The sun
is shining to other nouns, as moon, star, or light, that could substitute for it in
that sentence, or of is shining to was shining, shone, will shine, etc., as well as to
is rising, is setting, etc.
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paragogic, adj, < paragoge, n. the addition of a letter or syllable to a word, either
in the course of a word's historical development, or (in certain languages, such as
Hebrew) to add emphasis or modify the meaning
paralinguistic, adj. < paralinguistics, n. the study of optional vocal effects (such
as tone of voice) that accompany or modify speech and may communicate
meaning
parallelism, n. resemblance, correspondence, similarity between two entities or
groups
parataxis, n. the juxtaposition of clauses or phrases without the use of coordinating
or subordinating conjunctions
parodic, adj. < parody, n. a form or situation showing imitation that is faithful to a
degree but that is weak, ridiculous, or distorted
paroemic, adj. of the nature of a proverb; proverbial
paroemics, n. the stock of, and study of, proverbs in a given language
paronomastic, adj. < paronomasia, n. a play upon words in which the same word
is used in different senses or words similar in sound are set in opposition so as to
give antithetical force
passivization, n. < passivize, v. turn an active verb into its passive counterpart
patency, n. < patent, adj. open to view; readily visible or intelligible
patently, adv. < patent, adj. readily visible or intelligible; obvious
pater, n. father (usu. jocular)
patois, n. a variety of language specific to a particular area, nationality, etc., which
is considered to differ from the standard or orthodox version
patrial, n. the word for the name of a country or place and used to denote a native
or inhabitant of it
patrimony, n. an inheritance from the past
patronymic, n. a name derived from that of a father or male ancestor, esp. by
addition of an affix indicating such descent; a family name
Peircean, adj. < Peirce, n. Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), American logi-
cian and scientist; founder of the modern theory of signs and of pragmatism
pejorative, adj. having a tendency to make or become worse; depreciatory,
disparaging
penchant, n. a definite liking; a strong inclination
pendant a supplement or consequence (French)
pentasyllable, n. a word consisting of five syllables
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psyche, n. the whole conscious and unconscious mind, esp. when viewed as
deciding or determining motivation, emotional response, and other psycholog-
ical characteristics
punctilious, adj. marked by exact accordance with the details of codes or
conventions
purlieu, n. a place where one may range at large; confines or bounds
purport, n. meaning conveyed, professed, or implied
purview, n. the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or
intention
putative, adj. commonly accepted or supposed; reputed
QED < quod erat demonstrandum ‘which was to be demonstrated’ (Latin)
quadrisyllabic, adj. containing four syllables
quantité négligeable an insignificant or inconsequential factor; a matter of no
account (French)
quasi-, adv. as if; as it were; in a manner; in some sense or degree
quasi-paronomastic, adj. < paronomasia, n. resembling paronomasia
quaternion, n. a set of four persons or items
quiddity, n. the real nature of a thing; the essence
quién sabe? ‘who knows?’ (Spanish)
quotative, adj. for the purposes of quotation
quotidian, adj. commonplace, ordinary
raison d’être reason for being (French)
ramified, adj. < ramify, v. to separate into divisions or ramifications
realism, n. the doctrine that matter as the object of perception has real existence
(natural realism) and is neither reducible to universal mind or spirit nor
dependent on a perceiving agent
received, adj. generally adopted, accepted, or approved as true, authoritative, or
standard
recherché, adj. rare, choice, exotic (French)
rection, n. grammatical government [vide supra]
recumbent, adj. having a horizontal position; lying down
redivivus ‘revived’; come back to life (Latin)
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reduced, adj. < reduction, n. any of various changes in the acoustic quality of
vowels, related to changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or
position in the word, which makes the reduced vowels shorter as well
reference, n. the action or fact of applying words, names, ideas, etc., to an entity;
the relation between a word or expression and that which it denotes; the entity or
entities denoted by a word or expression, a referent (freq. contrasted with sense)
referential, adj. containing, denoting, or constituting a reference or meaning
reflex, n. a form or feature that reflects or represents an earlier, often reconstructed,
form or feature having undergone phonetic or other change
reflexive, adj. of, relating to, or constituting an action (as in “the witness perjured
himself” or “I bethought myself”) that is directed back upon the agent or the
grammatical subject
register, n. the range of an instrument or a voice
reify, v. regard (as an abstraction, a mental construction) as a thing: convert
mentally into something concrete or objective
réplique, n. a reply, a response (French)
repose, v. to depend or be based on
requiescat in pace ‘rest in peace’ (Latin)
resp., abbrev. respectively
revivification, n. < revivify, v. to impart new life to; cause to revive
rigor mortis rigidity of muscles after death depending in time of onset and duration
upon variable factors in the body and in the environment (Latin)
riposte, n. a retaliatory verbal sally; retort (French)
risible, adj. arousing, exciting, or provoking laughter
risus sardonicus ‘sardonic smile’ (Latin), a highly characteristic, abnormal, sus-
tained spasm of the facial muscles that appears to produce grinning, most often
as a sign of tetanus
roomicule, n. a little room (nonce word)
root, n. the element that carries the main component of meaning in a word and
provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or inflectional
endings or by phonetic change
Russophone, adj. Russian-speaking
rustic, n. one who is rude, coarse, or dull
sandhi, n. modification of the sound of a word or morpheme when juxtaposed with
another, especially in fluent speech, as the modification of the pronunciation of
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don’t in don’t you from its pronunciation in isolation or in a phrase like don’t we
(Sanskrit)
sans, prep. ‘without’ (French)
sc., adv. scilicet (Latin); used to introduce more detailed information, or to specify
a referent: that is to say, to be specific; namely, to wit
scant, v. to give scant attention to; to treat slightingly or inadequately; to neglect,
do less than justice to
schwa, n. a mid-central neutral vowel, typically occurring in unstressed syllables,
as the final vowel of English sofa; the symbol (ə) used to represent an unstressed
neutral vowel and, in some systems of phonetic transcription, a stressed
mid-central vowel, as in but
seemliness, n. < seemly, adj. conforming to accepted standards of good form or
taste
segmentally, adv. < segmental, adj. < segment, n. a unit forming part of a con-
tinuum of speech or (less commonly) text; an isolable unit in a phonological or
syntactic system: of or relating to (linear) segments of the speech chain
self-fashioning, n. the process of constructing one’s identity and public persona
according to a set of socially acceptable standards
self-referential, adj. referring to oneself
self-reflexive, adj. disposed to or characterized by self-reflection
semantic, adj. < semantics, n. the study dealing with the relations between signs
and what they refer to, the relations between the signs of a system, and human
behavior in reaction to signs including unconscious attitudes, influences of social
institutions, and epistemological and linguistic assumptions
semeiosis, n. = semiosis, n. the process of signification, sign action
semeiotic, n. (Peirce’s) sign theory, any system of signs
semiotically, adv. < semiotic, adj. < semiotic, n. of or pertaining to signs
sensu stricto in the strict sense, strictly speaking (Latin)
sentient, adj. capable of sensation and of at least rudimentary consciousness
sequela, n. a secondary result; consequence (Latin)
sesquipedalianism, n. < sesquipedalian, adj. given to or characterized by the use
of long words
set, n. a particular psychological state, usually that of anticipation or preparedness;
mental inclination, tendency, or habit
sibilant, n. a sibilant speech sound, such as English s, sh, z, or zh
462 Master Glossary
sic, adv. so; thus (Latin); usually written parenthetically to denote that a word,
phrase, passage, etc., that may appear strange or incorrect has been written
intentionally or has been quoted verbatim
sic transeunt onera mundi ‘thus do the burdens of the world pass [from it]’ (Latin)
sic transit gloria mundi ‘thus passes the glory of the world’ (Latin); a catchphrase
expressing the impermanence of things
sidebar, n. something incidental
sign, n.: sign, adj.: semiotic, adj. pertaining to elements of or any system of signs,
defined as anything capable of signifying an object (meaning)
sign-theoretic, adj. pertaining to sign (semiotic) theory
simplex, n. a word or other linguistic unit that has no grammatical morphemes and
is not part of a compound
simulacrum, n. something having merely the form or appearance of a certain thing,
without possessing its substance or proper qualities
sine qua non somebody or something indispensable (Latin)
singulare tantum ‘having only a singular form’ (Latin)
singulative, adj. < (idem) n. a grammatical form or construction that expresses a
singular entity or indicates that an individual is singled out from a group,
especially as opposed to a collective noun, as snowflake as opposed to snow
skittles, n. a British form of ninepins, in which a wooden disk or ball is thrown to
knock down the pins
slough, n. a depression or hollow, usually filled with deep mud or mire; a state of
deep despair or moral degradation
slovenliness, n. < slovenly, adj. negligent of neatness and order especially in dress
or person
sociolectal, adj. < sociolect, n. a variety of a language that is used by a particular
social group
soft palate the movable fold, consisting of muscular fibers enclosed in a mucous
membrane, that is suspended from the rear of the hard palate and closes off the
nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or sucking
solecistically, adv. < solecistic, adj. < solecism, n. a nonstandard usage or
grammatical construction; an impropriety, mistake, or incongruity
sonorant, n. a usually voiced speech sound characterized by relatively free air flow
through the vocal tract and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel, liquid, or nasal
sonority, n. the degree to which a speech sound is like a vowel
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subcutaneously, adv. < subcutaneous, adj. (here, figuratively) beneath the sur-
face, subtle, relatively imperceptible
subjective, adj. being or relating to a grammatical subject
subjunctive, adj., n. of, relating to, or constituting a verb form or set of verb forms
that represents an attitude toward or concern with a denoted act or state not as
fact but as something entertained in thought as contingent or possible or viewed
emotionally (as with doubt, desire, will)
sub rosa privately, secretly, in strict confidence; unspoken, tacit (Latin)
subserve, v. to serve as an instrument or means in carrying on (as an activity) or
out (as a plan) or in furthering the ends of (as a person)
substantive, n. noun
substrate, n. something that is laid or spread under or that underlies and supports
or forms a base for something else; an underlying structure, layer, or part
substratum, n. an indigenous language that contributes features to the language of
an invading people who impose their language on the indigenous population
subsume, v. to bring (an idea, principle, etc.) under another; to instance or include
(a case, term, etc.) under a rule, category, etc
succeed, v. to follow
suffix, n. a grammatical element added to the end of a word or stem, serving to
form a new word or functioning as an inflectional ending, such as -ness in
gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
suffixal, adj. contains a suffix
suffixation, v. the process by which a suffix (grammatical element)is added to the
end of a word or stem, serving to form a new word or functioning as an
inflectional ending, such as -ness in gentleness, -ing in walking, or -s in sits
superordination, n. higher rank, status, or value
supersession, n. < supersede, v. supplant and make inferior by better or more
efficiently serving a function
supervenient, adj. coming after (and in connection with or as a consequence of) an
existing situation, condition, etc.; subsequent; occurring as a change or addition
supervening, adj. < supervene, v. to come after so as to take the place of; to
supersede
suprasegmental, adj. of or relating to significant features of pitch, stress, and
juncture accompanying or superadded to vowels and consonants when the latter
are assembled in succession in the construction of a speaker-to-hearer
communication
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typologically, adv. < typological, adj. < typology, n. comparative study of lan-
guages or aspects of languages as to their structures rather than their historical
relations
Ugric, adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of the languages of the Ugrians (an
ethnological group including the Magyars [Hungarians] and related peoples of
western Siberia
ultima, n. the last syllable
ultimate, adj. < ultima, n. the final syllable
umbrage, n. displeasure, resentment, annoyance
unassailable, adj. not open to adverse criticism
unbidden, adj. not asked or invited; not commanded or directed
univerbal, adj. < univerbation, n. the creation of one word from two or more
univerbative, adj. < univerbation [vide supra]
unmarked, adj. vide supra under markedness
unmarking, n. the change from a marked to an unmarked value
unreflectively, adv. < unreflective, adj. not reflective; unthinking, heedless
unreflexively, adv. < unreflexive, adj. spontaneous; unpremeditated
unrounded, adj. pronounced with the lips in a flattened or neutral position
unsuffixed, adj. without a suffix
unvoice, v. to pronounce (a normally voiced sound) without vibration of the vocal
chords so as to make it wholly or partly voiceless
uptalk, n. speech in which each clause, sentence, etc., ends like a question with a
rising inflection
Ur-, prefix ‘original’, prototypical (German)
usurpation, n. < usurp, v. to employ wrongfully
ut pictura poesis as is painting so is poetry (Latin)
valorization, n. < valorize, v. to give or assign a value to
velar, adj. articulated with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft palate,
as (g) in good and (k) in king
velarize, v. to articulate (a sound) by retracting the back of the tongue toward the
soft palate
velum, n. the soft palate
veracious, adj. marked by truth
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verbatim, adv. in exactly the same words; word for word (Latin)
Vermontian, adj. of or pertaining to Vermont (nonce word)
versification, n. the making of verses; the act, art, or practice of metrical compo-
sition; metrical structure; a particular metrical structure or style
vexed, adj. (< vex, v.) much discussed or disputed
vibrato, n. a tremulous effect imparted to instrumental tone for added warmth and
expressiveness by slight and rapid variations in pitch
vilipend, v. to view or treat with contempt; despise
virgule, n. slash, i.e., a short, usually slanting stroke or mark used to indicate
alternation
vis-à-vis, prep. in relation to; over against (French)
viva voce by word of mouth; orally (Latin)
vive la différence (jocular) expression denoting approval of the difference between
the sexes (French)
viz., abbrev. vidēlicet (Latin) that is to say; namely; to wit: used to introduce an
amplification, or more precise or explicit explanation, of a previous statement or
word
vocable, n. a word considered only as a sequence of sounds or letters rather than as
a unit of meaning
vocative, n. of, relating to, or being a grammatical case marking the one addressed
voice, n. a property of verbs or a set of verb inflections indicating the relation
between the subject and the action expressed by the verb: “Birds build nests”
uses the active voice; “nests built by birds” uses the passive voice
voiced, adj. uttered with vocal cord vibration
voicing, n. the action or process of producing a speech or breath sound with
vibration of the vocal cords; the change of a sound from voiceless to voiced
voilà ‘there [you are]’ (French)
vulgarism, n. a word, phrase, or manner of expression used chiefly by uneducated
people
wayward, adj. characterized by extreme willfulness and by determination to follow
one's own capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations to the point of being
ungovernable
wile, n. a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive; a sly artifice
470 Master Glossary
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Index
Symbols A
Élan, 244, 245 Abbreviation, 18, 19, 98, 137, 138, 334, 435
Épater Le Bourgeois, 275 Abduce, Abductive, Abduction
Épater le bourgeois, 275 Economy of Effort, 333
Über (prefix), 57 economy of effort, 334
*Dead Broke (Phrase), 190 Female Nasalization:, 11
*Schoolguy, 239 habit with meaning/skill, 383
*Stupravity, 148, 156 Latin phrases., 211
*tj-, 378 Latin phrases, 211
\“King’s/Queen’s English, The\” (Received neostructuralism,, 351
Pronunciation or RP), 27, 76, 105, 345 Neostructuralism, 348
\“She is as light as a breath of wind,…\” neostructuralism, 351
(Constantine Shapiro), 228 Ablative, 44, 45
\“Valley girls\” (Southern Californian girls), Ablaut Pattern, 325
126 Ablaut pattern, 326
\”Elegy\” (Pushkin), 398 Aborning, 406
\”K***\” (Pushkin), 391, 392 Absolute, absolutely
\”Limits of Mankind\” [\”Grenzen der adjectives, 157
Menschheit\”] (Goethe), 399 Absolute, Absolutely
\”Saison beendet das Orchester,…\” Enjoy!, 193
(Constantine Shapiro), 390 Enjoy!, 194
\”The poet wishes you happiness,…\” irrefragable, irrefragably versus, 192, 193
(Constantine Shapiro), 412 Abstracta, abstract words, 150, 151
\”To a Japanologist Friend…\” (Constantine Abut, 157, 158
Shapiro), 394, 395 Accents
\”To the right and left are mountains,…\” dialects versus,, 74
(Constantine Shapiro), 399 dialects versus, 373
\”Welcome and Farewell\” [\”Willkommen und Dialects Versus, 373, 374
Abschied\”] (Goethe), 412 foreign, 73
\”Willkommen und Abschied\” [\”Welcome Foreign, 73, 74
and Farewell\”] (Goethe), 412 regional, 230
\”Youth, The\” (Pushkin), 393 stress versus, 13
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linguistic harmony, 370, 372, 374 Charybdis and Scylla myth, 136
propitiation, 256 Chattel (Use of Word), 161
Calques Chattel (use of word), 163
Graeco-Roman patrimony, 184, 185 Chavez, Hugo (pronunciation), 159
not a problem (Phrase), 217 Chef d’oevre, 396
not a problem (phrase), 217 Cheshire-Ly, Cheshire Cat, 9
paralinguistic,, 125 Chevelure, 33, 35
paralinguistic, 126 Chiasmus, 203
Cambridge (English) Pronouncing Dictionary, Chicanery (pronunciation), 58
25, 58 Childish Errors, 379
Capacious, 96, 97 Childish errors, 380
Carroll, Lewis, 148 Children (plural form), 131
Cartographer, 158 Chinese
Castrato, 72 Anglophonic Chinese, 141
Catachresis, catachrestic writing system, 129
alliterative proverbs, 132 Chivalry (pronunciation), 160
Catachresis, Catachrestic Chomsky, Noam (Chomskyan), 348, 350, 428
Alliterative Proverbs, 132 Chorale, 328, 329
defined, 207 Christian (word unity), 85
errors, 131 Christology, Christological, 115, 116
extemporaneous speech, 241, 242 Church Slavonic, 211, 227, 228, 236
idiomatic contamination, 232 Cicero, 38, 190
in a shambles (phrase), 213, 214 Cioran, S. D, 325
metaphors (use of word), 234 Clamber (pronunciation), 87
metaphors (use of word), 234, 235 Clausula, 410, 412
Self-Delusion, Vocabulary of, 138 Clichés
self-delusion, vocabulary of, 139 indirection, 237
ungrammatical versus grammatical, 265 tropological, 120, 121
Catachrestic Clinton, Hillary, 63, 190
Anglo-Saxon Versus Latinate:, 143 Clueless (film), 126
Anglo-Saxon versus Latinate, 144 Cluster(s)
semantic contamination,, 134 aphaeresis, 6
Catch, Glottal, 17 Cluster(S)
Catch, glottal, 18 Consonant Clusters, 86
Category (pronunciation), 278 consonant clusters, 87
Cave/caving versus cave/caving in, 299 phonetic variation, 46, 47
Censorious, 253, 254 Coda
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, The dejotation,, 65
catachresis defined, 207 glottal catch/glottal stop, 18
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, the Tw-, 376
Vowel Alternation, 14 tw-, 378
Cervantes, Miguel de, Don Quixote, 162 Cognate
Ceteris Paribus, 69 Etymology, 172
Ceteris paribus, 70, 233 etymology, 174
Chaconne, 7 Sounds and Sense, 186
Chahal, Gurbaksh, 317 sounds and sense, 188
Challenge versus problem, 138 Twerk (Etymology), 182
Change, language twerk (etymology), 183
Chaparral (pronunciation), 160 Cohabitate, 195
Characterology, characterological Cohen, Patricia, 290
bad guy (phrase), 119, 120 Coles, Mark, 24
Characterology, Characterological Colleague (Pronunciation), 102
non-standard speech, 263 Collective, Collective Nouns
non-standard speech, 263 Errors, 362
478 Index
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Type, Typology, Typological, Typologically Untergang Des Abendlandes, der (the Decline
Desyllabication of /n/ in Consonant of the West)(Spengler), 9
Clusters, 110 Untranslatability/translatability, 190
desyllabication of /n/ in consonant clusters, Unvoice (voiceless), 30, 68
111 Uprise, uprising, 213
German barbarisms, 56, 57 Uptalk, 254, 255, 271, 272, 335
levels of patterning in language, 52 Ur-, 321
phonetic ellipses, 95, 97, 98 Uralic group, 90
Social Security (pronunciation), 51, 52 Urban Dictionary, 182
tennuis/tenues and media/mediae, 99, 100, Usage, correct/incorrect
154, 155 idioms, 190
Usage, Correct/Incorrect
U Metalinguistic Function, 327
Ukraine (Pronunciation), 94 metalinguistic function, 328
Ukraine (pronunciation), 95 User-friendly (use of word), 57, 285
Ultima Usurpation, 93
at the end of the day (phrase), 407 Ut pictura poesis, 306
Frenchification of Spanish words, 159, 160
spondaic anapest, 11 V
vowel reduction, 60 Vacuum clean/vacuum cleaner (use of word),
Ultimate, 28 195
Umbrage, 245 Valorize, Valorization
Unassailable, 178, 179 Multiple Versus Many, 155
Unbelievably versus very highly, extremely, Valorize, valorization
181 subjunctive and tense-number syncretism,
Unbidden, 412 348
Ungrammatical versus grammatical, 265 supersession of literal meaning, 181
Unit Value
diagram between context and, 65 innovations in language, 220, 222, 223,
word as structural unit, 86 226, 228
Univerbal, univerbative, univerbation markedness, 5
back-formation of compound verbs, 284 Vanek-Smith, Tracey, 57
calques, 125, 126 Variations
pluriverbation, 295 Phonetics, 45
Unmarked, unmarking. See also marked, phonetics, 46
markedness pronunciation, 19, 20
ablaut pattern, 326 Pronunciation, 360, 362
phonetic variation, 46, 47 Velar, Velarize, Velarization
Unmarked, unmarking Englessness, 76
Social Security (pronunciation), 51 Velar, velarize, velarization
sounds and sense, 187 englessness, 77
subject-predicate number, 310 German barbarisms, 56, 57
verb/noun stress alternation., 13 Tone-Deafness?, 24
verb/noun stress alternation, 15 Velum
Unmotivated/motivated errors, 131, 223, 241 female nasalization, 12
Unmotivated/Motivated Errors, 273, 278, 359, word as structural unit, 86
362, 363 Veracious, 88, 89
Unreflectively, unreflexivity, 230 Verbal tic(s)
Unrounded pronunciation, 48 absolutely (use of word), 192, 193
Unstressed Verbal Tic(S)
Syllables, 102 Basically (Use of Word), 316
Vowels, 103 between you and I/me (phrase), 265
vowels, 104 naming spouse/interlocutors, 198
Unsuffixed, 295 repetition, 331
516 Index
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