Mastering Linguistic Concepts: Periphrasis, Neologisms, and Phonetics

Verbal Periphrasis: Understanding Complex Verb Forms

Verbal periphrasis refers to verbal constructions that express a specific idea, formed by an auxiliary verb and a main verb (infinitive, gerund, or participle), often linked by a preposition. These structures add nuance to verb meanings, indicating aspects like requirement, probability, or possibility.

Types of Verbal Periphrasis

• Requirement: Expresses obligation or necessity. Example: Tener que + infinitive (Spanish for 'to have to'). I have to sign.
• Probability: Indicates likelihood or conjecture. Example: Deber de + infinitive (Spanish for 'must be'). He must be sleeping.
• Possibility: Denotes capability or potential. Example: Poder + infinitive (Spanish for 'can'). It can be very cold in Sweden.

Understanding Neologisms: New Words and Meanings

Scientific and technological progress constantly brings about new realities that require new words. Neologisms are these new words assigned to designate new concepts or objects. We can differentiate three main types:

Neology of Form: Creating New Words

This involves creating a new word from an existing one or forming entirely new words through various processes:

• Derivation: Creating new words by adding prefixes or suffixes (e.g., unhappy, runner).
• Lexicalization of Acronyms: Acronyms that become common words (e.g., UFO from Unidentified Flying Object, laser from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation).
• Shortening/Clipping: Reducing a word to a shorter form (e.g., phone from telephone, flu from influenza).

Neology of Meaning: Semantic Shifts

An existing word is attributed a new meaning, often through extension or analogy.

• Examples: Mouse (originally an animal, now also a computer pointing device); navigate (originally to steer a ship, now also to move through the internet).

Linguistic Borrowing: Words from Other Languages

This involves taking a word from another language to designate a new concept, often with phonetic and spelling adaptation.

From Modern Languages

• Amateur (athlete)
• Scanner (scanning device)
• Leitmotif (central theme of a work)
• Jogging (physical exercise)

From Ancient Latin or Greek (often with composition)

• Genotype (genetic constitution)
• Chemotherapy (chemical treatment)
• In vitro (literally 'in glass,' referring to external fertilization in a test tube)

Mastering Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols

Abbreviations are reductions of words or phrases, used to convey meaning efficiently or to save space. We can classify them into three main types:

General Abbreviations

• Formed by one or several letters of a written word, usually remaining in lowercase and ending with a period. Examples: no. (number), etc. (et cetera), Bibl. (bibliography), s. (saint).

Acronyms and Initialisms

• Formed by the initial letters of one or more words, typically capitalized and often without periods. Examples: U.S. (United States), IEC (Institute of Catalan Studies).

Symbols and International Concepts

• Abbreviations formed by pictograms, letters, or numbers that represent internationally recognized concepts. Examples: % (percent), mph (miles per hour).

Word Stress and Accentuation Rules

In languages like Spanish or Catalan, word stress is categorized into three main types, often with specific accentuation rules:

Acute (Oxytonic) Stress

• Words are stressed on the last syllable. In some languages, these are marked with an accent when they end in a vowel, or a vowel + 's', provided the vowel is not part of a diphthong.

Flat (Paroxytonic) Stress

• Words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable. In some languages, these are marked with an accent when they do not end in a vowel, or a vowel + 's'.

Proparoxytonic Stress

• Words are stressed on the third-to-last syllable and are always marked with an accent in some languages.

Adverbs and Stress Retention

In some Romance languages, adverbs formed by adding a suffix like -mente (equivalent to English '-ly') retain the stress of the feminine form of the adjective from which they are derived. Example: In Spanish, rápidamente (rapidly) retains the accent from rápida (rapid, feminine).

In certain languages, such as Catalan, a diaeresis (often referred to as an umlaut) is placed over a vowel (e.g., 'u' or 'i') to indicate that it should be pronounced separately and not form a diphthong with an adjacent vowel.

Some words use a diacritic accent to distinguish them from homographs (words spelled the same but with different meanings or grammatical functions), a common feature in many languages.

Exploring Diphthongs: Vowel Combinations

Diphthongs are combinations of two vowel sounds within the same syllable, where the tongue moves from one vowel position to another.

Descending Diphthongs

• A descending diphthong occurs when a strong vowel (e.g., /a/, /e/, /o/) is followed by a weak vowel (e.g., /i/, /u/), or when two weak vowels form a sequence where the first is more prominent. The sound 'descends' in prominence. Examples: The 'ou' in 'house', 'oi' in 'coin'.

Rising Diphthongs

• A rising diphthong occurs when a weak vowel (e.g., /i/, /u/) is followed by a strong vowel (e.g., /a/, /e/, /o/). The sound 'rises' in prominence. Examples: The 'ya' in 'yacht', 'we' in 'queen'.

Umlaut (Diaeresis) Usage in Language

In languages like Catalan, a diaeresis (umlaut) may be used in specific verb forms, such as the infinitive, gerund, participle, and conditional tenses, to indicate that a vowel sequence should be pronounced as two separate syllables rather than a diphthong.