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3.6.1 Tiny words (isolating languages) 30

3.6.2 Get the glue (agglutinating languages) 31
3.6.3 Labyrinthine words (synthetic languages) 31
3.6.4 Verbal juggernauts (polysynthetic languages) 33
3.6.5 No thoroughbreds 33
3.7 Summary 35
Exercises 35
4 Building words 37
4.1 Words and jigsaws 37
4.2 Know the pieces of the jigsaw 37
4.2.1 Roots are the core 37
4.2.2 Affixes are for appending 38
4.3 The main types of word-building: inflection and derivation 40
4.4 Derivation: fabricating words 41
4.4.1 Affixation: prefixes and suffixes 42
4.4.2 Conversion 48
4.4.3 Compound parade 49
4.4.4 Wishy-washy words 54
4.5 Summary 55
Exercises 55
5 Masquerading allomorphs 57
5.1 The right mask 57
5.2 Phonologically conditioned allomorphs 57
5.2.1 Selecting underlying representations 61
5.2.2 Derivations 63
5.3 Phonology in the shade: lexical and grammatical conditioning 65
5.4 Madness without method: suppletion 66
5.5 Summary 66
Exercises 66
6 A lexicon with layers 69
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6.1 The nature of the lexicon 69

6.2 Morphological information in the lexicon 70
6.3 Syntactic information in the lexicon 70
6.4 Does it ring true (phonological information) 71
6.5 Rendezvous with lexical phonology and morphology 71
6.5.1 Neutral and non-neutral affixes 72
6.5.2 The lexicon is like a layered cake 73
6.6 Productivity, the time-warp and cranberries 77
6.7 Peeping beyond the lexicon 79
6.8 Summary 80
Exercises 80
7 Should English be spelt as she is spoke? 83
7.1 Writing systems 83
7.2 Is the English orthography mad? 84
7.2.1 The apparent madness in the English spelling system 85
7.2.2 There is a method in the madness: spelling rules and pronunciation 86
7.2.3 Is A for apple? Why vowel letters pinch like ill-fitting shoes 90
7.3 Morphological signposts in the spelling 94
7.4 Lexical signposting in the spelling 96
7.5 Spelling reform 96
7.6 Is speech degenerate writing? 99
Exercises 101
8 Word manufacture 103
8.1 The production line 103
8.2 Keeping tabs on idioms 106
8.3 Clitics 108
8.4 Summary 111
Exercises 111
9 Words galore 113
9.1 A verbal bonanza 113
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9.2 Jargon 113

9.3 Slang 114
9.4 Clichés and catch-phrases 115
9.5 A rose by any other name 119
9.5.1 Semantic widening 120
9.5.2 Semantic narrowing 121
9.5.3 Going up and down in the world 122
9.5.4 Loss account 122
9.5.5 Lexical revivals 124
9.5.6 Metaphors 124
9.6 Clipping 124
9.7 Acronyms and abbreviations 126
9.8 Fads and copycat formations 127
9.9 Back-formation 128
9.10 Blends 128
9.11 Euphemism 129
9.12 Summary 131
Exercises 131
10 A lexical mosaic: sources of English vocabulary 133
10.1 The nature of borrowing 133
10.1.1 Direct and indirect borrowing 133
10.1.2 Loanwords and loanshifts 134
10.1.3 Likely loans 135
10.1.4 Why borrow? 135
10.1.5 The grass is ever greener on the other side 138
10.1.6 Nativisation of loanwords 139
10.1.7 Effects of borrowing 142
10.2 Scandinavian loanwords 143
10.3 The French influence 144
10.3.1 The Norman French legacy 144