An Introduction to the Study of Language

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. Excerpt: ...the simple words nakatl 'meat, it is meat', and nikktca 'I cat it'. Thus, aside from the semantic divergences, there are the following in form alone:-tl in simple word is left off in compound; ni-at beginning of simple word appears at the beginning of the compound;-k-(semantically 'it') left off in compound. Like the English forehead (where the spelling preserves our feeling of connection with simple words), such Na-hwatl compounds approach the boundary where the compound would cease to be felt by the speaker to resemble any simple words, and, consequently, would no longer be a compound. This line is, of course, not sharply traceable. Those who know the word 'hAzaf 'sewing-bag' from speech alone will scarcely feel it to be a compound, as will those who know it from its written form housewife or in its 'spelling pronunciation' 'haoswaefj. 14. Simple word: compound: phrase. This, then, is the second direction in which compounds approach simple words. On the one hand, we have seen instances where it was doubtful whether a certain element was merely an affix or a member of a compound word: In fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, etc. (p. 96) the element-teen may be a suffix: in that case the words are simple; if, however, in view of the usage in She is in her teens, teen is an independent word, then fourteen, etc. are compounds. Similarly, in Italian there are a number of words with a suffix-accio,-accia, expressing the idea of unpleasantness, e. g. roba 'stuff, goods': robaccia 'trash', tempo 'weather': tempaccio 'nasty weather', Alfredo 'Alfred': Alfre-daccio 'naughty Alfred', vecchio 'old', 'old man': vecchiaccio 'unpleasant old man', etc. In view of the locutiou Quanto siete accio! 'How unpleasant you are!' all these may, however, be looked upon...