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Haplology

Elision through dissimilation

Summary

Elision through dissimilation

Haplology (from Greek "simple" and , "speech") is, in spoken language, the elision (elimination or deletion) of an entire syllable or a part of it through dissimilation (a differentiating shift that affects two neighboring similar sounds). The phenomenon was identified by American philologist Maurice Bloomfield in the 20th century. Linguists sometimes jokingly refer to the phenomenon as "haplogy", an autology. As a general rule, haplology occurs in English adverbs of adjectives ending in "le", for example gentlely → gently; ablely → ably.

Examples

  • Basque: sagarrardo → sagardo ('apple cider')
  • German: Zaubererin → Zauberin (female 'wizard' or 'magician'; male: der Zauberer; female ending -in); this is a productive pattern applied to other words ending in (spelt) -erer.
  • Dutch: narcissisme → narcisme ('narcissism')
  • French: fémininité → féminité ('femininity')
  • English:
    • Old English Engla land → Engle lond → England (expected form would be *Engelland)
    • Old English cyning → English king (expected form would be *kinning)
    • morphophonology → morphonology
    • conservativism → conservatism
    • mononomial → monomial
    • urine analysis → urinalysis
    • Colloquial (non-standard and eye dialect spellings signalled by #):
      • library (RP: ) → #libry
      • particularly → #particuly
      • probably → #probly
      • February → #Febury, #Febuary or #Febr(u)y (compare e.g. Austrian German )
      • representative → #representive
      • authoritative → #authoritive
      • deteriorate → #deteriate
  • Latin:
    • nutritrix → nutrix ('nurse')
    • idololatria → idolatria (hence idolatry)
  • Biological Latin:
    • Hamamelididae (disallowed spelling: Hamamelidae)
    • Nycterididae → Nycteridae
    • Anomalocarididae (disallowed spelling: Anomalocaridae)
  • Homeric Greek:
    • grc (ἀμφιφορεύς) → grc (ἀμφορεύς) ('two-handled pitcher, amphora')
    • grc (κελαινονέφης) → grc (κελαινέφης) ('black with clouds')
  • Arabic:
    • ar (تَتَقَاتَلُونَ) → ar (تَقَاتَلُونَ) ('you are fighting each other')
    • ar (*أَأْكُلُ) → ar (آكُلُ) ('I eat')
  • Spanish: impudicicia → impudicia ('lack of modesty', i.e. the nominal form of impúdico, 'immodest')
  • Portuguese:
    • idadoso → idoso (aged person, senior)
    • femininismo → feminismo (feminism)
    • Colloquially in sequences like campo pequeno pronounced like "campequeno" or faculdade de letras pronounced like "faculdadletras".
  • Italian:
    • tragico-comico → tragicomico ('tragicomic')
    • domani mattina → domattina ('tomorrow morning')

Reduplication

The reverse process is known as reduplication, the doubling of phonological material.

Notes

References

  • Crowley, Terry. (1997) An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

References

  1. "Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 6, 2008". Merriam-Webster Online.
  2. U. Pani Shad. (1971). ["Glossary of linguistic terminology"]({{google books). Linguistic Research.
  3. (1969). "Principles of Phonology". University of California Press.
  4. "Mammal Species of the World - Browse: Nycteridae". bucknell.edu.
  5. Hock, Hans Henrich. (1986). "Principles of Historical Linguistics". De Gruyter.
  6. Beekes, R.S.P.. (1971). "Domaine grec.: μώνυχες ἵπποι". Orbis, International Journal of General Linguistics and Linguistic Documentation.
  7. Kaye, Alan. (1987). "The World's Major Languages". Oxford University Press.
  8. "DRAE entry for 'impudicicia'". Diccionario de la lengua española Vigésima tercera edición.
Wikipedia Source

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