cover of episode 92: Brunch, gonna, and fozzle - The smooshing episode

92: Brunch, gonna, and fozzle - The smooshing episode

2024/5/17
logo of podcast Lingthusiasm - A podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics

Lingthusiasm - A podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
G
Gretchen McCulloch
L
Lauren Gawne
Topics
Gretchen McCulloch: 我对语言中词语融合的现象很感兴趣，特别是合成词和语音同化。合成词，例如"motel"（motor+hotel）, "smog" (smoke+fog), "brunch" (breakfast+lunch)，是将两个词的意义和发音结合起来创造新词的例子。一些合成词很成功，例如"frenemy"，而另一些则不成功，例如"wonut"。成功的合成词通常具有清晰的语义联系，并且在发音和拼写上都令人满意。合成词的创造也受到文化因素的影响，例如粉丝根据角色名称创造的合成词。 语音同化是另一种词语融合的方式，它使相邻的音素更加相似，从而提高发音效率。例如，"handbag"常被发音为"hambag"，"input"常被发音为"imput"。这种现象在许多语言中都很常见，并且会影响词语的书写和发音。同化也发生在手语中，例如旧版ASL中的"remember"手势就经历了简化。 总的来说，合成词和语音同化都是语言变化的自然过程，它们反映了语言使用者的效率和创造性。 Lauren Gawne: 我同意Gretchen的观点，语言中的词语融合现象非常有趣。合成词的成功与否取决于多个因素，包括其语义的清晰度、发音的流畅性和拼写的合理性。一些合成词能够很好地满足语言表达的需要，并被广泛接受，而另一些则由于缺乏实用性或美感而未能流行。 语音同化则是一种更普遍的语言现象，它反映了语言使用者在发音过程中追求效率的本能。同化会使相邻的音素在发音部位或发音方式上趋于一致，从而简化发音过程。这种现象在口语中尤其明显，并且会随着时间的推移而影响语言的书写形式。 此外，我还想指出，语言的变化是一个持续的过程，词语的融合和简化是语言发展的重要组成部分。通过观察这些现象，我们可以更好地理解语言的动态性和创造性。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter is a fun quiz. The hosts test each other's knowledge of portmanteau words, including their origins and effectiveness. Some examples include motel, smog, brunch, mizzle, and brinkles.
  • Motel (motor hotel) dates back to 1925.
  • Smog (smoke + fog) emerged in 1905.
  • Brunch (breakfast + lunch) is from 1896.
  • Mizzle (mist + drizzle) is a more recent creation.
  • Brinkles' origin is debated, with options including 'breakfast sprinkles' and 'bed wrinkles'

Shownotes Transcript

Sometimes two words are smooshed together in a single act of creativity to fill a lexical gap, like making "brunch" from breakfast+lunch. Other times, words are smooshed together gradually, over a long period of speakers or signers discovering more efficient ways to position their mouth or hands, such as pronouncing "handbag" being pronounced more like "hambag".

In this episode, your hosts Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne get enthusiastic about smooshing words together. We talk about the history of portmanteau words like motel and chortle, the poem Jabberwocky, and why some portmanteaus, like Kenergy from Ken + energy, sound really satisfying, while others (wonut??) just don't catch on at all. We also talk about words becoming more efficient to produce over time, like how a path can be gradually created through many people choosing the same route through a field, such as "going to" becoming "gonna" or the historical forms of ASL "remember" and French "aujourd'hui".

Read the transcript here: lingthusiasm.com/post/750684727053352960/transcript-episode-92-smooshing

Announcements: In this month’s bonus episode we get enthusiastic about secret codes and the word games we create based on them!! We talk about using alternate symbols to encode messages like in semaphore, Morse code, as well as repurposing existing symbols like the Caesar cipher, ROT13, and cryptoquote puzzles. We also talk about cryptic crosswords, which aren't technically a kind of cryptography but were used to recruit codebreakers for Bletchley Park in World War II, as well as Navajo, Choctaw, and other Native American code talkers who used their language skills to transmit messages in both world wars that were much harder to crack than a mere cipher.

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For links to things mentioned in this episode: lingthusiasm.com/post/750684590310555648/lingthusiasm-episode-92-brunch-gonna-and-fozzle