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Conversion (internal derivation, zero derivation, affixless derivation, root formation, functional change) is the formation of words without using specific word-building affixes. It is a kind of transposition by which the shift of a word from one part of speech to another comes about in such a way that the word-form of one part of speech (or its stem) is used without any material change as a representative of another part of speech. Examples: salt, n -> salt, v; jump, v -> jump, n.
In cases of conversion, the word-building means is a morphological paradigm, namely - the capacity of a paradigm and endings forming it to express the meaning of the part of speech. For example, the noun father has the following paradigm: father, fathers, father’s, fathers’. When from the noun father the verb tofather is formed with the help of conversion, the paradigm is changed (I father, he fathers, fathered, fathering). However, in conversion we have not only the change of the paradigm, but also the change of the syntactic functions. In the sentence She adored her father, father is the object; in the sentence He fathered two children, father is the predicate. That is why conversion is often called the morphological-syntactic way of word-formation.
Substantivation of adjectives. Some scholars refer substantivation of adjectives to conversion. Others disagree with them because in cases of substantivation of adjectives we often deal with ellipsis (syntactic shortening) when a word-combination with a semantically strong attribute loses its semantically weak noun (man, person, etc.), e.g. a grown-up person is shortened to a grown-up.
There are two types of substantivation: complete and partial. In cases of complete substantivation the attribute takes the paradigm of a countable noun, e.g. a criminal, criminals, a criminal’s (mistake), criminals’ (mistakes). Such words are used in a sentence in the same functions as nouns, e.g. If they were having a boring conversation, he listened to the commercials (F. P. Heide).
There are two types of partially substantivized adjectives:
those which have only the singular form and are used with the definite article. They have the meaning of collective nouns and denote a class, a nationality, a group of people, e.g. the rich, the English, the wounded. They are partially substantivized because they do not acquire a new paradigm and they keep some properties of adjectives - they can be modified by adverbs, e.g. the very unfortunate, the extravagantly jealous;
a group of abstract nouns which are grammatical terms (the Singular, the Plural, the Present, the Past), and also such words as the evil, the good, the impossible.
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Conversion is an extremely productive way of producing new words in English. There do not appear to be morphological restrictions on the forms that can undergo conversion, so that compounds, derivatives, acronyms, blends, clipped forms and simplex words are all acceptable inputs to the conversion process. Similarly, all form classes seem to be able to undergo conversion, and conversion seems to be able to produce words of almost any form class, particularly the open form classes (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) (Laurie Bauer).
Practical Assignment
1. Define the part of speech of the italicized words. State what parts of speech they are derived from and what word-formation means is applied here. Translate the sentences into Russian.
Model: Still water of the lake mirrors the trees.
The word mirror is a verb which is derived from the noun mirror by means of conversion. Неподвижная гладь озера отражает деревья.
1. That fellow really whatevers me. 2. She made a two-part documentary about the war in Kosovo. 3. Local politicians were found to pocket the money of fund-raisers. 4. This video is a must for everyone. 5. The story was in all the dailies. 6. Will you holiday in Switzerland? 7. He busied himself with plans for the future. 8. There is a great deal of difference between before and after. 9. I asked him to modem this information tomorrow. 10. It was a good buy. 11. I don't like a chemistry practical. 12. His skin was weathered almost black by his long outdoor life. 13. The path is steep and dangerous in the wet. 14. I won't join your plan. There are too many ifs and buts in it. 15. The army's actions dirtied its reputation.
One of the italicised words in the following examples was made from the other by conversion. What semantic correlations exist between them?
a) 'You've got a funny nose, he added. b) He began to nose about. He pulled out drawer after drawer, pottering round like an old bloodhound. 2. a) It so happened that the night before I had been present at a rather cheery little supper. b) So the next night I took him along to supper with me. 3. a) A small hairy object sprang from a basket and stood yapping in the middle of the room.
There are advantages, you see, about rooming with Julia. 4. a) 'I'm engaged for lunch, but I've plenty of time'. b) There was a time when he and I had been lads about the town together, lunching and dining together practically every day. 5. a) Use small nails and nail the picture on the wall. b) Use the big hammer for those nails and hammer them in well. 6. a) The wolf was suspicious and afraid. b) Fortunately, however, the second course consisted of a chicken fricassee of such outstanding excellence that the old boy, after wolfing a plateful, handed up his dinner-pail for a second installment and became almost genial.
Compare the following derivative verbs and define the difference in the way they were coined. Find analogous examples.
Jail (the prisoner) - imprison (the thief), hospitalize (the patient) - volunteer (the information).
Study the relations between words in the following pairs and say which of them is the basic one and which is derived. Name the criteria you have used.
rake n - rake v, farm n - farm v, tail n - tail v, bicycle n - bicycle v, show n - show v, answer n - answer v, mature adj - mature v, gossip n - gossip v, wet adj - wet v, clean adj - clean v, drive n - drive v.
Define the semantic relations in the following pairs of words.
catch v - catch n, rub v - rub n, say v - say n, drive v - drive n, find v - find n, run v - run n, ride v - ride n.
Analyze the structural and semantic properties of the following words and explain why the formation of verbs on their basis is not welcome:
baker, farmer, banker, driver, hospital, Dodge, Ford, spring, fall (autumn), Fourth-of-July, Saturday.
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