On Early and Late Modern English Non-Native Suffix '-oon'
Saved in:
| Title: | On Early and Late Modern English Non-Native Suffix '-oon' |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Wright, Laura |
| Source: | International Journal of English Studies. 2020 20(2):117-143. |
| Availability: | University of Murcia. Department of English Philology Merced Campus, Calle Santo Cristo 1, Murcia 30071 Spain. Tel: +34-868-88-3406; Fax: +34-868-88-3409; e-mail: publicaciones@um.es; Web site: http://www.um.es/ijes |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 27 |
| Publication Date: | 2020 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Modern Languages, English, Suffixes, Etymology, Vocabulary, Descriptive Linguistics, Romance Languages, Linguistic Input, Semantics, Sociolinguistics, Language Usage |
| ISSN: | 1578-7044 |
| Abstract: | This paper is about identifying a nuance of social meaning which, I demonstrate, was conveyed in the Early and Late Modern period by the suffix "-oon." The history of non-native suffix "-oon" is presented by means of assembling non-native suffix "-oon" vocabulary in date order and sorting according to etymology. It turns out that standard nonnative "-oon" words (which are few) tended to stabilise early and be of y. A period of enregisterment, c. 1750-1850, is identified by means of scrutiny of non-native "-oon" usage in sixty novels, leading to the conclusion that four or more non-native "-oons" in a literary work signalled vulgarity. A link is made between the one-quarter non-European "-oons" brought to English via colonial trade, and the use of such "-oons" by non-noble merchants, traders and their customers splashing out on luxury foreign commodities. Thus, it is found that a suffix borrowed from Romance languages in the Middle English period received fresh input during the Early Modern period via non-European borrowings, resulting in sociolinguistic enregisterment in the Late Modern period. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2020 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1275025 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper is about identifying a nuance of social meaning which, I demonstrate, was conveyed in the Early and Late Modern period by the suffix "-oon." The history of non-native suffix "-oon" is presented by means of assembling non-native suffix "-oon" vocabulary in date order and sorting according to etymology. It turns out that standard nonnative "-oon" words (which are few) tended to stabilise early and be of y. A period of enregisterment, c. 1750-1850, is identified by means of scrutiny of non-native "-oon" usage in sixty novels, leading to the conclusion that four or more non-native "-oons" in a literary work signalled vulgarity. A link is made between the one-quarter non-European "-oons" brought to English via colonial trade, and the use of such "-oons" by non-noble merchants, traders and their customers splashing out on luxury foreign commodities. Thus, it is found that a suffix borrowed from Romance languages in the Middle English period received fresh input during the Early Modern period via non-European borrowings, resulting in sociolinguistic enregisterment in the Late Modern period. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1578-7044 |
