As a new blogger to Blogger.com, I blog,ˈblog, ˈbläg, all the time.
Multiple processes is the “operation of more than one process at work in the creation of a particular word” (Yule, 60). In the beginning, searching for words with multiple processes for this assignment seemed straight-forward and without fuss. However, this task, to search for the most interesting word with multiple processes, proved to make me conscious of each word I heard or saw. Ziploc or ziplock was my original choice because of its compounding and conversion processes but it did not satisfy me. It was almost consuming to find a word for this blog. So, rather than curse the blog, I recognized that it would be better to see the glass half full and accept the blog, and this is how blog became my new word for the new world.
The word blog could be relatively new to most people in the world, but not to the British. According to www.etymonline.com, in the 19th century blog meant “a servant boy” and described this use as a “perversion of bloke”. In 1969, Joe Bloggs was British slang for “any hypothetical person” which is the same as the American’s Joe Blow. Around 1994 there’s record that blog is short for weblog. Finally, launched in 1999 is the online publishing service The Blogger.
The multiple processes in the word formation for the word blog are:
Blending: combination of two separate forms to produce a single new term, taking only the beginning of one word and joining it to the end of the other word; web + log = blog
Borrowing: taking over words from other languages; British slang for ‘any hypothetical person’
Backformation: a noun reduced to form a verb; a blogger blogs frequently
Conversion: change in function of a word; someone has to blog about it on The Blogger
Eponyms: new words based on the name of a person or place; British slang ‘Joe Bloggs’ equals America’s ‘Joe Blow’, we could be blowing instead of blogging.
Works cited
Blog. Etymonline.com. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=online&searchmode=none web 03.29.12
Yule, George. The Study Of Language. 4th Ed. Cambridge, NY: 2010. Print.
What a great idea to use the word "blog" as your word. I love the etymology of it. It's so interesting/ hilarious. I mean, Joe Bloggs?
ReplyDeleteI also love the fact that this word is younger than us, especially considering how old language is.
Based on the amount of processes there are for this word, it seems to have developed almost naturally. It's like it started and it just worked for so many functions.
Nicely done!
-Gemma
Wow I really enjoyed this post! Great word choice! And yet here we are blogging as we type. I would've never guessed it was originated in Britain. I kind of always had the presumption that "blog" was a new, current and modern word. This was very informative and entertaining. Thanks!
ReplyDelete