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21 results

Page 1 of 2

English Compounds and their Spelling
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer
  • Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018
  • Anyone writing texts in English is constantly faced with the unavoidable question whether to use open spelling (drinking fountain), hyphenation (far-off) or solid spelling (airport) for individual compounds. While some compounds commonly occur with alternative spellings, others show a very clear bias for one form. This book tests over 60 hypotheses and explores the patterns underlying the spelling of English compounds from a variety of perspectives. Based on a sample of 600 biconstituent compounds with identical spelling in all reference works in which they occur (200 each with open, hyphenated and solid spelling), this empirical study analyses large amounts of data from corpora and dictionaries and concludes that the spelling of English compounds is not chaotic but actually correlates with a large number of statistically significant variables. An easily applicable decision tree is derived from the data and an innovative multi-dimensional prototype model is suggested to account for the results.

  • Chapter 7 - Modelling English Compound Spelling

  • from Part III - Modelling English Compound Spelling
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 307-346

  • Summary

    Chapter 6 provides a theoretical treatment of the phenomenon of English compound spelling by considering how existing models of language can be applied to the spelling of English compounds in the light of the evidence from the empirical study. The chapter analyses the relation between open, hyphenated and solid spelling with regard to aspects such as markedness, it discusses the suitability of prototype-based, analogical and cognitive approaches for the modelling of the present state of English compound spelling and closes by considering how linguistic change can be integrated into such models. The most innovative contribution of this chapter is the suggestion of a multi-dimensional prototype model of English compound spelling.

  • Chapter 3 - The Normative Background

  • from Part I - Theoretical Background
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 61-74

  • Summary

    This chapter presents the normative background of English compound spelling. It discusses underlying concepts such as standardisation, norms and mistakes and explores possible reasons for the observation that language users seem to feel the strong wish to comply with spelling standards – ranging from the requirements of successful communication to considerations regarding power, tradition, status, face, identity, character and economic value. The chapter also discusses the roles of official institutions, the government, the publishing business, linguistic experts and language users as originators of what is perceived as “correct” spelling by the community of users. Only norms which take usage into account will tend to be accepted by the speech community, and codified orthographic norms of English are only binding for particular institutions. English compound spelling is thus not fixed by institutionally sanctioned prescriptive norms, but rather emerges from linguistic use by the community of speakers. Norming involves the mutual influence between language users, who consult dictionaries and write texts, and lexicographers, who read texts and write dictionaries.

  • Appendix

  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 356-374

  • Summary

    The detailed appendix provides various lists of compounds used in the empirical study. It gives an overview of the variables that significantly correlate with one or more English compound spelling variants and provides an additional analysis of grammatical compounds from the Oxford English Dictionary.

  • Chapter 1 - Introduction

  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 1-20

  • Summary

    The introduction gives an overview of current ideas about English compound spelling. It presents the state of the art in linguistic studies and summarises the treatment of English compound spelling in various reference works (style guides, dictionaries, grammars, spellcheckers, corpora). The aim of the study described in the book are outlined, and this most comprehensive treatment of the topic so far is compared to previous research.

  • Chapter 5 - Potential Determinants of English Compound Spelling

  • from Part II - Empirical Study of English Compound Spelling
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 96-272

  • Summary

    Chapter 5 investigate an extensive number of variables which might potentially exert some influence on variant selection in the spelling of English compounds. These variables concern different areas of language, namely spelling, length, frequency, phonology, morphology, grammar, semantics, diachronic aspects like age of the compound, discourse aspects like regional variation, systemic aspects like analogy and also some extra-linguistic aspects like economy. Eventually, the specific variables are combined into super-variables such as heterogeneity or complexity of the constituents. In order to increase readability and to avoid repetition, the full empirical analysis for the investigated variables is given in subsections introducing the hypothesis, method, results and discussion each, including a discussion of the findings of the present study in relation to the findings of previous research. There is an overview of the coded variables, and summaries at the end of each larger block give an overview of the most important results.

  • Chapter 6 - Compound Spelling Heuristics

  • from Part III - Modelling English Compound Spelling
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 275-306

  • Summary

    This chapter considers various heuristics which can be used by spellers who feel uncertain about the spelling of particular English biconstituent compounds. Based on the statistically significant variables from the empirical study, several types of algorithm were tested (e.g. a comprehensive algorithm and a take-the-best algorithm). The CompSpell algorithm (which uses merely the three features part of speech of the compound, length of the compound measured in syllables and length of the second constituent measured in letters) emerges as a maximally efficient algorithm aiming for a compromise between comparatively large prediction accuracy and a comparatively small number of features. Its predictive accuracy ranges between 61.0% and 80.7% for different types of compound list, with results that are highly similar to those of two educated native speakers of British English. Since the CompSpell algorithm can be expected to predict the spelling of roughly three out of four compounds for all parts of speech correctly, its simplicity and efficiency make it a desirable complementation of existing material in the teaching of English as a foreign language. More advanced learners (but also native speakers of English) may use the algorithm as a decision instrument in cases where their intuition can provide no guidance.

  • Chapter 8 - Summary and Conclusion

  • from Part III - Modelling English Compound Spelling
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 347-355

  • Summary

    The final chapter summarises the most important aspects of the book - among them, the following findings: the spelling of English compounds is not chaotic and actually governed by a large number of variables which are statistically significant when tested individually. Possibly, this abundance of underlying principles is perceived as a superficial lack of patterns by many language users. Similarly, no support was found for the hypothesis that compounds start their life open, then go through a hyphenated stage and finally become solid. Nor could the third general view in the literature be confirmed: in the dataset under consideration, hyphenation was not more common in British English than in American English.

  • Chapter 4 - Material and Method

  • from Part II - Empirical Study of English Compound Spelling
  • Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book:
    English Compounds and their Spelling
    Published online:
    25 May 2018
    Print publication:
    03 May 2018, pp 77-95

  • Summary

    Chapter 4 introduces the material and method used in the empirical study. It gives an overview of the recent dictionaries and corpora that were used and describes how the Master List of compounds was compiled. The chapter gives an accout of the compilation of the CompText corpus of recent British English, which was compiled specifically for the present study. It also outlines the principles underlying the CompSpell program, which was written for the automated analysis of English compounds in the present study, e.g. regarding syllabification, inflection and the tolerance of American English spellings.

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