Nykyslangin sananmuodostusoppia

• Kari Nahkola

Avainsanat: johto-oppi (ks. myös sananmuodostus), sananmuodostus (ks. myös johto-oppi), sanastontutkimus (ks. myös lainasanat, leksikografia, sanahistoria), slangi

Abstrakti

Aspects of word formation in Finnish slang (englanti)

2/1999 (103)

Kari Nahkola

ASPECTS OF WORD FORMATION IN FINNISH SLANG

The article examines modern Finnish slang words formed on the basis of standard words and which retain the same meaning as the words from which they were derived. The first part of the slang word is the same as that of the standard Finnish word, but the remainder of the word is then different. For the most part, the formation of slang derivatives follows clear rules based on the phonetic structure of the standard words from which they are derived. The formation of slang derivatives does not occur arbitrarily but displays regularity and is thus comparable to other word formation in the language.

The article divides the formation process into three stages, each with its own observable regularities: 1) Clipping. The standard Finnish word is cut at some point between the vowel components of the first and second syllables. This establishes the root for the slang derivative, eg. olohuone ('living room') > ol-, nurmikko ('lawn, grass') > nur-. The root usually ends in a single consonant. 2) Modification. Consonants may be added to the end of the root. This is not essential nor even always possible for phonotactical reasons. If the standard word is long (i.e. a compound word, or otherwise a non-compound with at least four syllables), a geminated consonant is very often formed at the end of the root. The most common is a geminated k preceded by a vowel, liquid or nasal, e.g. ol+kk. If, on the other hand, the standard word is short, a consonant cluster is generally formed on the end of the root. The most common is the ts-cluster preceded by a vowel, liquid or nasal, e.g. nur+ts. 3) Derivation. A special slang suffix is added to the root which has no semantic content and thus the meaning of the slang word is the same as the corresponding standard word. The choice of suffix depends to a large extent on the nature of the clipping and modification. For example, when modification has produced gemination, the suffix -ari is often added as the new end of the word, e.g. ol+kk+ari ('living room'). If, on the other hand, modification has produced a consonant cluster, the suffix is usually merely a vowel, e.g. nur+ts+i ('lawn, grass'). In the event that the consonantal elements of the standard word and its slang derivative are identical, the suffix -is is often used, e.g. jalkapallo > jalk+is ('football').

The structural regularity of slang derivatives means that they are able to convey information about the corresponding word in the standard language, for example what kind of phonetic structure it has, and about what part of the slang derivative is from the standard word. The structure of the slang derivative thus also provides the listener with a clue about the meaning of the derivative. In terms of communication, this is beneficial because the regeneration of slang vocabulary is known to be rapid and because only a small part of the beginning of the corresponding word of the standard language is included in the slang variant.

Older Finnish words include many derivative types whose phonetic structure in relation to the root structure is similar in many ways to the relationship of slang derivatives to their roots, e.g. the ancient sis+ko < sis-ar and the slang word as+ka < as-ia. If fact, very old morpho-phonological phenomena are repeated in the formation of slang words and in the relationship between the phonetic structure of slang derivatives and their roots.