engleski

On iconicity in word-formation: The case of embellished clippings in English “Down Under” and their counterparts in other languages

The present article argues on the material of embellished clippings in Australian and New Zealand English that clippings, both embellished and simple ones, are not non-iconic (contra claims in Dressler), but exhibit iconicity. What is more, it is demonstrated that there are several layers of iconicity that can be discovered there, and that the diagrammatic iconicity in the case of English as used “Down Under” is brought about by means of conceptual metonymy. By broadening the perspective and assuming a cross-linguistic perspective (Croatian, German and Hungarian) in studying the relationship between iconicity and metonymy consequently leads to the inclusion of gramatical factors as well. It is shown that whether a given language employs metonymic processes in narrowing or extending the range of meanings of embellished clippings is dependent on the ecological conditions present in the system, including the general shape of its word-formation system.

iconicity; clipping; truncation; word-formation; metonymy; Australian English; New Zealand English

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