MichalS  +  676606 Fri, 20 Feb 09 12:45 PM Guys, I'm writing my MA thesis about novel formations (so-called nonce words) in both Polish and English, and since I'm Polish I cannot come up with English examples just as freely as I 'produce' Polish words. What I am exactly looking for are words which are possible in English, yet they do not appear in dictionaries and are limited to only creative language users, or they do not appear at all. So, all ye dear native speakers of the English language wherever you roam, please, use your imagination and create me a few words so I can handle my share, finish the studies and enter the real world. I'm not looking for compound as I can find thousands of them while sailing the Internet. I need words made by affixation, preferably prefixation as they are harder to think of. I have words like: regoogle or overspammed, which are not established words, yet they can be produced and understood by other speakers and they are produce by productive affixes of English, -re and -over respectively. I need also words made by suffixes but not that badly as I need prefixed ones. My suffixed words are for example: onlyness, rainlessness, gamblinest, cutesiest. I'm sure that you can think of or have heard some interesting words, and possibly some that don't have much to do with computers If need be, I will update the post so it doesn't go down unnoticed. I'll be most grateful for any examples you give me!!! Thank you, Michal MichalS Joined on Sat, Oct 22 2005 Poland Full Member 109 Suffixes, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Online, Languages

	Delmobile  +  676614 Fri, 20 Feb 09 12:57 PM  When our daughter was about ten, I suggested buying a book as a gift for a cousin. "Oh, Mom," she said in disgust, "don't get them anything learnative." Does "learnative" count?   In a recent blog post about the Ty company making Sasha and Malia dolls, I myself used the word  "non-resembling:" The Oak Brook-based company chose the dolls’ names because “they are beautiful names,” not because of any resemblance to President Obama’s daughters, said spokeswoman Tania Lundeen. Um, sure. Needless to say, nobody got permission from the Obama family to make these non-resembling dolls.   Delmobile Joined on Wed, Jan 2 2008 Contributing Member 1,082

	MichalS  +  676622 Fri, 20 Feb 09 01:11 PM "Learnative" is absolutely brilliant and is exactly what I need. Thank you and your daughter!! "Non-resembling" sounds fine too. Thanks a million!!! If you have or come across some more, please share them too MichalS

	Delmobile  +  676846 Fri, 20 Feb 09 06:33 PM  You are very welcome. Her language difficulties unfortunately do not lead to high college entrance exam schools, but we find them utterly charming.   It occurs to me that the famous Colbert "truthiness" might also be the kind of thing you are looking for.  I love this kind of language play, which seems to be getting more popular. I will keep your master's thesis in mind and check back here.  Delmobile Languages

	Delmobile  +  677189 Sat, 21 Feb 09 05:21 AM  And more - you can see I can't stop thinking about your thesis! There is an episode of  "The Simpsons" in which an actor playing Jebediah Springfield in an educational flm delivers the catchphrase, "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man." Here's an episode summary which also contains a discussion of "embiggen" and another made-up word in the episode, "cromulent," which I don't think fits your purpose, as its meaning is not immediately apparent. (Anyway, my children assure me that cromulent is so well-known it has now entered the dictionary.) Delmobile

	MichalS  +  677340 Sat, 21 Feb 09 09:48 AM Wow, I didn't expect such a willingness to help and I'm most grateful to you. Thank you. I wouldn't call your daughter's ability to create these words as a language difficulty. Of course you know better, but I think that it takes a great skill at using a language to start playing with it this way What's more, "learnative" sure is an amazing example of language creativity, much better than Colbert's "truthiness" or "wikality", which are probably the result of some careful consideration and have not been coined on the spur of the moment, which must be the case with "learnative". "Embiggen" definitely fits my purpose too! As to whether a word must be transparent or not I'm not so sure. Probably the non-transparent ones are just as good, yet such blends of two words as 'cromulent' seem somehow artificial to me, especially next to "learnative". Take care, Michal MichalS Languages

	Delmobile  +  677566 Sat, 21 Feb 09 03:25 PM She doesn't really have difficulty, but she's just not what my friend's mother calls "a language person." She's very musical, not so verbal. Well into her toddlerhood she preferred to point rather than speak.    An earnest psychometrist once told me she probably had a "language retrieval disorder," for which naturally intensive therapy was recommended. We turned that down :)   I think her problems "retrieving" language do force her to depend on creativity, metaphorical as well as just inventing new words. But for the kind of test where you're supposed to have memorized a large stock of words other people invented, not so good. And occasionally she'll do something like say drawer when she means cabinet, which really does cause difficulties. :)  Probably more information than you really wanted!  Delmobile Relationships, Friendships, Friends, Languages

	Delmobile  +  678048 Sun, 22 Feb 09 01:48 AM  And I've thought of another one, also from a blog comment. I was writing about waiting for the results of a mammogram and used the phrase "breastal anxiety."  Delmobile

	MichalS  +  678281 Sun, 22 Feb 09 09:38 AM Hi, thanks for the info! I guess that every child is quite a unique person and once you're good at something you're not so good at something else. You say she's musical, does she play any instrument? I've always been a musical illiterate although music means very much to me. I guess that you have to be born with it :) I took down "breastal". You're helping me so much and I can't do much more than just say "thank you" MichalS Arts