The Branches of Morphology "Antonomasia & Conversion"

ANTONOMASIA

Antonomasia is a rhetoric device where a word or phrase for a proper name is substituted for example when his majesty is used for a king. Conversely it also refers to the use of a proper name such when a wise man is called a Solomon or when an eminent scientist is called an Einstein. The word is from the Greek antonomasía, a derivative of antonomázein, “to call by a new name.”

 
Example 1

Imagine that you have a friend who is a fantastic chef, and you want to say hello.

Normal sentence :

“Oh, look! Sam’s arrived!”

Sentence with Antonomasia :

“Oh, look! The great chef has arrived!”

Here, the use of antonomasia allows you to greet your friend with a nickname which also reveals something about his character: he’s a great chef.

 
Example 2

For another example, consider that you have a grumpy teacher:

Normal sentence :

“He’s grumpy, boring, doesn’t want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesn’t want to help anyone.”

Sentence with Antonomasia :

“Mr. Grumps doesn’t want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesn’t want to help anyone.”

Replacing the teacher’s actual name with his defining characteristic, grumpiness, serves to highlight just how much the mood is associated with the man. 

Another Example :

a)    "The Little Corporal" for Napoleon I

b)   "His Majesty" for a king

c)    "Her Royal Highness" for a princess

d)   "Einstein" for a scientist

e)    "The Iron Duke" for the Duke of Wellington

The importance of using Antonomasia

Antonomasia can provide someone with a strongepithet which further celebrates and memorializes their great deeds. In advertising and pop culture, such wording can also further celebrate the famous, such as The Beatles as “The Fab Four.”

Figures of speech such as Antonomasia adds adornment, beautifies, colors, elegant variation, embellishment, embroidery, emphasis, exaggeration, exclamation, flourish, floweriness, irony, lushness and luxuriance to the English language. This page providing facts and info about Figures of Speech will help with the understanding of this subject. 

Examples of Antonomasia in Literature

Antonomasia is important in literature, as it can tell more about characters just by their titles. Consider a few examples :

One instance of antonomasia is the treatment of Voldemort in J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter Series.Rather than calling the dangerous man by name, all must call him “You-Know-Who” or “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” This usage of antonomasia emphasizes just how dangerous the man is, as most wizards and witches are too afraid to say his actual name aloud. 

Examples of Antonomasia in Pop Culture 

Antonomasia is rampant in pop culture, for who doesn’t like a good nickname?

Consider the following pop stars and their antonomasia :

1)   Michael Jackson as “The King of Pop”

2)   Madonna as “The Queen of Pop”

3)   Ella Fitzgerald as “The First Lady of Song”

4)   Bruce Springsteen as “The Boss”

5)   Aretha Franklin as “The Queen of Soul”

CONVERSION

Conversion is the word formation process in which a word of one grammatical form becomes a word of another grammatical form without any changes to spelling or pronunciation. For example, the noun email appeared in English before the verb: a decade ago I would have sent you an email (noun) whereas now I can either send you an email (noun) or simply email (verb) you. The original noun email experienced conversion, thus resulting in the new verb email.

Conversion is also referred to as zero derivation or null derivation with the assumption that the formal change between words results in the addition of an invisible morpheme. However, many linguistics argue for a clear distinction between the word formation processes of derivation and conversion.

1.    Noun to Verb Conversion

The most productive form of conversion in English is noun to verb conversion.

The following list provides examples of verbs converted from nouns :

Noun – Verb

a)    access – to access

b)   bottle – to bottle

c)    can – to can

d)   closet – to closet

e)    email – to email

f)    eye – to eye

g)   fiddle – to fiddle

h)   fool – to fool

i)     Google – to google

j)     host – to host

For example :

1)   My grandmother bottled (verb) the juice and canned (verb) the pickles.

2)   My grandmother put the juice in a bottle (noun) and the pickles in a can (noun).

3)   She microwaved (verb) her lunch.

4)   She heated her lunch in the microwave (noun).

5)   The doctor eyed (verb) my swollen eye (noun).

2.    Verb to Noun Conversion

Another productive form of conversion in English is verb to noun conversion. The following list provides examples of nouns converted from verbs :

Verb – Noun

a) to alert – alert

b) to attack – attack

c) to call – call

d) to clone – clone

e) to command – command

f) to cover – cover

g) to cry – cry

h) to experience – experience

i) to fear – fear

j) to feel – feel

For example :

1)   The guard alerted (verb) the general to the attack (noun).

2)   The enemy attacked (verb) before an alert (noun) could be sounded.

3)   Sometimes one just needs a good cry (noun).

4)   The baby cried (verb) all night.

5)   We need to increase (verb) our productivity to see an increase (noun) in profits.

Verb to noun conversion is also referred to as nominalization.

3.    Other Conversions

Conversion also occurs, although less frequently, to and from other grammatical forms.

For example :

1)   adjective to verb: green → to green (to make environmentally friendly)

2)   preposition to noun: up, down → the ups and downs of life

3)   conjunction to noun: if, and, but → no ifs, ands, or buts

4)   interjection to noun: ho ho ho → I love the ho ho hos of Christmastime.

References :

http://literaryterms.net/antonomasia/

http://www.britannica.com/art/antonomasia

http://www.englishlanguageterminology.org/antonomasia.htm

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59339-teaching-word-formation-conversion/