word formation
THE USE OF CONVERSION IN SPEECH
BY NUR WAFIAH BINTI MOHD SHARIFF (245859)
Embedded Files
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
BACKGROUND
In this TEDxTalks video titled “The Fake Reality of Social Media: Accepting Yourself”, published on 30 August 2022, Sophia Shi a 16-year-old Vancouver student and model, talks about the impact of social media on self-esteem and body image.
TEDx Talks, also known as TED-Ed on YouTube, is an American YouTube channel that focuses on discussions about current and future innovations. This YouTube channel is part of the broader TED organization.
According to Hanna, and Wigmore (2020), TED is a nonprofit organization focused on sharing ideas, usually through short and powerful talks. Richard Saul Wurman, one of the co-founders of TED noticed a strong connection between the three elements: technology, entertainment, and design founded the TED organization with Harry Marks in 1984.
One of the goals of TED Talks is to inform and educate global audiences in an accessible way where scientists, researchers, technologists, business leaders, artists, designers, and other world experts can take the TED stage to present their “Ideas Worth Spreading”. (TED Talks, n.d.)
RELATION BETWEEN THE TEDXTALKS SPEECH VIDEO AND WORD FORMATION
Sophia talked about “The Fake Reality of Social Media” in this recorded video. Social media is one of the most important ways of communication in our society today.
Additionally, it also impacts language, including creating new words. Social media encourages people to be creative with language, as users regularly develop new ways to express themselves to suit their communication needs.
For example, the social media world has birthed new words like "selfie," "hashtag," and "influencer", which Sophia used those words in her speech at the TEDx Talks video. Hence, she employs word formation techniques in her speech to convey the impact of social media on self-esteem and body image, ensuring that the audience will understand her message.
In this TED Talk, Sophia effectively illustrates the dynamic nature of language and how word formation reflects cultural and social influences.
INTERESTING ASPECT
Sophia uses a conversion technique when the brand name is used as a verb which is the word photoshop to convey the meaning of editing a picture.
Instead of saying “She edited pictures with Photoshop” to use Photoshop as a noun she said, “She also photoshopped her pictures”. Photoshop was used as a verb as she knew the audience would understand her speech.
Interestingly, a brand name such as Photoshop can be used as a verb in our language, because it is a popular tool, and it is not weird as people use it globally.
According to Kastrenakes (2020), the term “Photoshop” was adopted by internet commenters just a few years after the software’s release on February 19th, 1990. However, it didn’t become widespread until stories about edited propaganda and touched-up celebrities regularly filled news feeds almost two decades later.
All in all, using a brand name as a verb makes part of her speech more interesting and understandable as her audience is aware of the usage of this word.
(1990-1991)
(1990-1991)
First version of Photoshop logo
(2020-Today)
(2020-Today)
Latest version
HOW THE TEDXTALKS SPEECH VIDEO IS RELATED TO THE CONVERSION
According to Yule (2020), Conversion is a change in the function of a word, for example when a noun comes to be used as a verb (without any reduction).
In the speech that Sophia gave to her audience, several examples of conversion are used in her speech to convey the message. For instance, the word “post” which is a noun has come to be used, through conversion, as a verb: I didn't post anything on my Instagram account. The verb post in this sentence means to publish or share something, typically on a website or social media platform.
Another example is the word “like” in her part of speech when she said, “I just got under a thousand likes”. In this matter, originally the word “like “was a verb, that meant to enjoy or approve of something or someone. (Cambridge, n.d.). However, in that sentence, the word "likes" functions as a noun, referring to the number of times people have liked the content.
CONCLUSION
Overall, conversion is one of the types of word formation process. It is very important as language continuously evolves and we always creating new words and using them in our conversations in our daily lives.
Additionally, in the real-world example video, several examples of conversion have been mentioned, such as post and like, which help Sophia convey her message effectively. Furthermore, in the future, many new words will be created, where some words once only a noun can become a verb and vice versa.
REFERENCES
Discover how language evolves through advances in technology. (2024, September 23). https://www.languagewire.com/en/blog/how-language-evolves
Esteron, M. a. S. (2021c). Different language usage on social media. International Journal of Advanced Engineering Management and Science, 7(3), 093–104. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijaems.73.12
Hanna, K. T., & Wigmore, I. (2022, April 19). TED talk. WhatIs. https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/TED-talk
History of TED. (n.d.-b). TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/history-of-ted
How TED works. (n.d.). TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/how-ted-works
Kastrenakes, J. (2020b, February 19). How photoshop became a verb. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/19/21143794/photoshop-30th-anniversary-adobe-verb-origin-story
like. (2024b). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/like
Photoshop. (2024). In English Meaning - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/photoshop
TEDx Talks. (2022, August 30). The Fake Reality of Social Media: Accepting Yourself | Sophia Shi | TEDxYouth@GranvilleIsland [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thrr_398FHw
TED talks. (n.d.-b). TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-talks
Yule, G. (2020). The study of language (7th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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