From: Damien Broderick (d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Mon Jul 08 2002 - 22:51:10 MDT
At 09:00 PM 7/8/02 -0700, the Spikester wrote:
>I still havent figured out what a
>daddio is, or how the term was derived however.
Pretty obviously the agentive O-suffixative prototypically nominalising
male counterpart of a momma, neh? Like hey man.
See below for a citation from Swedish linguist Mikael Parkvall that has
more than you could possibly care to know on the general topic;
http://www.hit.uib.no/nordlingnet/1996-3/0093.html
Damien Broderick
===================
1. An O-word taxonomy
Many of the respondents felt that there are several kinds of O-words, and
some even made taxonomies of the various caterogories in one or more
languages. Probably about half of those who responded underlined the
differences between words such as "psycho", "typo", which are evidently
clipped verions of "psychotic/psychopath" and "typographical", and other
items, where the "o" is a paragogic vowel, and has no etymological raison
d'ętre. This distinction seems reasonable, although the two groups may have
increased the frequency of each other. Belonging etymologically to the
apocope group, "psycho" may have caught on partly because of its semantic
and phonological resemblance to the paragogic group, as suggested by Larry
Rosenwald. The most elaborate taxonomy was sent to me by Jannis
Androutsopoulos. I have adapted it somewhat, but what follows is in essence
derived from Jannis' proposal:
1.1 Apocoped O-words
<o> as an etymological adjoining vowel that has become final through
clipping of the first constituent of (usually) an Adj+N compound of
(usually) Latin or Greek origin. Examples: "Psycho" (< "Psychopath"), "Öko"
(< "Ökologe") (German), "klepto" (< kleptomaniac), "nympho" (<
nymphomaniac), "slo-mo" (< slow-motion) (English), "homo" (< "homosexuel")
(Danish and other languages), "aso" (< "asociaal") (Dutch), "skitso" (< [?])
(Finnsih), "clito" (< "clitoris"), "mégalo" (< "mégalomane"), "hébdo" (<
"hébdomadaire") (French), "mongo" (< "mongoloid"), "alko" (< "alkoholist")
(Swedish). This group will henceforth be referred to as O1.
1.2 Paragoge O
<o> as a suffix of clipped words (nouns or adjectives). Examples: "Fascho"
(< "Faschist"), "Anarcho" (< "Anarchist") (German), "Gibbo" (< Gibson),
"Jacko" (< Jackson) (British English)
"paddo" (< "paddestoel") (Dutch), "apéro" (< "apéritif"), "facho" (<
"fasciste") (French), "strćtó" (< "strćtisvagn"), "púkó" (< "púkalegur")
(Icelandic), "neggo" (< negativ), "despo" (< desperat) (Swedish). This group
of words will henceforth be referred to as O2.
1.3 "Agentive" O-suffixation
Agentive - or at least prototypically nominalising - O-suffixation.
Henceforth referred to as O3. Examples include "cheapo" (< cheap), "sleazo"
(< sleazy), "sicko" (< sick) (American English), "sado" (< sad), "provo" (<
provisional) (British English), "häirikkö" (< "häiritä"), "juoppo" (<
"juoda") (Finnish), "Banalo" (< "banal"), "Labilo" (< "labil"), "Normalo" (<
"normal") (German), "pervo" (< "pervers"), "dummo" (< "dum"), "pucko" (<
"puckad") (Swedish).
This class is represented in most of the Germanic languages considered here,
as well as in Finnish. The O-word is formed from an adjective or a verb
(which is shortened if polysyllabic), resulting in a noun denoting a person
having the quality described by the adjective, or a person habitually
performing the action described by the verb.
Compared to agentive suffixes proper (e. g. "-er", "-or", "-ary", "-ster"),
Chuck Bigelow feels that the "-o" suffix appears to have more of the copular
and less of the active agentive sense ("wino" 'one who is wined [winish?
winey?]', "weirdo" 'one who is weird', "fatso" 'one who is fat').
This class is not entirely homogenous, since the semantic value of the O
varies from one word to the other, even in the same language. Diagnostic for
inclusion has been either some kind of agentive-like meaning, or a
nominalising function for those words which were not originally nouns.
1.4 "Parasitical O"
"Parasitical O"; an ending with is neither etymologially or semantically
motivated, and which is added to a word that has not undergone any other
phonological change. "geilo", "tollo", "nullo", "kompletto" (German).
Henceforth referred to as O4.
"Jacko" (< Jack), "Johno" (< John) (British English), "fuldo" (< "fuld"),
"festo" (< "fest") (Danish), "skító" (< "skít") (Icelandic).
2. Formal characteristics of O-words
2.1 Phonology
In most cases represented here - regardless of host language - the o's occur
on monosyllabic stems, or on stems made monosyllabic through apocope, and
this has probably (whether deliberately or not) been a requirement for
inclusion in the o-group for me as well as for my respondents. The O-words
are thus more or less by definition bisyllabic.
It is also notable that a very large proportion of the O-words consist of CV
sylllables only - presumably the least marked of all syllable types. Though
there are indeed exceptions (especially words with complex initial onsents,
i. e. with a CCVCV structure), the prototypical O-word has the structure CVCV.
I haven't consulted reverse dictionaries for other languages, but so far as
Swedish is concerned, it is potentially significant that my dictionary lists
no indigenous words with this phonological structure (i. e. (C)CVCV, where
V2 is /u/, that is <o>).
The stem doesn't normally undergo any changes apart from shortening (or
other predictable processes, such as vowel harmony in the case of Finnish),
but in a small number of cases, it is slightly altered, usually through
epenthesis, as in "fatso" (< fat) or consonantal changes, as in Swedish
"mysko" (< "mystisk") 'strange, odd, queer'.
2.2 Semantics
It is obvious that a remarkably large proportion of the O-words have
negative connotations, and indeed, as one American respondent said with
regard to the productivity, "kids can and do make up insults using it".
Apparently, as Henny Klein put it (with regard to Dutch), "especially
personal characteristics can be expressed in this way", and Joe Hilferty
pointed out that many of the O-words (e. g. "weirdo," "wacko," "psycho,"
"schizo", "wino" "fatso") refer in one way or the other to states of mental
or physical abnormality. In short, it is "unusual to see the -o attached to
words that aren't insulting, derogatory, or negative in some way" (David
Weiss). There are of course exceptions, and even though most O-words are
disparaging, the Swedish O-set includes "hygglo" (< "hygglig") 'friendly,
nice; one who is friendly, nice' and "schyssto" idem (utlimately from French
"juste"). Interestingly, however, these seem to often (though by no means
exclusively) be used ironically.
2.3 Morphosyntax
Apparently, the vast majority of O-words are nouns, although some English
examples (e. g. "wacko" and "psycho") can function either as nouns or as
adjectives. A much smaller group, it seems, function exclusively, or at
least primarily as adjectives, including "nutso" 'crazy', "blotto" 'drunk',
"schizo" 'schizophrenic/schizoid'.
The most interesting cases, in my view, are those where o-suffixation not
only changes the phonological and semantic/stylistic, but also the syntactic
properties of the word. This is the case of a subset of the O-words in some
languages. In at least American and British English, Dutch, German, Swedish
and Finnish, there are clear cases of a nominalising O. In the Germanic
languages, the O-word is derived from an adjective, the derivate always
denoting 'a person having the quality X', whereas in Finnish, nominal
O-words seem to derive more often from verbal stems. Some Germanic examples:
American English: "sleazo" (< sleazy) 'sleazy person', "cheapo" (< cheap)
'cheapskate', "queero" (< queer) 'homosexual', "sicko" (< sick) 'perverted
person', "weirdo" (< weird) 'crazy person', "wacko" (< whacked) 'crazy person'
Dutch: "aso" (< asociaal) 'not behaving in a socially acceptable way'
German: "Judo" (< junger Liberaldemokrat) 'young liberal-democtrat', "Juso"
(< junger Sozialdemokrat) 'young social-democrat', "Banalo" (< banal)
'banal', "Labilo" (< labil) 'emotionally unstable person', "Normalo" (<
normal) 'normal person'
Swedish: "dummo" (< dum) 'stupid person', "fetto" (< fet) 'fat person',
"pucko" (< puckad) 'stupid person', "schyssto" (< schysst) 'nice person',
"hygglo" (< hygglig) 'nice person' (Swedish).
One particularly noteworthy characteristic of the Swedish O-words is that
they are all neuter, whereas most animates, and virtually all +HUMAN nouns
in Swedish are non-neuter. "Mongo" (< "mongoloid") is thus "ett mongo"
(INDEF) and "mongot" (DEF) rather than *"en mongo" and *"mongon". It is
tempting to assume that a gender that is normally associated with inanimates
is used in order to render the word more disparaging.
3. Is the O productive?
Most people seemed to agree that the o-affixing is indeed productive in
American English, although opinions differed somewhat with regard to the
degree of productivity. One respondent called it "somewhat productive",
whereas others emphasised that there is a core of more or less lexicalised
items (some of which will even be found in dictionaries), and a more
unstable periphery where the o-items are variably used and variably
acceptable.
A particularly interesting feature is the limits of productivity. Although
informants may differ considerably, there seem to be potential coinages that
no native speaker would actually produce, except perhaps tongue-in-cheek.
For Swedish, the impossible group would include *"maso" 'masochist'
(although "sado" would be acceptable) and *"smalo" 'thin person' (but
"fetto" is perfectly well-formed), for American English *"cracko", *"snowo",
*"dopo" or *"drunko" (though one can be a "wino").
The relative newness of most Swedish O forms make it temping to assume that
the suffix is becoming more and more productive, but a survey made by some
students of mine indicated that the productivity is in fact declining, with
my generation (I was born in 1971) probably representing the peak of O
popularity.
For the coining of nick-names, the variation between O usage and other
morphophonemic processes is obviously lexically determined. John Atkinson
(from Australia) wonders why he is always "Acko", when his friend Douglas is
always "Dougie". Ian MacNamara and Macquarie Island are "Macca", or
sometimes "Maccas", but never *"Mackie" or *"Macko", despite the widespread
o usage in Australian English. "On the other hand", says John, "I could be
either Johnno or Johnnie - in this case, the former is rather jocular, while
the latter is more diminutive (thus more likely to be used for a child". The
same applies to derivations indicating a person's occupation or avocation;
thus there are "garbos" and "rabbitohs" in Australia, but also "truckies"
("trucker" in American English) and "wharfies" 'wharf labourers' ("dockers"
in American English). Some occupations do not seem to take either suffix, so
that a person who paints houses is always a painter, never a *"painto" or a
*"paintie".
There are some attestations Semantic differences resulting from varying
choices of agentive suffixes. One minimal pair is "bikie", which is used in
Australia for a member of a motorcycle gang, while a "biker" is a
law-abiding citizen who rides a motorbike for recreation (This distinction
is apparently only made by the motorbike riders themselves, however).
Simlarly, the job of a "rabbitoh" 'person who hawks rabbit meat from door to
door' is completely different from that of a "rabbiter" 'someone who hunts
or traps rabbits for their skins or meat (i.e., professionally rather than
as a sport), or who is paid by the landowner to exterminate them'. John
Atkinson says he suspects the choice of the "-o" or "-ie" suffix in
Australian for a newly invented word to be to some extent phonetically
driven, but was unable to guess what the rules may be.
In some cases, the two suffixes may be in free variation, and it is not
clear what difference there would be between a "weirdo" and a "weirdie",
between a "fatso" and a "fattie", or between "wacko" (used adjectivally) and
"wacky". In German, where the formation of O3 words is indeed productive, it
only yields designations for socio-cultural groups and/or character traits,
but not for characteristics relating to intelligence or physical
constitution. Counterparts to words like "weirdo" would rather take the "-i"
suffix in German, according to Jannis Androutsopoulos.
4. O-ism in various languages
4.1 American English
In addition to the words I myself used as examples in my query ("weirdo",
"wacko", "wino", "psycho", "fatso"), a number of additional examples from
English usage were suggested, including the following: "apeo", "bimbo",
"bizarro", "blotto", "bozo", "creepo", "daddyo", "dago", "dino", "dorko",
"dumbo", "gringo", "jerko", "Jimbo", "Kebo", "keeno", "kiddo", "kinko",
"lardo", "lezzo", "lesbo", "limmo", "lingo", "Manbo", "medico", "narco",
"nerdo", "nutso", "pervo", "pinko", "presto", "queero", "Sluggo".
Both Chuck Bigelow and Kevin Caldwell mentioned the Marx brothers, all of
whom had names that by phonological criteria would fit into the o-category.
Chuck also gave me the supposed (adding that they might be
folk-etymological) derivations of their names
"Groucho" = "he who is grouchy"
"Harpo" = "he who plays the harp"
"Chico" = "he who chases women ('chicks')"
"Gummo" = "he who wears rubber-soled shoes"
"Zeppo" = [I forget the supposed derivation]
For the Marx brothers, the "-o" suffix maybe have been chosen by analogy
with the Italianate names of popular Vaudeville clowns, ending in the usual
Italian masculine suffix, "-o". The same explanation could be valid for
Kevin's mention of children doing magic tricks calling themselves things
like "Kevino the Magnificent" or "the Great Kevinini". In the latter case, I
myself suspect that Erikh Weiss, alias Harry Houdini could be the main
influence today.
[etc]
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