We often use language techniques and functions in our writing and speech with such familiarity that we might not even know what they are nor what we’re applying.<\/p>\n
As one more-recognizable example, when we merge will <\/em>with not <\/em>to form won’t<\/em>, we are contracting<\/a> the words.<\/p>\n Another operation we use with instinct but perhaps not always awareness is what is known as apocope (uh-POK-uh-pee). Originating from Greek for “to cut off,” apocope is the omission of one or more letters, sounds, or syllables from the end of a word.<\/p>\n This end-cutting can take different forms. For instance, in Old English (before 1100 A.D.), our language included singan<\/em>; today, we use the word sing<\/em>. Old English also used lufu<\/em> (noun) and lufian<\/em> (verb) until undergoing apocope to arrive at the word love<\/em> we have today.<\/p>\n In Middle English (1150\u20131500 A.D.), words such as root <\/em>and sweet<\/em> were pronounced with a final e<\/em>, but as English continued evolving, these final vowels were dropped. Although archaic, examples of similar words that have survived apocope from the Middle Ages into the present are olde<\/em> and shoppe.<\/em><\/p>\n Yet another instance of apocope through the centuries is the transformation of the proto-Germanic landa<\/em> into land<\/em> that has been used through Old, Middle, and Modern English (the era beginning in the sixteenth century).<\/p>\n Other apocopations can be altered word endings, such as chile <\/em>instead of child<\/em> in certain dialects of the American South and barbie <\/em>instead of barbecue<\/em> in Australia.<\/p>\n Apocope is common in American English. Now that you know what it is, you may find yourself noticing apocopated words more often.<\/p>\n For example, the word photo<\/em> is an apocope of photograph<\/em>. Other examples are cinematograph<\/em> > cinema<\/em>, obituary<\/em> > obit<\/em>, zoological<\/em> (garden) > zoo<\/em>, and advertisement<\/em> > ad<\/em>.<\/p>\n The shortening of people’s names is another form: Jonathan<\/em> > Jon<\/em>, Robert<\/em> > Rob<\/em>, Diana<\/em> > Di<\/em>.<\/p>\n In prose and poetry, you might see apocope as the intentional dropping or contraction of letters to satisfy meter, rhythm, or form: e.g., tho<\/em> for though<\/em>, oft<\/em> for often<\/em>.<\/p>\n Still another instance of apocope can be when sounds are dropped from the end of words as we pronounce them: e.g., mos<\/em> for most<\/em>, fo sho<\/em> for for sure<\/em>. This tends to be more common in slang and regional dialect.<\/p>\n Even those who don’t fluently speak a language other than English can recognize and understand how apocope shapes foreign words as well.<\/p>\n For example, the Latin mare<\/em> drops the final e <\/em>to make the Spanish and Portuguese mar<\/em> (sea). Those who are familiar with how French sounds when spoken will recognize how it often suppresses final consonants to make a nasal sound, as in liaison<\/em> and gar\u00e7on<\/em>.<\/p>\n Some languages also will apocopate words to satisfy grammatical functions. For instance, in Spanish some adjectives will drop their final vowel or syllable if they appear before a noun or describe another adjective.<\/p>\n Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n bueno<\/em> (good<\/em>) > Qu\u00e9 tengas un buen<\/u> d\u00eda<\/em> (Have a good day<\/em>)<\/p>\n tanto<\/em> (so much<\/em>) > Ella es tan<\/u> simp\u00e1tica<\/em> (She is so nice<\/em>)<\/p>\n tercero<\/em> (third<\/em>) > La oficina est\u00e1 en el tercer<\/u> piso<\/em> (The office is on the third floor<\/em>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Clipping Syllables to Sizes We Like<\/a> Identify any words that show apocope in the following sentences. If a sentence has no apocopated words, identify “none.”<\/p>\n 1. Jolee is going to the gym after school.<\/p>\n 2. The famous rapper is now on the mic.<\/p>\n 3. Steph, would you please repeat the question?<\/p>\n 4. The lead guitar player forgot to bring his amp.<\/p>\n 5. Georgia is their favorite state to visit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. Jolee is going to the gym<\/strong> after school. gymnasium<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. The famous rapper is now on the mic<\/strong>. microphone<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Steph<\/strong>, would you please repeat the question? Stephen, Stephanie<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. The lead guitar player forgot to bring his amp<\/strong>. amplifier<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. Georgia is their favorite state to visit. None<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We often use language techniques and functions in our writing and speech with such familiarity that we might not even know what they are nor what we’re applying. As one more-recognizable example, when we merge will with not to form won’t, we are contracting the words. Another operation we use with instinct but perhaps not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,53,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-idioms","category-spelling"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6592,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589\/revisions\/6592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}More Apocope Examples<\/h2>\n
Examples of Apocope in Other Languages<\/h2>\n
Related Topics<\/h3>\n
\nThe Diversity of American English Dialects<\/a>
\nAbbreviations vs. Acronyms vs. Initialisms<\/a><\/p>\nPop Quiz<\/h2>\n
Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n