clitic
- noun
- /ˈklɪtɪk/
- Specialized
:
clítico
- When speaking quickly, English speakers often use clitics like 'I'm' instead of 'I am'.
- clitic pronouns
- object clitic
- direct object clitic
Examples
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The principal interest in this study was the children's use of the clitic pronouns across prime conditions.
Academic text (2013) -
Second, the children might have had greater command of certain clitics and not others.
Academic text (2013) -
In these conditions, no clitic appeared in the prime sentence.
Academic text (2013) -
For all items in all conditions, the clitic in the target sentence would serve as the already established topic.
Academic text (2013) -
Accordingly, we required that a clitic be included in the children's imitation of the prime sentence.
Academic text (2013) -
There may be an additional maturation-based factor at work in the extended optional use of clitic pronouns.
Academic text (2013) -
Yet there is evidence that function words, such as clitics, are not produced or omitted in a haphazard fashion.
Academic text (2013) -
A clitic is often attached to the preceding word, altering its meaning without standing alone.
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In many languages, a clitic can simplify the pronunciation of phrases by merging with other words.
How Independent
Surface Forms
Morphology
clitic = clit + ic
A technical linguistic borrowing formed with a non-standalone combining form plus the adjectival suffix '-ic'; the parts are not helpful for an average learner to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Clitic comes from an old Greek root klínein meaning 'to lean', the same idea you see in incline. A clitic is a small word that 'leans' on a nearby word because it has no strong stress and often joins to it, as 'n't' does in 'can't'.