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Research Outline
Prepared for Petunia G. | Delivered September 17, 2019
English Novels with Author-Created Words
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Goals
To identify a list of three books using made up words/phrases which were created by the author, along with examples of the made up words used in the book.
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Early Findings
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
This classic children's book
and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, both by Lewis Carrol contain a number of made-up words and phrases. While some of those words have made it into modern dictionaries
-
such as chortle, meaning "
to laugh or chuckle
especially when amused or pleased"
-
others remain "made-up" today.
C
a
r
r
o
l
was known for making up words and phrases in all of his writing, including several other books and poems.
S
o
m
e
o
f
t
h
e
made-up words created by Carrol and used in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass include
"chortle", "
j
a
b
e
r
w
o
c
k
y
"
, and "
brillig
".
HARRY POTTER SERIES
This well-known children's series contains a
number of words and phrases
made up by the author, J. K. Rowling.
Perhaps most well-known is the word "muggle", meaning a non-magic person. However, Rowling also included a number of
made-up words and phrases
used in spells and other areas of the books, such as "
l
u
m
o
s
", "
a
l
o
h
o
m
o
r
a
", and "
h
o
r
c
r
u
x
".
Several of the words used in Rowling's writing were
derived from existing
Latin words and phrases, though the author changed them to fit her use.
LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT
The popular book series Lord of the Rings, and the prequel The Hobbit contain a
number of words made up
by the author, J. R. R. Tolkien.
One such word
-
"
tween
", which now
refers to pre-teenagers
-
was originally used by Tolkien in both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to refer to hobbits in their twenties.
DOCTOR SEUSS
Perhaps more than any other author, Dr. Seuss made up a number of words used in his various children's books.
Several such words
include "
fuddle
" in On Beyond Zebra, "zummers", "flunnel", and "kweet".
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