Dys - Language Log

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A commenter's remark on the recent post "Dysfluency considered harmful":

I've always understood the 'dys-' prefix to be in contrast to an 'a-' prefix, where 'dys-' means something like 'born without' and 'a-' means 'loss of.' My favorite example of the contrast is 'dyslexia' vs. 'alexia', with the first meaning inherent problems with reading and the second meaning loss of the ability to read. Same with 'dysphasia'/'aphasia' and 'acalculia'/'dyscalculia.'

This is a good example of mistaken linguistic generalization from limited evidence. In fact the dys- prefix is usually said to be in contrast to the eu- prefix, not the a- prefix, though this is mostly an etymological idea rather than a fact of usage. In any case, dys- doesn't typically refer to inborn problems, but simply to abnormal, difficult, impaired, or bad characteristics.

I took that list of adjectives from Merriam-Webster, which glosses dys- as

1. abnormal // dysplasia
2. difficult // dysphagia — compare EU-
3. impaired // dysfunction
4. bad // dyslogistic — compare EU-

The OED gives the etymology as

representing Greek δυσ- [= Sanskrit dus-, Old Germanic *tuz-, Old High German zúr- (German zer-), Old Norse tor-, Old English tó- in to-break, etc.] ‘inseparable prefix, opposed to εὖ [see eu- comb. form] , with notion of hard, bad, unlucky, etc.; destroying the good sense of a word, or increasing its bad sense’ (Liddell and Scott).

Some other examples with their OED glosses:

dysarthria: defective or deranged articulation in speaking dyschezia: difficult or painful defecation dysfunction: any abnormality or impairment of function dyskinesia: a class of diseases in which voluntary motion is impeded dysmetria: inability to control the range of movement in a muscular action dysmorphic: malformed dyspepsia: Difficulty or derangement of digestion; indigestion: applied to various forms of disorder of the digestive organs, esp. the stomach, usually involving weakness, loss of appetite, and depression of spirits dysphoria: A state or condition marked by feelings of unease or (mental) discomfort dysrhythmia: an abnormal or disordered rhythm; spec., an abnormal rhythm in the electrical waves shown in an electroencephalogram dysthymia: despondency or depression

The commonest English dys- word is dysfunctional, especially popular in "dysfunctional family". Neither afunctional nor eufunctional has any currency. And certainly there's no common contrast between dysfunctional and afunctional families, with the former condition being inborn and the latter one acquired.

As for dyslexia, the idea that the word always refers to an innate condition is directly called into question by the large literature on "acquired dyslexia", e.g. Badderley et al., "Developmental and acquired dyslexia: A comparison", Cognition 1982, as well as by the large literature attributing the prevalence of reading difficulties to faulty teaching methods.

May 22, 2019 @ 7:04 am · Filed by Mark Liberman under Words words words

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