Word formation processess in linguistics.

Word formation processess in linguistics.

1. Word Formation
An Etymological Journey
Dr. J. Anjana
Dept of English

3. Word Formation
This is the process of forming words and explains how a certain word came to be.
Differentiated from the process of semantic change where the old and modern
meanings of a word may be totally different.

5. Derivation vs. Compounding
Derivation Compounding
Affixations play a vital
role
It is joining two
separate words
It derives new words
from prefixes and
affixes
No affixes is needed in
this process
English affixations consist of only Prefixes &
Suffixes

6. Prefix
It is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning and make a
new word
Suffix
It is added to the end of a word to change its function, making it into a
different part of speech
Prefix vs. Suffix

7. Prefixes
A letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its
meaning
U-n and r-e (or re-) are the two most common prefixes in the English
language. Re- means "again" or "back," such as in the words "rethink" "redo"
and "repay."
Un + happy = unhappy
Im + possible = impossible

10. Suffixes
A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes are
commonly used to show the part of speech of a word. For example, adding
"ion" to the verb "act" gives us "action," the noun form of the word. Suffixes
also tell us the verb tense of words or whether the words are plural or
singular.
​Some common suffixes are -er, -s, -es, -ed, -ing and -ly.

13. Coinage
It is the invention of new words

Most typical sources are invented
trade names for commercial products
that have become part of the
language.
Examples:

14. Eponyms
It is generating new words based on the
name of a person or a place
Examples:
1)The word “sandwich” is from the 18
th
century Earl of Sandwich who
first insisted
on having his bread and meat together
while gambling
2)The word “jeans” which is derived from the
Italian city of Genoa where the type of cloth
was
first made

15. Compounding
Compounding is the word formation process in which two or more lexemes
combine into a single new word.
The second part is usually a general element and the first part makes it
particular
Appletree – is a tree that bears the specific fruit apple.
Steamboat – is a boat that runs on steam
Notebook – is a book in which you jot down notes
Blueberry – is a berry that is blue.

16. Some examples

17. Blending
Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words
combine to create a new word whose meaning is often a combination of the
original words.
Motor + hotel = motel which is a hotel where you can park your motor car.

18. hangry (noun) hungry/anger
mansplaining (noun) man/explaining
masstige (noun) mass/prestige
emoticon (noun) emote/icon
glamping (noun) glamorous/camping
spork (noun) spoon/fork
brunch (noun) breakfast/lunch
chillax (verb) chill/relax
motel (noun) motor/hotel
globish global/English
bionic biology/electronic

19. Clipping
Creating new words by shortening
already existing words
Examples: information → info
advertisement → ad
facsimile → fax
refrigerator → fridge

20. Acronyms & Initialisms
It is when the first letters of words that
make up a name or a phrase are used to
create a new word

In acronyms, the new word is pronounced
as a word, rather than as a series of letters
In initialisms, the new word is pronounced
as a series of letters

Examples: NATO, CIA, HIV, ATM, PIN, ID,
radar, laser, Interpol, etc.

21. Back-Formation
Back-formation is the word formation process in which an actual or supposed
derivational affix detaches from the base form of a word to create a new word.
A very specialized type of reduction process
 It is due to misconceptions of morphological analysis
 babysitter – babysit
 donation – donate
 gambler – gamble
 hazy – haze
 moonlighter – moonlight
 obsessive – obsess
 procession – process
 resurrection – resurrect
 sassy – sass
 television – televise

22. A change in the function of a word, as for example when
a noun comes to be used as a verb (without any
reduction)
Examples:
Someone has to chair the meeting.
Goggles are a must for skiing while it’s snowing.
Conversion

23. There are many different ways in which words are formed in
English.
These were just a few examples.
This is an interesting area of study that can not only make
one’s understanding of the language more extensive but also
widen one’s vocabulary.