Word-formation Morphology

Word-formation

A creation of a new word Through Derivation or Compounding

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

Affixation vs. Non-affixation

Affixation Non-affixation

It involves affixes No affixes is needed

Affixation process consists of prefixes & suffixes

It consists of coinage, eponyms, borrowing, blending, clipping, backformation, conversion, acronyms & initialisms

Prefix vs. Suffix

Prefix Suffix

It is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning and make a new word

It is added to the end of a word to change its function, making it into a different part of speech

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Coinage

It is totally the invention of new words Most typical sources are invented trade

names for commercial products Examples:

Eponyms

It is generating new words based on the name of a person or a place

Examples: 1)The word “sandwich” is from the 18th

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

Borrowing

English takes a word from another language.

Examples: croissant (French)piano (Italian) sofa (Arabic)tattoo (Tahitian)yogurt (Turkish)

Blending

A combination of two separate forms to produce a single new term

Examples: breakfast + lunch → brunchsmoke + fog → smoginformation + entertainment → infotainment

Clipping

Creating new words by shortening already existing words

Examples: information → infoadvertisement → adfacsimile → faxrefrigerator → fridge

Backformation

A very specialized type of reduction process

It is due to misconceptions of morphological analysis

Examples: editor → to editsculptor → to sculpt donation → to donate

Conversion

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.My wife wants to buy a see-through blouse.

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.

Compounding

It is a joining of two separate words to produce a single form

Examples: wallpapertextbookfingerprintFacebookYouTube

Further reading

Bauer, L. 2001. Vocabulary. New York, NY: Routledge Fromkin, V, Rodman, R, and Hyams, N. 2011. An Introduction to Language (9th Edition). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Lieber, R. 2009. Introducing Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University PressPlag, I. 2002. Word-Formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University PressYule, G. 2010. The Study of Language (4th Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press