Word formation2000

Introduction to Word-Formation

byNatalie MühlbergerMarkus OstheimerFelicitas Schäfer

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overview

MorphologicalProcesses

Lexical ProcessesInflection

Derivation Compounding Other Processes

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overview



Derivation Compounding ...

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inflection

• produces from a basic form all those variants which occur in syntactically determined environments

- Ex.: these girls are walking

Back to Overview

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criteria of inflection

• productivity• stability of word class• stability of stress pattern• semantic transparency

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productivity

• a morphological process is fully productive if it applies to all markers of a specific class, e.g. to all verbs

- Ex.: nouns {-s}, {-‘s}, {-s‘}verbs {-s}, {-ed}, {-ing}, {-en}adjectives {-er}, {-est}

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stability of word-class

• inflectional processes do not change the basic form’s word-class irrespective of what type of inflectional affix is added

- Ex.: house houseswife wife’s noun noun

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stability of stress pattern

• inflection does not involve a change of the basic form’s stress pattern irrespective of what type of inflectional affix is added

- Ex.: navigate navigatedrefer referring

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semantic transparency

• the meaning of the affixes involved in inflectional processes is stable and thus clearly definable

- Ex.: long-er more than longhigh-er more than high{-er} more than …

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overview




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lexical processes

• involve- a basic form and one or more other basic

forms (= compounding)- a basic form and one or more affixes

(= derivation)

Back to Overview

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lexical processes

• form and meaning of the resulting word-form cannot always be predicted from its component parts

• thus, the word should be listed in the lexicon

• lexical processes are dealt with by lexical morphology

• some linguists refer to it as word-formation

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criteria of lexical processes

• productivity• stability of word class• stability of stress pattern• semantic transparency

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productivity

• lexical processes are not productive or at the most only semiproductive, since they only apply to a finite set of elements

- Ex.: nouns {-less}, {-ise}: senselessverbs {-ion}, {-al}: rehearsaladjectives {-en}, {-ness}: quicken

combination possibility limited!

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stability of word-class

• lexical processes often involve a change in the basic form’s word-class as soon as an affix is added

- Ex.: nouns {-less}, {-ise}: senseless verbs {-ion}, {-al}: rehearsaladjectives {-en}, {-ness}: quicken


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stability of stress pattern

• there are stress-preserving affixes like {-al} which do not cause any change, and stress-changing affixes like {-ion}



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semantic transparency

• the meaning of the affixes involved in lexical processes is in many cases not clearly definable



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enlarging the lexicon

• there are various ways to enlarge the stock of words of the English language:- free morphemes may be combined with free

morphemes- bound morphemes may be combined with

bound morphemes- free morphemes may be combined with bound

morphemes and vice versa

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morphology vs. word-formation

• adding a morpheme without creating a new linguistic sign is called a morphological process (synonym: grammatical process)

- Ex.: {king} + {s} = {kings}

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morphology vs. word-formation

• adding a morpheme and thereby creating a new linguistic sign is called a word-formation process (synonym: lexical process)

- Ex.: {king} + {dom} = {kingdom}

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overview




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derivation

• if a free and at least one bound morpheme are combined to form a new linguistic sign, this process is called derivation

• derivation in English is possible because of the loss of inflections, i.e. changes from one word-class to the other are made constantly

- Ex.: {neighbour} + {hood}

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types of derivation

• prefixation• suffixation• zero-derivation

Back to Lexical Processes

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prefixation

• if the bound morpheme appears before the free morpheme, this bound morpheme is called a prefix and the process is called prefixation

- Ex.: {un} + {wise}

• most prefixes are class-maintaining, some are class-changing

Back to Types of Derivation

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types of prefixes (selection)

• negative prefixes• privative/reversative prefixes• pejorative prefixes

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negative prefixes (I)

• in the meaning of “not, the converse of”

{un-} unhappy, unexpected with adjectives andparticiples

{dis-} disobey, disintegration,disinterested

with verbs, nouns,adjectives

{non-} non-smoker,non-perishable

with nouns, adjectives,open-class adverbs

{in-} incomplete with nouns andadjectives

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negative prefixes (II)

• in the meaning of “lacking in, lack of”

{a-} amoral, anarchy combines with adjectivesand some nouns

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privative/reversative prefixes

• in the meaning of “returning to a state which existed before”

{de-} defrost, denationalization with verbs and deverbalnouns – cf. trp. 32

{dis-} disentangle, discolouredwith verbs anddenominal adjectives –cf. trp. 32

{un-} untie, unmask with verbs and nounsturned into verbs

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pejorative prefixes

• in the meaning of “bad” or “false”

E xercises Prefixation

{mis-} misinform, misconduct with verbs, participlesand abstract nouns

{mal-} maltreat, malnutritionwith verbs, participles,adjectives and abstractnouns

{pseudo-} pseudo-scientific with nouns and adjec-tives

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suffixation

• if the bound morpheme appears after the free morpheme, this bound morpheme is called a suffix and the process is called suffixation

- Ex.: {invest} + {ment}

• most suffixes are class-changing, some are class-maintaining


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types of suffixes

• noun-suffixes• verb-suffixes• adjective-suffixes

– you find out the type of suffix by asking for the created word-class and the word-class of the base

- Ex.: baker noun the base: to bake deverbal-er deverbal noun-suffix

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noun-suffixes

• denominal– Ex.: {-er}, {-ship}, {-ful}: Londoner,

friendship, useful

• deverbal– Ex.: {-er}, {-ation}: baker, exploration

• de-adjectival– Ex.: {-ness}: happiness

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verb-suffixes

• denominal– Ex.: {-ate}: hyphenate

• de-adjectival– Ex.: {-ify}: simplify

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adjective-suffixes

• denominal– Ex.: {-like}: childlike

• deverbal– Ex.: {-ive}: attractive

E xercises Suffixation

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zero-derivation

• by adding a zero-morpheme (seen as an analogy to the suffixation), the word does not change its form but its meaning and word-class; this process is called zero-derivation

- Ex.: verb + {ø} = nounto {release} + {ø} = a {release}


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complex derivation

• derivation can apply more than once• the words are then built up in several layers

- Ex.: activationactive - activate - activation

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order

• derivation before inflection!

- Ex.:{neighbour} + {hood} + {s}

derivation {hood} before

inflection {-s}

E xercises Derivation

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overview




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compounding

• two (or more) free morphemes are combined to form a new linguistic sign

• this process is called compounding or composition

• its result is a compound

- Ex.: {fire} + {engine}, {over} + {look}

Back to Lexical Processes

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compounding

• there are various subdivisions:• by semantic criteria (meaning characteristics)• by word-class (formal characteristics)

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subdivision by semantic criteria (I)

• endocentric compounds- the compound denotes a sub-class of the items

denoted by one of its constituents

- Ex.: beehive hivesea-bird bird

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subdivision by semantic criteria (II)

• exocentric compounds- the compound does not denote a sub-class of

the items denoted by one of its constituents

- Ex.: redneck, scatterbrain

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subdivision by semantic criteria (III)

• exocentric compounds- an exocentric compound is a hyponym of an

unexpressed semantic head (‘scatterbrain’)- if the formation with an unexpressed head

contains no verbal constituent (as in ‘redneck’), it is called a bahuvrihi compound

- bahuvrihi is a compound in Sanskrit, meaning ”much rice”

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subdivision by semantic criteria (IV)

• appositional/copulative compounds- the compound denotes either sub-class of the

items denoted by its constituents

- Ex.: maidservant, learner-driver, girlfriend

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subdivision by semantic criteria (V)

• dvandva compounds- the compound does not denote the sub-class of

either constituent

- Ex.: Rhineland-Palatinate, Austria-Hungary

- dvandva is a compound in Sanskrit, meaning ”two and two”

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subdivision by word-class (I)

• headedness of compounds- the morpheme which determines the word-class

of the entire word is called its head (or morpho-syntactic head)

- in most compounds, the head is the rightmost morpheme

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subdivision by word-class (II)

• properties of the head- it determines a number of morpho-syntactic

properties of a compound, such as • word-class• gender• inflectional properties• the case (in syntax)

- Ex. in German: der Schuljunge vs. die Jungenschule

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subdivision by word-class (III)

• inversion compounds- compounds with the leftmost morpheme as the

head are called inversion compounds (very little in number)

- Ex.: looker-on, court martial, knight errant, whenever, herself

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subdivision by word-class (IV)

• compounds with bound words- both parts are independently attested

- Ex.: swimming pool, rain coat

- semi-productive formations, called combining forms

- Ex.: television, church-goer, electrophile, hydrology

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subdivision by word-class (V)

• subconstituency- emphasis is the decisive matter

- Ex.: American history teacher or American history teacher

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types of compounds (formal criteria)

• it is possible to combine nearly all word types together:– Examples: noun + noun: letter-opener

verb + noun: drawbridge adjective + verb: greenhouse noun + adjective: waterproof adverb + verb: newly-wed

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short historical excursion

• 1803: Lewis and Clark expedition to the American Northwest

• result: 367 new compounds added to the American lexicon

- Ex.: bull snake, catbird, ground squirrel

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overview




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other word-formation processes

• abbreviation- clipping- acronymics

• blending• back-formation• reduplication• “Tall Talk”

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abbreviation

• clipping• acronymics

Back to Other Word-Formation Processes

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clipping (I)

• shortening of a word out of a two- or more syllabic word

• process and result are equally called clipping

• the denotational meaning and the word-class do not change

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clipping (II)

• either a stressed or an unstressed syllable is retained

• the clipped part does not need to be a morpheme

Back to Abbreviation

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sub-classes of clippings

• fore-clippings- Ex.: telephone

• back-clippings- Ex.: advertisement

• medial clippings- Ex.: spectacles

• fore-and-back-clippings- Ex.: influenza

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acronymics

• one word is formed by the (capital) initial letters or syllables of two or more words of one phrase

Back to Abbreviation

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sub-classes of acronyms (I)

• alphabetical pronunciation (pronunciation of the single letters)- Ex.: FBI, CIA, BBC, RP, MP

• orthoepic pronunciation (pronunciation as a whole word)- Ex.: NATO, UNESCO

• non-reduced pronunciation (pronunciation of the abbreviated words)- Ex.: i.e. (id est), e.g. (example given)

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sub-classes of acronyms (II)

• descriptive pronunciation (pronunciation by describing the abbreviation)- Ex.: AAA (triple A)

• pronunciation + apposition (pronunciation by inserting a sound)- Ex.: SCSI /skʌzɪ/ or /skɪzɪ/

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blending

• two words (free morphemes) are melted (blended) together to form one single word

• the process is called blending, its result is a blend(ing) or a telescope or portmanteau word

• a new linguistic sign appears


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sub-classes of blendings

• concatenated blends1

- Ex.: happenident, bisalo

• overlapping blends- Ex.: bedventure, frogurt, alcoholiday

• implanted blends- Ex.: askillity, destarture, enfarcement

1) words do not overlap

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back-formation

• shortening of a word of a real or pretended suffix- Ex.: babysitting – to babysit

editor – to edit


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reduplication

• doubling of a word • slight changes in spelling can occur

– Ex.: goody-goody, wishy-washy

E xercises Other Word-Formation ProcessesBack to Other Word-Formation Processes

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“Tall Talk”

• the creation of high-sounding, “mouth-filling” words

• can be traced back to folk characters like Paul Bunyan and Mike Fink

- Ex.: A frontiersman could “teetotaciously exflunctiate” his opponent in a “con-bobberation”.

E xercises Word-Formation Back to Other Word-Formation Processes

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bibliography/further readingAdams, Valerie. An Introduction to Modern English Word-

Formation. London: Longman, 1973.Bauer, Laurie. English Word-Formation. Cambridge: CUP,

1983.Lipka, Leonhard. An Outline of English Lexicology. Tübingen:

Niemeyer, 21992.Marckwardt, Albert H. American English. New York: OUP,

1958. Repr. 1968.Mencken, Henry Louis. The American Language. An Inquiry

into the Development of English in the United States. New York: Knopf, 1949.

Quirk, Randolph, et.al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.

Check your knowledge!

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exercises 1

• identify the type of derivation:– amoral, desire, boyish– bottle, friendship, disorder– starlet, degrading, grade– subnormal, baker, telegraph

S olutionsBack

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exercises 2

• identify the type of prefixation: – asexual, disown, mishear– unpack, pseudo-intellectual, unfair– malodorous, disuse, desegregate

S olutionsBack

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exercises 3

• identify the right type of suffixation:– teenager, chlorinate, monkeylike– amplify, starvation, citizenship– kindness, possessive, boiler

S olutionsBack

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exercises 4

• identify the type of word-formation:– ha-ha, demo, advise– inspect, seesaw, DIY– ID, photo, Eurovision

S olutionsBack

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exercises 5

• identify the type of word-formation and some possible characteristics:

1. disunity 7. inhabitant2. greyhound 8. ping-pong3. codify 9. release4. laze 10. baggage5. useful 11. heliport6. defrost 12. maltreat

S olutions ore Exercises M

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exercises 6

• identify the type of word-formation and some possible characteristics 1. slavery 6. popcorn2. longboat 7. butter3. exam 8. pub4. symbolize 9. sadden5. UN 10. denationalisation

S olutions Back

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solutions 1

- prefixation, zero-derivation, suffixation- zero-derivation, suffixation, prefixation- suffixation, prefixation, zero-derivation- prefixation, suffixation, zero-derivation

Back to Exercises 1

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solutions 2

negative: - asexual, disuse, incomplete, unfairreversative:- desegregate, disown, unpackpejorative:- malodorous, mishear, pseudo-

intellectualBack to Exercises 2

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solutions 3

noun: denominal: teenager, citizenship deverbal: boiler, starvation de-adjectival: kindness

verb: denominal: chlorinate de-adjectival: amplify

adjective: denominal: monkeylikedeverbal: possessive

Back to Exercises 3

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solutions 4

back-formation: advise(or), inspect(or)reduplicative: seesaw, ha-haclipping: demo(nstration), photo(graph)acronym: DIY (do it yourself),

ID (identification card)blending: Eurovision (European television)

Back to Exercises 4

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solutions 5

1. prefixation, negative prefix2. compound, adj. + noun3. compound, adj. + noun4. back-formation, lazy5. suffixation, denominal suffix6. prefixation, reservative prefix

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solutions 5

7. suffixation, deverbal noun-suffix8. reduplicative9. zero-derivation10. suffixation, denominal suffix11. blending, helicopter + airport12. prefixation, pejorative prefix

Back to Exercises 5

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solutions 6

1. suffixation, denominal noun-suffix2. compound, adj. + noun, endocentric3. clipping, examination4. suffixation, denominal noun-suffix5. acronym, United Nations

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solutions 6

6. compound, verb + noun, exocentric7. zero-derivation8. clipping, public-house9. suffixation, de-adjectival verb-suffix10. pre- and suffixation,

reversative prefix + de-adjectival noun-suffix

Back to Exercises 6

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