Word Formation Processes
Introduction
_ Spangler and his electric suction sweeper
_ Spangler- spanglering – spanglered –
spanglerish – spanglarism
_ That didn’t happen, but people still talk
about ‘hoovering’
_ Neologism _ a new word, usage, or
expression
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Etymology
_ The study of the origin of the word
_ Etymology _ comes from Latin but has Greek
roots (etymon ‘original from’ + logia ‘study of’)
_ Attitude towards new words entering a language
_ Handbook – aviation in the 19th century
_ Computer and radio in Arabic
_ Ways in which a word can enter a language.
Types of Word Formation
1. Coinage
2. Borrowing
3. Compounding
4. Blending
5. Clipping
6. Backformation
7. Conversion
8. Acronyms
9. Derivation
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Coinage
_ Invention of totally new words
_ Extension of a name of a product from
a specific reference to a more general
one
_ e.g. Kleenex, Xerox, and Kodak
_ Eponyms: words based on a name of a
person or a place. E.g. sandwich, jeans,
watt
Borrowing
_ Taking over of words from another language
_ English borrowed a lot of Latin and French words
_ Leak (Dutch) Barbecue (Spanish)
Piano (Italian) Sofa (Arabic)
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Croissant (French) Yogurt (Turkish)
_ Arabic also borrowed a lot of words from English,
e.g. television, radio, supermarket
_ Loan-translation or calque
_ A phrase that is introduced into a language
through translation
_ Superman _ _____
___
_ Skyscraper _ ____ _____
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Compounding
_ Two or more words joined together to
form a new word.
_ Examples:
_ Home + work _ homework (N)
_ Pick + pocket _ pickpocket (N)
_ Low + paid _ low-paid (Adj)
Note: The meaning of a compound is
not always the sum of the meanings of
its parts.
_ Baby oil _
_ Coconut oil _ oil made from coconuts.
_ Olive oil _ oil made from olives.
NOT oil oil for ba mbiaedse from babies
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Blending
_ Similar to compounds, but in
blending only parts of the words are
combined.
_ Examples:
_ Motor + hotel _ Motel
_ Breakfast + lunch _ Brunch
_ Smoke + fog _ smog
_ Teleprinter + exchange _ telex
Clipping
_ Shortening a word by deleting one or
more syllables
_ Examples:
_ Facsimile _ fax
_ Hamburger _ burger
_ Gasoline _ gas
_ Advertisement _ ad
_ Professor?
_ Doctor?
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Backformation
_ Creative reduction due to incorrect
morphological analysis.
_ Examples:
_ editor _ edit
_ television _ televise
_ babysitter _ babysit
Note: backformation always involve reduction
(changing the form of the word)
Conversion
_ Assigning an already existing word to a new
syntactic category.
_ Examples:
butter (N) _ V to butter the bread
permit (V) _ N an entry permit
empty (A) _ V to empty the litter-bin
must (V) _ N doing the homework is a
must
Microwave (N) _ V
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Acronyms
_ Words derived from the initials of several words
_ Examples:
_ National Aeronautics and Space Agency
_ NASA
_ United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
_ UNICEF
_ United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization _ UNESCO
_ Compact Disc _ CD
Other examples of Acronyms:
a) Radar
b) FYI
c) TGIF
d) a.k.a
e) Html
f) www
g) btw
h) ATM
i) FAQ
a) Radio detecting and ranging
b) For Your Information
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c) Thanks God It’s Friday
d) also known as
e) Hypertext mark-up language
f) World wide web
g) By the way
h) Automatic Teller Machine
i) Frequently asked questions
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Derivation
_ The most common word formation process.
_ affixes
_ Examples:
Happy _ unhappy, happiness
Arrange _ rearrange
_ Prefixes vs. suffixes
_ Infixes _inside the word
_ Tell them I’ve gone to Singabloodypore!
Multiple Processes
_ The creation of a particular word
involves more than one process.
_ Example: Problems with the project
have snowballed
Snow + ball _ compound
Snowball (N) _ (V) conversion
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Multiple Processes
_ Identify the processes involved in the
creation of the following forms.
_ I just got a new car-phone
_ James wants to be a footballer
_ The negotiators blueprinted a new peace
proposal
Complete the process and
Identify the type of word formation:
1. automatic _
2. information, entertainment _
3. modulator, demodulator _
4. love, seat _
5. International, police _
6. A comb _
7. delicatessen _
8. Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott _
Auto_
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Infotainment _
Modem _
Loveseat _
Interpol _
To comb _
Deli _
Boycott _
clipping
blends
blends
compounding
blends
conversion
clipping
eponym
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