Word Formation
Deny A. Kwary
http://www.kwary.net
Airlanga University
Types of Word Formation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Compounding
Conversion
Clipping
Blends
Backformation
Acronyms
Onomatopoeia
Eponyms
1. Compounding
Definition: Two or more words
joined together to form a new
word.
 Examples:
 Home + work  homework
 Pick + pocket  pickpocket

Note: The meaning of a compound is not
always the sum of the meanings of its parts.
Coconut oil  oil made from coconuts.
 Olive oil
 oil made from olives.

Baby oil
 cathouse
 blue-movies
 blue-chip

NOT
foroil
babies
made from babies
 oil
 a house where men visit prostitutes


2. Conversion
Definition: Assigning an already existing
word to a new syntactic category.
 Examples:
butter (N)  to butter the bread
permit (V)  an entry permit
empty (A)  to empty the litter-bin

3. Clipping


Definition: Shortening a polysyllabic word
by deleting one or more syllables
Examples:
 Facsimile  fax
 Hamburger  burger
 Gasoline

 Advertisement 
 Omnibus

4. Blends


Definition: Similar to compounds, but
parts of the words are deleted.
Examples:



Motor + hotel  Motel
Breakfast + lunch  Brunch
Wireless + Fidelity  Wi-Fi
Is this a blend?
Case Study: Blends or Compunds

‘Wild-haired revolutionaries like Che Guevara have been
replaced by clean-cut metrosexual icons like soccer
star David Beckham and musician Ricky Martin.’
(cbsnews.com, 25th November 2003).

‘No botox for the Retrosexual. No $1,000 haircuts. The
retrosexual man eats red meat heartily and at times
kills it himself.’ (The Washington Dispatch, 2nd May
2004).

Another recent coinage borne out of the current
preoccupation with male stereotyping is the noun and
adjective technosexual. (Macmillan Online, January
2005).
5. Back-formations


Definition: Creative reduction due to
incorrect morphological analysis.
Examples:
 editor (1649)
 edit (1791)
 television (1907)
 televise (1927)
6. Acronyms


Definition: Words derived from the initials of
several words
Examples:


severe acute respiratory syndrome
 SARS
Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
 SCUBA
Other examples of Acronyms:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Radar
FYI
TGIF
a.k.a
Html
www
SWOT
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Radio detecting and ranging
For Your Information
Thanks God It’s Friday
also known as
Hypertext mark-up language
World wide web
Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats
7. Onomatopoeia

Definition: Words created to sound like the
thing that they name.
English
Japanese
Tagalog
Indonesian
Cock-a-doo Kokekokko Kuk-kakauk Kukuruyuk
Meow
Nya
Niyaw
Meong
8. Eponyms
Definition: Words derived from
proper names or things.
 Examples:
 Kodak
 Sandwich
 Celcius

Complete the process and
Identify the type of word formation:
1. Return on Investment
2. information, entertainment
3. modulator, demodulator
4. love, seat
5. International, police
6. A comb
7. delicatessen
8. Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott








ROI

acronym
Infotainment  blends
Modem 
blends
Loveseat  compounding
Interpol 
blends
To comb 
conversion
Deli

clipping
Boycott 
eponym