Word-formation

Morphology
Word-formation
§ A creation of a new word
§ Through Derivation or Compounding
 Prefixes
Affixation
Suffixes

Coinage

Derivation Eponyms
Word-formation
Compounding Borrowing

Blending
Non-affixation
Clipping

Backformation

Conversion

Acronyms & Initialisms

Derivation vs. Compounding
Derivation Compounding
Affixations play a vital It is joining two
role separate words
It derives new words No affixes is needed in
from prefixes and this process
affixes
English affixations
consist of only Prefixes
& Suffixes
Affixation vs. Non-affixation
Affixation Non-affixation
It involves affixes No affixes is needed
Affixation process It consists of coinage,
consists of prefixes & eponyms, borrowing,
suffixes blending, clipping,
backformation,
conversion, acronyms
& initialisms
Prefix vs. Suffix
Prefix Suffix
It is added to the It is added to the end
beginning of a word to of a word to change its
change its meaning function, making it into
and make a new word a different part of
speech
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examples
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 → brunch
smoke + fog → smog
information + entertainment → infotainment
Clipping
§ Creating new words by shortening already
existing words
§ Examples:
information → info
advertisement → ad
facsimile → fax
refrigerator → fridge
Backformation
§ A very specialized type of reduction process
§ It is due to misconceptions of morphological
analysis
§ Examples:
editor → to edit
sculptor → 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:
wallpaper
textbook
fingerprint
Facebook
YouTube
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 Press
Plag, I. 2002. Word-Formation in English. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
Yule, G. 2010. The Study of Language (4th Edition).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press