Word Formation Processes

INTRODUCTION: Experts claim that there are 490, 000 words in English Language.
Scholars say that 200,000 words are

essential for an educated person. A senior high school student may know from 10,000 to 15,000 words. In college, the
text and materials used will require a vocabulary of some 100,000 words. (Crogham, 1976).
VOCABULARY
 a list of words and, often, phrases, abbreviations, inflectional forms, etc, usually arranged in alphabetical order
and defined or otherwise identified, as in a dictionary or glossary.
 all the words of a language.
 all the words used by a particular person, socioeconomic group, profession, etc.
 all the words recognized and understood, although not necessarily used by a particular person.
 An interrelated group of nonverbal symbols, signs, gestures, etc. used for communication or expression in a
particular art, skill, etc.
 It comes from the Latin word “vocabulum” which means designated or name.
 A collection of words a person knows and uses in speaking.
 It means the ability to recognize words and to associate meaning with the particular combination of the letters
that form a word.
 Words are symbols made up of a group of letters that stands for or represent either a physical object or idea.
Major CLASSIFICATIONS OF VOCABULARY
 General Vocabulary – these are words you use in speaking and writing. These are usually recognized easily in
print or may become part of your recognition vocabulary.
 Recognition vocabulary – these are words you do not generally use but which you remember when you hear or
see them.
VOCABULARY (n.) SYNONYMS
-wordlist, dictionary, lexicon, lexis, thesaurus, stock of words, glossary, promptorium (Latin), scientific vocabulary,
literary vocabulary, word-hoard; see also diction.
Benefits of vocabulary study
1.Effective word study can influence your everyday speech and writing.
2.The exact word to express your precise thought enables you to be better understood in speaking and writing.
3.Word for the most part will no longer a hindrance to your reading progress. Your reading rate and comprehension will
improve your school work.
4.Since word stands for ideas, as well as thing, you will write theme and will write more confident in examinations.
Principles that can guide your vocabulary growth

1. Direct and indirect experience can enlarge your vocabularies and invest new words with meanings.
2. Wide reading accounts for much of a competent reader’s growth vocabulary.
3. Direct attention to vocabulary should supplement vocabulary growth through readings.
4. Teachers can remove obstacles from the reading process by first assigning the difficult words on the pre-
teaching these students.
5. Context clues can be a major self-help technique for student in learning the vocabulary of man of their subjects.
-Context clues as an aid in getting at the meaning of unknown words.
6. Knowledge of frequently recurring prefixes, suffixes and roots when used in conjunction with context revelation
can give students another important self-help technique to help them unlock the meaning of words.
Eight active Strategies of Acquiring Vocabulary

1. Locate the key words and decide to learn. (looking, finding, and reading unfamiliar words)
2. List of maps of the key words. (listing or putting of several important words that are unfamiliar before starting to
read)
3. Use internal clues to define words. (internal clues are word’s prefixes, roots and suffixes- the elements that
make up the word which are derived from other languages and which contribute to its meaning)
4. Use external context clues to define words. (external clues –the context in which the word appears)
5. Use the dictionary. Thesaurus, or glossary to define words.
6. Write as an aid to learning. (writing is an active way of studying that will help the meanings of new words)
7. USE THE WORD- speaking and writing.
8. Keep in touch with your vocabulary.
WAYS BY WHICH WORDS ARE FORMED
1. Borrowing is the process whereby new words are formed by adopting words from other languages together with the
concepts or ideas they stand for (cf. Brun, 1983; Pei 1966).
The following words are examples of words we use in English that are borrowed.
Spanish: tango, mango, taco, burrito, donkey, burro, barbecue
French: fiancé, very, garage, début, croissant
German: biology, boxer, ozone
Turkish: jacket, yoghurt, kiosk
It is also important to remark that, in many cases, words are borrowed due to historic occurrences, such as conquests
and invasions, or to geographical proximity.
2. Compounding consists in the combination of two or more (usually free) roots to form a new word. For example, the
word blackboard, heartfelt, brother-in-law are compound words.
 Compound words can be written in three different ways:
a. Open – with a space between the parts of the compound
examples: toy store, diving board, flower pot
b. Hyphenated – with a hyphen (-) separating the elements of the compound
examples: flower-pot, air-brake, she-pony.
c. Solid – without a space or hyphen between the component elements of the compound
examples: flowerpot, washrooms, pickpocket.
 The global meaning of the compound word can often be guessed from the individual meaning of each element of
the compound. The meaning of a compound is not always the sum of the meanings of its parts.
Coconut oil – oil made from coconuts (correct)
Olive oil – oil made from olives (correct)
Baby oil – oil made from babies? NO
Bookstore – a store which sells books (correct)

Redcoat – is a British soldier and NOT a coat that is colored red
Flatfoot – is a detective or a policeman and does NOT literally mean that a foot that is flat
A boathouse - a shed in which boats are stored and NOT a boat used as a house
3. Blending is the process whereby new words are formed by combining parts of two words, usually the beginning of
one word and the end of another (cf. Godby et al,. 1982).
Similar to compounds, but in blending only parts of the words are combined.
Examples:
smog (smoke + fog), brunch (breakfast + lunch)
heliport (helicopter + airport) motel (motor + hotel)
FORTRAN (formula translation) breathalyzer (breath + analyzer),
electrocute (electro + execute) Eurovision (European + television)
multiversity (multiple + university) newscast (news + broadcast)
paratroops (parachute + troops) telecast (television + broadcast)
travelogue (travel + catalogue) telex (teleprinter + exchange)
4. Clipping is the process whereby new words are formed by shortening other words by eliminating the initial part, the
last part, or both parts, of those words.
Examples:
phone from (tele)phone flu from influenza
plane from (air)plane fridge from refrigerator
ad from advertisement) showbiz from showbusiness
exam from examination mike or mic from microphone
5. Word coinage (or invention) is the process whereby new words are created outright, either deliberately or
accidentally, to fit some purpose. Usually, words are coined to express new ideas, processes, products, etc. in the
language.
For example, brand names such as Xerox, Kodak, Exxon, Kleenex,8 Nylon, Dacron. In some Filipino families, any
detergent bar is called Mr. Clean which is a famous brand of detergent bar. We also say Pampers instead of diaper and
Colgate instead of toothpaste. These are all applications of word coinage.
6. Acronyms is the process whereby a new word is formed from the initial letters of the constituent words of a phrase or
sentence.
For example, from the initial letters of the words of the phrase North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the word NATO is
formed. Similarly, from the initial letters of the constituent words of the phrase unidentified flying object, the word UFO
is formed.
Types of Acronyms
According to Quirk et al. (1985), there are two main types of acronyms, namely:
1. Acronyms which are pronounced as a word.
Examples:
NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration
radar = radio detecting and ranging
laser = light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
UNESCO = United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
BASIC = Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
COBOL = Common Business Oriented Language
***As can be seen, acronyms of this type often derive from phrasal names. Many of them belong to the jargon (i.e.,
specialized language) of particular occupations, organizations or fields of study (esp. scientific, administrative, political)
and might be completely meaningless to the persons who are not familiarized with them.
2. Acronyms which are pronounced as sequences of letters (also called 'alphabetism')

Examples:
C.O.D = Cash on delivery
MIT = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
VIP = very important person.
DIY = do-it-yourself
FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigations
7. Functional shift (conversion or zero derivation) is the process by which new words are created by using a word in
new functions (i.e., by shifting, changing or converting its original grammatical class to another class), without any
change in its form (cf. Godby et al., 1982; Byrne, 1978; Pei, 1966).
Example:
a. Give me some water, please. “Water” is used as a noun.
b. The children water the plants every morning. “Water” is used as a verb.
*** Note that the there is no change in the spelling or pronunciation of the word “water” but the grammatical category
of the word “water” has shifted from noun to verb.
a. If the shop isn't too far away, we can walk over there. “Walk” is used as a verb.
b. I take a walk around the block every evening. “Walk” is used as a noun.
***There is a change in the grammatical form of the word “walk” which is from verb to a noun but there are no changes
in pronunciation and spelling.
Activity on Word Formation
Please answer the following and send your answers tomorrow, April 24.
INSTRUCTION: Identify the ways on how the words are formed in the following examples below.
1. memo for memorandum
2. dreamland from dream and land
3. high tech from high technology
4. medicare from medical and care
5. chalkboard from board and chalk
6. window from Scandinavian language
7. bus from omnibus
8. flu from influenza
9. typeset from type setting
10. alligator from the Spanish word
11. LOL that stands for Laughing Out Loud
12. gator from alligator
13. bittersweet from the words sweet and bitter
14. cartoon from the Italians
15. safeguard used to refer to bath soap generally especially Filipinos
Blending and clipping: Fill in the blanks.

1. motor + cavalcade =
2. + police = Interpol
3. + = twirl
4. electricity + execute =
5. + enormous = ginormous
6. + = motel
7. hazardous + = hazmat
8. + broadcast = simulcast
9. + = webinar
10. memorandum = (clipping)
11. = sitcom (clipping)
12. gasoline = (clipping)
13. advertisement + = advertainment

Word Formation Processes

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INTRODUCTION: Experts claim that there are 490, 000 words in English Language.

Scholars say that 200,000 words are

Principles that can guide your vocabulary growth

Eight active Strategies of Acquiring Vocabulary

Bookstore – a store which sells books (correct)

2. Acronyms which are pronounced as sequences of letters (also called 'alphabetism')

Blending and clipping: Fill in the blanks.

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