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    Words and Word-Formation Processes

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    eishanaseer1227

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    Words and Word-Formation Processes

    Uploaded by

    eishanaseer1227
    17 views13 pages

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    48869_Words and Word-Formation Processes (1)

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    17 views13 pages

    Words and Word-Formation Processes

    Uploaded by

    eishanaseer1227

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Words and Word-

    formation
    Processes
    Introduction
     We quickly understand new words in our
    language and accept the use of new forms
    of that new word.

     There is a lot of regularities in the word-


    formation processes in our language.

     In this chapter, we explore some of the


    processes of creating new words in a
    language.
    Etymology

     The study of the origin and history of a


    word is known as etymology.

     We should view the constant evolution of


    the words as a reassuring sign of vitality of
    the langusge.
    Coinage
     Coinage is the invention of totally new terms.
     Sources of coined words:

    1. Trade names of commercial products that


    become general terms.
    e.g. aspirin, kleenex, teflon, xerox.

    2. New words based on the name of a person or a


    place.
    e.g. hoover, jeans, sandwich.
    Borrowing

     Borrowing is taking over words from


    other languages.
     English borrows from other languages.

    e.g. sofa, lilac, croissant


     Many languages borrow from English

    e.g. Japanese.
    supaamaaketto
    Compounding
     Compounding is the joining of two
    separate words to produce a single form.
     Compounding is very common in English
    and German.
     E.g. Compound nouns: Bookcase,
    doorknob, sunburn
    Compound adjectives: low-paid,
    good-looking
    Blending
     The combination of to separate forms to produce
    a single form is blending.

     BUT Blending is accomplished by taking the


    beginning of one word and joining it to the end of
    the other word.

     E.g. Smog (smoke + fog)


    brunch (breakfast + lunch)
    Spanglish (spanish + English)
    Clipping
     Clipping occurs when a word with more
    than one syllable is is reduced to a shorter
    form.
     E.g. gas (gasoline)

    fan (fanatic)
    ad ( advertisement)
    cont.,

     A special type of reduction is hypocorisms:


    a longer word is reduced to a single
    syllable, then a –y or –ie

     E.g. movie (moving picture)


    hankie (handkerchief)
    Backformation
     In backformation, a word of one type
    (usually a noun) is reduced to form a word
    of another type (usually a verb).

     E.g. Televise (television)


    donate (donation)
    babysit (babysitter)
    Conversion
     Conversion is a change in the function of
    the word without any reduction.

     1. Noun to a verb butter to butter


    2. verb to a noun to spy a spy

    3. verb to adjective see through a see-through


    material
    Acronyms
     Acronyms are new words formed from the
    initial letters of a set of other words.

     e.g. CD (compact disk)


    VCR (video cassette recorder)
    laser
    MADD
    ATM
    Derivation
     Derivation is accomplished by the use of affixes.

    Affixes

    prefixes infixes suffixes


    added to the not used added to the
    beginning of in standard end of the word
    a word English -ful or -less
    un- or dis-

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