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ENGLISH

WORD FORMATION

Word formation denotes the processes of creation new vocabulary units by existing elements

of language according to certain rules and patterns. There are numerous word formation processes

in English by which the root or base may be modified. One word derived from the base may

become the base for the formation of another word and thus by reapplication we can form words

of considerable complexity. The different types of word formation processes are briefly discussed

below:-

 Compounding

Compounding or composition is the process of joining two or more words into an integrated

single word with a new meaning. Compound words are written either as a single word (sand+

paper = sandpaper, meaning “a type of paper with a rough surface, used for cleaning or

smoothing.”); as hyphenated words (well-known, age-old); or as two words (living room, easy

chair, school bus).

English language allows several types of combinations of different word classes: N + N —

windmill, teapot; Adj + N — darkroom, soft drink; V + N — dance-hall, rattlesnake; N + V

— sunshine, babysit; N + Adj – bottle-green, waterproof; Adj + Adj —deaf-mute, bitter- sweet.

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 Blending or Portmanteau:

 In this process two parts of two different words are blended to form a new word. The first part

of the first word and the last part of the second word are blended to form a new word. For

Example:

smack + mash smash

breakfast + lunch → brunch

spoon + fork → spork

smoke + fog → smog

 Clipping

Clipping is the word formation process in which a word is reduced or shortened without changing

the meaning of the word. Clippings are also known as “shortenings.” Clipping mainly consists of

the following types:

a. Back clipping, b. Fore- clipping, c. Middle clipping, d. Complex clipping.

a. Back clipping

Back clipping or apocopation is the most common type. The beginning part of the word is kept

and the rest is removed. For example: math (mathematics), ad (advertisement), doc (doctor),

exam (examination).

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b. Fore- clipping

In fore-clipping or aphaeresis, the final part of the word is retained and the beginning part is

eliminated. For Example: phone (telephone), gator (alligator), plane (airplane).

c. Middle clipping

In middle clipping or syncope, the middle of the original word is retained and the initial and

last parts are removed. For example: flu (influenza), tec (detective).

d. Complex clipping

Complex clipping consists in the shortening in a compound word. One part of the original

compound most often remains intact. For example: op art (optical art), org-man (organization

man)

Note: Here one part of the original compound remains intact.

navicert (navigation certificate)

Note: Here both halves of a compound are clipped.

 Derivation

In linguistics, derivation is the process of forming new words by means of affixation (prefix

and suffix). Example: happi-ness and un-happy from happy, or determination from determine.

Affixation: It is an act of attaching an affix (a group of letters) to the root word.

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Prefix: It is an act of adding an affix before the root word. For example:

un- happy--unhappy (happy –root word)

dis- respect—disrespect (respect—root word)

Suffix: It is an act of adding an affix after the root. For example: care-less –careless (care---

root word)

Child- ish—childish (child—root word)

 Back-formation:

A new word is formed backwards from an existing word by removing the ending which

though looking likes an inflection or suffix is really an integral part of the word. For example:

Baby-sit – from baby-sitter

Donate—from donation

Transmit—from transmission

Edit—from editor

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 Acronyms

It is the process whereby a new word is formed from the initial letters of the constituent words

of a phrase. For example:

NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Agency

CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turning test to tell Computers and

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

 Borrowing

In word formation process, borrowing is just taking a word from one language directly into

another language. The borrowed words are also called loan words. For example, the following

familiar English words are borrowed from foreign languages:

chow mein – Chinese

pizza – Italian

murder – French

algebra – Arabic

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Boss – Dutch

haiku – Japanese

 Coinage

Coinage is the invention of totally new words. The typical process of coinage usually involves

the extension of a product name from a specific reference to a more general one. Forexample:

Kleenex, Xerox, and Kodak. These started as names of specific products, but now they are used

as the generic names for different brands of these types of products.

 Onomatopoeia:

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions

they refer to.

For example:

hiss, ding dong, buzz, murmur, bow wow.

 Eponym:

The process of formation words based on a name of a person, thing or a place whether real or

fictional after which an invention, place, era or other item is named. For example:

Thomas Addition—Addition’s disease

Achilles, Greek mythological character---Achilles’ heel, Achilles tendon

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