Word Formation
Definition:
Word formation is a process in which new words are formed or derived from
original and already existing words.
Word Formation Processes:
1. Clipping
2. Blending
3. Abbreviation
4. Backformation
5. Reduplication
6. Compounding
1) Clipping:
It is a word formation process in which a new word is formed by shortening the
original word without changing its meaning and grammatical category. It usually
involves removing one or more parts from a word
Example: Advertisement changes to Ad and Aeroplane changes to Plane
Types of Clipping:
Back/Final Clipping or Apocope:
In this type of clipping, the first part of the word is kept and the last parts of a
word are removed or clipped.
Example: Exam from Examination, Gas from Gasoline, Ad from Advertisement,
Gym from Gymnasium, Photo from Photograph, Café from Cafeteria, Rhino
from Rhinoceros, Mayo from Mayonnaise
Fore/Initial Clipping or Apheresis:
In this type of clipping, the last part of the word is retained or kept and the first
parts of a word are removed or clipped.
Example:
Chute from Parachute, Plane from Aeroplane, Phone from Telephone or Cellular
Phone, gator from Alligator
Middle Clipping or Cyncope
The part that is in the middle of the original word is kept and the rest of the parts
are removed.
Example: Flu from Influenza, fridge from refrigerator. Tec from detective
Complex Clipping:
Complex clipping consists of shortening of compound words.
Example: Grandma from Grandmother, sci-fi from science fiction
2) Blending: (Portmanteau)
Blending is a word formation process in which a new word is formed by
combining two separate words with different meanings.
Types:
Combining Beginning of One Word and Ending of Another Word:
In this type of blending, the beginning of one word and the ending of another
word are combined to form a new word. E.g Brunch from Breakfast and Lunch,
Smog from Smoke and Fog, Simulcast from Simultaneous and Broadcast,
Spork from Spoon and Fork. Motel from Motor and Hotel
Combining the Beginnings of Two Words:
In this type of blending, the beginnings of two words are combined to form a new
word.
Example:
Cybernetic and Organism change to Cyborg
Hunger and Angry change to Hangry
Motor and Pedal change to Moped
3) Abbreviation:
Abbreviation is the any shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase.
Example:
Inc. for incorporation, Dr. For Doctor, CPEC for China Pakistan Economic
Corridor, NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Types of Abbreviation:
1. Acronym:
An acronym is a word created by combining the first alphabet of each
word in a phrase to create a new, single word. It is pronounced as a word.
Example:
PIN: Personal Identification Number
NASA:National Aeronautics and Space Administration
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
LOL: Laughing out Loud
LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
2. Initialism:
An initialism is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of words in
phrases. It is usually pronounced as individual letters (not as a word on its
own).
Example:
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
T.V: Television
4) Backformation:
Back-formation is a word creation process in which prefixes or suffixes are
removed from existing words and a new word is formed with different
meaning and grammatical category.
Verbs are formed from nouns in this process.
Example:
Examine from Examination
Teach from Teacher
Play from player
Diagnose from Diagnosis
Donate from Donation
Insert from insertion
5) Reduplication:
Reduplication is a word-formation process in which all or part of a word is
repeated to convey some form of meaning or for emphasis.
Example:
Okey Dokey
Bye bye
Ta ta
Hokey Pokey
Types of Reduplication:
i) Exact Reduplication:
In exact reduplication, the exact word is repeated.
Examples: Bye Bye, No No
ii) Ablaut Reduplication
In Ablaut reduplication, the internal vowel of the original word is changed.
Examples: Hip-Hop, Zig-Zag, Chit-Chat, Ping-Pong etc.
iii) Partial Reduplication
In Partial Reduplication, some part of the original word is repeated.
Examples: Super-Duper, Okey-Dokey, Hokey-Pokey, Holy Moly
6) Compounding:
Compounding is a word-formation process in which two or more free morphemes or words
are combined together to form a compound word.
Types of Compound Words:
Compound words are divided into three types on the basis of how they are written:
Open Compound Words:
These compound words are written as separate words
Example:
Ice cream, school bus, high school, living room
Closed Compound Words:
These compound words are written as a single word.
Example:
Nearby, sunglasses, blackboard, bedroom
Hyphenated:
These compound words have a hyphen between them.
Example:
life-threatening, empty-handed, mother-in-law
Endocentric Compound Words:
Definition:
Endocentric compound words are those words in which one part of the word acts
as a head and another part acts as a modifier that modifies the meaning of the
head.
These words have the same grammatical category as the head.
Example:
Doghouse: House is the head and dog is the modifier that is modifying the
meaning of the house.
Blackbird: Bird is the head and black is the modifier that is modifying the meaning
of the house.
Hairbrush
Football
Exocentric Compound Words:
Exocentric compound words are those words that lack a head and their meanings
cannot be derived or guessed from the two words that make them. Moreover, the
grammatical category is also different from the words that make up the new word.
Example:
Blue-collar
Firefly
Open-minded
Copulative Compound Words:
Copulative compound words are those words whose meanings are a combination
of the two free morphemes that make them.These words have two semantic heads
and They have a coordinate relationship with each other.
Example:
Sleepwalk
Bittersweet
