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Word Formation

The document discusses the various word formation processes in the English language. It describes the major processes of affixation, compounding, and reduplication. Affixation involves adding prefixes or suffixes to morphemes to create new words. Compounding combines two or more independent words to form new words, like girlfriend or textbook. Reduplication doubles all or part of a word, though it is rarely used in English. Other less common processes include supletion, acronyms, blending, clipping, back formation, conversion, coinage, eponyms, and onomatopoeia.

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545 views16 pages

Word Formation

The document discusses the various word formation processes in the English language. It describes the major processes of affixation, compounding, and reduplication. Affixation involves adding prefixes or suffixes to morphemes to create new words. Compounding combines two or more independent words to form new words, like girlfriend or textbook. Reduplication doubles all or part of a word, though it is rarely used in English. Other less common processes include supletion, acronyms, blending, clipping, back formation, conversion, coinage, eponyms, and onomatopoeia.

Uploaded by

free my mind
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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WORD FORMATION

PROCESS

HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT
INTERAMERICAN UNIVERSITY
FAJARDO, PUERTO RICO
Dr. Maritza Santana
Prof. Ivan Mundo
Prof. Javier Martinez
Word Formation Process

How new words are being formed in the


language

The process consists of a combination


of morphemes that are rule-governed (a
new word is formed)
PROCESSES WHERE NEW WORDS
ARE FORMED

Major Word Formation Processes


(Processes that are formed frequently
or commonly in the use of the English
language)
AFFIXATION
Process of forming words by adding affixes to
morphemes

English uses only prefixes and suffixes

sing + er = singer

un + real = unreal
COMPOUNDING
Process that forms new words from two or more independent
words

Examples of words formed by the compounding process:

girl + friend = girlfriend


text + book = textbook
REDUPLICATION

Process of forming new words either by doubling an entire word


(total reduplication) or part of a word (partial reduplication)

English makes use of reduplication very sporadically

Total reduplication is extremely rare!

partial Humpty - dumpty


reduplication
hocus - pocus
SUPPLETION

A relationship between forms of a word wherein


one form cannot be phonologically or
morphologically derived from the other (this
process is rare).

am vs. was

go vs. went
Acronym

Words that are formed from the initials of


several words.

RAM = Random Access Memory

CD = Compact Disk
BLENDING

Process of creating a new word by combining


the parts of two different words, usually the
beginning of one word and the end of another.

motor + hotel = motel

camera + recorder = camcorder


CLIPPING

Process of creating new words by shortening


parts of a longer word.

doctor doc

dormitory dorm
Internal change

Concerned with the irregular forms:


( plural, past tense, word class)

Man men
Foot feet
Tooth teeth
Back formation

It is concerned with deriving a new words in a


back word manner:

Google (n) to google (v)


Editor (n) to edit (v)
Conversion

A word changes its syntactic gategory without


the adding of an affix:

Butter (n) to butter (v)


To permit (v) a permit (n)
Coinage

A word may be created without any of the


processes mentioned above:

ADIDAS
NIKE
BMW
Eponym

A word derived from proper names:

Sandwich
Volt
Celsius
Hoover
Hertz
etc…
Onomatopoeia

Words as an imitation of the sound:

Buzz
Click
Wizz
Crackle
Etc…

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