Word-formationMorphology

Word-formation

A creation of a new word

Through Derivation or Compounding

Derivation vs. Compounding

Derivation Compounding

Affixations play a vital

role

It is joining two

separate words

It derives new words

from prefixes and

affixes

No affixes is needed in

this process

English affixations

consist of only Prefixes

& Suffixes

Affixation vs. Non-affixation

Affixation Non-affixation

It involves affixes No affixes is needed

Affixation process

consists of prefixes &

suffixes

It consists of coinage,

eponyms, borrowing,

blending, clipping,

backformation,

conversion, acronyms

& initialisms

Prefix vs. Suffix

Prefix Suffix

It is added to the

beginning of a word to

change its meaning

and make a new word

It is added to the end

of a word to change its

function, making it into

a different part of

speech

Click here to view the

examples

Coinage

It is totally the invention of new words

Most typical sources are invented trade names for commercial products

Examples:

Eponyms

It is generating new words based on the name of a person or a place

Examples:

1)The word “sandwich” is from the 18th century Earl of Sandwich who first insisted on having his bread and meat together while gambling

2)The word “jeans” which is derived from the Italian city of Genoa where the type of cloth was first made

Borrowing

English takes a word from another language.

Examples:

croissant (French)

piano (Italian)

sofa (Arabic)

tattoo (Tahitian)

yogurt (Turkish)

Blending

A combination of two separate forms to produce a single new term

Examples:

breakfast + lunch → brunch

smoke + fog → smog

information + entertainment → infotainment

Clipping

Creating new words by shortening already existing words

Examples:

information → info

advertisement → ad

facsimile → fax

refrigerator → fridge

Backformation

A very specialized type of reduction process

It is due to misconceptions of morphological analysis

Examples:

editor → to edit

sculptor → to sculpt

donation → to donate

Conversion

A change in the function of a word, as for example when a noun comes to be used as a verb (without any reduction)

Examples:

Someone has to chair the meeting.

Goggles are a must for skiing while it’s snowing.

My wife wants to buy a see-through blouse.

Acronyms & Initialisms

It is when the first letters of words that make up a name or a phrase are used to create a new word

In acronyms, the new word is pronounced as a word, rather than as a series of letters

In initialisms, the new word is pronounced as a series of letters

Examples: NATO, CIA, HIV, ATM, PIN, ID, radar, laser, Interpol, etc.

Compounding

It is a joining of two separate words to produce a single form

Examples:

wallpaper

textbook

fingerprint

Facebook

YouTube

Further reading

Bauer, L. 2001. Vocabulary. New York, NY: Routledge

Fromkin, V, Rodman, R, and Hyams, N. 2011. An Introduction to Language (9th Edition). Boston, MA: Wadsworth

Lieber, R. 2009. Introducing Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Plag, I. 2002. Word-Formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Yule, G. 2010. The Study of Language (4th Edition).Cambridge: Cambridge University Press