English Word Formation

1. English Word Formation

Deny A. Kwary http://www.kwary.net
Airlanga University

2. Types of Word Formation

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Compounding
Prefixation
Suffixation
Conversion
Clipping
Blends
Backformation
Acronyms
Onomatopoeia
Eponyms
Toponyms

3. 1. Compounding

Definition: Two or more words joined together to
form a new word.
Examples:
Home + work homework
Pick + pocket pickpocket
The meaning of a compound is not always the
sum of the meanings of its parts.
Types of compounds:
Compound nouns
Compound verbs
Compound adjectives

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Compound Nouns
1. Boyfriend, hatchback
1. Noun + Noun
2. Cut-throat, breakfast
2. Verb + Noun
3. Sunshine, birth control
3. Noun + Verb
4. Software, fast food
4. Adjective + Noun
5. In-crowd, overkill
5. Particle + Noun
6. Drop-out, put-on
6. Verb + Particle

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Compound Verbs
1. Carbon-copy, sky-dive
1. Noun + Verb
2. Fine-tune
2. Adjective + Verb
3. Overbook
3. Particle + Verb
4. Bad-mouth
4. Adjective + Noun

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Compound Adjectives
1. Capital-intensive
1. Noun + Adjective
2. Deaf-mute
2. Adjective + Adjective
3. Coffee-table
3. Noun + Noun
4. Roll-neck
4. Verb + Noun
5. White-collar
5. Adjective + Noun
6. Before-tax
6. Particle + Noun
7. Go-go
7. Verb-verb

7. 2. Prefixation

Class-changing prefixes:
abeen-
asleep
bewitch
enslave
V to Adj
N to V
N to V
Class-maintaining prefixes:
inforeEtc.
indefinite
foreman
Adj to Adj
N to N

8. 3. Suffixation

Suffixes forming Nouns
N from N: -dom kingdom
N from V: -ee employee
N from Adj: -ce dependence
Suffixes forming Verbs
V from N: -ify beautify
V from Adj: -en shorten
Suffixes forming adjectives
Adj from N: -al educational
Adj from V: -able understandable
Adj from Adj: -ish greenish
Suffixes forming Adverbs: -ly, -ward, and –wise.

9. 4. Conversion

Definition: Assigning an already existing word
to a new syntactic category.
Types of Conversion
Verb to Noun: to hit a hit
Adj to N: a final game a final
N to V: a sign to sign
Adj to V: an empty box to empty

10. 5. Clipping

Definition: Shortening a polysyllabic word by
deleting one or more syllables
Examples:
Gasoline Gas
Hamburger Burger
delicatessen
deli
microphone mike

11. 6. Blends

Definition: Similar to compounds, but
parts of the words are deleted.
Examples:
Motor + hotel Motel
Breakfast + lunch Brunch
Wireless + Fidelity Wi-fi
Sheep + goat Shoat

12. 7. Back-formations

Definition: Creative reduction due to incorrect
morphological analysis.
Examples:
editor (1649)
edit (1791)
television (1907)
televise (1927)
Paramedical (1921)
paramedic (1967)

13. 8. Acronyms

Definition: Words derived from the initial letters of
several words and use them as a new word
Examples:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Treats
SWOT
Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
SCUBA

14. 9. Onomatopoeia

Definition: Words created to sound like the thing
that they name.
English
Japanese
Tagalog
Indonesian
Cock-a-doo
Kokekokko
Kuk-kakauk
Kukuruyuk
Meow
Nya
Niyaw
Meong

15. 10. Eponyms

Definition: a person after whom a
discovery, invention, place, etc., is
named.
Examples:
Celcius (Anders Celcius)
Cook Islands (James Cook)

16. 11. Toponyms

Definition: a place name, especially one
derived from a topographical feature.
Examples:
Montana (‘mountains’ in Spanish)
Mississippi (‘big river’ in Chippewa)

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Deny A. Kwary
http://www.kwary.net
Airlanga University