Word formation in English
New words created – new meaning and/or class membership
Derivation and compounding
Derivation - addition of a derivational affix : en+large, free+dom , neighbour+hood
Compounding - combination of free roots (plus associated affixes): boy+friend, best+[sell+er], man+[eat+er]
a) derivation by affixation (derivational morphemes with phonemic morphs)
semantic changes:
size: miniskirt, microscope
negation: illegal, antisocial, unhappy
time: presuppose, aftershock
degree: overreact, underestimate
other irregular and idiosyncratic meaning changes
recite-recital, post-postage, sex-sexist/sexual/sexy
word class changes:
N>N friendship, brotherhood
V>N leader, government,
A>N freedom, happiness
A>V broaden, simplify, enlarge
N>V terrorize, frighten
N>A famous, sinful
V>A likeable, aggressive
A>Adv quickly, certainly
b) derivation by conversion (derivational morphemes with zero morphs)
V>N cook, spy, cut ,walk V+{Nom}
N>V ship (goods), skin (an animal), man (a boat), plant (a tree) N+{Verb}
A>N (the) poor, hungry, black Adj+ {Nom}
c) compounding (free morphemes combined)
nouns - homeland, icecream, software, homework, sunset ,batman, coalmine
adjectives - foolproof, red-hot, manmade, new-found, duty-free,
verbs - babysit, blacklist, upgrade, download, fine-tune
not just roots- roots+derivational affixes: bus driver, tennis player
compounds versus phrases:
spelling may mislead – freezing point, ice-cream, bus stop, read-head
in compounds:
no internal inflection/modification ; *babies sitter, * [dark red] hot, * finer tune,*[which baby] sitter
one primary stress – breakdown versus to break down , blackmail versus black mail
d)some other processes of word+formation
+ blending
Smoke + fog → smog
Motor+hotel → motel
Transfer+resistor → transistor
+ clipping
Fan(atic)
Porn(ography)
Deli(catessen)
Ex-(husband,wife)
Pro(fessional),
Doc(tor)
+ acronyms
Aids – acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Radar –radio detecting and ranging
Laser –light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
+ root creations
to google
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