Transcript Unit 2: fashion victims a quick introduction to Word Formation Types of Word Formation: different ways of creating new words 1. Compounding 2.

Unit 2: fashion victims
a quick introduction to
Word Formation
Types of Word Formation: different ways
of creating new words
1.
Compounding
2. Prefixation
3. Suffixation
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Conversion
Clipping
Blends
Backformation
Acronyms
Onomatopoeia
Eponyms
Toponyms
We will
center on
these 2
ways!
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
Compound Nouns
1. Boyfriend
1. Noun + Noun
2. Breakfast
2. Verb + Noun
3. Sunshine, birth control
3. Noun + Verb
4. Software, fast food
4. Adjective + Noun
5. Overboard
5. Particle + Noun
6. Drop-out, plug-in
6. Verb + Particle
Compound Verbs
1. Carbon-copy, sky-dive
1. Noun + Verb
2. Fine-tune
2. Adjective + Verb
3. Overwork
3. Particle + Verb
4. Bad-mouth
4. Adjective + Noun
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
2. Prefixation
 Class-changing prefixes:



abeen-



asleep
bewitch
enslave
 Verb to Adjective
 Noun to Verb
 Noun to Verb
 Class-maintaining prefixes:



inforeEtc.


indefinite
foreground
 Adj to Adj
 Noun to N
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.

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
5. Clipping
Definition: Shortening a polysyllabic word by
deleting one or more syllables
 Examples:
 Gasoline  Gas
 Hamburger  Burger
 delicatessen 
deli
 microphone  mike
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
7. Back-formations
Definition: Creative reduction due to incorrect
morphological analysis.

Examples:

editor (1649)
 edit (1791)

television (1907)
 televise (1927)

Paramedical (1921)
 paramedic (1967)
8. Acronyms
Definition: Words derived from the initial letters of several
words and use them as a new word

Examples:

Very Important People/Person
 VIP

Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
 SCUBA
9. Onomatopoeia
Definition: Words created to sound like the thing
that they name.
English
Japanese
Tagalog
Catalan
Cock-a-doo
Kokekokko
Kuk-kakauk
QuiQuiriiQui !
Meow
Nya
Niyaw
Miaauu !
10. Eponyms
Definition: a person after whom a discovery,
invention, place, etc., is named.
 Examples:
Celsius (Anders Celcius)
 Cook Islands (James Cook)

degrees
11. Toponyms
Definition: a place name, especially one derived from a
topographical feature.
 Examples:
States in the USA:

Montana (‘mountains’ in Spanish)

Mississippi (‘big river’ in Chippewa)
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