English Word Formation Deny A. Kwary Airlanga University

English Word Formation
Deny A. Kwary http://www.kwary.net
Airlanga University
Types of Word Formation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Compounding
Prefixation
Suffixation
Conversion
Clipping
Blends
Backformation
Acronyms
Onomatopoeia
Eponyms
Toponyms
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, 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
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
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
 V to Adj
 N to V
 N to V
 Class-maintaining prefixes:



inforeEtc.


indefinite
foreman
 Adj to Adj
 N 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:
 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Treats
 SWOT
 Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
 SCUBA
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
10. Eponyms
 Definition: a person after whom a
discovery, invention, place, etc., is
named.
 Examples:
 Celcius (Anders Celcius)
 Cook Islands (James Cook)
11. Toponyms
 Definition: a place name, especially one
derived from a topographical feature.
 Examples:


Montana (‘mountains’ in Spanish)
Mississippi (‘big river’ in Chippewa)
Deny A. Kwary
http://www.kwary.net
Airlanga University