How are words formed? Are there any rules by which words are formed? Let’s find out. This article will walk you through what word formation is, the various types of word formation and the rules to be adhered to when forming words. The number of examples given will make your learning process more effective and easier. Check it out.
Table of Contents
- What Is Word Formation?
- Types of Word Formation with Examples
- Rules to be Followed When Forming Words
- Test Your Understanding of Word Formation
- Frequently Asked Questions on Word Formation in English
The English language is known for its wonderful quality of the way in which words and sentences are formed and used. Formation of new words from an existing root word by adding a syllable or another word is the general process; however, there are multiple ways in which it can be done.
Types of Word Formation with Examples
The formation of words is classified into four types based on how the process of formation is carried out. They are:
- By adding prefixes
- By adding suffixes
- Converting from one word class to another
- Forming compound words
Let us look at each type of word formation in detail.
Adding Prefixes
The term ‘prefix’ refers to one or more alphabets added to the stem of a word, mostly to make it negative. The most commonly used prefixes include ‘in-’, ‘un-’, ‘dis-’, ‘im-’, ‘ir-’, etc. Look at the examples given below for a clearer understanding of how prefixes are used to form new words.
Examples of Word Formation by the Addition of Prefixes
- Discipline – indiscipline
- Just – unjust
- Tidy – untidy
- Respect – disrespect
- Understand – misunderstand
- Comfortable – uncomfortable
- Comfort – discomfort
- Responsible – irresponsible
- Honest – dishonest
- Happy – unhappy
- Polite – impolite
- Experience – inexperience
- Practical – impractical
- Important – unimportant
- Legal – illegal
- Ethical – unethical
- Potent – impotent
Adding Suffixes
A suffix is a short syllable added at the end of a base word. The addition of suffixes usually changes the word class of the particular word. The most common suffixes include ‘-ment’, ‘-ness’, ‘-ity’, ‘-ous’, ‘-tion’, ‘-sion’, ‘-al’, ‘-able’, ‘-ible’, ‘-ive’, ‘-ly’, ‘-ate’, ‘-er’, ‘-or’, etc. Check out the following examples to see how suffixes are added.
Examples of Word Formation by the Addition of Suffixes
- Comprehend (verb) – comprehension (noun) – comprehensible (adjective)
- Inform (verb) – information (noun) – informative (adjective)
- Invest (verb) – Investment (noun) – Investor (noun)
- Write (verb) – writer (noun)
- Authorise (verb) – authorisation (noun)
- Move (verb) – movement (noun)
- Add (verb) – addition (noun)
- Happy (adjective) – happiness (noun)
- Conserve (verb) – conservation (noun)
- Wide (Adjective) – widen (verb)
- Manage (verb) – manageable (adjective) – manager (noun)
- Courage (noun) – courageous (adjective)
- Brave (adjective) – bravery (noun)
- Profit (noun) – profitable (adjective)
- Quick (adjective) – quickly (adverb)
- Happy (adjective) – happily (adverb)
- Sad (adjective) – sadness (noun)
Conversion
The process of conversion focuses solely on changing the word class of the particular word. If you have noticed, you would have seen how some nouns are used to perform the role of a verb or an adjective acting like a noun just by the addition of another word or slightly altering the spelling of the actual word.
Examples of Word Formation by Conversion
- The rich should help the poor.
Adjectives such as ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are used as nouns by using them with the article ‘the’.
- Everyone is talented.
‘Talented’ – a past participle is used as an adjective in the above sentence. The word is formed by adding the suffix ‘ed’ to the end of the noun ‘talent’.
- There will definitely be a lot of ups and downs in life.
Prepositions ‘up’ and ‘down’ are used as nouns by adding ‘s’ to the end of it.
- He texted me about the meeting only at the last minute.
The noun ‘text’ used to refer to a text message sent on a phone is used as a verb in the sentence by adding an ‘ed’ to the end of the word.
- The financial aid had to be approved before we could make a decision.
The noun ‘finance’ is used as an adjective by adding ‘ial’ to the end of it and the verb ‘decide’ is used as a noun by removing ‘de’ and adding ‘sion’ to the word.
Forming Compound Words
Compound words are formed by combining one part of speech with another to form a specific word class. There are many ways in which compound words are formed. Verbs are combined with adjectives to form compound verbs, a present participle is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, two nouns are combined to form a compound noun, an adjective and a noun are combined to form a compound noun, an adverb is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, an adjective is combined with a past participle to form a compound adjective and so on. Take a look at the following examples and go through the articles on compound nouns, compound words and compound adjectives to understand how they work.
Examples of Word Formation by Compounding
- Over (adverb) + load (noun) – Overload
- White (adjective) + wash (verb) – Whitewash
- Black (adjective) + board (noun ) – Blackboard
- Cup (noun) + board (noun) – Cupboard
- Short (adjective) + hand (noun) – Shorthand
- Swimming (present participle) + pool (noun) – Swimming pool
- Three (adjective) + legged (past participle) – Three-legged
- Break (verb) + Down (preposition) – Breakdown
- Up (preposition) + town (noun) – Uptown
- Copy (verb) + writer (noun) – Copywriter
- Sun (noun) + rise (verb) – Sunrise
- Count (verb) + down (preposition) – Countdown
- Flash (verb) + mob (noun) – Flash mob
- Master (noun) + piece (noun) – Masterpiece
- Round (adjective) + table (noun) – Round-table
Rules to be Followed When Forming Words
Formation of words can be a very interesting exercise, but you have to be really careful when you are adding inflections or affixes. There are a few things you will need to bear in mind when you are forming words. Take a look at the following points to learn what they are.
- Before making any change to the stem of the word, try to analyse what is the kind of meaning you want the word to convey and what role the word will have to play in the sentence.
- In most cases, the beginning of the base word remains the same. Only when prefixes are added the word has a syllable added to the beginning of it. Notice that even in this case, the word is retained as such.
- When suffixes are added, there are many instances where you will have to remove the last one or more alphabets of the word and add the suffix. However, there are words like ‘movement’ where the suffix is just added without any change in the spelling of the base word.
- Here is one way to easily know which suffix has to be added to form a particular word class – most often, nouns end in ‘er’, ‘or’, ‘ist’, ‘ian’, ‘ion’, ‘ment’, ‘ness’, and ‘ity’; verbs end in ‘ise’, ‘ate’ and ‘en’; adjectives end in ‘able’, ‘ible’, ‘ive’, ‘ic’, ‘ed’, ‘ing’ and ‘al’; and adverbs normally end in ‘ly’.
- When words are formed by conversion, be very careful. Make sure you know that you are converting them accurately and using them in the sentence properly.
- When forming compound words, see to it that you hyphenate them if necessary, use the right combination of words and do not just mix and match any word.
- Changing from one tense to another also can also be considered a type of word formation, as the word is inflected to indicate the twelve different tenses in the English language.
- Forming degrees of comparison can also be put under word formation. In this case, the comparative and superlative degrees are formed by adding ‘er’ and ‘est’ to the end of the adjective. The comparative and superlative degrees of polysyllabic words are formed by using ‘more’ and ‘most’, respectively, along with the adjective.
Test Your Understanding of Word Formation
Exercise 1 – Add Prefixes and Suffixes
Add prefixes and suffixes to the following words.
1. Passion____
2. Remember____
3. ____conscious
4. Sense____
5. ____acceptable
6. Entertain____
7. ____representation
8. Neat____
9. Invent____
10. ____interpret
Answers for Exercise 1
1. Passionate
2. Remembrance
3. Unconscious/Subconscious
4. Sensible/Senseless
5. Unacceptable
6. Entertainment
7. Misrepresentation
8. Neatly/Neatness
9. Invention
10. Misinterpret
Exercise 2 – Conversion of Words
Go through the following words and convert them as directed.
1. Money (convert into adjective)
2. Brave (convert into noun)
3. Clean (convert into noun)
4. Prayer (convert into adjective)
5. Resemblance (convert into verb)
6. Slow (convert into adverb)
7. Treat (convert into noun)
8. Confession (convert into verb)
9. Vary (convert into adjective)
10. Beauty (convert into verb)
Answers for Exercise 2
1. Monetary
2. Bravery
3. Cleanliness
4. Prayerful
5. Resemble
6. Slowly
7. Treatment
8. Confess
9. Various/variable
10. Beautify
Exercise 3 – Form Compound Words
Go through the words in the box given below and use them to form ten compound words.
up, table, spend, load, green, machine, case, make, estimate, over, self
1. _______ confident
2. Washing _______
3. Time _______
4. Under _______
5. _______sufficient
6. Up_______
7. _______set
8. Suit_______
9. _______over
10. _______thrift
Answers for Exercise 3
1. Overconfident
2. Washing machine
3. Timetable
4. Underestimate
5. Self-sufficient
6. Upload
7. Upset
8. Suitcase
9. Makeover
10. Spendthrift
Frequently Asked Questions on Word Formation in English
Q1
What is word formation?
Word formation is the process by which new words are formed by adding an affix, another word or converting from one word class to another by removing and adding alphabets.
Q2
What are the four types of word formation?
The four types of word formation include:
- Addition of prefix
- Addition of suffix
- Conversion from one word class to another
- Forming compound words
Q3
Give some examples of word formation.
Here are some examples of the various types of word formation for your reference:
- Practical – impractical (prefix)
- Purpose – purposeful (suffix)
- Silent – silence (conversion)
- Dining + room – Dining room (compound word)
- Small – smaller – smallest (degrees of comparison)
Question: Discuss the rules of word formation.
Or, discuss the major rules of word-formation.
Introduction
Word formation rules are very basic concept of linguistic. This is a process of forming new word. All the languages of the world possess some basic rules or processes for building up new words or phrases too. Let us now know the major word-formation rules or processes of the English language.
Derivation
Derivation is one of the fundamental word formation rules in which affixes attach to the base form or root of the word. Affixes are prefixes, infixes and suffixes. Through this process, the grammatical forms of words are changed such as from noun to verb to adjective to adverb, from verb to verb, from adjective to adjective etc.
Examples:
- Nation – nationalize – national – nationally.
- Appear – disappear.
- Moral – immoral.
Back-formation
Back-formation is another compulsory rule of word-formation. In this procedure, affixes are subtracted to create a new word. This rule is vice versa of derivation.
Examples:
- Donation – donate.
- Obsessive – obsess.
More Notes of Linguistics
Compounding
The process in which two or more independent words are combined to hatch new word is called compounding rule of word generation.
Examples:
- Bed + room = Bedroom
- Note + pad = Notepad
- In + to = Into
- Break + up = Breakup
Blending
In blending process, parts of the words are taken to form new word.
Examples:
Europe + Asia = Eurasia
Biographical + picture = Biopic
Smoke + fog = Smog
Clipping
The method in which words are shortened to coin word is called clipping procedure of word formation. Though the words are shortened in this process, the meaning of the words remain unchanged.
Examples:
Examination – Exam
Advertisement – Ad
Mathematics – Math
Photograph – Photo
Abbreviation
Abbreviation means shortened form of words or phrases. Abbreviated words are basically and widely used for writing but some are used in spoken as well.
Examples:
cm – centimeter
km – kilometer
Dr.- doctor
Mr.- mister
Jr. – junior
Acronym
In acronym process, an abbreviation is formed from the initial letters of several words and pronounced as a word. The difference between abbreviation rule of word formation and acronym rule of word formation is that acronym cannot be written in small letter but abbreviation can be written using small and capital letter.
Examples:
UN – United Nations
WB – World Bank
SAARC – The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
Borrowing
Borrowing is the word formation process in which words of foreign languages become the asset of one language.
Examples:
Algebra – Arabic
Near – Sanskrit
Murder – French
Conclusion
Without knowing the basic rules of word formation, nobody can possess prosperity in both of oral and written communication.
Plan
-
Word-formation.
General notes. -
Affixation.
-
Compounding
(Composition). -
Reduplication.
-
Phrasal
verbs. -
Conversion
-
Substantivation.
-
Adjectivization.
-
Phrasal
nouns. -
Shortening.
-
Abbreviation.
-
Back-formation
(Reversion). -
Blending.
-
Minor
types of word-formation: change of stress. -
Sound
interchange (Gradation). -
Sound
imitation (Onomatopoeia). -
Lexicalization
of the plural of nouns.
1. Word-formation
Word-formation
is the process of creating new words from the material available in
the word-stock according to certain structural and semantic patterns
specific for the given language.
Various
types of word-formation in Modern English possess different degrees
of productivity. Some of them are highly-productive
(affixation,
conversion, substantivation, compounding, shortening, forming phrasal
verbs); others are semi-productive
(back-forming,
blending, reduplication, lexicalization of the plural of nouns,
sound-imitation), and non-productive
(sound
interchange, change of stress).
2. Affixation
Affixation
is a word-formative process in which words are created by adding
word-building affixes to stems. Affixation includes preftxation,
i.e.
forming
new words with the help of prefixes, and suffixation,
i.e.
forming new words with the help of suffixes.
From
etymological point of view affixes are classified according to their
origin into native
(e.g.
-er, -nese, -ing, un-, mis-, etc.) and borrowed
(Romanic,
e.g. -tion, -ment, -ance, -re-, sub-, etc.; Greek, e,g. -ist, -ism,
anti-, etc.).
Affixes
can also be classified into
productive (e.g.-er,
-ness, -able, -y, -ize, un- re-, dis- etc.) and non-productive
(e.g.
-th, -hood, -en, -ous, etc.).
Affixes
and a root constitute the meaning of the word, the root morpheme
forming its semantic centre, affixes playing a dependent role in the
meaning
of the word.
Prefixes
and suffixes are semantically distinctive,
they
have their own
meaning. Affixes
and a root constitute the meaning of the word, the root morpheme
forming its semantic centre, affixes playing a dependent role in the
meaning of the word.
Prefixes
change
or concretize the meaning of the word. The main
word-building
prefixes are:
-
prefixes
with a negative
meaning (e.g.
un-, in-, il-, ir-, im-, dis-, de-, non-); -
prefixes
with different
meanings (e.g.
anti-, co-, counter-, inter-, mis-, over-, en-, post-, pre-, re-,
self, semi-, sub-, ultra-, super-, undre-).Suffixes
have
a grammatical meaning they indicate or derive a certain part of
speech. Most of frequently used suffixes are:
-
noun-forming:
-er,
(-or), -tion (-sion), -ity, -ance, -ence, -ment, -ness, -ics, -ture,
-sure, -age, -ing; -
verb-forming:
-ize,
(-ise), -fy (-ify), -en, -ate; -
adjective-forming:
-able,
-ible, -al, (-ial), -fill, -less, -ive; -
adverb-forming:
-ly;
-ward (-wards).
3. Compounding
(Composition)
Compounds
are
words produced by combining two or more stems, which occur in the
language as free forms. They may be classified proceeding
from different criteria:
-according
to the parts of speech to which they belong (e.g. cut-throat,
shoe-maker- compound
nouns, watch
making , tooth-picker- verbal
compound
nouns; bring
up, sit down —
compound verbs, life-giving,
long-tailed —
compound adjectives, etc.);
-according
to the means of composition used to link their ICs (immediate
constituents) together (e.g. classroom,
timetable, H-bomb, grey-green,
etc);
-according
to the structure of their ICs (e.g. gasometre,
handicraft, Anglo-Saxon, etc.);
-according
to their semantic characteristics (e.g forget-me-not,
up-to-date, son-in-law, etc).
The
classification of compounds according to the means of joining their
ICs together distinguishes between the following structural types:
-
juxtapositional
(neutral) compounds whose
ICs are merely placed one after another: classroom,
timetable, heartache, whitewash, hunting-knife, weekend, grey-green,
deep-blue, U-turn, etc.; -
morphological
compounds whose
ICs joined together with a vowel or a consonant as a linking
element, e.g. gasometre,
sportsman, saleswoman,
electromotive, postman, etc.; -
syntactic
compounds (integrated phrases) which
are the result of the process of semantic isolation and structural
integration of free word-groups, e.g. blackboard
(>black
board), highway
(>high
way), forget-me-not
(>forget
me not), bull’s
eye, go-between, known-all, brother-in-law, upside-down, etc.
The
classification of compounds according to the structure of their ICs
includes the following groups:
Group
1. Compounds consisting of simple stems: railway, key-board,
snow-white, bookshelf, scarecrow, browbeat, etc.
Group
2. Compounds where at least one of the ICs is a derived stem:
chain-smoker, shoe-maker, pen-holder, snow-covered, moon-tit,
price-reduction,
etc.
Group
3, Compounds where at least one of the ICs is a clipped stem:
photo-intelligence, bacco-box, maths- mistress, T-shirt, TV-set,
X-mas, etc.
Group
4. Compounds where at least one of the ICs is a compound stem:
wastepaper-basket, newspaper-ownership, etc.
Note:
Compounds of Group 2 should not be mixed with derivational compounds
(Group 5) in which the second component doesn’t occur as a free
form. Derivational compounds are built by adding a suffix to phrases
of the A+N, N+N, Num+N type.
Cf:
chain-smoker (N + (V = -er)):: slim-waisted ((A + N) + -ed).
In
many English words one can find unstressed stems approaching the
status of derivational affixes. They have generalized meaning and
their combining
capacity is very great. Such morphemes are called semi-affixes.
Semi-affixes
can be used in preposition (semi-prefixes,
e.g.:
half-, ill-, mini-, midi-, maxi-, self-) and in postposition
(semi-suffixes,
e.g.
-man, -land,
-monger, -wright, -worthy, -proof, -like, -way(s)).
4. Reduplication
In
reduplication compounds are made by doubling a stem (often a
pseudomorpheme). Reduplicative compounds fall into three main
subgroups:
-
Reduplicative
compounds proper whose ICs are identical in their form, e.g.:
murmur, bye-bye, blah-blah, pooh-pooh, goody-goody, etc. -
Ablaut
(gradational) compounds whose ICs have different root-vowels, e.g:
riff-raff, dilly-dally, ping-pong, chit-chat, singsong, etc. -
Rhyme
compounds whose ICs are joined to rhyme, e.g.: willy-nilly,
helter-skelter, hoity-toity, namby-pamby, walkie-talkie, etc.
5. Phrasal
verbs.
Phrasal
verbs are combinations of a verb and adverb or a verb and preposition
(or verb with both adverb and preposition).
Phrasal
verbs may be either non-idiomatic or idiomatic. Non-idiomatic phrasal
verbs can retain their primary local meaning, e.g.: come in, come
out, come out of, take off, put down, etc. They may also have a kind
of perfective colouring, e.g. add up, eat up, drink up, swallow up,
rise up, etc.
In
idiomatic compounds meaning cannot be derived from ICs, e.g.: bring
up — виховувати,
bear out — підтверджувати,
give in – піддаватися,
fall
out — сваритися,
take in — обманювати,
etc.
In
modern English fiction one can often come across verbs which denote
an action and at the same time modify it in occasional colligations
with prepositions
or adverbs e.g. He
then tiptoed down to dinner. We forced our way into the buffet.
6. Conversion
Conversion
is a special type of affixless derivation where a newly-formed word
acquires a paradigm and syntactic functions different from those of
the original word (by conversion we mean derivation of a new word
from the stem of a different part of speech without the adding of any
formatives).
A
s
a result the two words are homonymous, having the same morphological
structure and belonging to different parts of speech. As
a matter of fact, all parts of speech can be drawn into the
wordbuilding process of conversion to a certain extent. Its
derivational patterns are varied,
the most widespread among them being N —► V, V
N,
A —► V.
For
example: N+V:
a face-to face, a walk-to walk, a
tube — to tube, a pen — to pen. V—>N:
to make-a make, to bite-a bite,
to
smoke — a smoke, to talk — a talk.
A—>V:
narrow-to narrow, empty-to empty, cool-to
cool.
7. Substantiation
Substantivation
is the process in which adjectives (or participles) acquire the
paradigm and syntactic functions of nouns. One should distinguish two
main types of substantivation: complete
and partial.
C
ompletely
substantivized adjectives have
the full paradigm of a noun, i.e. singular and plural case forms.
They may be associated with various determiners (definite, indefinite
and zero articles, demonstrative and possessive pronouns, etc.), e.g.
an
official, the official, officials, the officials, official’s,
officials this official, our officials, etc.
Complete substantivation is often regarded as a pattern of conversion
(A N), though it may be argued, since, as a rule, it is the
result of ellipsis in an attributive phrase: a conservative
politician
—► a
conservative, a
convertible
car
a convertible.
In
the case of partial
substantivation adjectives
do not acquire the full paradigm of a noun. They fall into several
structural-semantic
groups:
-
partially
substantivized adjectives (PSA) or participles which
are singular in form though plural in meaning. They are used with
the definite article and denote a group or a class of people, e.g.
the
rich, the accused, the English, the blind, the twing, etc.; -
PSA
used
mostly in the plural and denoting a group or a class of people, e.g.
reds,
greens, buffs, blues, etc. -
PSA
used
mostly in plural and denoting inanimate things, e.g. sweets,
ancients, eatables, etc. -
PSA
presenting
properties as substantive abstract notions, e.g. the
good, the evil, the beautiful, the singular, etc. -
PSA
denoting
languages, e.g. English,
German, Ukrainian, Italian, etc.
8. Adjectivization
Premodification
of nouns by nouns is highly frequent in Modern English. Non-adjuncts
should not be considered as adjectives produced by means
of conversion. Nevertheless, some nouns may undergo the process of
adjectivization and function as attributes with idiomatic meanings,
e.g.: coffee-table
(n.) —> coffee-table (adj.) — «Of a large size and richly
illustrated.»
9. Phrasal
nouns
Phrasal
nouns are
built from phrasal verbs as a result of a combined effect of
compounding, conversion, and change of stress. They consist of ICs
identical to those of the corresponding phrasal verbs, but obtain, as
a rule, the single-stress pattern and either solid or hyphenated
spelling, e.g.: to
break
down —> a
breakdown (a break-down).
10. Shortenings
There
exist two main ways of shortening: contraction
(clipping) and
abbreviation
(initial shortening).
Contraction.
One
should distinguish between four types of contraction:
-
Final
clipping (apocope), i.e. omission of the final part of the word,
e.g.: doc (< doctor), lab (< laboratory), mag -(<
magazine), prefab (< prefabricated),
vegs (< vegetables), Al (< Albert), Nick (< Nickolas), Phil
(< Philip), etc. -
Initial
clipping (apheresis), i.e. omission of the fore part of the word,
e.g.: phone (< telephone), plane (< aeroplane), story (<
history), van (< caravan), drome (< airdrome), Dora (<
Theodora), Fred (< Alfred), etc.
-
Medial
clipping (syncope), i.e. omission of the middle part of the word,
e.g.: maths (< mathematics), fancy (< fantasy), specs -(<
spectacles), binocs
(< binoculars), through (<thorough), etc. -
Mixed
clipping, where the fore and the final parts of the word are dipped,
e.g.: tec (< detective), flu (<influenza), fridge (<
refrigerator), stach (< moustache), Liz (< Elizabeth), etc.
Contractions
may be combined with affixation, i,e. by adding the suffixes -y, -ie,
-o, to clippings, e.g.: hanky (<handkerchief), comfy
(<comfortable),
unkie (<uncle), ammo (< Ammunition), etc.
11. Abbreviation
Abbreviations
(initial shortenings) are words produced by shortening the ICs of
phrasal terms up to their initial letters. Abbreviations are
subdivided
into 5 groups:
-
Acronyms
which are read in accordance with the rules of orthoepy as though
they were ordinary words, e.g.: UNO /’ju:nou/ (< United Nations
Organization), UNESCO /’ju:’neskou/ (< United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization), NATO /’neitou/ (< North
Atlantic
Treaty Organization), SALT /so:lt/ (<Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks), STEM /stem/ (< scanning transmission electron
microscope), radar /reida/ (< radio detecting and ranging), etc. -
Alphabetic
abbreviation in
which letters get their full alphabetic pronunciation and a full
stress, e.g.: USA /’ju:es’ei/ (< the United States ofAmerica),
B.B.C. /’bi:’bi:’si:/ (< the British Broadcasting Corporation),
M.P. /’em’pi:/ {<
Member
of Parliament), F.B.I. /’efbir’ai/ (< FederalBureau
of Investigation), etc.
Alphabetic
abbreviations are sometimes used for famous persons’ names, eg.: B.B.
(< Brigitte Bardot), FDR (< Franklin Delano Roosevelt), G.B.S.
(< George Bernard Shaw), etc.
3)Compound
abbreviations
in which the first IC is a letter (letters) and the second a complete
word, e.g.: A-bomb (<
atomic
bomb), V-day (<
Victory
day), Z-hour (< zero hour), L-driver (< learner-driver), ACD
solution (<acid citrate dextrose solution), etc.
One
or both ICs of compound abbreviations may be clipped, e.g.:
mid-August, Interpol (< International police), hi-fi (< high
fidelity), sci-fic (< science
fiction), etc.
4) Graphic
abbreviations which
are used in texts for economy of space. They are pronounced as the
corresponding unabbreviated words,
e.g.:
Mr.
(< Mister), m. (< mile), fl. (< foot/feet), v. (< verb),
ltd. (< limited), govt. (< government), usu. (< usually),
pp. (< pages, Co (< Company), X-mas
(< Christmas), etc.
5) Latin
abbreviations which
sometimes are not read as Latin words but as separate letters or are
substituted by their English equivalents, e.g.:
i.e.
/ai’i:/-that is, a.m. /ei’em/-before midday, in the morning, e.g.
-for example, Id. -in the same place, cf. -compare, etc.
12. Back-formation
(Reversion)
Back-formation
is the derivation of new words (mostly verbs) by means of subtracting
a suffix or other element resembling it, e.g.: butle < butler,
combust
< combustion, greed < greedy, lase < laser, luminisce <
luminiscent, sculpt < sculptor, etc.
13. Blending
Blending
is the formation of new lexical units by means of merging fragments
of words into one new word, or combining the elements of one word
with
a notional word, e.g.: smog (< smoke+fog), radiotrician
(radio+electrician), drunch (drinks+lunch), cinemagnate
(cinema+magnate), etc.
14. Minor
types of word-formation: change of stress
Several
nouns and verbs of Romanic origin have a distinctive stress pattern.
Such nouns, as a rule, are forestressed, and verbs have a stress on
the second
syllable, e.g. ‘accent (a):: ac’cent (v.), ‘contest (n.):: ‘con’test
(v.), ‘record (n.):: re’cord (v.), etc.
The
same distinctive stress pattern is observed in some pairs of
adjectives and verbs, e.g.: ‘absent (a):: ab’sent (v.) ‘abstract (a)
::ab’stract(v.), etc.
15.
Sound
interchange (Gradation)
Words
belonging to different parts of speech may be differentiated due to
the sound interchange in the root, e.g.: food (a):: feed (v.), gold
(a):: gild (v,), strong (a):: strength (n), etc.
16. Sound
imitation (Onomatopoeia)
Sound-imitative
(onomatopoeic) words are made by imitating sounds produced by living
beings and inanimate objects, e.g.: babble, bang, buzz, crash,
giggle, hiss, moo, purr, rustle, etc.
17. Lexicalization
of the plural of the nouns
There
are cases when the grammatical form of the plural of nouns becomes
isolated from the paradigm and acquires a new lexical meaning. This
leads to the appearance of new lexical units, cf: look “погляд”
::
looks «зовнішність».
REVISION
MATERIAL
-
Be
ready to discuss the subject matter of word-formation -
Tell
about affixation -
What
do you know about compounding (composition)? -
Give
examples of reduplication -
What
are phrasal verbs and phrasal nouns? -
What
can you tell about conversion? -
Comment
on the substantivation and adjectivization. -
Tell
about shortening: contractions and abbreviations. -
What
is back-formation? -
Give
examples of blending. -
Comment
on the minor types of word-formation. -
What
is the difference between gradation and onomatopoeia? -
What
does «lexicalization of the plural of nouns» stand for ?
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Для знания иностранного языка богатство словарного запаса ничуть не менее важно, чем понимание грамматики. Чем большим количеством слов владеет человек, тем свободнее он себя чувствует в иноязычной среде.
Многообразие лексики во многом определяется богатством словообразования в английском языке. Построение новых слов основано на общих принципах. И тот, кто знает эти принципы, чувствует себя среди незнакомой лексики гораздо увереннее.
Структура слова и ее изменение
Новые слова усваиваются постепенно. Чаще всего, сначала мы только понимаем их в текстах или чужой речи, а уже потом начинаем активно использовать в своей. Поэтому освоение новой лексики – процесс длительный и требует от ученика терпения, активной практики чтения, слушания и работы со словарем.
Один из методов быстро расширить свой словарный запас – освоить способы словообразования в английском языке. Поняв принципы, по которым строятся слова, можно из уже известного слова вывести значения его однокоренных слов.
Строительный материал для каждого слова – это корень, приставки и суффиксы. Корень – это та часть слова, которая несет основной смысл. Слово без корня не может существовать. Тогда как приставки и суффиксы – необязательная часть, однако прибавляясь к корню, именно они помогают образовать новые слова. Поэтому, описывая словообразование в английском, мы будем разделять приставочные и суффиксальные способы.
Все приставки и суффиксы обладают собственным значением. Обычно оно довольно размыто и служит для изменения основного значения слова. Когда к корню добавляется приставка или суффикс (или же оба элемента), то их значение прибавляется к значению корня. Так получается новое слово.
Образование новых слов может приводить не только к изменению значения, но и менять части речи. В этой функции чаще выступают суффиксы. Прибавляясь к корню, они переводят слово из одной части речи в другую, например, делают прилагательное из глагола или глагол из существительного.
Так, от одного корня может образоваться целая группа, все элементы которой связаны между собой. Поэтому словообразование помогает изучающим английский видеть смысловые отношения между словами и лучше ориентироваться в многообразии лексики.
Получить новое слово можно не только за счет приставок и суффиксов. Еще один способ – это словосложение, при котором в одно слово объединяются два корня, образуя новый смысл. Кроме того, к словообразованию относится сокращение слов и создание аббревиатур.
Приставки как способ словообразования в английском
Приставка (также употребляется термин «префикс») – элемент слова, который ставится перед корнем. Приставочное словообразование английский язык редко использует для смены частей речи (в качестве исключения можно назвать префикс «en-» / «em-» для образования глаголов). Зато приставки активно используются для изменения значения слова. Сами префиксы могут иметь различные значения, но среди них выделяется большая группа приставок со схожей функцией: менять смысл слова на противоположный.
1. Приставки с отрицательным значением:
- un-: unpredictable (непредсказуемый), unable (неспособный)
- dis-: disapproval (неодобрение), disconnection (отделение от)
- im-, in-, il -,ir-: inactive (неактивный), impossible (невозможный), irregular (нерегулярный), illogical (нелогичный). То, какая из этих приставок будет присоединяться к слову, зависит от следующего за ней звука. «Im-» ставится только перед согласными «b», «p», «m» (impatient — нетерпеливый). «Il-» возможно только перед буквой «l» (illegal — незаконный), «ir-» – только перед «r» (irresponsible — безответственный). Во всех остальных случаях употребляется приставка «in-» (inconvenient – неудобный, стесняющий).
- mis-: misfortune (несчастье, беда). Приставка «mis-» может использоваться не только для образования прямых антонимов, но и иметь более общее значение отрицательного воздействия (misinform — дезинформировать, вводить в заблуждение, misunderstand — неправильно понять).
2. Другие приставочные значения
- re-: rebuild (отстроить заново, реконструировать). Приставка описывает повторные действия (rethink — переосмыслить) или указывает на обратное направление (return — возвращаться).
- co-: cooperate (сотрудничать). Описывает совместную деятельность (co-author – соавтор).
- over-: oversleep (проспать). Значение префикса — избыточность, излишнее наполнение (overweight — избыточный вес) или прохождение определенной черты (overcome — преодолеть).
- under-: underact (недоигрывать). Приставку можно назвать антонимом к приставке «over-», она указывает на недостаточную степень действия (underestimate — недооценивать). Кроме того, приставка используется и в изначальном значении слова «under» — «под» (underwear — нижнее белье, underground — подземка, метро).
- pre-: prehistoric (доисторический). Приставка несет в себе идею предшествования (pre-production — предварительная стадия производства).
- post-: post-modern (постмодернизм). В отличие от предыдущего случая, приставка указывает на следование действия (postnatal – послеродовой).
- en-, em-: encode (кодировать). Префикс служит для образования глагола и имеет значение воплощения определенного качества или состояния (enclose — окружать). Перед звуками «b», «p», «m» приставка имеет вид «em-» (empoison — подмешивать яд), в остальных случаях – «en-» (encourage — ободрять).
- ex-: ex-champion (бывший чемпион). Используется для обозначения бывшего статуса или должности (ex-minister — бывший министр).
Образование новых слов при помощи суффиксов
Суффиксы занимают позицию после корня. За ними может также следовать окончание (например, показатель множественного числа «-s»). Но в отличие от суффикса окончание не образует слова с новым значением, а только меняет его грамматическую форму (boy – мальчик, boys – мальчики).
По суффиксу часто можно определить, к какой части речи принадлежит слово. Среди суффиксов существуют и такие, которые выступают только как средство образования другой части речи (например, «-ly» для образования наречий). Поэтому рассматривать эти элементы слова мы будем в зависимости от того, какую часть речи они характеризуют.
Словообразование существительных в английском языке
Среди суффиксов существительных можно выделить группу, обозначающую субъектов деятельности и группу абстрактных значений.
1. Субъект деятельности
- -er, -or: performer (исполнитель). Такие суффиксы описывают род занятий (doctor — доктор, farmer — фермер) или временные роли (speaker — оратор, visitor — посетитель). Могут использоваться и в качестве характеристики человека (doer — человек дела, dreamer — мечтатель).
- -an, -ian: magician (волшебник). Суффикс может участвовать в образовании названия профессии (musician — музыкант) или указывать на национальность (Belgian — бельгийский / бельгиец).
- -ist: pacifist (пацифист). Этот суффикс описывает принадлежность к определенному роду деятельности (alpinist – альпинист) или к социальному течению, направлению в искусстве (realist — реалист).
- -ant, -ent: accountant (бухгалтер), student (студент).
- -ee: employee (служащий), conferee (участник конференции).
- -ess : princess (принцесса). Суффикс используется для обозначения женского рода (waitress – официантка).
2. Абстрактные существительные
Основа этой группы значений – обозначение качества или состояния. Дополнительным значением может выступать объединение группы людей и обозначение определенной совокупности.
- -ity: activity (деятельность), lability (изменчивость).
- -ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency: importance (важность), dependence (зависимость), brilliancy (великолепие), efficiency (эффективность).
- -ion, -tion, -sion: revision (пересмотр, исправление), exception (исключение), admission (допущение), information (информация).
- -ism: realism (реализм). В отличие от суффикса «-ist» обозначает не представителя некоторого течения, а само течение (modernism — модернизм) или род занятий (alpinism — альпинизм).
- -hood: childhood (детство). Может относиться не только к состоянию, но и описывать группу людей, форму отношений: brotherhood (братство).
- -ure: pleasure (удовольствие), pressure (давление).
- -dom: wisdom (мудрость). Также используется при обозначении группы людей, объединения по некоторому признаку: kingdom (королевство).
- -ment: announcement (объявление), improvement (улучшение).
- -ness: darkness (темнота), kindness (доброта).
- -ship: friendship (дружба). К дополнительным значениям относится указание на титул (lordship — светлость), умение (airmanship — лётное мастерство) или на объединение круга людей определенными отношениями (membership — круг членов, partnership — партнерство).
- -th: truth (правда), length (длина).
Словообразование прилагательных в английском языке
- -ful: helpful (полезный). Указывает на обладание определенным качеством (joyful — радостный, beautiful — красивый).
- -less: countless (бессчетный). Значение суффикса близко к отрицанию и характеризует отсутствие определенного качества, свойства (careless — беззаботный). Этот суффикс можно определить как антоним для «-ful» (hopeless — безнадежный, а hopeful — надеющийся).
- -able: comfortable (комфортный). «Able» (способный) существует и как самостоятельное прилагательное. Оно определяет значение суффикса – возможный для выполнения, доступный к осуществлению (acceptable – приемлемый, допустимый, detectable – тот, который можно обнаружить).
- -ous: famous (знаменитый), dangerous (опасный).
- -y: windy (ветреный), rusty (ржавый).
- -al: accidental (случайный), additional (добавочный).
- -ar: molecular (молекулярный), vernacular (народный).
- -ant, -ent: defiant (дерзкий), evident (очевидный).
- -ary, -ory: secondary (второстепенный), obligatory (обязательный).
- -ic: democratic (демократический), historic (исторический).
- -ive: creative (творческий), impressive (впечатляющий).
- -ish: childish (детский, ребяческий). Суффикс описывает характерный признак с негативной оценкой (liquorish – развратный) или с ослабленной степенью качества (reddish — красноватый). Кроме того, суффикс может отсылать к национальности (Danish — датский).
- -long: livelong (целый, вечный). Такой суффикс обозначает длительность (lifelong — пожизненный) или направление (sidelong — косой, вкось) и может принадлежать не только прилагательному, но и наречию.
Словообразование глаголов
Для глагольных суффиксов сложно определить конкретные значения. Основная функция таких суффиксов — перевод в другую часть речи, то есть само образование глагола.
- -ate: activate (активизировать), decorate (украшать).
- -ify, -fy: notify (уведомлять), verify (проверять).
- -ise, -ize: summarize (суммировать), hypnotize (гипнотизировать).
- -en: weaken (ослабевать), lengthen (удлинять).
- -ish: demolish (разрушать), embellish (украшать).
Словообразование наречий
- -ly: occasionally (случайно).
- -wise: otherwise (иначе). Обозначает способ действия (archwise — дугообразно).
- -ward(s): skyward/skywards (к небу). Обозначает направление движения (northward — на север, shoreward — по направлению к берегу).
Суффиксы: таблица словообразования по частям речи
Приведенный список суффиксов – это далеко не все возможности английского языка. Мы описали наиболее распространенные и интересные случаи. Для того чтобы разобраться в этом множестве вариантов и лучше усвоить образование слов в английском языке, таблица резюмирует, для каких частей речи какие суффиксы характерны.
Поскольку суффиксальное преобразование слов в английском языке различается по частям речи, таблица разбита на соответствующие группы. Одни и те же суффиксы могут добавляться к разным частям речи, но в результате они определяют, к какой части речи принадлежит новое слово.
Объединение суффиксов и приставок
Важная характеристика словообразования – это его продуктивность. От одного корня можно образовать целую группу слов, добавляя разные приставки и суффиксы. Приведем несколько примеров.
- Для possible словообразование может выглядеть следующим образом: possible (возможный) — possibility (возможность) — impossibility (невозможность).
- Цепочка переходов для слова occasion: occasion (случай) — occasional (случайный) — occasionally (случайно).
- Для слова agree словообразование можно выстроить в цепочки с приставкой и без приставки: agree (соглашаться) — agreeable (приемлемый / приятный) — agreeably (приятно) — agreement (соглашение, согласие).
agree (соглашаться) — disagree (противоречить, расходиться в мнениях) — disagreeable (неприятный) — disagreeably (неприятно) — disagreement (разногласие).
Словосложение и сокращение слов
Словосложение — еще один способ образовать новое слово, хотя и менее распространенный. Он основан на соединении двух корней (toothbrush — зубная щетка, well-educated — хорошо образованный). В русском языке такое словообразование тоже встречается, например, «кресло-качалка».
Если корень активно используется в словосложении, то он может перейти в категорию суффиксов. В таком случае сложно определить, к какому типу – суффиксам или словосложению – отнести некоторые примеры:
- -man: fireman (пожарный), spiderman (человек-паук)
- -free: sugar-free (без сахара), alcohol-free (безалкогольный)
- -proof: fireproof (огнестойкий), soundproof (звукоизолирующий)
Помимо объединения нескольких корней, возможно также сокращение слов и создание аббревиатур: science fiction — sci-fi (научная фантастика), United States of America – USA (Соединенные Штаты Америки, США).
Новые слова без внешних изменений
К особенности словообразования в английском языке относится и то, что слова могут выступать в разных частях речи без изменения внешнего вида. Это явление называется конверсией:
I hope you won’t be angry with me — Надеюсь, ты не будешь на меня злиться (hope – глагол «надеяться»).
I always had a hope to return to that city — У меня всегда оставалась надежда вернуться в этот город (hope – существительное «надежда»).
The sea is so calm today — Море так спокойно сегодня (calm – прилагательное «спокойный»).
With a calm she realized that her life was probably at its end — Со спокойствием она осознала, что ее жизнь, вероятно, подходила к концу (calm – существительное «спокойствие, невозмутимость»).
I beg you to calm down — Я умоляю тебя успокоиться (calm – глагол «успокоиться»).
23.11.19
Discuss major word formation rules / What is syntax? What are the word formation processes? major word formation process | major word formation rules | word formation | word formation rules | word formation processes | word formation process | try dot fulfill.
word formation rules, word formation process |
(Short points: Definition,Affixation,Compounding,Conversion,Blending,Clipping,Alteration)
Ans :
Word formation stands for process of forming new words or word groups. It is a means of generating linguistic units in order to create a new word having a semantic and formal connection with the original unit. Word formation has regarded as a branch of lexicology or grammar. Major word formation rules are given below:
Affixation -word formation rule:
It is a word formation process by adding derivational affixes (suffixes and prefixes). It’s the most common way of creating new words in English. Suffixes are added to the main lexical word classes (noun, verb, adverb, adjective).
e.g. noun + adjective = nation + al = national
verb + adjective = punish + able = punishable
several morphemes = de +nation + al + iz + ation = denationalization.
Compounding — word formation process:
Two free morphemes make a word joining together is called a compound word.
Ex: noun + noun
school + bag = school bag
table + lamp = table lamp
chair + man = chairman
bed + room = bedroom
Compound words may be written as two separate words or hyphened words or joined as one word.
Conversion — word formation rule:
It is the process whereby word of one grammatical form is converted into another grammatical form without any changes to spelling or pronunciation.
e.g. Noun to verb:
host — to host
access — to access
name — to name
ship — to ship
Verb to noun:
to call — call
to fear — fear
to hope — hope
Blending — word formation process:
Blending is the process of creating a new word by
combining the parts of two different words. (The beginning of one word and
ending of another).
e.g. breakfast + lunch = brunch
motor + hotel = motel
Spanish + English = Spanglish
Clipping — word formation rule:
It is the word formation process where word is
reduced or shortened without changing meaning.
e.g.
advertisement — ad
examination — exam
gasoline — gas
gymnasium — gym
laboratory — lab
mathematics — math
photograph — photo
telephone — phone
Alteration — Word formation process:
Alteration is the process of creating words by
morpheme-internal modifications.
e.g.
ring — rang — rung
sing — sang — sung
man — men
strife — strive
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More Information: (For Long Answer)
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Word Formation Rules | Word Formation Processes.
Word formation is a branch of morphology which is
regarded as a branch of lexicology and grammar. Word formation describes
the structure and meaning of words, the components, classification and patterns.
It discusses derivational meanings and categories of derived words.
In short, `word formation’ is the process of making new
words from other words or word groups. It forms new vocabulary items through
several rules or processes.
Major word formation rules / Major
word formation processes are discussed below:
Derivation — Word formation rule:
Derivation is a word formation process/ word formation rule
where base form of a word and a derivational affix are attached together and
form a new word. Affix includes suffixes and prefixes. They are bound morphemes
where morpheme is the smallest meaning unit of a language. Derivation may occur
in same grammatical form or different grammatical forms.
Ex: Retaining derivation:
- Verb –
verb
Appear disappear.
Qualify disqualify.
Lead mislead.
- Noun — noun
Friend friendship
Companion companionship.
- Adjective —
adjective
Practical impractical.
Changing derivation:
- Verb — noun
Starve starvation.
Derive derivation.
Inform information.
- Verb — adjective
Bore boring
- Noun —
verb
Code codify.
Back formation – word formation process:
It is a word formation rule / word formation process where
a derivational affix is detached from the base form of a word and forms a new
word. Back formation is the opposite process of derivation. It is the
result of over generalization of derivational suffixes.
e.g. Word Back formation.
Gambler gamble
Television televise
Donation donate
Eponyms – Word formation process:
It is a word formation process where word is formed from the name
of a person who can be real or fictitious.
E.g. Word Person.
Boycott Charles C. Boycott.
Cereal Ceres.
Sadistic Marquis de Sade.
Sandwich John Montagu (4th Earl of
Sandwich)
Volcano Vulcan.
Coinages – Word formation rule:
It is a word formation process / word formation rule where
word is formed accidentally or deliberately without using word formation
processes.
e.g.
Heroin.
Google.
Muggle.
Zipper.
Escalaton.
Reduplication – word formation process:
In this word formation rule / word formation process new
word is created by the repetition of a root. If the full root is repeated, the
word formation process is called ‘Complete reduplication’. Wherein if a part of
the root is repeated, it is called ‘Partial reduplication’.
E.g. Word formation by complete reduplication:
bye-bye
ha-ha
goddy-goddy
Word formation by partial reduplication:
Walkie-talkie.
Bow-wow.
Ping-pong.