The process of word formation is widely recognised as a phenomenon that is innate to human life all around the world. As defined by Trask (1997), the process of word formation is a method of creating new words from previously existing components. Meanwhile, according to Hacken and Thomas (2013), the word creation process is the method through which new words are created based on a set of rules. Aside from that, according to Plag (2003), the term “word formation process” refers to the process of creating new words from existing ones. Based on the foregoing description, it can be inferred that the word formation process is the method of constructing new words from existing words in accordance with certain rules. The process of word formation can be both productive and non-productive.
Word Formation in English
The English language has a natural acumen for combining words to create powerfully evocative phrases. Examples include sunstroke, pick-pocketing, elbow-room, land-lord, hummingbird, and a variety of other things.
When there are two pieces to a compound word, they are normally separated by a period. Nevertheless, in the case of several often used compound words, the component components have grown so intimately linked that they are now written as a single word, with no hyphen or other separator between them.
Examples include: sunstroke, a landlord, a pickpocket, an overload, and so forth.
For certain other compound nouns, total integration has been achieved through the modification of one or both of the component elements.
The word pass time, for example, is now written as pastime. In the same way, a holy day has been transformed into a holiday, and a prime rose has been transformed into a primrose.
Word Formation Examples
To emphasise something implies to draw attention to it or demonstrate that it is significant. We might emphasise the importance of a concept by emphasising its importance or by describing it thoroughly.
Speaking emphatically is stating things in a clear and unambiguous (and typically loud) manner. There is no room for ambiguity in this situation.
To employ someone is usually synonymous with providing them with a job and compensating them for their efforts.
Employment (or unemployment) is a term that refers to a person who provides jobs to others, while employee refers to a person who obtains work. Employed (or unemployed) and (un)employable are two adjectives that can be used to describe people.
To verify anything is to discover or demonstrate that it is true. (It is derived from the French and Latin words true + make.) It can be transformed into four different adjectives. Something that can be checked and confirmed as true is referred to as verifiable. Something that cannot be proven is referred to be unverifiable. Verified is something that has been checked or demonstrated to be true, whereas unverified is something that has not been checked or demonstrated to be true. There is also a term for this process: verification.
Achievement is a term that denotes the accomplishment of a goal: having accomplished a goal. Are you able to guess the verb? (Hint: delete the suffix that creates nouns.)
If you take the verb (achieve) and add the suffix -er, you will get the noun for someone who achieves success. In the case of a person who is excessively focused on achievement, use the prefix over- . For one adjective, add the suffix -able to the verb, and for a second adjective, add the negative prefix un- to the verb before the suffix.
We can utilise the verb to excite to create three different types of adjectives (with the suffixes ‘–able,’ ‘-ed,’ and ‘–ing,’ respectively), as well as their negative counterparts. Excitedly and exciteably are two adverbs that are derived from the word excitement. We can accomplish the same thing with a variety of other verbs as well.
Types of Word Formation
- Coinage
- Borrowing
- Compounding
- Blending
- Clipping
- Backformation
- Conversion
- Acronyms
- Derivation
Coinage
Making up entirely new words Kleenex, Xerox, and Kodak are examples of product names that have been extended from a specific reference to a more general one. Eponyms are words that are based on the name of a person or a location. Sandwich, jeans, and watt, for example.
Borrowing
Taking words from another language and putting them in your own. Many Latin and French words have been borrowed into English. a leak (Dutch) Bar-b-que (Spanish) Piano is a musical instrument (Italian) settee (Arabic) Croissants are a type of pastry (French) Yogurt is a delicious dairy product (Turkish) Arabic also borrowed many English words, such as television, radio, and supermarket. Calque or loan-translation A phrase that has been translated into another language.
Compounding
Two or more words joined together to form a new word.
Examples:
Home + work homework (N)
Pick + pocket pickpocket (N)
Low + paid low-paid (Adj)
Note: The meaning of a compound is
not always the sum of the meanings of
its parts.
Coconut oil oil made from coconuts.
Olive oil oil made from olives.
Blending
Blending is similar to compounds, except just parts of the words are merged.
Examples:
Motor + hotel Motel
Breakfast + lunch Brunch
Smoke + fog smog
Teleprinter + exchange telex
Clipping
removing one or more syllables from a word to make it shorter
Examples:
Facsimile fax
Hamburger burger
Gasoline gas
Advertisement ad
Professor?
Doctor?
Backformation
removing one or more syllables from a word to make it shorter
Examples:
editor edit
television televise
babysitter babysit
Note: backformation always involve reduction
(changing the form of the word)
Conversion
Adding a new syntactic category to an already existing term.
Examples:
butter (N) V to butter the bread
permit (V) N an entry permit
empty (A) V to empty the litter-bin
must (V) N doing the homework is a
must
Microwave (N) V
Acronyms
Words formed by combining the initials of multiple words
example:
National Aeronautics and Space Agency NASA
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UNICEF
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization UNESCO
Compact Disc CD
Derivation
The highly common word formation process.
affixes
Examples:
Happy unhappy, happiness
Arrange rearrange
Prefixes vs. suffixes
Infixes inside the word
Tell them I’ve gone to Singabloodypore!
Multiple Processes
The creation of a particular word
involves more than one process.
Example: Problems with the project
have snowballed
Snow + ball compound
Snowball (N) (V) conversion
Conclusion
English is considered to be a global language. This is mostly due to the word formation mechanism that is employed to invent new words in the language in the first place. The English language has become more adaptable as a result of the large amount of vocabulary available. When a word is transformed into a very or an adjective, it is known as morphing. For instance, the word “danger” can be converted into the verb “endanger” and the adjective “dangerous.” Consequently, the importance of language grows as a result of word development. When a language generates new words, for example, by borrowing, it not only helps to sustain the vitality of that language, but it also opens the door for other languages to borrow from the original language. Other languages are kept alive as a result of this. A language can be extinguished. The absence of the word creation process can lead to the death of a sentence. There are numerous ways in which a language might be extinguished.
