You are on page 1of 12

the study of how words are created in a language

Morphology

Inflection

Word Formation
1

Acronyms

Derivation (Affixation)

Coinage

Conversion

Word Formation

Borrowing

Backformation Clipping

Compounding
Blending

=
2

1. Coining (Coinage)
the invention of new words, a rare process.
Most of such terms come from the name of the inventors, the products names or the companys name. Aspirin Nylon Zipper Fahrenheit Google Kleenex Sandwich Volt
3

2. Borrowing
the process of taking words from other languages
croissant (French) alcohol (Arabic) caf (French) boss (Dutch) Loan translation or calque Adam's apple: a calque of French pomme d'Adam loanword: a calque of German Lehnwort blue-blood: a calque of Spanish sangre azul
4

piano (Italian) yoghurt (Turkish) robot (Czech) satan (Arabic)

3. Compounding
the process of combining two (or more) words to form a new word

+
fire engine wallpaper greenhouse bluebird

=
textbook outpatient over-ripe bookcase

4. Blending
the process of combining the beginning of one word and the end of another word to form a new word similar to compounding, but parts of the words involved are lost (usually 1st part of 1st word + end of 2nd word)
e.g. brunch (breakfast+ lunch) smog (smoke+ fog) motel (motor+ hotel) newscast (news + broadcast) fantabulous (? + ?) modem (modulator + demodulator)
6

5. Clipping
the process of reducing a word of more than one syllable to a shorter form); often in casual speech
gasoline gas laboratory lab fanatic fan facsimile fax hamburger burger cellular cell advertisement ad influenza flu examination exam

( names) Liz Kathy Bev


7

6. Back formation
the process of reducing a word such as a noun to a shorter version and using it as a new word such as a verb e.g. donation donate editor edit burglar burgle zipper zip television televise babysitter babysit
8

7. Conversion
the process of changing the function of a word, such as a noun to a verb, as a way of forming new words, also known as (functional shift) and (category change) V N a guess, a must, a spy, a printout, walk, run, laugh, touch N V position, process, contact, notice, party, fax, butter, bottle (computer-related term) input, output, window V ADJ see-through, a stand-up comedian
9

8. Acronyms (1)
= a new word is formed from the initial letters of other words A. the acronym is pronounced as a word
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) Radar (radio detecting and ranging)
10

8. Acronyms (2)
= a new word is formed from the initial letters of other words B. each letter is sounded out separately
ATM = automatic teller machine I.Q. = intelligence quotient MTV = music television VCR = video cassette recorder CD = compact disk USA = The United States of America UN = The United Nations FAO = Food and Agriculture Organization) UCLA = University of California at Los Angeles)
11

Acronyms

Derivation (Affixation)

Coinage

Conversion

Word Formation

Borrowing

Backformation Clipping

Compounding
Blending

=
12

You might also like