Word formation explained

In linguistics, word formation is an ambiguous term^[1] that can refer to either:

• the processes through which words can change^[2] (i.e. morphology), or
• the creation of new lexemes in a particular language

Morphological

A common method of word formation is the attachment of inflectional or derivational affixes.

Derivation

See main article: Morphological derivation. Examples include:

• the words governor, government, governable, misgovern, ex-governor, and ungovernable are all derived from the base word (to) govern^[3]

Inflection

See main article: Inflection. Inflection is modifying a word for the purpose of fitting it into the grammatical structure of a sentence.^[4] For example:

• manages and managed are inflected from the base word (to) manage
• worked is inflected from the verb (to) work
• talks, talked, and talking are inflected from the base (to) talk^[5]

Nonmorphological

Abbreviation

Examples includes:

• etc. from et cetera

Acronyms & Initialisms

See main article: Acronym.

An acronym is a word formed from the first letters of other words. For example:

• NASA is the acronym for National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• IJAL (pronounced /aidʒæl/) is the acronym for International Journal of American Linguistics

Acronyms are usually written entirely in capital letters, though some words originating as acronyms, like radar, are now treated as common nouns.^[6]

Initialisms are similar to acronyms, but where the letters are pronounced as a series of letters. For example:

• ATM for Automated Teller Machine
• SIA for Singapore International Airlines

Back-formation

See main article: Back-formation.

In linguistics, back-formation is the process of forming a new word by removing actual affixes, or parts of the word that is re-analyzed as an affix, from other words to create a base. Examples include:

• the verb headhunt is a back-formation of headhunter
• the verb edit is formed from the noun editor
• the word televise is a back-formation of television

The process is motivated by analogy: edit is to editor as act is to actor. This process leads to a lot of denominal verbs.

The productivity of back-formation is limited, with the most productive forms of back-formation being hypocoristics.

Blending

See main article: Blend word.

See also: Portmanteau.

A lexical blend is a complex word typically made of two word fragments. For example:

• smog is a blend of smoke and fog
• brunch is a blend of breakfast and lunch.^[7]
• stagflation is a blend of stagnation and inflation
• chunnel is a blend of channel and tunnel,^[1] referring to the Channel Tunnel

Although blending is listed under the Nonmorphological heading, there are debates as to how far blending is a matter of morphology.

Compounding

See main article: Compound (linguistics).

Compounding is the processing of combining two bases, where each base may be a fully-fledged word. For example:

• desktop is formed by combining desk and top
• railway is formed by combining rail and way
• firefighter is formed by combining fire and fighter

Compounding is a topic relevant to syntax, semantics, and morphology.

Word formation vs. Semantic change

See main article: semantic change.

See also: conversion (word formation).

There are processes for forming new dictionary items which are not considered under the umbrella of word formation. One specific example is semantic change, which is a change in a single word's meaning. The boundary between word formation and semantic change can be difficult to define as a new use of an old word can be seen as a new word derived from an old one and identical to it in form.

See also

• Neologism

Notes and References

1. Bauer . L. . Word Formation . Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition) . 1 January 2006 . 632–633 . 10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/04235-8 . 17 December 2021 . Elsevier . 9780080448541 . en.
2. Book: Baker . Anne . Hengeveld . Kees . Linguistics . 2012 . John Wiley & Sons . Malden, MA. . 978-0631230366 . 23.
3. Katamba . F. . 1 January 2006 . Back-Formation . Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition) . 642–645 . 10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/00108-5 . 9780080448541.
4. Book: Linguistics : the basics. 2012. John Wiley & Sons. Anne, July 8- Baker, Kees Hengeveld. 978-0-631-23035-9. Malden, MA.. 217. 748812931.
5. Katamba . F. . Back-Formation . Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition) . 1 January 2006 . 642–645 . 10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/00108-5. 9780080448541 .
6. Book: Carstairs-McCarthy, Andrew. An Introduction to English Morphology: Words and Their Structure. Edinburgh University Press. 2018. 978-1-4744-2896-5. 71. 2nd.
7. Aronoff. Mark. 1983. A Decade of Morphology and Word Formation. Annual Review of Anthropology. 12. 360. 10.1146/annurev.an.12.100183.002035.