Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of

English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

Weeks 6 and 7
Word Formation Processes

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i n Contents
1. Derivation
2. Reduplication
3. Conversion or Function shift
4. Compounding
5. Blending
6. Back formation
7. Shortening
8. Root Creations

Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 1

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

1. Derivation
• Derivation is the addition of a derivational
affix.
• Derivational affixes are either
……………….. or ……………………...
• Examples:
- ……………………. : un-, mis-, pre-,…
- ……………………..: -ish, -ism, -ness, …
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The addition of a derivational affix to a root produces a new
word with one or more of the following changes:
- A …………………. change: reduce → reduction, clear →
clarity.
- An …………………. change to the root: pity → pitiful,
deny → denial.
- A …………………. change, which may be fairly
complex: event → eventual, post → postage.
- A change in …………………. : rich (n) → enrich (v).

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Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

1. Derivation
• Most prefixes can change only the ……………
…………………. , not its class.

• Suffixes have two functions:

- Change the ………………….

- Change the …………………. .

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s e
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• Only 3 prefixes can change the part of speech of
the root:

…… N/V→ Adj ablaze, asleep, astir

…… N→V betoken, befriend

…… A/N → V enlarge, ensure

• Other prefixes can change only the meaning of the

root.
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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 3

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

Prefixes 1
• Prefixes fall into a number of ……………………
in English, depending on the meaning they
contribute to the roots.

• Some prefixes may fit into …………………

category.

• Prefixes may often attach to ……………… part

of speech.
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Change thei
n
meaning of Change the part of speech of
1
the root the root
Diminutive suffixes Adj/ V + Nominalizer → N
-ling, -let, -y -dom, -ity/ -ment, -er
Feminine suffixes N/ Adj + Verbalizer → V
-ess, -ette, -rix, -ine -ify, -ize
Abstract suffixes N/V/ Adj + Adjectivalizer → Adj
-ship, -hood, -ism -ous, -ful/ -ive, -able/ -ish, -ly
Adj/ N + Adverbializer → Adv
-ward, -ly/ -way(s)
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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 4

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

1. Derivation
• Derivation can be stated in terms of lexical rules

E.g.

mis- + align (V) + -ment → misalignment (N)

Image (N) + -ine + -ary → imaginary (Adj)

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2.eReduplication
in
• Reduplication is the process in which the
initial syllable of the entire word is
…………..…, exactly or with a slight
phonological change.

• 3 different kinds of reduplication

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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 5

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

2. Reduplication
- …………..… reduplication: papa, mama, goody-
goody, so-so.

- …………..… reduplication in which the vowel

alternates while the consonants are identical: flip-
flop, zig-zag, ping-pong, wishy-washy.

- …………..… reduplication in which the

consonants change while the vowel remains the
same: roly-poly, helter-skelter.
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3. Conversion/ Function shift
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• A function shift is the conversion of one part of
speech to another without the addition of a suffix.

• In other word, a ……………… derivational suffix is

added.

• The only concrete change that may occur is a

change in stress.

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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 6

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

3. Conversion/ Function shift

• Kinds of function shift:

V -> N: (a)

N -> V: (to)

A ->V: (to)

N -> A:

A ->N:

Particle -> V:
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3. Conversion/ e Function shift
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• It is often difficult to know which is the original
(basic) form and which the converted form.

• Clues:

– Semantics or morphological modification.

– The regularity of …………..….

– …………..… change in the case of conversion of phrasal

V to N and Adj.

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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 7

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

3. Conversion/ Function shift

• Commonization is a special kind of function shift
in which a proper noun is converted into a common
word.
• With …………..…change
– N: cashmere, china; V: canter, welsh;
– Adj: frank, maudlin

• With a …………..………→ different part of speech

– N: chauvinism ; V: pasterize

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t Compounding
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• Compounding is the combination of ………
…………...… free roots (plus associated
affixes).

• Common English compounds: bookcase,

fingerprint, sunburn, textbook, wallpaper, gook-looking, fast
food.

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Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

4. Compounding
Compound Phrase
▪ Consists of …………..…… free root

▪ May be semantically …………..…

Free roots are joined Free roots are joined in a

together as …………..… single syntactic unit but
remain …………..….

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4. eCompounding
in
Compound Phrase
…………..… modified …………..… modified
Manhole → manholes, Man-of-war → men-of-war
Not *menhole
External …………..…: can Part of the phrase can move
move into a sentence as a into the sentence
whole
Carries only …………..… Carries more than one
primary stress primary stress

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Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

4. Compounding
• The semantics of compounds are not simply
a …………..… of the meaning of the parts:
– Homeland: land which is one’s home

– Homemade: something which is made at home

– Homestead: a place which is a home

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4. eCompounding
in
• The syntax of compounds is even more complex.

Principle:

- The word class is determined by the head of the

compound (rightmost)

- The primary stress is carried by the leftmost.

* Converted compounds are exceptions.

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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 10

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

4. Compounding
Compound Phrasal Verb
- Have semantic …………..…
- The meaning is not …………..… from the
meaning of the part

…………..… modified …………..… modified

burned down

Carries only one primary Carries more than one

stress primary stress

y
Behaves syntactically like
phrases
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• Blending is accomplished by taking only the
…………..… of one word and joining it to the
…………..… of the other word.

• E.g.
- gasso(line) + (alco)hol → gasohol
- Sm(oke) + (f)og → smog
- Mo(tor) + (ho)tel → motel

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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 11

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

5. Blending
• Sometimes one or other morphemes is left intact.
E.g.

sky + (hi)jacker → skyjacker

docu(mentary) + drama → docudrama

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6.tBack
in
• A word of one type is …………..… to form a word
of another type is called back formation.

• Back formation is the opposite of …………..…

• E.g.
- Emotion → emote
- Peddler → peddle
- Connotation → connote

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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 12

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

7. Shortening
• Shortening is the …………..… of sound
segments without respect to morphological
boundaries.

• 3 types:
- Clipped forms

- Acronyms

- Initialism

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7.
inthe result of deliberately …………..…
• Clipping:
part of a word, usually either the …………..… or
the …………..…, while retaining the same
meaning and same word class.

• E.g.

- Fanatic → fan - Microphone → mike

- Mitten → …………. - Hamburger → ………….

- Refrigerator → …………..…
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Introduction to Linguistics 1/ Morphology 13

Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

7. Shortening
• Clipping:
• A word or …………..…a word in a phrase is
clipped
narcotics agent → narc
moving picture → movie (a diminutive affix may be
attached to the clipped form)

• A clipping may leave behind a ……………

……………. rather than (part of) the …………….
ex-husband → ex

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s e
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• Acronyms: The …………..… letters of words in a
phrase are pronounced as a word.

• E.g.

- WASP: White Anglo Saxon Protestant.

- NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

- Radar: radio detecting and ranging.

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Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of
English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

7. Shortening
• Initialism: The letters of words in a phrase are
pronounced as …………..… .

• E.g. - a.m

- p.m

- B.C

- A.D

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8.eRoot Creation
in
• Root creation is the invention of an ………
…………….. root morpheme.

• E.g.: brand names

– Onomatopoeic words: their pronunciation are

imitative of animal sounds or natural sounds.

– Literary coinages

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