72 Questions
What are some ways to make new English words besides affixation?
Borrowing from other languages, blending, clipping, conversion, back-formation, eponyms, and reduplication.
What is a calque?
A word borrowed from one language to another by translating each individual element.
What is an example of a calque?
Beer garden (from German Biergarten).
What is a portmanteau word?
A word formed by blending two separate words.
What is an example of a portmanteau word?
Motel (hotel + motor).
What is clipping?
The process of shortening a word by making a change in its lexical form while keeping the same meaning.
What is an example of clipping?
Ad (from advertisement) or CD (from compact disc).
What is back-formation?
The word formation process in which an actual or supposed derivational affix detaches from the base form of a word to create a new word.
What is an example of back-formation?
To televise (from television) or to edit (from editor).
What are some examples of newly coined words that turn out to have existed before?
hobbit was a small basket for carrying seeds and a local measure of grain in North Wales.
What are nonce words?
New words formed through any number of aforementioned word formation processes with the resulting word meeting a lexical need that is not expected to recur.
What happens to nonce formations if they come to be adopted by the community?
They cease, by definition, to be ‘nonce’ and become neologisms.
Can a speaker/writer ever know whether a nonce word will become a neologism?
No, at the point of utterance no speaker/writer ever knows whether a nonce word will become a neologism.
What did Dr. Seuss create a word for?
To characterise his small comic figure a nerd to denote an 'insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person.'
Has the word nerd become commonly used and understood in English?
Yes.
What are invented trade names for commercial products that become general terms called?
Coining.
What is an example of a coined term that became a general term?
Aspirin.
What is another example of a coined term that became a general term?
Xerox.
Apart from affixation, there are other ways to ______ new English words
make
A word can be borrowed from another language, also known as a ______
loanword
When a word is translated from one language to another it is called a ______
calque
When two separate words are blended together to create a new word, it is called a ______
portmanteau
A shortened form of a word, while keeping the same meaning, is called ______
clipping
When a word is converted from one class to another, it is called ______
zero-derivation
When an actual or supposed derivational affix detaches from the base form of a word to create a new word, it is called ______
back-formation
When a new word is formed from the name of a real or fictitious person, it is called an ______
eponym
When we repeat a morpheme to make a new word, it is called ______
reduplication
A hobbit was a small basket for carrying seeds and a local measure of grain in ______
North Wales
Nonce formations have occasionally come to be adopted by the community – in which case they cease, by definition, to be ‘nonce’ and become ______.
neologisms
Dr. Seuss created a word to characterise his small comic figure a ______ to denote an 'insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person.'
nerd
Newly coined words also often turn out to have existed ______.
before
A nonce word is a linguistic form which a speaker spontaneously invents on a single ______.
occasion
The most typical sources or coining are invented trade names for commercial products that become general terms (aspirin, xerox, kleenex). Newly coined words also often turn out to have existed ______.
before
A ______ word is a new word that is formed through any number of word formation processes and meets a lexical need that is not expected to recur.
nonce
Of course at the point of utterance no speaker/writer ever knows whether a nonce word will become a ______.
neologism
Today the word ______ is commonly used and understood in English.
nerd
Nonce words are expected to recur in future language use.
False
A newly coined word can never have existed before.
False
A neologism is a word that has never been used before.
False
Portmanteau words are formed by blending two or more words together.
True
Back-formation is the creation of a new word by removing an affix from an existing word.
True
All nonce formations eventually become neologisms.
False
Invented trade names that become general terms are also known as eponyms.
False
Calques are words borrowed from another language and translated literally.
True
The word 'nerd' was first used by Dr. Seuss to describe a character in one of his books.
True
Is it common for words to be fully invented in the English language?
False
A calque is a word borrowed from another language and translated to another, true or false?
True
Is back-formation the word formation process in which a derivational affix attaches to the base form of a word to create a new word?
False
Is zero-derivation the word formation process in which a word is converted from one class to another, true or false?
True
Is reduplication the word formation process in which two separate words are blended together to create a new word?
False
Is it true that newly coined words often turn out to have existed before?
True
Is it possible for a speaker/writer to know whether a nonce word will become a neologism?
False
Is it true that coining new words from scratch is more likely to spread among the language community than borrowing or blending words?
False
Is it possible for a morpheme to be repeated to create a new word through the process of portmanteau?
True
What is the word formation process in which a new word is formed from the name of a real or fictitious person?
Eponym
What is the word formation process in which a change is made to the lexical form of a word but the meaning remains the same?
Clipping
What is the term used for blending two separate words to create a new word?
Portmanteau
What is the term used for borrowing a word from another language and translating it literally?
Calque
What is the word formation process in which a new word is created by repeating a morpheme?
Reduplication
What is the term used for the word formation process in which a new word is created by removing an affix from an existing word?
Back-formation
What is the term used for the word formation process in which a word is converted from one class to another?
Zero-derivation
What is the term used for a newly coined word that becomes commonly used in the English language?
Neologism
What is the term used for a word that is borrowed from another language without being translated?
Zero-derivation
What is the definition of a neologism?
A newly coined word that turns out to have existed before.
What is a nonce word?
A linguistic form which a speaker spontaneously invents on a single occasion.
What is an example of a nonce word that has become a neologism?
Nerd
What is the difference between a nonce word and a neologism?
A nonce word is a new word that is formed through any number of word formation processes and meets a lexical need that is not expected to recur, while a neologism is a newly coined word that turns out to have existed before.
What is the process of back-formation?
The creation of a new word by removing an affix from an existing word.
What is an example of a coined term that became a general term?
Hobbit
What is the definition of a nonce formation?
A new word that is formed through any number of word formation processes and meets a lexical need that is not expected to recur.
What happens to a nonce formation if it is adopted by the community?
It ceases to be a nonce formation and becomes a coined term.
What is a calque?
A word borrowed from another language and translated literally.
Test your knowledge of the different ways to create new English words in this quiz! From borrowing from other languages to creating portmanteau words, this quiz covers it all. See if you can identify the various methods used to expand the English language.
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