Word Formation Processes
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Questions and Answers

Lex-forming orthographic modification is the development of an orthographically distinct output allolex with a different pronunciation than the input lex.

False (B)

The creation of new words can involve only a single process in word formation.

False (B)

A car-phone is an example of a word formed through a single process of compounding.

False (B)

The word 'karaokenight' illustrates a combination of two distinct processes in word formation.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'infodemic' is an example of a word formed solely through derivation.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Covidiots and anti-vax are examples of neologisms.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'guitarist' is formed through the process of compounding.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The study of word-formation does not involve analyzing how complex words are created.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Abbreviation is one of the processes involved in word formation.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Words like 'mother-in-law' are examples of back-formation.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The examples 'happiness' and 'priceless' illustrate the blending process of word formation.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'staycation' is formed through the method of blending.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the word 'neighbor', the components 'neigh' and 'bor' can be separated to understand its meaning.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Bound morphemes can stand alone in the English language.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Compounding is the less common process of word formation compared to derivation in English.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Eponyms are new words derived from the names of individuals or locations.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'coinage' refers to the creation of entirely new words.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'google' has its origins from a misspelling of 'googol'.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Derivation is the least prevalent method of word formation in English.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Affixes are used solely as stand-alone words in English.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The conversion process involves changing a word's function without using any morphological markings.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The examples provided for conversion include shifting from a noun to an adjective.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Coined terms typically retain their capitalized form in common usage.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Technical terminology can sometimes have a historical background based on people's names.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

All of the processes of word formation discussed are primarily influenced by modern technology.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Zero-morphs are features considered in the study of conversion processes.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Compound adjectives can be created using the process of word-formation.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The process known as clipping involves lengthening a word by adding syllables.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Back-clippings retain the front part of a non-clipped word.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'fax' is an example of a mid-clipping.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hypocorisms are formed by condensing a lengthy word down to a single syllable and adding the suffix -y or -ie.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Suppletion creates less formal names by merging two distinct names into one.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Apophony involves changing the meaning of a word entirely.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Words such as croissant and piano have their origins in the English language.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Loan-translation implies a direct translation of the elements of a word into another language.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'gadgets' is an example of a fore-clipping.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Mid-clippings keep the middle part of a word intact while removing the front and back.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Indonesian linguists commonly adopt English words without adjusting their spelling.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'refi' represents a fore-clipping of 'refinancing'.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'shedload' is a result of apophony and derives its meaning from 'shitload'.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word gasohol is a blend of gasoline and alcohol.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Acronyms are formed by combining the last letters of multiple words.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'smog' is a blend of smoke and fog.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The words 'guess' and 'must' originated as nouns and were converted into verbs.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Infotainment and simulcast are examples of acronyms.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The process of compounding is more prevalent in French than in English.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The acronym 'ATM' stands for 'automated teller machine'.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Phrasal verbs can only be transformed into nouns.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term loan-word itself is believed to have come from the French term Prêt-mot.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A 'stand-up comedian' is an example of an adjective derived from a verb.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

'Snafu' is derived from 'situation normal, all fucked up'.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The English word 'superman' is a calque of the German word Übermensch.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Blending can involve using parts of two different words to create a new term.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Back-formation refers to a process where a verb is modified to create a noun.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'televise' was created through the process of backformation from the noun 'television'.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Verbs can sometimes lose their meanings when converted into nouns.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'microwave' is an example of compounding.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Orthographic modification only involves changes in pronunciation without altering the spelling.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The compound word 'snowball' can be converted into a verb through the process of compounding.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Nouns like 'butter' and 'chair' have become widely accepted as verbs.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A 'telethon' combines the concepts of television and a fundraising marathon.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'covidiot' combines 'COVID' and 'idiot' through the processes of compounding and borrowing.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Clipping is a word formation process that involves deleting part of a word to create a shorter form.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Suppletion is the process of deriving new words through a phonological similarity between the old and new forms.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The process called blending results in the combination of two separate terms without any reduction.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Noah Webster's first dictionary faced criticism for including 'vulgar' words such as advocate and test as verbs.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The word 'emote' is formed from the process of blending the word 'emotion'.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Acronyms are formed by combining the last letters of each word in a phrase.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The expression 'moment of truth' has origins from the German phrase 'der Moment der Wahrheit'.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Word Formation

The study of how new words are created by combining existing words or morphemes.

Derivation

The process of creating a new word by adding a prefix or suffix to an existing word.

Conversion

Creating a new word by changing the grammatical category of an existing word, like turning a noun into a verb.

Compounding

Combining two or more words to create a new word, often with a hyphen.

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Clipping

Creating a new word by shortening an existing word, often retaining the same meaning.

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Acronym

Creating a new word by using the first letter of each word in a phrase, often pronounced as a single word.

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Neologism

The study of how new words are created and how language changes over time.

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Borrowing

The process of creating a new word by borrowing it from another language.

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Free Morpheme

A word that can stand alone without needing to be attached to another word. Example: "cat", "run", "happy".

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Bound Morpheme

A word that cannot stand alone and must be attached to a free morpheme to create a meaningful word. Example: "un", "re", "-ing", "-ly".

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Prefixation

A type of derivation where a new word is created by adding a prefix to a base word. Example: "un-" (unhappy), "mis-" (misunderstand), "pre-" (pre-judge).

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Suffixation

A type of derivation where a new word is created by adding a suffix to a base word. Example: "-less" (careless), "-ly" (quickly), "-ness" (happiness).

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Eponym

A word formed from a person's name. Example: "Hoover" (vacuum cleaner), "jeans" (denim pants), "Fahrenheit" (temperature scale).

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Coinage

The creation of entirely new words, often for commercial products or concepts. Example: "Aspirin", "Xerox", "Google".

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Toponym

Words created from the names of places. Example: "jeans" (from Genoa, Italy).

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Hyphenated Compound

A new word that is formed by combining two words, often with a hyphen. Example: "high-tech", "long-term", "part-time".

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Etymology

The study of how words are formed and how they change over time.

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Affixation

The process of adding a prefix or suffix to a base word, which creates a new word with a new meaning. Example: "un-" (unhappy), "-ing" (running).

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Colloquialisms

Words that are often used informally, and can be considered slang or informal language. Example: "chill", "bling", "hangry".

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Conversion (word formation)

A process where a word from one grammatical category transitions into another, like a noun becoming a verb.

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Blending (word formation)

A type of word formation where two words combine to create a new word, often using parts of both original words.

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Acronym (word formation)

A word formed by taking the first letters of a phrase and using them as a new word. It can be pronounced as individual letters or as a single word.

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Compounding (word formation)

A type of word formation that combines two words to create a single new word, often with a hyphen. Example: 'bookshelf'

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Nouns becoming Verbs

The process of converting a noun into a verb. Example: 'to google' (from the noun 'Google').

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Verbs becoming Nouns

The process of converting a verb into a noun. Example: 'a guess' (from the verb 'to guess').

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Verbs becoming Adjectives

The process of converting a verb into an adjective. Example: 'a see-through dress' (from the phrase 'to see through').

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Adjectives becoming Verbs

The process of converting an adjective into a verb. Example: 'to dirty the floor' (from the adjective 'dirty').

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Adjectives becoming Nouns

The process of converting an adjective into a noun. Example: 'the crazy' (from the adjective 'crazy').

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Blending Example: Gasohol

The combination of two words creates a new word with a distinct meaning. Example: 'gasohol' (gasoline + alcohol).

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Blending Example: Smog

A word formed from a combination of 'smoke' and 'fog', describing air pollution. Example: 'smog'.

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Blending Example: Telethon

A term used for a type of fundraising event done over television, combining 'tele' and 'marathon'. Example: 'telethon'.

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Blending Example: Infotainment

A new word combines 'information' and 'entertainment', describing media that blends both. Example: 'infotainment'.

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Acronym Example: Laser

An acronym formed from the phrase 'light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation'. Example: 'laser'.

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Acronym Example: ATM

An acronym formed from the phrase 'automated teller machine'. Example: 'ATM'.

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Acronym Example: PIN

An acronym formed from the phrase 'personal identification number'. Example: 'PIN'.

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Back-clipping

A type of clipping where the ending part of a word is removed.

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Fore-clipping

A type of clipping where the beginning part of a word is removed.

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Mid-clipping

A type of clipping where the middle part of a word is removed.

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Hypocorism

A type of word formation where a word is shortened to a single syllable and a suffix is added, often '-y' or '-ie'.

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Suppletion

A word formation process where a word is replaced with a completely different, but related word.

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Apophony

A word formation process where a new word is created by replacing a sound in a word with a similar-sounding one.

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Loan-translation

A type of borrowing where a word is translated directly from another language.

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Lex

The term 'lex' refers to a word.

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Allolex

The word 'allolex' refers to a variant form of a word.

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Blending

A word formation process where a new word is created by combining elements from two existing words.

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Back-formation

A specialized reduction process that creates a verb from an existing noun.

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Back-formation

A very specialized type of reduction process that creates a verb by shortening an existing noun.

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Orthographic Modification

Occurs when a word undergoes a change in spelling but remains pronounced the same.

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Study Notes

Word Formation Processes

  • Word formation is the study of how new complex words are created using existing words or morphemes.

Key Processes

  • Coinage: Creating entirely new words. Often trade names become general terms (e.g., aspirin, nylon, kleenex). "Google" is a well-known example of modern coinage. Eponyms are words derived from people or places (e.g., sandwich, jeans, fahrenheit).
  • Derivation: Adding affixes (prefixes and/or suffixes) to a base word to form a new word (e.g., unhappy, misrepresent, joyous).
  • Conversion: Changing a word's function without adding or reducing elements (e.g., the noun "bottle" becoming the verb "to bottle"). Categories can shift: noun-to-verb, verb-to-noun, adjective-to-verb, and adjective-to-noun. Meaning can change in some cases (e.g., the negative connotation of the verb "to doctor").
  • Blending: Combining parts of two words to form a new word (e.g., gasohol, smog, brunch, motel, telecast).
  • Acronyms: Forming a word from the first letters of a phrase (often used as a shorthand) (e.g., NATO, laser, scuba). May be pronounced as letters or as a complete word.
  • Compounding: Combining two independent words to make a single word (e.g., bookshelf, wallpaper). Can create compound adjectives & combine adjective + noun structures to form words (e.g., fast-food).
  • Clipping: Shortening a word (e.g., "fax" from "facsimile", "gym" from gymnasium). Types include back clipping, fore clipping, mid clipping, which can also create less formal names (e.g., Liz from Elizabeth).
  • Suppletion: Creating a new word whose pronunciation or form differs significantly from the word from which it comes. (e g Sasha from Alexander)
  • Apophony: Changing a vowel in a word in a particular way creating a new word form. ( e g feck, Merkin)
  • Borrowing: Taking words from other languages (e.g., croissant, dope, lilac, piano, zebra). Can be loan translations or calques (e.g., gratte-ciel, skyscraper).
  • Back-Formation: Creating a new word from a different grammatical category by removing parts of a word – usually a noun to create a verb (e.g., "television" to "televise"). Often follows a pattern like "worker" to "work."
  • Orthographic Modification: Changing the spelling of a word while keeping the pronunciation the same (e.g., "gangster" to "gangsta," or "u" for "you").
  • Multiple Processes: Creating new words by using multiple processes (e.g., a word that began with borrowing a word from another language and then clipping it).

General Principles

  • Many newly formed words, particularly those from multiple processes, may only exist temporarily. Inclusion in a dictionary is used to estimate the longevity of a word in a language, although this can be disputed.

Additional Notes

  • Bound morphemes are attached to free morphemes in derivation; free morphemes are combined to create new words in compounding.

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Description

Explore the various methods of creating new words in the English language through this quiz on word formation processes. Learn about coinage, derivation, conversion, blending, and acronyms, and how they contribute to language development.

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