5 Questions
What is the term for the process of reducing a longer word to a single syllable and adding -y or -ie to the end, favored in Australian and British English?
Hypocorism
What is the term for reducing a word of one type (usually a noun) to form a word of another type (usually a verb)?
Backformation
What is the term for the process of shortening a word by removing one or more syllables?
Clipping
Which term refers to the study of the origin of words and the historical development of their meanings?
Etymology
What is the term for the addition of -y or -ie to the end of a word after reducing it to a single syllable, as seen in words like 'telly' and 'Aussie'?
Hypocorism
Study Notes
Word Formation Processes
- Clipping is the process of shortening a word by removing one or more syllables.
Conversion
- Conversion is the term for reducing a word of one type (usually a noun) to form a word of another type (usually a verb).
Etymology
- Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the historical development of their meanings.
Hypocorism
- Hypocorism is the process of reducing a longer word to a single syllable and adding -y or -ie to the end, favored in Australian and British English.
- Hypocorism is seen in words like 'telly' and 'Aussie', where a longer word is shortened and -y or -ie is added to the end.
Test your knowledge of word formation in linguistics with this quiz on clipping and etymology. Identify examples of clipped words and explore the origins of various terms in the English language.
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