Chapter 5: Derivation and Inflection

Question 1

What is derivation and inflection?

Answer 1

(picture in notes)

= both are kinds of bound morphemes
- Derivation: Lexem (basic form) builds new words; creation of new lexemes
- Inflection: word form –> create variance (grammatical variance of a word); creation of word forms
–> criteria for distinguishing inflectional from derivational morphemes:
° change of category
° Productivity
° semantic consistency
° word formation

Question 2

Define the change of category.

Answer 2

= Derivational morphemes can change the grammatical category of the base –> word class

(1) to act: actor; action –> nominalization
(2) Hospitale: to hospitalize –> verbalization
(3) to count: countable –> adjectivization
(4) quick: quickly –> adverbialization

Question 3

What defines the productivity?

Answer 3

• inflectional morphemes tend to be more productive than derivational morphemes
• but! productivity of derivational morphemes is continuum

productive derivational morphemes:
= apply to all members of a word class 
- un-
- mis-
- non-
- -less
- -ation 

unproductive derivational morphemes:
= unproductive bc. there are extremely limited combining words 
- en- (e.g. enslave)
- a- (eg. atypical)
- -hood (e.g. motherhood)
- -dom (e.g. freedom)

Question 4

Word formation process - semantic consistency (Bedeutung, Inhalt)

Answer 4

= derivational morphemes are semantically less consistent than inflectional morphemes

(1) cars - “more than one car”
tables - “more than one table”
shoes - “more than one shoe”
–> “more than one”

(2) computerise - “put into a computer” –> “put into X”
modernise - “make (more) modern” –> “make more X”
regularise - “make (more) regular”
–> “make more X”
brotherise - “provide w/ a brother” –> “provide w/ X”

Question 5

Define the different word formations.

Answer 5

= derivation; compounding; conversion; blending; clippings; abbreviations

Question 6

Define derivation

Answer 6

= putting a affix to a word to create a new one

examples:
- elect”ion”; kill”er”; “de”motivate; “un”fair;… –> change meaning or word forms

Question 7

Define compounding.

Answer 7

= different pronunciation of the same words
= combination of two free morphemes

Orthography:
armchair; pain-free; dinner table

Stress:
the White House (over there) –> The White House

Question 8

Define conversion.

Answer 8

= an existing morpheme is turned into a member of a different word class without adding or removing any morphemes

• N>V: to bridge, to mail, to data-bank
• V>N: a command, a dump, a kiss
• ADJ>V: to open, to better, to empty
• ADJ>N: the poor, a daily (rather rare)
• Closed CL: no buts, to up, to down

Question 9

Define blending.

Answer 9

= a creative process in which 2 existing words are literally merged or fused together to express a combination of both

• smoke + fog –> smoke
• motor + hotel –> motel
• breakfast + lunch –> brunch
• channel + tunnel –> Chunnel

Question 10

Define clipping.

Answer 10

= reduction of long, often polymorphemic words to shorthand expressions

• bicycle = bike
• gasoline = gas
• advertisment = ad

Question 11

Define abbreviation.

Answer 11

= different way of creating such shorthand forms to reduce complex expressions to the initial letters of the elements they contain

Acronyms:

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization = NATO
• Radio detecting and ranging = radar

Initialism:

• Unites states of America = USA
• Jean Pierre = JP