Lecture 4 - Word formation Flashcards
Word-formation: Basics
What can we do to add new words to a language?
- Invent from scratch, root creation, coinage
e. g. Google, Hobbit - Borrow from another language -> language contact
e. g. Sushi, Kindergarten - Give a new meaning to an existing word -> semantic change
e. g. mouse (animal, computer), mothership - Create a new word from already existing elements -> word-formation
e. g. Facebook, hangry, dadbod, catfish
Word-formation processes:
What are productive word formation processes?
- Compounding
- Affixation
Word-formation processes:
What are less productive word formation processes?
- Conversion
- Shortenings (blending, acronyms, clipping, backformation)
Word-formation processes:
Rank them from high to low productivity
compounding
derivation
conversion
shortenings
Compounding
What is compunding?
Putting lexemes (i.e. content words, free morphemes) together to create something new
Compounding
Give examples for compounds
- English students, lecture hall
- handout, flashlight, headset, textbook
- word-formation, word-class
alternative spellings – variation:
word-formation vs. word formation
Wastebin vs. waste bin vs. waste-bin
Compounding
Name the features of English compounds
- Spelling
- Stress
- Complexity and constituency
- Word-classes
Compounding: Stress
English noun compounds are usually stressed on their …
left-hand member
e.g. English students
ENGlish students = students who study English
English STUdents = students from England
ENGlish teacher → a teacher of English
(could be from Germany)
English TEAcher → a teacher who happens to be English (could be a history teacher)
Compounding:
Give examples for the difference between a NP with Adjective (left) and compound [NP] without Adjective
a green house - a greenhouse
a black board - a blackboard
Compounding:
Name the different compound types
modifier = lefthand element + head = righthand element
nominal, adjectival and verbal compounds
Give examples for nominal, adjectival and verbal compound-combinations
N + N - newspaper
N + A - color-blind
N + V - to housekeep, to babysit
A + N - fast-food A + A - dark-blue dark-blue to deep-fry V playground --------- to crash-land Preposition overweight --------- to overhear
Compounding:
Give examples for Complexity & Constituency
wildlife sanctuary = wild + life + sanctuary
Compounding:
What does the right-hand member do?
The right-hand element contributes the main elements of meaning, determines word-class and carries inflection
e. g.: plant house = “a kind of house“
vs. house plant =“a kind of plant“
Chair lift - chair lifts - (w) chairs lift
windmill - windmills - (w) windsmill
to crash-land - crash-landed - (w) crashed-land
Compounding:
Over time compounds and other collocations can become …
opaque
Affixation:
Describe Derivational Morphology
new words are created by adding an affix sometimes a change in word class is involved
Affixation:
The two types of affixes are … + give examples
Prefix: prefix + base
unfold, malfunction, preview, reread
Suffix: base + suffix
notify, baker, coldness, nursery
Affixation:
How do the prefixes and suffixes change the word-class?
Prefixes rarely change word-class of the derivative obey (V) - disobey (V) legal (A) - illegal (A) member (N) - non-member (N) witch (N) - bewitch (V) frost (N) - defrost (V) large (A) - enlarge (V)
Suffixes often change word-class of the derivative, create derivatives of a certain word class, attach to bases of a certain word-class
Affixation:
In English prefixes may inform about …
- quantity: mono, poly, bi (monogamous, polygraph)
- kind of involvement: co, contra (cooperate, contradiction)
- evaluations: mis, pseudo (mislead, pseudoartist)
- place/direction: ad, sub (adjoin, subtitle)
- measurement: hyper, hypo (hyperactive, hypothermia)
- negation/opposite: dis, un (dislike, unsubscribe)
- time/duration: post, re (postcolonial, renew)
Affixation:
In English derivational suffixes may form …
agentive nouns from verbs/adj.:
- er: teacher, baker
- ist: artist, cyclist
abstract nouns from V/A:
- al: renewal, revival
- ness: bitterness, fairness
V from A/N:
- en: darken, lighten, deafen
- ify: purify, verify, modify
A from V/N:
- able: notable, understandable, agreeable
- less: fearless, faultless, homeless
A from names:
- (i)(a)n: Victorian, Shakespearean
- ist: Marxist, Buddhist
Affixation:
Suffixes create derivatives of a certain word-class. Give examples
- ee: employer, employee, mentor, mentee
- -> nouns
- al: fiction/-al, tradition/-al
- -> adjectives
- en: light/-en, sick/-en, wide/-n
- -> verbs
- wise: length/-wise, clock/-wise
- -> adverbs
Affixation:
One suffix can render a range of different meanings. Give examples
-er:
1) commander, preacher, teacher
“person who Xs” > Agent Nouns
2) mixer, toaster, slicer, dishwasher
“instrument that Xs” > Instrumental Nouns
-ise
hospitalize, computerize “put in to X”
modernize, regularize “make (more) X”
Conversion:
Describe conversion
Creation of a new word belonging to a new word class without any overt marking, also called ‘zero-derivation‘ • Same form – different word-classes / meanings • minimal effort
a gesture - to gesture water (N) - to water to flirt - a flirt Google - to google empty (A) - to empty
Shortenings:
Describe shortenings
linguistic material is deleted rather than added; no change of word-class or meaning (exception: back-formation)
Shortenings:
Name the four types of shortenings
- Clippings
- Blends
- Abbreviations
- Back-formation
Shortenings:
Describe and give examples for clippings
- words are ‘chopped down’
- also called truncation
–> Names - nicknames:
Liz, Pat, Trish, …
--> other (usually) nouns • Exam (ination) • Uni (versity) • fridge (refrigerator) • flu (influenza) • (air) plane
Shortenings:
Describe and give examples for blends
Are formed by combining parts of two words
- motorway + hotel = motel
- Breakfast + lunch = Brunch
- Situation + comedy = Sitcom
- smoke + fog = smog
- hungry + angry = hangry
Shortenings:
Describe and give examples for abbreviations
Are formed from initial letters/sounds of several words
Acronym:
• pronounced like a word
• e.g. UNESCO, YOLO, NASA, OPEC, RAM, laser
Initialism:
• pronounced letter by letter
• e.g. TV, DVD, UCLA, UK, DJ, PC
Shortenings:
Name abbreviations that made it into the general vocabulary
They are then spelled as regular words:
• laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation)
• radar (radio detection and ranging)
• scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)
Shortenings:
Describe and give examples for back-formation
Part of a word that appears to be a suffix is taken away → this changes the word-class
Examples: Editor → Edit Babysitter → Babysit Intuition → Intuit Sleepwalking → Sleepwalk enthusiasm → enthuse commentator → commentate
Shortenings:
Give an overview over the different types
one word:
- back formations
- clippings
more than one word:
- blends
- abbreviations (acronyms, initialisms)
