Topic 10: Lexis: Characteristics of word-formation in English. Prefixation, Suffixation and Compounding Flashcards
Which famous linguist’s work contributed to the study of word formation?
Noam Chomsky, particularly his book “Syntactic Structures” published in 1957.
What publication did Dr. Johnson create in the 15th century?
The Dictionary of the English Language.
What was the purpose of the Oxford English Dictionary, started in 1857?
To document and control the creation of new words in English.
How does the document classify words from a morphological perspective?
Words are classified as either monomorphemic (single morpheme) or polymorphemic (more than one morpheme).
What is a morpheme?
The smallest meaningful unit of grammatical analysis.
How many morphemes are in the word “unlikely”?
Three morphemes: un-, like, and -ly.
What are free morphemes?
Words that can stand alone, such as “love”.
What are bound morphemes?
Morphemes that cannot stand alone and are attached to other morphemes, such as -ness or dis-.
What are the two types of words distinguished by linguists?
Orthographic words (written with spaces) and phonological words (pronounced as a single unit).
What is the difference between lexical terms and lexemes?
Lexical terms are items listed in dictionaries as separate words, while lexemes are stored mentally as individual items.
What is the most common method of creating new words in English?
Derivation (also known as affixation).
What are infixes?
Morphemes placed within the base of a word.
Does English have a formal system of infixes?
No, infixes are commonly used in informal or colloquial language.
What is prefixation?
The process of adding a prefix to a root word.
What is a negative prefix? Give examples.
A prefix that negates the meaning of the root, such as UN-, NON-, or DIS- (e.g., unfair, non-smoker, dislike).
What is suffixation?
The process of adding a suffix to a root word.
What is the primary function of suffixes?
To change the grammatical function of the base word.
Give examples of noun suffixes.
-AGE (orphanage), -SHIP (citizenship), -ER (walker), -LET (booklet).
Give examples of adjective suffixes.
-ED (printed), -FUL (mindful), -ABLE (adorable).
What is compounding?
The process of combining two or more existing words to create new words.
The process of combining two or more existing words to create new words.
They can be hyphenated, written as one word, or as separate words (e.g., duty-free, newspaper, car park).
What are the three types of compounds based on their function?
Noun compounds, adjective compounds, and verb compounds.
Give an example of a compound noun.
“Car salesman” (a man who sells cars).
What is conversion in word formation?
The process where a word changes from one word class to another.