Word formation & Morphology Flashcards
etymology
the study of the origin and history of a word
borrowing
taking over words from other languages.
loan-translation (calque)
(two words) Direct translation of the element of a word into the borrowing language. eg. skyscraper “cloud scratcher” in German.
compounding
joning of two seperate words to produce a single form. eg bookcase, good-looking, fast-food.
blending (2)
the beginning of one words combined with the end of another. eg smoke+fog=smog, motor+hotel=motels
OR two beginnings combined (modem=modulator+demoduator)
clipping
makes words shorter by taking away syllables. eg gasoline -> gas.
hypocorisms
longer words reduced to one syllable + y/ie
eg. telly, mivie, bickie. mostly in British and au.
neologism
a new word in a language
backformation
A word (usually a noun) is reduced to another form (usually a verb). eg. worker->work, babysitter->babysit.
conversion
a change in function of a word (without reduction). eg. to print out-> a printout, glue as a verb, water as a verb.
coinage
totally new terms. eg aspirin, granola
eponyms
new word based on a name of a place or person. eg. teddy bear, sandwich.
acronyms
new word formed from the initial letters. eg CD, NASA, UNESCO.
derivation
adding affixes to words eg. unhappy, sadness.
affixes
the small bits added to a words in derivation
prefix
affix added before the word
suffix
affix added after the word
infix
affix ad den in the middle of the word. Not so common.
analogy
word formed to be similar to a already existing word.
eg hippie and yippie -> yuppie
backformation
A word (usually a noun) is reduced to another form (usually a verb). eg. worker->work, babysitter->babysit.
conversion
a change in function of a word (without reduction). eg. to print out-> a printout, glue as a verb, water as a verb.
coinage
totally new terms. eg aspirin, granola
eponyms
new word based on a name of a place or person. eg. teddy bear, sandwich.
acronyms
new word formed from the initial letters. eg CD, NASA, UNESCO.
derivation
adding affixes to words eg. unhappy, sadness.
affixes
the small bits added to a words in derivation
prefix
affix added before the word
suffix
affix added after the word
infix
affix ad den in the middle of the word. Not so common.
analogy
word formed to be similar to a already existing word.
eg hippie and yippie -> yuppie
morphology
“the study of forms”
the investigation that analyses all the basic “elements” in language. the internal structure of words
morpheme
a minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function.
free morpheme
a “element” of a word that stand by itself and give meaning. eg new, tour.
bound morpheme
a “element” of a word that can not stnd by itself (attached to more). eg re-, -ist, -ed.
stem
the basic word form or morpheme when it has bound morphemes attached.
lexical morpheme
the free morpheme that “carries” the content. eg girl, sad, cat.
functional morpheme
the free morpheme that are not carrying content. eg and, but, it.
derivational morpheme
a bound morpheme that gives a word new meaning/changes word class when added. eg re-, pre-, -ly, -ment.
inflectional morpheme
a morpheme that do not produce new words, but to indicate grammatical function of word. do not change word class.
allomorph
a group of morphs (versions of one morpheme)
morphs
the actual forms used to realise morphemes.
11 examples of word formation
Borrowing, loan-translation Compounding, blending Clipping, hypocorisms, backformation Conversion Coinage, acronyms Derivation
