morphology and the lexicon word formation processes
Affixation Words Structure
Prefixes, or suffixes .1) SIMPLE : The word
cannot be segmentate according to the
meaning, words like: boy, hospital,hunter etc.
2) COMPLEX: The word can be segmentated
into different parts , words like: hospital-ize,
hospital-ize-ation etc.
DerivationWord formation
This is a process that changes the words,
changes the category of the word.
Examples: To fix (v), Fixable (adj),
Penny(n), Pennyless (adj.), Happy (v),
unhappiness (adj)
Compounding and multicompounding words
This is the creation of new
words out of existing ones,
independant words occur
together to form a new
compound word. Examples:
red-skin, armchair, overdose,
underarm etc.
Other word formation processes
1)Blending:Process
of combining two
separate forms to
produce a single
term- Examples:
Gasohol = Gasoline
and alcohol
2) Clipping: It means
cutting off the
beginning or ending of
a word ,or both,
leaving a part to stand
for a whole. Examples:
lab,dorm,
prof,exam,math etc.
3)Backformation:A word of one
type is reduced to form another
word of a different type, from
noun to a verb. Examples:
Television, televise,
donate,donation, edit, editor etc.
4)Conversion: This is a change
in the function of a word, a
noun that becomes a verb with
any reduction. Examples:
access, to access, host, To host,
salt, to salt. etc.
5) Acronyms : They
are words derived
from the initials of
several words.
Examples: ONU,MIT,NATO etc.
Additional Formations
1) Coinage: The invention of
totally new names, invented
trade names for commercial
products that become general
terms for any version of that
product. Examples:
Kleenex,Teflon,Google,
2)Borrowings: It is a word or
a phrase adopted from one
language into another.
Examples: software,piano,
color, doctor,
Inflection
Morphological process that modifies a
word´s form in order to make the
grammatical subclass . This doesn´t
change the grammatical category of the
word , it changes the subclass. Examples.
singular to plural, present to past,
comparative to superlative, base dorm
verb to 3rd person,
Compounds
This words have a head and a
modifier, the head is on the right
and the modifier on the left.
Examples: Highchair, boyfriend.