Word FormationWord FormationWhere do new words come from?

English vocabulary is not a stable, finite collection of words.

old words often take on new meanings ◦ mouse, virus, window in computing

older meanings can simply die out the original meaning of computer was a person whose

job was to make calculations or do accounts

words are very rarely invented entirely from scratch◦ one example of a completely made-up word is blurb

this process of fashioning new words out of old ones is called derivation, and here are six of the most common types of English word formation.

1. Affixation1. Affixation

Over half the words in our language have been formed by adding prefixes and suffixes to root words.

Recent coinages of this type include◦semi-celebrity◦subprime◦awesomeness◦facebookable

2. Blending2. Blending

A blend is a combination of parts of two words, usually the beginning of one and the end of another ◦glocalization (global + localization)◦guesstimate (guess + estimate) ◦netiquette (net + etiquette)◦Frankenfood (Frankenstein + food) ◦pixel (picture + element)

3. Borrowing3. Borrowing

Many English words are ‘loanwords’ from other languages◦paparazzi (Italian) ◦tsunami (Japanese)

Many are so familiar that we no longer think of them as borrowings

bungalow (Hindi)ombudsman (Swedish)

4. Clipping4. Clipping

Clippings are shortened forms of words◦blog (short for web log)◦zoo (from zoological garden)◦flu (from influenza)

5. Compounding5. Compounding

A compound is a fresh word or expression made up of two or more independent words: ◦office ghost◦tramp stamp◦breakup buddy◦backseat surfer

6. Conversion6. Conversion

Conversion is the process of changing the grammatical class of a word without changing its form.

Conversion of nouns to verbs is particularly common in English◦to word a message carefully

More recently, nouns such as Google, email, text, and Skype are also being used as verbs.

AffixationAffixation

Many words are formed by adding affixes (prefixes and suffixes) to existing (root) words.

If you know the meanings of the original word and the affix, you can often guess the meaning of the new word.

Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word, and suffixes to the end.

  A prefix is something that we can put at the beginning of a

word to change the meaning.

Compare these two sentences.◦ I calculated the amount I would need.◦ I miscalculated the amount I would need.

= I wrongly calculated the amount I would need the prefix mis- (= wrongly) changes the meaning

anti- (= against)auto- ( = self)

co- (= together)ex- (= previously)inter- (= between)

mini- (= small)mis- (= badly/wrongly)

mono- (= one)multi- (= many)

out- (= more/better)over- (= too much)

post- (= after)pre- (= before)

pro- (= in favour of)re- (= again)semi- (= half)

sub- (= under/less)super- (= big/more)

trans- (= across)under- (= too little)

anti-nuclear, anti-socialautobiography, auto-suggestionco-exist, co-production, co-driverex-wife, ex-footballerintercity, internationalminibus, minicabmisuse, misbehave, miscount, misprintmonorail, monolingual. monotonemultinational, multi-storey, outnumber, outplayoverweight, overgrown, overworkpost-war, post-datedpre-war, preheatpro-government, pro-Europeanre-write, remarry, resalesemi-precious, semi-finalsubway, sub-zerosuperstar, superhuman, supersonictransatlantic, transplantundercooked, underused, underpopulation

un-in-

il- (+ l)im- (+ b/m/p)

ir- (+r)dis-non-de-

unhappy, unfair, unhealthy, unemployment, unplug, unpackindependent, inoffensive, invisible, incurable, injusticeillegal, illogicalimbalance, immoral, immature, impossible, impractical irrational, irresponsibledishonest, disagreement, disappearing, dislikenon-alcoholic, non-stop, non-smokingdefront, depopulation, decentralization

Note: We do not use in- before b, l, m, p, or r. We use il-, im-, and ir- instead.

There are some negative prefixes meaning ‘not’

A suffix comes at the end of a word.

For example, we can add the suffix -ness to the adjective kind to form the noun kindness.

Compare these two sentences,◦ We won’t forget how kind you’ve been.◦ We won’t forget your kindness.

Here, the use of the suffix to form a noun makes the sentence shorted and neater.

Sometimes the addition of a suffix involves other changes in the form or pronunciation of the word:

◦ apply – application◦ possible – possibility◦ courage – courageous

Suffix Meaning Example

able, ible able, capable capable, agreeable, edible, visible

age act of, state of, result of storage, wreckage, damage

al relating to gradual, manual, natural

ance, ancy action, process, state assistance, allowance, defiance

ary, ery, ory relating to, quality, place aviary, bravery, dormitory

cian possessing a specific skill magician, physician

cy action, function hesitancy, prophecy, normalcy

dom quality, realm freedom, kingdom, wisdom

ee one who receives the action refugee, nominee, lessee

en made of, to make silken, frozen, wooden

ence, ency action, state of, quality difference, confidence, urgency, agency

er, or one who, that which baker, miller, professor

escent in the process of adolescent, senescence

ess female goddess, lioness, actress

fic making, causing scientific, specific

ful full of frightful, careful, helpful

fy make beautify, fortify, simplify

hood order, condition, quality manhood, adulthood

ic nature of, like metallic, acidic, bucolic, simplistic

ion, sion, tion act, result, or state of cancellation, contagion, infection

ish origin, nature, resembling foolish, Irish, clownish, impish

ism manner, condition alcoholism, communism, capitalism,

ite nature of, quality of Mennonite, dynamite, graphite, Israelite

ity, ty state of, quality celebrity, captivity, clarity, poverty

ive causing, making abusive, exhaustive, abortive

ize, ise make emphasize, exercise, bastardize, idolize

logy study, science, theory biology, anthropology, neurology

ly like, manner of carelessly, fearlessly, hopelessly

ment act of, state or, result containment, contentment, amendment

ness state of carelessness, restlessness

nomy law autonomy, economy, taxonomy

ous full of, having gracious, nervous, pompous,

ship state of, office, quality assistantship, friendship, authorship

some like, apt, tending to lonesome, threesome, gruesome

ward in the direction of eastward, downward, backward

y inclined to, tend to cheery, crafty, faulty

Task 1Task 1

Question IV (5 marks)Instructions: Complete the sentences by using the correct form of the word in parentheses, which are taken from the passage. Use AFFIXES to form the correct form of the word. The first one has been done for you.

Example: (0) Those mean doctors were really unhelpful. (HELP) 

1. We were __________ that the party was only for ticket holders and we were turned away by the doorman. (AWARE)

2. He remained __________ to the company’s offer. (DIFFERENT)

3. The residents have been __________ dumping rubbish along the road and this has turned out to be an eye sore. (DISCRIMINATE)

4. Cyber bullying uses technology to spread rumours and __________ messages. (HATE)

5. The behaviour of the students during the football match was found __________ so they had to be suspended. (ACCEPT)

Answer Key: Task 1Answer Key: Task 1

1. unaware2. indifferent3. indiscriminately4. hateful5. unacceptable