Word Formation Processes
In learning English as a foreign language, not only students learn
about the four basic skills like speaking, listening, writing, and reading, but they also learn
the sub-skills of them such as pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. This is because all of
them are related each other. However, in learning a language, the students must also learn
about linguistics and its branches to know the context of language, the origin of words and
how they are formed. One of the linguistic studies is morphology.
Morphology is a basic study form of language and the study of
word formation (Yule, 2010), including the ways new words were created in the languages
of the world. The variation of forming of words depends on how they are used in sentences.
That is why morphology has relationship with the four basic English skills especially in
writing, because in writing the students are required to be able to make words and its forms,
and arrange them into the sentences. With morphology, students can learn how the words are
formed.
Given below are some frequently used processes for word formation
1. Clipping:
Clipping involves shortening a word by removing one or more syllables. This process often
results in informal or colloquial words. There are three main types of clipping:
Initial Clipping: Removing the beginning of a word. Example: "phone" (from "telephone").
Final Clipping: Removing the end of a word. Example: "ad" (from "advertisement").
Back Clipping: Removing part of the word from the middle. Example: "flu" (from
"influenza").
2. Acronym:
An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters or parts of a series of words. Unlike an
initialism, an acronym is pronounced as a word. Examples:
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
3. Affixation:
Affixation involves adding prefixes (before the root word) or suffixes (after the root word) to
create new words.
Prefix: Added at the beginning of a word. Example: "un-" (unhappy).
Suffix: Added at the end of a word. Example: "-able" (drinkable).
4. Compounding:
Compounding involves combining two or more existing words to create a new word.
Compound words can be written as separate words, hyphenated, or combined into one word.
Examples:
Separate Words: "ice cream", “first aid” etc.
Hyphenated: "mother-in-law”, “left-handed” etc.
Combined: "basketball", “bookcase” etc.
5. Conversion:
Conversion, also known as zero derivation, involves changing the part of speech of a word
without adding any affixes. This process is common in English. Examples:
Noun to Verb: "hammer" (noun) becomes "to hammer" (verb).
Adjective to Noun: "green" (adjective) becomes "the green" (noun).
6. Blending:
Blending involves combining parts of two or more words to create a new word. This process
often occurs when the sounds of the words blend together. Examples:
Brunch (breakfast + lunch)
Smog (smoke + fog)
7. Back-Formation:
Back-formation involves creating a new word by removing an affix from an existing word.
This process often occurs when speakers mistakenly interpret a word with an affix as a
compound. Examples:
Edit (from "editor")
Donate (from "donation")
8. Coinage:
Coinage is a type of word-formation process in which a new word is created, either by
inventing a completely new word or by adapting an existing word in a new way. This can
happen because of advances in technology, movies, literature, music, and popular culture.
Google
Teflon
Aspirin
These processes are all mechanisms by which languages evolve and adapt over time,
allowing speakers to create new words or alter existing ones to fit their communicative
needs.
Practice Exercise
Identifying Word Formation Processes
Read the following sentences and identify which word formation process has been used to
create the highlighted words. Write the word formation process next to each sentence.
1. He brought a doc to show his medical records.
2. She found a scuba diving course online.
3. I received an invitation to the party last night.
4. The houseboat drifted across the lake.
5. They usually email the schedule every Monday.
6. The smog in the city was unbearable during the summer.
7. She decided to burgle the house after weeks of planning.
8. He needs to rewrite the essay before submitting it.
9. My parents are buying a laptop for my birthday.
10. Can you access the website on your phone?
11. He biked to work every morning.
12. They formed a new tech startup called Wi-Fi.
Forming New Words
Use the word formation processes to create new words as instructed below. Provide at least
two examples for each process.
Clipping: Create a clipped form of the following words:
1. Hamburger → __________
2. Photograph → __________
3. Professor → __________
4. Examination → __________
Acronym: Create an acronym from the following phrases:
1. Federal Bureau of Investigation → __________
2. Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus → __________
3. International Business Machines → __________
4. Laugh Out Loud → __________
1.
Affixation: Add prefixes or suffixes to create new words from the following root words:
1. Legal (add a prefix to create the opposite meaning) → __________
2. Friend (add a suffix to form an adjective) → __________
3. Play (add a suffix to form a noun) → __________
4. Possible (add a prefix to create the opposite meaning) → __________
Compounding: Combine two words to create a compound word:
1. Foot + ball → __________
2. Rain + coat → __________
3. Sun + flower → __________
4. Tooth + paste → __________
Conversion: Convert the following words into a different part of speech:
1. Google (noun) → __________ (verb)
2. Butter (noun) → __________ (verb)
3. Water (noun) → __________ (verb)
4. Text (noun) → __________ (verb)
Blending: Create a blend word by combining the following:
1. Motor + Hotel → __________
2. Web + Seminar → __________
3. Emotion + Icon → __________
4. Binary + Digit → __________
Back-formation: Form a back-formed verb from the following nouns:
1. Babysitter → __________
2. Liaison → __________
3. Editor → __________
4. Resurrection → __________
Matching Word Formation Processes
Match the word to the correct word formation process.
1. Televise
A) Conversion
B) Back-formation
C) Acronym
D) Blending
2. Brunch
A) Acronym
B) Clipping
C) Blending
D) Conversion
3. Email
A) Compounding
B) Back-formation
C) Conversion
D) Affixation
4. Radar
A) Acronym
B) Blending
C) Affixation
D) Compounding
5. Babysit
A) Back-formation
B) Acronym
C) Conversion
D) Blending
Word Formation in Sentences
Complete the sentences by forming new words from the root words provided. Use any of the
word formation processes.
1. He’s very _______________ (friend) towards new people.
2. Can you help me _______________ (analyze) this data?
3. She couldn’t believe how _______________ (happy) the ending was.
4. I saw a _______________ (rain) outside, so I took an umbrella.
5. They _______________ (burglar) the house when it was empty.