ISPLTI _ Academic Year 2022-2023

Course: Lexis and Vocabulary

Level: S4

Instructor: Dr. Coulibaly

 Course objectives

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

 Distinguish between the terms Lexeme, Lexicon,
Vocabulary and Lexis ;
 Build and diversify your lexis;
 Identify the right word to be used in a given
context;
 Use appropriate vocabulary and expressions in
various language-related situations;
 Course contents

1) Defining terms: Lexeme, Lexicon, Vocabulary and

Lexis ;
2) Inferring meaning from context ;
3) Using the right word ;
4) Synonymy, Antonymy, Polysemy and Homonymy ;
5) Word formation processes.
 Main Practice Activities

 Vocabulary-building exercises
 In-class group work
 Individual homework
 Class Rules

1. Coming on time
2. Active and constructive participation
3. Asking questions
4. Avoiding side discussions and any other forms of
disruption
5. Refraining from using mobile phones
6. Respecting peers (listen to their contributions, neither
interrupt nor make fun of them…).
 1. Defining Terms:
Lexeme, Lexicon, Vocabulary and Lexis

a) Lexeme: the abstract entity subsuming various

inflectional forms of a word, where such forms share
the same meaning. The lexeme go thus comprises
the word forms go, goes, going, went, gone. In spite
of their contrasting grammatical potential, all these
forms share the same meaning. In other terms, a
lexeme is “a unit of meaning in a language,
consisting of a word or group of words.”
(Cambridge Online Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
 1. Defining Terms:
Lexeme, Lexicon, Vocabulary and Lexis
b) Lexicon: a set of all the lexemes in a language.
That is, a list of “all the words used in a particular
language or subject, or a dictionary.” (Cambridge
Online Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
 Following such definition, a lexeme is an abstract
unit of the lexicon.
NB: The term lexicon used to refer to a dictionary.
 1. Defining Terms:
Lexeme, Lexicon, Vocabulary and Lexis
c) Vocabulary: According to Cambridge 2016, vocabulary
refers to “The words that are known or used by a
particular person, or that are used in a language or
subject.”
 In line with the above definition, Linse and Nunan (2005)
stress that “Vocabulary is the collection of words that an
individual knows.” (p. 121).
 In other words, vocabulary is a subset of words in a
language that are used in a particular context or known to
a particular person. Thus, we can speak of developing
“one’s vocabulary", "legal vocabulary", etc.
 1. Defining Terms:
Lexeme, Lexicon, Vocabulary and Lexis
d) Lexis: In contrast to vocabulary which refers to a limited
number of words known to a person or specific to a field,
or lexicon which is confined in a dictionary, the term lexis
refers to the entire vocabulary, or “all the words of a
language”.
 Languages with sufficiently productive morphology, for
example, may have an infinite set of words (lexis), but will
still have a finite lexicon of lexemes that can be listed in a
dictionary.
 Lexis refers also to the analytical level of a language that
deals with vocabulary (as opposed to morphology or
syntax).
 1. Defining Terms: Vocabulary versus
Lexis
a) Vocabulary: According to Cambridge 2016, vocabulary
refers to “The words that are known or used by a
particular person, or that are used in a language or
subject.”
 In line with the above definition, Linse and Nunan (2005)
stress that “Vocabulary is the collection of words that an
individual knows.” (p. 121).
 In other words, vocabulary is a subset of words in a
language that are used in a particular context or known to
a particular person. Thus, we can speak of developing
“one’s vocabulary", "legal vocabulary", etc.
 1. Defining Terms: Vocabulary versus
Lexis
b) Lexis: In contrast to vocabulary which refers to a limited
number of words known to a person or specific to a field,
or lexicon which is confined in a dictionary, the term lexis
refers to the entire vocabulary, or “all the words of a
language”.
 Languages with sufficiently productive morphology, for
example, may have an infinite set of words (lexis), but will
still have a finite lexicon of lexemes that can be listed in a
dictionary.
 Lexis refers also to the analytical level of a language that
deals with vocabulary (as opposed to morphology or
syntax).
2. Inferring Meaning from
Context
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 One of the most helpful cues in understanding the

meaning of a new word is context. Therefore,
identifying the meaning of a word from its context is
a very useful skill for language learners.
 When we see or hear a word for the first time, we
can often guess what it means, by referring to the
context in which it appears. To do so, we have to
check what the passage or speech is about, what
the sentence in which the word occurs is about and
what information comes before and after the word
in question.
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 1
 Look at the words in the box and answer the
questions which follow:
nocturnal cites coherently feat
1. Without seeing them in a sentence, do you know (or
can you guess) what the words in the box mean?
2. Now look at the words in the passage. Can you
guess what they mean? In your own words, explain
what they might mean…. (Look at the passage on
the following slide)
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Passage:
The remarkable success of Simon Weber’s book on owls, bats, foxes
and other nocturnal creatures, A Call in the Dark, is probably not
surprising in view of the popularity of his recent television series, ’Night
Prowlers’. It is a very thorough book by an author who is an expert in
his field and who has clearly done a lot of research. In addition to
describing his own findings, he cites the research carried out by others,
including Wright and Lawson in the 1990s, and discusses where they
might have gone wrong with some of their assumptions. He writes
coherently on the subject, beginning by looking at basic facts before
discussing progressively complex theories, without once confusing his
readers. This is a remarkable feat, considering the complexity of the
subject and the science that is often involved.
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Answers:
Nocturnal: ..............................................................................
Cites: ........................................................................................
Coherently: ...........................................................................
Feat: ..........................................................................................
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 2. Look at the words in bold in sentences 1 – 5,

and try to decide what they mean:
1. The journey across the hills was long and arduous, much of it having
to be done on foot in temperatures of over 40°C.
2. Foxes are a common sight in our towns and cities, where they forage
in dustbins, in gardens and on waste ground.
3. The cuckoo is a rare and elusive bird which is often heard but rarely
seen.
4. The research they carried out was exhaustive, so by the time the
project was complete, they knew everything they had to know about
their subject.
5. The hotel we stayed in was a mediocre place, with small rooms, rather
dull food and an uninspiring view of a car park.
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 2. Now match the words in bold in sentences 1 –

5 above with their definitions (a) – (e) below:

(a) Thorough and complete. .................

(b) Average or below average. .................
(c) Extremely difficult and involving a lot of effort. .................
(d) Difficult or impossible to catch or find. .................
(e) To search in a wide area for something, especially food. .................
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 2.Bis. Look at the words in bold in sentences 1 –

5, and try to decide what they mean:
1. Many men say that they are willing to share the burden of domestic
duties like washing and cooking, but I doubt that they mean it.
2. The building is designed to sway slightly in strong winds, but it’s still a
rather frightening sensation when you are on the upper floors.
3. Many people would like to own a house in the city centre, but
prohibitive property prices mean that very few of them would ever
be able to buy such a place.
4. The city centre has some beautiful old buildings, but there are some
extremely ugly industrial estates on the fringe.
5. Employees are encouraged to use their initiative when they are faced
with a problem and there is nobody more senior there to help them.
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 2.Bis. Now match the words in bold in sentences 1

– 5 above with their definitions (a) – (e) below:

(a) So expensive that nobody can afford it. .................

(b) The outer edge of something. .................
(c) The ability to decide what to do in an independent way. .................
(d) A serious or difficult responsibility that you have to deal with.
.................
(e) Move or swing slightly from side to side. .................
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 NB: Remember that some words can have a different

meaning depending on their context. For example,
prohibitive can also mean limiting something, or preventing
something from being done (e.g., prohibitive anti-piracy
laws).
 In addition to looking at the context in which a word
appears in order to work out its meaning, you should also
identify its function (is it a noun, verb, adjective, adverb,
etc.). Some of the words in the previous exercise can have a
different function without changing their form, depending
on how they are used (e.g., burden can be a verb as well as
a noun).
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 3. Read the below sentences carefully, and decide if the

definitions in brackets of the bold-faced words are correct or
incorrect. If they are incorrect, try to give a correct definition. The first
one has been done as an example:
a) I’m worried that a lack of suitable qualifications will hinder
my search for a job. (Help someone or something, or make
something easier.) Correct / Incorrect: Hinder means to
stop someone or something from making progress or
developing.
b) Research was going well, but there was a risk that cuts in
funding would jeopardise the entire project. (Risk damaging
or destroying something important). Correct / Incorrect
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

c) When you address a meeting, it is important to speak

clearly, confidently and at a good pace. (Write a letter to
someone). Correct / Incorrect

d) The villas were basically flimsy wooden huts that shook

every time there was a bit of wind. (Strong and well built or
made). Correct / Incorrect

e) Although several species of turtle can be found in relatively

cool seas, warm water provides the optimal conditions for
breeding. (The best or most suitable within a range of
possibilities). Correct / Incorrect
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

 Practice 3.Bis. Read the below sentences carefully, and decide if

the definitions in brackets of the bold-faced words are correct or
incorrect. If they are incorrect, try to give a correct definition:
a) It can be very difficult for immigrants to integrate into local
society, especially if there are marked cultural differences.
(Meet people or make useful contacts). Correct / Incorrect
b) From the outset of the expedition they knew they were going
to have problems, so it was no surprise when only two days
later things started to go very wrong. (The end of something).
Correct / Incorrect
c) He was a talented young film director whose unique and
innovative style inspired generations of film students.
(Difficult to understand). Correct / Incorrect
 2. Inferring Meaning from Context

d) The building is 200 metres tall and tapers gently to a point, giving it
the appearance of a thin, glass pyramid. (Gradually becomes wider
towards one end). Correct / Incorrect
e) There are one or two similarities between my country and the UK, but
on the whole they are so disparate that it is difficult to find any
common ground. (Having many differences). Correct / Incorrect
f) Most modern furniture is functional but not especially aesthetic,
especially when compared with some of the beautiful and elegant
designs of the past. (Cheap but comfortable). Correct / Incorrect
g) Shops know that they can attract more customers if they have a large
array of colourful products on display by or near the main entrance.
(A large group of people or things). Correct / Incorrect
 2. Inferring meaning from context

 In addition to its context, sometimes we can work out what a

word means from ‘clues’ in the word itself. These clues are
usually in the form of one or two words (or parts of words)
that we already know, often with the addition of prefixes
and / or suffixes. For example:
 Healthcare = health + care
 “The town lacks basic healthcare facilities, so people have to
travel many miles to see a doctor.”
 Deforestation = de + forest + ation.
 “Deforestation has resulted in the destruction of thousands of
acres of tropical forest.”
 Facial = face + ial (the e is removed)
 “The company started off producing a range of facial cleansers
and moisturisers which had not been tested on animals.”
 2. Inferring meaning from context

 Practice 4: Following the previous examples, can you work

out what the words in bold in the below sentences mean?
1. The country is very poor, and one in seven children dies in
infancy.
2. All the employees are asked to produce a written
evaluation of their performance and hand it to the
personnel manager.
3. The new drug does not cure the illness, but can prolong the
patient’s life by up to five years.
4. The farm was on top of a windswept hill, miles from the
nearest town.
5. Oil prices increased threefold over a five-year period.
 2. Inferring meaning from context

6. The historical document has been examined by several

distinguished scholars, but none of them can tell if it is
genuine or fake.
7. When you deliver the package, make sure that the
recipient signs for it.
8. The centrepiece of the new museum is a Henry Moore
sculpture that was bought from a private collector.
9. The city offers a multitude of interesting and exciting
activities for people of all ages.
10.Government statistics on the numeracy skills of ten-year-
olds suggests that more emphasis needs to be placed on the
teaching of mathematics in school.
 2. Inferring meaning from context

11. The average lifespan of an elephant is 60 – 70 years.

12. Several interesting objects were found during the
archaeological dig, but none of them were of any great
monetary value.
13. From the top of the tower, we looked out over a city of
incredible grandeur .
14. From a traveller’s standpoint, the competition between
airlines to win customers is a good thing.
 2. Inferring meaning from context

 Practice 4. Bis. Now do the same with these sentences:

1. The city was over 60 miles from the epicentre of the
earthquake, but still suffered substantial damage.
2. In some cases, hospital outpatients have to wait over three
hours to see a doctor.
3. To many, the evidence he provided did not validate his
claim that the Earth moved around the Sun.
4. Many medical professionals are concerned about the
widespread use of antibiotics to treat minor medical
conditions.
5. Modern seafarers rely on modern technology to help them
navigate the oceans.
 2. Inferring meaning from context

6. After the accident, he temporarily lost spatial awareness,

and could only pick up objects when he closed one eye.
7. A monorail connects the airport with the city, taking visitors
into the heart of the city in less than 20 minutes.
8. A new device which stimulates the auditory areas of the
brain offers hope to those who have serious hearing
problems.
9. I don’t consider myself to be particularly industrious, but
when I’m given a job, I make sure it gets done.
10. When, on his 104th birthday, he was asked about the secret
to his longevity, he replied that he only ever ate raw
vegetables and had never smoked.
 2. Inferring meaning from context

11. The new airliner is more environmentally-friendly than other

aircraft, its only drawback being its limited flying range.
12. The Museum of Contemporary Art showcases all that is
best about modern art.
13. The Alaskan wilderness is not a place you want to be
when winter comes.
14. In this remote, poverty-stricken area, only a few children go
to school, and consequently about a quarter of the
country’s population is illiterate..
3. Using the right word
3. Using the right word
3. Using the right word
4. Synonymy, Antonymy,
Polysemy and Homonymy
 4.1. Synonymy

 Synonymy (syn ‘with, together’+ onym ‘name’ + y)

is the approximate equivalence in meaning of two
or more words: quick, fast, rapid, speedy.
 Often the set of words that have similar or
overlapping meanings is quite large. In addition to
quick, fast, rapid, speedy, the Merriam-Webster
Online Thesaurus lists breakneck, breathless, brisk,
dizzy, fleet, fleet-footed, flying, hasty, lightning,
nippy, rapid-fire, rattling, snappy, swift, whirlwind.
 4.1. Synonymy
 The interesting question arising from such sets is whether the
meanings of these words are fully equivalent. One can be
happy to acknowledge a response to one’s e-mail
describing it as quick, swift, rapid, fast, speedy, but if the
recipient describes the same response as brisk, hasty,
rattling, or snappy, things are not so happy any more.
 So, is absolute synonymy possible?
 It may be possible to have two different words with exactly
the same meanings in all contexts, but this is extremely rare.
Pairs often cited as exhibiting absolute synonymy are
anyhow– anyway, everybody–everyone.
 4.1. Synonymy
 Two words are considered synonymous if they mean the
same thing: in precise technical terms, this means that the words
are fully interchangeable in all contexts of use. As such, full or
total synonymy in general is very hard to find in natural
languages…
 The avoidance of complete synonymy in language can be
seen as the manifestation of a more general principle of
identifying one form with one meaning. This principle counteracts
absolute synonymy; therefore the most frequent type of
synonymy we find is near-, or partial synonymy.
 Two words might have broadly the same denotation (i.e.
potential reference) but one of them expresses an additional
positive or negative emotional connotation as part of its sense.
 4.1. Synonymy: same sense but
different stylistic level
 In present-day English there is a co-existence of
Germanic or Anglo-Saxon words beside synonyms
of Latin or French origin, as in the below examples:
to buy - to purchase
to begin - to commence
to fight - to combat
 The words on the left are of Germanic or Anglo-
Saxon origin and are more frequent in spoken use.
 The words on the right are of Latin or French origin
and are usually confined to written and formal
styles.
 4.1. Synonymy: same sense but
different stylistic level
 As we could see, one should take the idea of
synonymy with caution, since usually only one word
from in a list of synonyms is appropriate in a given
context of use. The learner should, therefore,
develop a clear idea about the precise meaning of
every word and to know its connotations in order to
use such word accurately.
 One way to develop a clear idea about the precise
meaning of a word is through frequent exposure to
such word in different contexts through READING.
 4.2. Antonymy (oppositeness)

 Antonymy covers various types of semantic opposites

 Consider the below examples

Male Female Hot Cold Teacher Student

Dead Alive Expensive Cheap Employer Employee
Pass Fail Clever Stupid Examiner Examinee

 What do you notice?

 4.2. Antonymy (oppositeness)

 The first group of words (yellow columns) illustrate

complementary or binary antonyms, where there
is an either-or relationship between the two terms of
a pair of semantic opposites.
 Here the two antonyms exhaust all possible options
in a particular conceptual domain. In these cases, the
meaning of one lexeme is equivalent to the negation
of the other (when you are not dead, you are alive;
when you don’t fail, you pass and when you are not
a male you are a female!)
 4.2. Antonymy (oppositeness)

 The second group of words (green columns) are

examples of gradable antonyms, where the two
expressions involved constitute opposite poles of a
continuum rather than an either-or relationship. The
negation of one does not imply the opposite.
 In the examples here, each of the two members of
the pairs defines points at opposite ends of a scale,
with transitions in between. For example, ‘warm’,
‘tepid’ or ‘lukewarm’ water has temperatures in
between hot and cold. Similarly, “reasonable” prices
are somewhere in between expensive and cheap.
 4.2. Antonymy (oppositeness)
 The great majority of gradable antonyms are pairs
of adjectives which are asymmetric in the sense that
one of the two contrasting lexemes appears in more
contexts than the other. Consider the examples:
 How …(young/old) are you?
 How …(long/short) is it?
 We use old or long respectively rather than young
or short. The terms differ in markedness: the one
with the wider range of uses is unmarked (old, long).
The term with a more limited range of uses is marked
(young, short).
 4.2. Antonymy (oppositeness)
 Additionally, the unmarked member carries with it no
presupposition of any kind, unlike the marked member.
Compare the below 2 questions:
 How clever are your opponents?
 How stupid are your opponents?
 The first question is a neutral one, leaving open whether the
opponents are clever or stupid.
 Conversely, the second question comes with a previous
assumption that the opponents are more stupid than
average?
 The difference between the two questions lies in the fact that
clever is the unmarked member while stupid is the marked one.
 4.2. Antonymy (oppositeness)
 The third group of words in the previous table (blue
columns) demonstrate yet another type of opposites;
namely, relational antonyms. These antonyms
describe the same situation from different
perspectives as in:
 I am your teacher. = You are my student.
 She is my employer. = I am her employee.
 He will be our examiner. = We will be his examinees.
 Relational antonyms include also comparative forms
of adjectives such as older - younger, longer- shorter,
etc.)
 4.3. Polysemy: one word-form with
two or more related meanings
 Over and over again, words which possibly started out with one
coherent meaning develop new senses; these senses get differentiated
and lose connection with each other. This would be the case with
words such as board, chair, crane, load–lode. Dictionaries treat them
differently depending on the spelling: chair (chair: to sit on vs. chair
of a department) and crane (crane: a bird vs. crane a machine) have
their different meanings under single entries in the OED, but load
(load of dirt) –lode (lode in a gold mine), and also such historically
identical pairs as flower–flour, metal (in the sense of iron) –mettle (in
the sense of courage) get listed separately. Each of these pairs goes
back to one single word, yet only etymologists would recognize them
as going back to the same source. However, the histories of these
words in any dictionary will indicate that they started out as the same
word.
 4.3. Polysemy: one word-form with
two or more related meanings
 Polysemy refers to a single word with several
different meanings. The differentiation from one into
several meanings is most commonly a consequence
of the change, usually over long time spans, from
concrete to abstract meaning – i.e. increasingly
figurative use of language. If you think about almost
any root whatever, you will probably find that it has
several different meanings. This is typical of what is
meant by the word polysemy.
 4.3. Polysemy: one word-form with
two or more related meanings
 Most words in a language tend to be polysemous, i.e.
they will have more than one sense.
 The word party, for example, has two senses:
(1) an organized political group or
(2) a festival or celebration of some kind.
 These two senses don’t seem very close, but if we
consider another general sense (people united around a
common cause or purpose, we see the missing link. It is
this third sense that was in fact the historical root of
both senses.
 4.4. Homonymy: one word-form with
two or more unrelated meanings
 There are other cases in which a word has more
than one sense but where these senses are not
related in any way. Thus, the English word grave
has a sense ‘tomb’ (e.g. from the cradle to the grave)
and a sense ‘serious’ (eg a matter of grave concern).
 Grave with the first sense is etymologically related to
the German word “grab”
 Grave with the second sense is derived from the Latin
adjective “gravis” that came into English via Old French.
 Here, two originally different words were collapsed into
one sound shape as a result of the accidents of the
phonetic history of English!
 4.4. Homonymy: one word-form with
two or more unrelated meanings
 To be homonymous (‘having the same name’), words that sound
alike must have different meanings and different origins: thus
bear‘ carry, ’bear‘ grizzly,’ and bare ‘nude,’ corn ‘on the cob,’
‘corn on toe,’ riddle ‘puzzle’ and riddle ‘pierce with holes,’ rock
‘stone’ and rock ‘sway to and fro,’ fit this definition.
 Dictionaries have separate entries for homonyms: thus fast, n. (1)
is ‘religious abstinence from some foods,’ while fast (2) is a
nautical term meaning ‘rope’; seal, n. (1) means ‘fish’ and seal
(2) is an ‘imprint device.’
 Homonyms are part of the general category of homophones
(sounding the same).
 Some homonyms are also homographs – spelled alike: ash, corn,
fast, pupil, sole, seal.
 Polysemy or Homonymy: how can
you make the distinction?
 In principle, the distinction between polysemy and
homonymy is clear. In practice, however, such
distinction requires profound knowledge of complex
language-historical processes!
 In the case of homonymy, we can talk about two
different words instead of one word with different
senses since those senses are unrelated!
 In actual communication, neither polysemy nor
homonymy is problematic because in any referential
expression only one of the several senses of a word
is usually activated.
5. Word formation processes.
 5. Word formation processes

 There is a host of possibilities speakers of a

language have at their disposal (or had so in the
past, when the words were first coined) to create
new words on the basis of existing ones, including
the addition and subtraction of phonetic (or
orthographic) material.
 The study of word-formation can thus be defined as
the study of the ways in which new complex words
are built on the basis of other words or morphemes.
 5. Word formation processes
 Consider the words in the below table:
A B C
employee apartment building chair
inventor greenhouse neighbor
inability team manager matter
meaningless truck driver brow
suddenness blackboard great
unhappy son-in-law promise
decolonialization pickpocket discuss
 5. Word formation processes
 In columns A and B we find words that are obviously
composed by putting together smaller elements to form
larger words with more complex meanings. We can say that
we are dealing with morphologically complex words.
 For example, employee can be analyzed as being
composed of the verb employ and the ending -ee, the
adjective unhappy can be analyzed as being derived from
the adjective happy by the attachment of the element un-,
and decolonialization can be segmented into the smallest
parts de-, colony, -al, -ize, and -ation. We can thus
decompose complex words into their smallest meaningful
units. These units are called morphemes.
 5. Word formation processes
 In contrast to those in A and B, the words in C cannot be
decomposed into smaller meaningful units, they consist of
only one morpheme, they are “monomorphemic.” Neighbor,
for example, is not composed of neighb- and -or, although
the word looks rather similar to a word such as inventor.
Inventor (‘someone who invents (something)’) is
decomposable into two morphemes, because both invent-
and -or are meaningful elements, wheras neither neighb-
nor -or carry any meaning in neighbor (a neighbor is not
someone who *neighbs, whatever that may be...).
 5. Word formation processes
 As we can see from the complex words in A and B, some
morphemes can occur only if attached to some other
morpheme(s). Such morphemes are called bound
morphemes, in contrast to free morphemes, which do occur
on their own. Some bound morphemes, for example un-,
must always be attached before the central meaningful
element of the word, the so-called root, stem or base,
whereas other bound morphemes, such as -ity, -ness, or -less,
must follow the root.
 Using Latin-influenced terminology, un- is called a prefix, -
ity a suffix, with affix being the cover term for all bound
morphemes that attach to roots.
 5. Word formation processes
It is important at this point to make a distinction between the
terms ‘root’, ‘stem’ and ‘base’, because these terms are not
always clearly defined and are therefore a potential source of
confusion.
 The part of a word which an affix is attached to is called
base.
 The term root refers to bases that cannot be analyzed further
into morphemes.
 The term stem is usually used for bases of inflections, and
occasionally also for bases of derivational affixes. To avoid
terminological confusion, it is sometimes preferable to avoid
the use of the term ‘stem’ altogether and speak of ‘roots’ and
‘bases’ only.
 5. Word formation processes
 The term root is used when we want to explicitly refer to the
indivisible central part of a complex word. In all other
cases, where the status of a form as indivisible or not is not
at issue, we can just speak of bases or base-words. The
derived word is often referred to as a derivative.
 For example, the base of the suffix -al in the derivative
colonial is colony, the base of the suffix -ize in the
derivative colonialize is colonial, the base of -ation in the
derivative colonialization is colonialize. In the case of
colonial the base is a root, in the other cases it is not.
 5. Word formation processes
 While suffixes and prefixes are very common in English,
there are also rare cases of affixes that cannot be
considered prefixes or suffixes, because they are inserted
not at the boundary of another morpheme but right into
another morpheme.
 Compare, for example, the word “abso-bloody-lutely”
where -bloody- interrupts the morpheme absolute (the base
absolutely consists of course of the two morphemes absolute
and -ly). Such intervening affixes are called infixes.
 5. Word formation processes
 By reference to the data in the above table, we see that
complex words need not be made up of roots and affixes. It is
also possible to combine two bases, a process known as
compounding. The words in B (apartment building, greenhouse,
team manager, truck driver) are cases in point.
 So far, the complex words discussed are created by
concatenation, i.e. by linking together bases and affixes as in a
chain. There are, however, also other, i.e. non-concatenative, ways
to form morphologically complex words. For instance, we can turn
nouns into verbs by adding nothing at all to the base, as in the
noun water, which can also be used as a verb, meaning ‘provide
water’, as in John waters his flowers every day. This process is
referred to as conversion, zero-suffixation, or transposition.
 5. Word formation processes
 Apart from processes that attach something to a base
(affixation) and processes that do not alter the base
(conversion), there are processes involving the deletion of
material, yet another case of non-concatenative morphology.

 English Christian names in addition to some other common English

words, for example, can be shortened by deleting parts of the
base word, as in the below examples. This type of word-
formation processes is called truncation, or clipping:
Ron ( Aaron) condo ( condominium)
Liz ( Elizabeth) demo ( demonstration)
Mike ( Michael) disco ( discotheque)
Trish ( Patricia) lab ( laboratory)
 5. Word formation processes
 Sometimes truncation and affixation can occur together, as
with formations expressing intimacy or smallness, so-called
diminutives, as in Mandy for Amanda, Andy and Andrew,
Charlie for Charles, Patty for Patricia, Robbie for Roberta,
etc.
 We also find so-called blends, which are amalgamations of
parts of different words, such as smog ( smoke/fog) or
modem ( modulator/demodulator). Blends based on
orthography are called acronyms, which are coined by
combining the initial letters of compounds or phrases into a
pronouncable new word (NATO , UNESCO, etc.). Simple
abbreviations like UK, or USA are also quite common.
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 Consider be the following examples:
 She kicks the ball.
 The baby is not drinking her milk .
 The students are nor interested in physics.
 The underlined words above are certainly complex words:
all of them are made up of two morphemes. Kicks consists
of the verb kick and the third person singular suffix -s,
drinking consists of the verb drink and the participial suffix
-ing, and students consists of the noun student and the plural
suffix -s. However, we would not want to consider these
complex words ‘new’ in the same sense as we would
consider kicker a new word derived from the verb kick.
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 Here the distinction between word-form and lexeme is
useful. We would want to say that suffixes like participial -
ing, plural -s, or third person singular -s create new word-
forms, i.e. grammatical words, but they do not create new
lexemes. In contrast, suffixes like -er and -ee (both attached
to verbs, as in kicker and employee), or prefixes like re- or
un- (as in rephrase or unconvincing) do form new lexemes.
On the basis of this criterion (i.e. lexeme formation), a
distinction has traditionally been made between inflection
as part of the grammar on the one hand, and derivation
and compounding as part of word-formation (or rather:
lexeme formation).
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 Let us have a look at the following data which show further
characteristics by which the two classes of morphological
processes, inflection vs. derivation (word-formation), can be
distinguished. The derivational processes are on the left, the
inflectional ones on the right:
Derivation Inflection
worker (she) works
useless (the) workers
untruthfulness (is) colonializing
interview (we) picked
curiosity (the) children
passivize John’s (house)
Terrorism Emily’s (job)
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 As can be seen from the previous examples, the most
crucial difference is that inflectional morphemes encode
grammatical categories such as plural (workers), person
(works), tense (picked), or case (John’s). These categories
are relevant for the building of sentences and are referred
to by the grammar. For example, there is a grammatical
rule in English that demands that a third person singular
subject is followed by a verb that is also marked as third
person singular. This is called subject-verb agreement, which
is also relevant for plural marking in sentences (The flowers
are/*is wonderful). The plural and person suffixes are
therefore syntactically relevant, hence inflectional.
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 The next set of properties that unites the words on the left
and differentiates them from the words on the right concern
the position of the morphemes: in English derivational
morphemes can occur at either end of the base words
whereas regular inflection is always expressed by suffixes.
Only irregular inflection makes use of non-affixational
means, as for example in mouse - mice or sing - sang. There
is no inflectional prefix in English.
 Furthermore, forms like workers or colonializing indicate
that inflectional morphemes always occur outside
derivational morphemes, they close the word for further
(derivational) affixation (*workers-hood, *colonializing-er).
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 Another interesting difference between the words above
concerns the part of speech. The derivational suffixes change
the part of speech of the base word. For instance, the suffixation
of -less makes an adjective out of a noun, the suffix -ity makes a
noun out of an adjective, and the suffix -ize turns an adjective
into a verb.
 By contrast, the inflectional suffixes don’t change the category of
the base word. A plural marker on a noun does not change the
category, nor does the past tense marker on the verb. However,
not all derivational affixes are category-changing, as is
evidenced, for example, by most prefixes (as e.g. in post-war,
decolonialize, non-issue), or by the nominal suffix -ism, which can
attach to nouns to form nouns (e.g. Terrorism).
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 Another property of derivation is exemplified by the two
derivatives interview and curiosity in, as against all inflectional
forms. Both forms in show a property that is often found in
derivation, but hardly ever in inflection, and that is called
semantic opacity.
 If you consider the meaning of interview and the meaning of the
ingredient morphemes inter- and view, you can observe that the
meaning of interview is not the sum of the meaning of its parts.
The meaning of inter- can be paraphrased as ‘between’, that of
(the verb) view as ‘look at something’ (definitions according to
the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English), whereas the
meaning of (the verb) interview is ‘to ask someone questions,
especially in a formal meeting’.
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 Thus the meaning of the derived word cannot be inferred
on the basis of its constituent morphemes, it is to some extent
opaque, or nontransparent. The same holds for curiosity, a
noun that has two related meanings: it can refer to a
personal attribute ‘the desire to know or learn about
anything’, which is transparent, but it can also mean ‘object
of interest’ (cf., for example, the definitions given in the
OED), which is certainly less transparent. Non-transparent
formations are quite common in derivational morphology,
but rare in inflection.
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 A final distinctive feature is the fact that inflectional
categories tend to be fully productive, whereas derivational
categories often show strong restrictions as to the kinds of
possible combinations.
 A productive morpheme is one that can be attached
regularly to any word of the appropriate class. For
example, a morpheme expressing past tense can occur on
all regular main verbs. And a morpheme expressing plural
on nouns can be said to be fully productive, too, because all
count nouns can take plural endings in English (some of these
endings are irregular, as in ox-en, but the fact remains that
plural morphology as such is fully productive).
 5. Word formation processes:
Inflection vs. Derivation
 The below table summarizes the main differences between
inflection and derivation:
Derivation Inflection
 encodes lexical meaning - encodes grammatical categories
 is not syntactically relevant - is syntactically relevant
 can occur inside derivation - occurs outside all derivation
 often changes the part of speech - does not change part of speech
 is often semantically opaque - is rarely semantically opaque
 is often restricted in its productivity - is fully productive
 is not restricted to suffixation - always suffixational (in English)