WORD FORMATION

PROCESSES
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

a.Define morphology,
b.Familiarize the word formation
processes,
c.Apply word formation in differentiated
activities
 WORD
FORMATION
● It is s a branch of science of the language, which studies
the patterns on which a language forms new lexical items
(new unities, new words)

● It’s a process of forming words by combining root and

affixed morphemes.

● Generally, word formation (derived words) is the process

or result of forming new words, which derived from words
or group of words with the same root.
 Why are new
words needed?
1. Because of new inventions and changes
2. Language is dynamic
3. Vast amount of new inventions made in
the 20th and 21st
4. One of the distinctive properties of
human language is creativity.
MORPHOLOGY
• The term morphology is Greek and is a makeup of
morph- meaning ‘shape, form’, and -ology which
means ‘the study of something’.

• The area of grammar concerned with the structure

of words and with relationships between words
involving the morphemes that compose them.
MORPHEMES
 • The building blocks of morphology.

• These are the smallest meaning-bearing

units of language.

• It is a word or a part of a word that has

meaning.
 FREE AND BOUND MORPHEMES
Free Morpheme
• a simple word, consisting of one morpheme. They are words in themselves.
• can stand alone with a specific meaning.

Examples: house, work, high, chair, wrap

Bound Morphemes
• morphemes that must be attached to another morpheme to receive meaning.
• cannot stand alone with meaning

Example: Unkindness
Note: - UN and - NESS are the bound morphemes, requiring the root KIND to form the word.
 TYPES
OF
WORD FORMATION
 C O M P O U N D I N G

Compounding is the process of putting words

together to build a new one that ''does not denote
two things, but one'' and that is ''pronounced as
one unit'.
EXAMPLES
hand + bag = handbag
wall + paper = wallpaper
finger + print = fingerprint
sun + burn = sunburn
basket + ball = basketball
door + knob = doorknob
butter + fly = butterfly
air + plane = airplane
note + book = notebook
bull + frog = bullfrog
 B L E N D I N G

• A blending is a combination of two or more words to

create a new one, usually by taking the beginning of the
other word and the end of the other one.
• It refers to joining the beginning of one word and the
end of another to make a new word with a new meaning.
EXAMPLES
Smog (from smoke and fog)
smoke + fog = smog
Brunch (from breakfast and lunch)
Breakfast + lunch = brunch
Motel (from motorcycle and hotel)
Motorcycle + hotel = motel
Emoticon (from emotion and icon)
Emotion + icon = emoticon
Webinar (from web and seminar)
Web + seminar = webinar
 C L I P P I N G

It is the process in which a word is

reduced or shortened without
changing the meaning of the word
 Types of Clipping

1. Back Clipping – removing the end portion of a word.

Example: Mathematics – Math, Examination - exam, Gymnasium

– Gym, advertisement – ad

2. Fore Clipping – removing the beginning portion of a word.

Example: alligator – gator, internet – net, telephone – phone

 Types of Clipping

3. Middle Clipping – retaining only the middle part of a

word

Example: Refrigerator – fridge, influenza – flu

Detective – tec
 A C R O N Y M

A word or name formed as an

abbreviation from the initial
components in a phrase or a word,
usually in the form of individual
letters.
 EXAMPLES
RADAR – Radio Detection and Ranging
NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
DOH – Department of Health
LASER – Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of
Radiation
SCUBA – Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
AWOL – Absent Without Official Leave (or Absent Without Leave)
B A C K F O R M A T I O N

Back-formation is the word formation

process in which an actual or supposed
derivational affix detaches from the base
form of a word to create a new word.
EXAMPLES

babysitter – babysit
donation – donate
gambler – gamble
moonlighter – moonlight
television – televise
 D E R I V A T I O N

• It is the word formation process in which a derivational affix

attaches to the base form of a word to create a new word.
Affixes, which include prefixes and suffixes, are bound
morphemes.

• It is ''the most common word formation process'', builds new

words by adding morphemes and word formation by affixes.
 Prefix
A prefix is an affixation process that includes adding a
morpheme at the beginning of the word.

Example:
Unusual, mispronounce, mislead, disrespect

Suffix
It is a formation of new words by adding suffixes to the stem.

Example:
Careless, childish, faithful, government, useful
 C O N V E R S I O N

It is the word formation process in which a

word of one grammatical form becomes a word
of another grammatical form without any
changes to spelling or pronunciation.
 EXAMPLES
My grandmother bottled (verb) the juice and canned
(verb) the pickles.

My grandmother put the juice in a bottle (noun) and

the pickles in a can (noun).

She microwaved (verb) her lunch.

She heated her lunch in the microwave (noun).
 C O I N A G E

Coinage is the word formation process in

which a new word is created either deliberately
or accidentally without using the other word
formation processes and often from seemingly
nothing.
EXAMPLES
Aspirin
escalator
Band-Aid
Frisbee
Google
kerosene
Kleenex
Xerox
zipper
Colgate
 B O R R O W I N G

It is the word formation process in

which a word from one language is
borrowed directly into another language.
Latin: interim, memorandum, agenda, p.m. and a.m., sponsor.

Greek : pneumonia, panorama, psychoanalysis, psychology,

python

French: bureau, café, chauffeur, abattoir, attaché, á la carte

Sanskrit: chakra, mahatma, nirvana, musk

Hindi: avatar, bungalow, jungle, pajamas, verandah, shampoo,

yoga, pundit, cheetah
 E P O N Y M

An eponym is a person whose name has given rise to

the name of a people, place, etc., or a personal name
which is used as a common noun. This person may be
living or dead, a fictional character, or a hero, etc. The
term is also used to describe the word so derived.
 EXAMPLES

volt [ Alessandro Volta, Italian]

watt [James Watt, Scot scientist]
boycott [Charles Boycott, Irish]
Fahrenheit [Gabriel Fahrenheit, German scientist]