Linguistics

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Creating New Vocabulary

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 “ A list or collection of words or
of words and phrases usually
alphabetically arranged and
explained or defined. “

Vocabulary
| noun | vo·​cab·​u·​lary | vō-ˈka-byə-ˌler-ē |

“ A set of familiar words within a

person's language or all the words
known and used by a particular
person. “
 Preface 9
General Processes of
-------------------------------------------------------------------- New Words Formation:
There are countless existent words in English.
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Sometimes, however, a different situation arises. 1. Meaning Extension
some new phenomenon is introduced into human 2. Compounding
experience for which some new word 3. Affixation
needs to be created. 4. Borrowing
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While it is possible to identify a series of general
5. Clipping
processes by which new words are formed, it is 6. Blending
difficult to determine precisely when a new word was 7. Acronyms
first used, and why all speakers of a language 8. Abbreviations
ultimately agreed to use it.
9. Back Formation
The computer term memory was
created through the process of meaning
extension :
The meaning of memory as it applies to
the human mind was extended to cover
the inner workings of a computer.
Meaning extension is a very common process in
English, and often the new word is a metaphor of
the word on which it is based.
1. Meaning Extension
For instance, just about every part of the
human body has become a metaphor:
 The head of an organization.
 The heart of the problem.
 At arm’s length.
 The foot of the mountain.
 Won by a nose.
 I’m all ears.
Compounding involves combining two base Hyphenated Compound Noun
morphemes to create a word with a new meaning Two or more words that are separated by a hyphen
that is not necessarily a sum of the meanings of  Self-esteem
the individual words.  Editor-in-chief

Single Words Compound Noun Compound Noun [verb + noun]

Two words that make up a single word  Washing Machine
 Bedroom  Swimming Pool
 Background
 Lipstick Compound Noun [noun + verb]
 Ashtray  Sunrise
 Waterfall
Two Words Compound Noun
Two words that are generally used together Compound Noun [verb + preposition]
 High School  Check-up
 Vacuum Cleaner  Drive-through
 Real Estate
 Full Moon
2. Compounding
Affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word Boomeritis
stem to form new word of word form. diseases affecting baby boomers
as they age
Affixation has always played an important role
in forming new vocabulary Flexitarian
someone who claims to be a
Some more recent words formed through vegetarian but sometimes eats
affixation that have appeared on the American meat
Dialect Society’s Words of the Year lists include:
Subprime
Texter a risky loan made to people
an individual who sends text messages seeking home mortgages

3. Affixation
Borrowing is a process by which a language receives a word directly from another language, usually
as a result of contact with the language. Although English has borrowed heavily from Latin, Greek,
and French, other languages have contributed vocabulary as well:

Old Norse : Skirt, Sky, Skin, Scrape

German : Blitz, Kindergarten, Hamburger, Strudel, Dachshund

Arabic : Coffee, Alcohol, Jar, Jihad, Albatross, Giraffe, Hashish

Yiddish : Bagel, Schlep, Schmooze, Schmaltz, Chutzpah

Chinese : Chow Mein, Chopstick, Ginseng, Tycoon, Tai Chi, Kung Fu

Spanish : Avocado, Barrio, Taco, Mosquito, Mesa, Adobe

4. Borrowing
Clippings are words that have been shortened. (Omni)Bus

Flu is a clipped form of Influenza Auto(mobile)

Phone is a shortened form of Telephone Gas(oline)

Additional examples include: (Inter)Net

Doc(tor) Cab(riole)

Sec(ond) Taxi(meter)

5. Clipping
Blends result from parts of two words being
combined to create a single word.
The word Brunch
is a combination of Breakfast + Lunch.
Other examples include:
Stagflation (Stagnation + Inflation)
Chortle (Chuckle + Snort)
Smog (Smoke + Fog)
Infomercial (Information + Commercial)
Snizzle (Snow + Drizzle)
Blog (Web + Log)
Docudrama (Documentary + Drama)
Podcast (Ipod + Broadcast)
6. Blending
 The Difference Between
Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronyms and Abbreviations are formed using the first letters of two or more words to form a
single word.
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The difference between the two processes is that while
Acronyms can be pronounced as a single word
Abbreviations have to be spelled out
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Thus,
AIDS is an Acronym because it can be pronounced as a single word,
While
CIA is an Abbreviation because the individual letters have to be pronounced.
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Acronyms and abbreviations are very common in English.
Acronyms

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

RAM (random access memory)

radar (radio detection and ranging)

sonar (sound navigation and ranging)

laser (light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation)

7. Acronym
Abbreviations

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide)

DVD (digital video disc)

IED (improvised explosive device)

WMD (weapons of mass destruction)

MP (member of parliament, or military police)

8. Abbreviation
Back Formations are words that are created through a Burgle (Burglar)
reverse process of affixation.
Edit (Editor)
For instance, the noun Television is not a
nominalization derived from the verb Televise. Euthanize (Euthanasia)
Instead, the reverse process occurred: Televise
resulted from removing the -ion from Television. Advert (Advertising)

The words below were all derived through the removal Laze (Lazy)
of an affix:
Pea (Pease)
Enthuse (Enthusiastic)

Attrit (Attrition)

Liaise (Liaison)
9. Back formation
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“ Without grammar, very little can be conveyed,

without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed. “
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-Wilkins, David A. (1972)-

 Thank You,
& Have A Nice Day!