Word Formation

Morpholog Borrow
ical
reanalysis ing
Acrony Back
ms formation

Clippin Word
formation
g process

Blends

Compo Derivat
unding ion
Word Formation
• How are new words created?
• A very common and productive
process:
derivation
happy + ness → happiness
print + able → printable
em + balm → embalm
Compounding
• The creation of a new word out of several existing ones,
e.g. bathroom, armchair, university degree
• What are the properties of compounds?
Compounds consist of
• a head (the right element, carrying the principal meaning)
• and a modifier (the left element)
They are
• endocentric (syntactic and semantic head)
• exocentric (syntactic but not semantic head)
• copulative (no head-modifier relationship, both parts are equal)
• verbal (modifier is object of corresponding verb)
Compounds are recursive: bath towel room sale rack
Blends
• are created by blending two existing words to
form a new one
• Typically, you take the beginning of one word
and the end of another
• e.g. smoke + fog → smog
edutainment
guesstimate
etc.
Clippings
• are created by shortening an exisiting word
• usually the first or stressed syllables are
taken
• e.g. laboratory → lab
mike
fax
sci-fi
etc.
Acronyms
• are created by using the initial letters of a
longer name or term which consists of several
words
• the new form is pronounced as a word (not
just letters, then it‘s a simple abbreviation)
• e.g. radio detection and ranging → radar
NATO
NAFTA
FYROM
etc.
Morphological Reanalysis
• often a case of folk etymology
• occurs when a complex word is reanalyzed
morphologically, and the components are used as
morphemes themselves
• e.g. hamburger: hamburg + er → ham + burger
• burger = patty eaten in a bun
• the new morpheme burger is now used to
create new words,
e.g. cheeseburger, tofuburger, chickenburger
A Critical Case
• How about new words in –thon and –rama or –holic?
• There are many examples, especially in the world of
advertizing or in journalism, ending in –thon and –rama
or –holic.
• Watch out for some examples:
 -rama
Anything that offers a (metaphorical)
panorama, i.e. a wide range, of some thing or activity
Images removed for filesize reasons

-holic
HORSEAHOLIC.COM is dedicated to the promotion of Canada's
national horse the "Cheval Canadien".
Craft-a-holic
Knitting, Rubber Stamping, Scrapbooking, Book Binding, Soap
Making, and on and on and on . . .
The Salt-O-Holic Message Board
Becoming a Font-a-holic... and Loving It
Any „addiction“ to a hobby or favorite thing makes you an X-a-
holic
Borrowing
• new words are not created from native stock
but borrowed from other languages
• so-called loanwords
• e.g. anorak, parka, igloo (from Inuit),
wurst, stein, ersatz (from German),
aficionado, burrito, cockroach (from Spanish),
khaki, bungalow, juggernaut (from Indian), etc.
Back Formation
A complex word exists first, the non-
affixed form is derived later, e.g.
 – to baby-sit from baby-sitter
 – to edit from editor
 – to laze from lazy
 – to enthuse from enthusiasm