New Word Formation
Word formation is a very important aspect of most languages, and English is no
exception.
The term word formation refers to the processes through which new words are
created
Processes of New Word Formation
Following are the different processes through which new words can be formed:
By Adding Prefixes
By Adding Suffixes
Converting From One Word Class to Another
Forming Compound Words
Blending
Abbreviations
Novel Creation
Creative Respelling
Loan Words
By Adding Prefixes
The term ‘prefix’ refers to one or more letters added to the root of a word, mostly to
make it negative.
The most used prefixes include ‘in-’, ‘un-’, ‘dis-’, ‘im-’, ‘ir-’, etc.
Variety of prefixes can help in forming new word based on their nature.
Some prefixes negate or reverse the meaning of the word. (This process is used to create
antonyms)
De:
Value – Devalue
Compose – Decompose
Fame – Defame
Dis:
Agree – Disagree
Ability – Disability
Advantage – Disadvantage
Im:
Polite – Impolite
Possible – Impossible
Proper – Improper
In:
Visible : Invisible
Accurate – Inaccurate
Some prefixes negate or reverse the meaning of the word. (This process is used to create
antonyms)
il:
Logical – Illogical
Legible – Illegible
Legal – Illegal
ir:
Responsible – Irresponsible
Relevant – Irrelevant
Religious – Irreligious
Non:
Violence – Non-violence
Sense – Nonsense
Cooperate – Non-cooperate
Un:
Happy – Unhappy
Necessary – Unnecessary
Lock - Unlock
Some Prefixes may express size or degree:
Extra:
Ordinary – Extraordinary
Out:
Live – Outlive
Grow – Outgrow
Smart – Outsmart
Semi:
Circle – Semi-circle
Final – Semi-final
Sub:
Inspector – Sub-inspector
Normal – Sub-normal
Under:
Estimate – Underestimate
Value – Undervalue
Over:
Do – Overdo
Qualified - Overqualified
Some Prefixes may express time or position:
Fore
Foretell
Forecast
Pre
Prefix
Prepay
Post
Post-graduate
Postmortem
Ex
Ex-president
Ex-student
Re
Rewrite
Recall
Rebuild
Some Prefixes may express attitude
Anti
Anti-social
Anti-government
Pro:
Pro-communist
Pro-American
Some Prefixes may express number
Mono:
Monosyllabic
Monorail
Bi:
Bicycle
Bi-annual
Tri:
Triangle
Tricolor
Some Prefixes are used to change the parts of speech.
En:
Courage (Noun) – Encourage (Verb)
Danger (Noun) – Endanger (Verb)
Force (Noun) – Enforce (Verb)
Able (Adjective) – Enable (Verb)
Large (Adj.) – Enlarge (Verb)
Rich (Adj.) – Enrich (Verb)
Be:
Friend (Noun) – Befriend (Verb)
Fool (Noun) – Befool (Verb)
Little (Adj.) – Belittle (Verb)
Em:
Power (Noun) – Empower (Verb)
Bitter (Adj.) – Embitter (Verb)
By Adding Suffixes
A suffix is a short syllable added at the end of a base word.
The main purpose of a suffix is to show what class of word it is (e.g. noun or
adjective).
Suffixes are used to form words of different parts of speech.
Adding suffix to make Nouns
Adding suffix to create Nouns from Verb
Adding suffix to create Nouns from Adjectives
Adding suffix to create Verbs : (-fy, -ize, -en)
Adding suffix to form Adverbs : (-ly, -ward(s), -wise)
Adding suffix to form Adjectives
A Quick Exercise on Use of Prefix and Suffix
Form Nouns from:
Act, Wise, Employ, Appear, Obey, Please, Able, Propose, Enter, Fertile, Deliver,
Waste, Deny, Close, Confirm, Govern, Educate, Avoid, Gentle, Heavy
Make Adjectives from:
Nation, Origin, Favour, Value, Thirst, Hunger, Storm, Worth, Blood, Magic
Make Verbs from:
Able, Large, Joy, Fool, Bitter, Rich, Power, Friend, Courage, Little
Converting From One Word Class to Another
The process of conversion focuses solely on changing the word class of the word.
Some nouns are used to perform the role of a verb or an adjective acting like a noun
just by the addition of another word or slightly altering the spelling of the actual word.
Examples:
Can you text her? (verb from noun text, meaning to send a text-message).
They are always jetting somewhere. (verb from noun jet).
If you’re not careful, some downloads can damage your computer. (noun from verb
download).
OK, so the meeting’s on Tuesday. That’s a definite. (noun from adjective).
It’s a very big if and I’m not at all sure we can afford it. (noun from conjunction,
meaning ‘it’s not at all certain’).
All companies have their ups and downs. (nouns from prepositions).
We also use conversion when we change a proper noun into a common noun:
Has anybody seen my Dickens? (copy of a book by Dickens)
Examples:
The rich should help the poor. (Adjectives such as ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are used as nouns).
Everyone is talented. (‘Talented’ – a past participle is used as an adjective).
There will definitely be a lot of ups and downs in life. (Prepositions ‘up’ and ‘down’ are
used as nouns).
He texted me about the meeting only at the last minute. (The noun ‘text’ used to refer to
a text message sent on a phone is used as a verb).
Forming Compound Words
A compound word, as the name suggests, is a combination of two or more root words.
They are combined to form words which mean something different from what the
individual words mean.
Compound word is a noun, an adjective or a verb made of two or more words or parts
of words, written as one or more words, or joined by a hyphen.
Compounding is a process when two or more words link together to produce a word
with a new meaning
Compound words are formed by combining one part of speech with another to form
a specific word class.
There are many ways in which compound words are formed.
For example, Verbs are combined with adjectives to form compound verbs, a
present participle is combined with a noun to form a compound noun, two nouns are
combined to form a compound noun, an adjective and a noun are combined to
form a compound noun, an adverb is combined with a noun to form a compound
noun, an adjective is combined with a past participle to form a compound
adjective and so on
It is sometimes difficult to know where to put hyphens in words that are compound ed.
It is also difficult to know whether to separate words (e.g., post box) or to join the
words (e.g., postbox). In such cases, it is best to check in a good learner’s dictionary.
Types of Compound Words
Compound words can be formed in three different ways. They are:
Open compound words
Closed compound words
Hyphenated compound words
Open Compound Words
Open compound words are those that are formed by combining two or more words
which can be written as separate words and still be used together as a compound
word.
Open compound words are mostly formed by combining an adjective and a noun to
form a compound noun.
For example:
First aid
Post office
Living room
High school
Ice cream
Closed Compound Words
Closed compound words are those that are formed by combining two words but do
not contain any space between them, unlike open compound words.
For example:
Bedroom
Keyhole
Football
Backspace
Armchair
Hyphenated Compound Words
Hyphenated compound words, as the name suggests are words formed by combining
two or more words with a hyphen placed between them.
Hyphenated compound words mostly function as compound adjectives.
For example:
In-depth
Snow-clad
One-footed
Sun-dried
Day-to-day
Compound Words can be:
1. Compound Nouns
2. Compound Adjectives
3. Compound Verbs
In most cases:
Compound nouns are written as a closed compound word.
A compound verb is written as an open compound word and
A compound adjective is written as a hyphenated compound word.
However, this is not a rule and is not always the case.
As far as hyphenated compound words are concerned, they are hyphenated only if they are
placed before the noun it modifies.
Forming Compound Noun:
A compound noun is a noun that is formed by a combination of more than one part of
speech.
A compound noun is defined as ‘a noun that is made up of two or more different words,
for example,
“cake shop”, “French fries”, “high-flyer”, or “schoolteacher”.’
Forming Compound Noun:
Compound nouns are of three main types: Open or spaced compound nouns,
hyphenated compound nouns and closed or solid compound nouns.
Open or spaced compound nouns: Cricket bat, Fast food, Flower shop
Hyphenated compound nouns: By-product, Mother-in-law, Passer-by
Closed or solid compound nouns: Sunflower, Classroom, Rainfall
