WORD BUILDING  

1. What is word-building?  

Word-building is the process of building new words from the resources of a particular language.  

2. Structurally, what main types of words can be found in the English language?  

4 main types:  

- Root words are words that have only one root morpheme in their structure.  

Eg: boy, girl, pen, pencil...  

- Derived words are words that have one root morpheme and one of several affixes in their structure.  

Eg: teacher, artist, development...  

- Compound words are words that have 2 or more root morphemes in their structure.  

Eg: wallpaper, classroom...  

- Shortenings/ contracted words are words formed by contracting certain elements of an existing word or word group.  

Eg: TV, exam, bus (omnibus)...  

3. What is affixation?  

Affixation is a way of word-building, in which a new word is formed by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme.  

4. Etymologically/ productively/ semantically/ functionally how many types can affixes by classified into?  

a. Etymologically, affixes can be classified into 2 types:  

- Native: -ish (English, childish), -dom (freedom, wisdom), -hood (childhood, motherhood)  

- Borrowed: -ion (union, session), -ute (attribute, constitute), -ate (appreciate, create, congratulate)  

b. Productively, affixes can be classified into 2 types:  

- Productive: -ize (computerize, modernize), -able (comparable, changeable)  

- Nonproductive: -hood (brotherhood, childhood), -en (widen, darken)  

c. Semantically, affixes can be classified into 5 types:  

- Location: extra- (extramural, extramarital), sub- (subnormal), sur-/super- (supervise, surface)  

- Negative and positive: in-/il-/im- (inability, impossible), mis- (misspell, misunderstand)  

- Time and order: post-/ re-/ pri/ pre- (postgraduate, rediscover, primary, premature)  

- Size: macro-/ maxi-/ mega-/ semi- (macrobiotic, maximum, mega-project, semi-final)  

- Number: pen-/ tri- (pentathlon, pentagram, triangle)  

d. Functionally, affixes can be classified into 4 types:  

- Noun-forming suffixes: -ance (importance, allowance), -ness (happiness, laziness)  

- Verb -forming suffixes: -en (widen, lengthen), -ate (appreciate, congratulate)  

- Adj-forming suffixes: -al (cardinal, maternal), -ous (curious, dangerous)  

- Adv-forming suffixes: -ly(happily, simply), -ward (forward, backward)  

5. What are productive/ nonproductive affixes?  

- Productive affixes are those which are often used to derive new words especially neologisms and nonce-words at present.  

- Non-productive affixes are those which r not often used to derive new words at the present time.  

Eg: - dom + past: wisdom, boredom, icingdom  nonproductive  

+ now: newspaperdom, gangsterdom, stardom  productive.  

6. What is conversion?  

Conversion is a way of word-building in which a new word is formed by changing the category of part of speech of an existing word with each morphemic shape remaining unchanged.  

Eg: I never want to do anything with a must.  

Now that you are a member of a new family you should learn all their dos and don'ts.  

7. Grammatically/semantically, what should be noted in conversion?  

Grammatically when a word is formed by conversion it is subject all the grammatical changes of the new part of speech.  

Eg: Semantically, when a word is formed by conversion its meaning maybe slightly different from that of the word from which it was mad, however there are usually certain semantic and logical associations between the 2 (which help the readers and listeners to deduce the meaning of the new word).  

8. What is shortening?  

Shortening is a way of word-building in which a new word is formed by contracting certain elements of an existing word or word group.  

It consists of 3 subtypes namely: clipping, abbreviation, blending  

9. What is clipping?  

Clipping is to make a new word from a syllable (sometimes 2) of the original word.  

Clipping is sub-divided into 4 subtypes:  

a. Initial clipping: telephone  telephone  phone, aeroplane plane  

b. Final clipping: laboratory  lab, examination  exam  

c. Initial-final clipping: influenza  flu, refrigerator  fridge.  

d. Medial clipping: mathematics  maths, detective  tect, pantaloons  pants.  

10. What is abbreviation?  

Abbreviation is to make a new word from initial letters of an existing word group.  

APEC: Asian - pacific economic co-operation.  

ABAC: Apec business advisory council.  

SARS: severe acute respiratory syndrome.  

11. What is blending?  

Blending is to make a new word by merging parts of existing words into 1.  

smog = smoke + fog  

Interpol = international + police  

brunch = breakfast + lunch  

12. What is composition?  

Composition is a way of word-building in which a new word is formed by combining 2 or more stems.  

Eg: schoolboy, schoolgirl  

13. Structurally how many types can compounds be classified into?  

3 types: neutral compounds, morphological compounds, syntactic compounds.  

14. What are neutral compounds?  

Neutral are compounds formed by combining 2 stems or 2 words without using any linking elements.  

15. How many types can neutral compounds be subdivided into? 3  

- Simple neutral compounds (compounds whose components are root words).  

Eg: sunflower, bedroom  

- Derivational compounds (compounds of which 1 or both components are derived words).  

Eg: music-lover, blue-eyed  

- Contracted compounds (compounds of which 1 component is a shortening).  

Eg: TV set  

16. What are morphological compounds?  

Morphological compounds are compounds formed by combining 2 stems with the help of a liking vowel or consonant.  

Eg: spokesman, sportsman, speedometer, handicraft.  

17. What are syntactic compounds?  

Syntactical compounds are compounds formed from segments of speech preserving in their structure numerous traces of syntagmatic relation typical of speech.  

Eg: She sits at home these days.  

 no syntactic compound.  

She is a sit-at-home these days  

18. Semantically, how many types can compounds be classified into?  

2 types: non-idiomatic compounds, idiomatic compounds.  

19. What are non-idiomatic compounds?  

Non-idiomatic compounds are compounds whose meanings can be seen as the sum of the meanings of their components.  

Eg: stageartist, horserace, racehorse  

20. What are idiomatic compounds?  

Idiomatic compounds are compounds whose meanings do not correspond to the meanings of their components? The meanings of their components have been completely or partially changed or lost.  

Eg: bluestoking, butter-finger  

21. Graphically/ phonetically/ semantically/ syntactically how can compounds be distinguished from word-combination?  

- Graphically, components of a compound are usually6 jointly written or hyphenated while words in a word-combination are always separately written.  

Eg: bluebottle  

blue-bottle blue bottle  

compound word-combination  

- Phonetically, a compound normally has only one stress falling on the 1st syllable while each word in a word-combination has a stress of its own.  

Eg: 'bluebottle  

'blue-bottle 'blue 'bottle  

compound word-combination  

Compound adjectives are stress in the same way as word-combination.  

- Semantically, a compound expresses only 1 concept. While a word-combination expresses 2 or more concepts (depending on the number of word in word-combination).  

Eg: blue bottle  

blue-bottle blue bottle  

an insect colour - container  

- Syntactically, a compound is treated as a complete unity individual: Each compound belongs to 1 certain part of speech and is, therefore, subject to the grammatical changes of 1 part of speech. In contrast, each word in a w-com is an independent unit having all the grammatical changes of its own part of speech. Extra word can be added between them.  

Eg: blue bottle  

blue-bottle blue bottle  

bluebottles blue bottles  

bluish bottles  

blue and red bottles  

blue and red plastic bottles  

22. What is onomatopoeia?  

Onomatopoeia is minor type of word-building in which a new word formed by imitating different kinds of sounds that may be produced by animal, insects, human beings and inanimate objects.  

Eg: bang, flush, rumble, cricket  

23. What is reduplication?  

Reduplication is minor type of word-building in which a new word formed by doubling a stem, either without any phonetic changes or with a variation of the root-vowel or consonant.  

Eg: bang-bang, ta-ta, bye-bye, ping-pong, chit-chat  

24. What is back-formation (reversion)?  

Back-formation/ reversion is minor type of word-building in which a new word formed by subtracting what was mistakenly associated with an English affix.  

Eg: television  to televise, babysitter  to babysit, beggar  to beg, editor  to edit