UNIT 5: Word formation.

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NEOLOGISMS
! A neologism is a new word which is introduced into a language. There are three phases:
! ACCEPTABILITY: we can very quickly understand a new word and accept the use of its
! different forms in our language.

INCORPORATION: after we learn a word, we adopt it in the oral language and, after that, it
must be incorporated into the written language.
! VITALITY: if a word is accepted and incorporated into language, it needs to be used by the
!! speakers of that language. It also includes the fact of a constant changing.
ETYMOLOGY
! The study of the origin and history of a word is known as its etymology.
!!
BORROWING
! One of the most common sources of new words in English is the process sumply labeled borrowing,
that is, the taking over of words from other languages. Throughout its history, the English language has
adopted a vast number of words from other languages, for example: jewel (French), piano (Italian), sofa
(Arabic). Other langauges, of course, borrow terms from English.
! LOAN-TRANSLATION: a special type of borrowing is described as loan-translation or calque.
In this process, there is a direct translation of the elements of a word into the borrowing language.
The English expression moment of truth is believed to be a calque from the Spanish phrase el
momento de la verdad.
!!
COMPOUNDING
! In some of the examples we have just considered, there is a joining of two separate words to produce
a single form. This combining process, technically known as compounding. Formal characteristics:
! STRESS: changes from the originary word to the new one and also does the meaning of that new
! word. For example: a black bird > a blackbird.

INFLECTIONAL ENDINGS: their position can completely change meaning. For example: the

! foxes hunter > the fox hunters.

SPELLING CONVENTIONS: a flower pot > a flower-pot > a flowerpot.

! The semantic relationships between the two components of the new compound can be:
! ENDOCENTRIC: we can predict the meaning of the compound thanks to one or both of its
components. For example: dog-food (type of food).
! EXOCENTRIC: we cannot predict the meaning of the compound, none of its components give
!! us leads of it.
BLENDING
! The combination of two separate forms to produce a single new term is also present in the process
called blending. In blending, we take only the beginning of one word and join it to the end of the other word.
For example: smoke + fog = smog.
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CLIPPING
! The element of reduction that is noticeable in blending is even more apparent in the process
described as clipping. This occurs when a word of more than one syllable is reduced to a shorter form. We
can retain the initial part (ad from advertisement, bi from bisexual), the middle part (jams from pajamas) or
the final part.
! HYPOCORISM: a particular type of reduction produces forms technically known as
hypocorisms. In this process, a longer word is reduced to a single syllable, then -y or -ie is added to
the end. This is the process that results in movie (moving pictures) or bookie (bookmarker).
! BACKFORMATION: a very specialized type of reduction process is known as backformation.
Typically a word of one type is reduced to form a word of another type. For example: donate (from
donation), babysit (from babysitter).
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CONVERSION
! A change in the function of a word is generally known as conversion. A number of nouns have come
to be used as verbs (for example: glue > Ill have to glue it together), but the conversion can also involve
verbs becoming nouns (for example: to doubt > They have some doubts). Its worth noting that some
words can shift substantially in meaning when they go through conversion.
!!
COINAGE
! The invention and general use of totally new terms, or coinage, is not very common in English. The
most salient contemporary example of coinageis the word google.
! New words based on the name of a person or a place are called eponyms. When we talked about a
hoover we were using an eponym.
!!
ACRONYMS
! Acronyms are new words formed from the initial letters of a set of other words where the
pronunciation consists of saying each separate letter. For example: NASA or CD. These examples have kept
their capital letters, but many acronyms simply become everyday terms such as laser or radar.
!!
DERIVATION
! The derivation is accomplished by affixes (un-, mis-, pre-) which appear in words like unhappy,
misunderstand, prejudge
! PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES: some affixes are added to the beginning of the word and are
! called prefixes. Other affixes are added to the end of the word and are called suffixes.

INFIXES: the infixes are not normally used in English. An infix is incorporated inside another
word. For example: Unfuckinbelievable!