Introduction to

Word-Formation
by
Natalie Mühlberger
Markus Ostheimer
Felicitas Schäfer
 overview

Morphological
Processes

Inflection Lexical Processes

Derivation Compounding Other Processes

2
 overview

Morphological
Processes

Inflection Lexical Processes

Derivation Compounding ...

3
 inflection
• produces from a basic form all those
variants which occur in syntactically
determined environments

- Ex.: these girls are walking

Back to Overview 4
 criteria of inflection

• productivity
• stability of word class
• stability of stress pattern
• semantic transparency

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 productivity
• a morphological process is fully productive
if it applies to all markers of a specific
class, e.g. to all verbs

- Ex.: nouns ¤ {-s}, {-‘s}, {-s‘}

verbs ¤ {-s}, {-ed}, {-ing}, {-en}
adjectives ¤ {-er}, {-est}

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 stability of word-class
• inflectional processes do not change the
basic form’s word-class irrespective of what
type of inflectional affix is added

- Ex.: house ¤ houses

wife ¤ wife’s
noun ¤ noun

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 stability of stress pattern
• inflection does not involve a change of the
basic form’s stress pattern irrespective of
what type of inflectional affix is added

- Ex.: navigate navigated

refer referring

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 semantic transparency
• the meaning of the affixes involved in
inflectional processes is stable and thus
clearly definable

- Ex.: long-er more than long

high-er more than high
{-er} more than …

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 overview

Morphological
Processes

Inflection Lexical Processes

Derivation Compounding ...

10
 lexical processes

• involve
- a basic form and one or more other basic
forms (= compounding)
- a basic form and one or more affixes
(= derivation)

Back to Overview 11
 lexical processes
• form and meaning of the resulting word-
form cannot always be predicted from its
component parts
• thus, the word should be listed in the
lexicon
• lexical processes are dealt with by lexical
morphology
• some linguists refer to it as word-formation
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 criteria of lexical processes

• productivity
• stability of word class
• stability of stress pattern
• semantic transparency

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 productivity
• lexical processes are not productive or at the
most only semiproductive, since they only apply
to a finite set of elements

- Ex.: nouns ¤ {-less}, {-ise}: senseless

verbs ¤ {-ion}, {-al}: rehearsal
adjectives ¤ {-en}, {-ness}: quicken
¤ combination possibility limited!

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 stability of word-class
• lexical processes often involve a change in the
basic form’s word-class as soon as an affix is
added

- Ex.: nouns ¤ {-less}, {-ise}: senseless

verbs ¤ {-ion}, {-al}: rehearsal
adjectives ¤ {-en}, {-ness}: quicken
¤ combination possibility limited!

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 stability of stress pattern
• there are stress-preserving affixes like {-al}
which do not cause any change, and stress-
changing affixes like {-ion}

- Ex.: nouns ¤ {-less}, {-ise}: senseless

verbs ¤ {-ion}, {-al}: rehearsal
adjectives ¤ {-en}, {-ness}: quicken
¤ combination possibility limited!

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 semantic transparency
• the meaning of the affixes involved in lexical
processes is in many cases not clearly definable

- Ex.: nouns ¤ {-less}, {-ise}: senseless

verbs ¤ {-ion}, {-al}: rehearsal
adjectives ¤ {-en}, {-ness}: quicken
¤ combination possibility limited!

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 enlarging the lexicon
• there are various ways to enlarge the stock
of words of the English language:
- free morphemes may be combined with free
morphemes
- bound morphemes may be combined with
bound morphemes
- free morphemes may be combined with bound
morphemes and vice versa

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 morphology vs. word-formation
• adding a morpheme without creating a new
linguistic sign is called a morphological
process (synonym: grammatical process)

- Ex.: {king} + {s} = {kings}

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 morphology vs. word-formation
• adding a morpheme and thereby creating a
new linguistic sign is called a word-
formation process (synonym: lexical
process)

- Ex.: {king} + {dom} = {kingdom}

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 overview

Morphological
Processes

Inflection Lexical Processes

Derivation Compounding ...

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 derivation
• if a free and at least one bound morpheme
are combined to form a new linguistic sign,
this process is called derivation
• derivation in English is possible because of
the loss of inflections, i.e. changes from one
word-class to the other are made constantly
- Ex.: {neighbour} + {hood}

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 types of derivation
• prefixation
• suffixation
• zero-derivation

Back to Lexical Processes 23

 prefixation
• if the bound morpheme appears before the
free morpheme, this bound morpheme is
called a prefix and the process is called
prefixation

- Ex.: {un} + {wise}

• most prefixes are class-maintaining, some

are class-changing
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Back to Types of Derivation
 types of prefixes (selection)
• negative prefixes
• privative/reversative prefixes
• pejorative prefixes

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 negative prefixes (I)
• in the meaning of “not, the converse of”

with adjectives and

{un-} unhappy, unexpected
participles
disobey, disintegration, with verbs, nouns,
{dis-}
disinterested adjectives
non-smoker, with nouns, adjectives,
{non-}
non-perishable open-class adverbs
with nouns and
{in-} incomplete
adjectives
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 negative prefixes (II)
• in the meaning of “lacking in, lack of”

combines with adjectives

{a-} amoral, anarchy
and some nouns

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 privative/reversative prefixes
• in the meaning of “returning to a state
which existed before”
with verbs and deverbal
{de-} defrost, denationalization
nouns – cf. trp. 32
with verbs and
{dis-} disentangle, discoloured denominal adjectives –
cf. trp. 32
with verbs and nouns
{un-} untie, unmask
turned into verbs

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 pejorative prefixes
• in the meaning of “bad” or “false”

with verbs, participles

{mis-} misinform, misconduct
and abstract nouns
with verbs, participles,
{mal-} maltreat, malnutrition adjectives and abstract
nouns
with nouns and adjec-
{pseudo-} pseudo-scientific
tives

E xercises Prefixation 29
 suffixation
• if the bound morpheme appears after the
free morpheme, this bound morpheme is
called a suffix and the process is called
suffixation

- Ex.: {invest} + {ment}

• most suffixes are class-changing, some are

class-maintaining
Back to Types of Derivation
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 types of suffixes
• noun-suffixes
• verb-suffixes
• adjective-suffixes
– you find out the type of suffix by
asking for the created word-class
and the word-class of the base
- Ex.: baker ¤ noun
the base: to bake ¤ deverbal
-er ¤ deverbal noun-suffix
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 noun-suffixes
• denominal
– Ex.: {-er}, {-ship}, {-ful}: Londoner,
friendship, useful
• deverbal
– Ex.: {-er}, {-ation}: baker, exploration
• de-adjectival
– Ex.: {-ness}: happiness

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 verb-suffixes
• denominal
– Ex.: {-ate}: hyphenate
• de-adjectival
– Ex.: {-ify}: simplify

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 adjective-suffixes
• denominal
– Ex.: {-like}: childlike
• deverbal
– Ex.: {-ive}: attractive

E xercises Suffixation 34
 zero-derivation
• by adding a zero-morpheme (seen as an
analogy to the suffixation), the word does
not change its form but its meaning and
word-class; this process is called zero-
derivation

- Ex.: verb + {ø} = noun

to {release} + {ø} = a {release}

Back to Types of Derivation 35

 complex derivation
• derivation can apply more than once
• the words are then built up in several layers

- Ex.: activation
active - activate - activation

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 order
• derivation before inflection!

- Ex.:
{neighbour} + {hood} + {s}

derivation {hood}
before
inflection {-s}

E xercises Derivation 37
 overview

Morphological
Processes

Inflection Lexical Processes

Derivation Compounding ...

38
 compounding
• two (or more) free morphemes are combined
to form a new linguistic sign
• this process is called compounding or
composition
• its result is a compound

- Ex.: {fire} + {engine}, {over} + {look}

Back to Lexical Processes

39
 compounding
• there are various subdivisions:
• by semantic criteria (meaning characteristics)
• by word-class (formal characteristics)

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 subdivision by semantic criteria
(I)
• endocentric compounds
- the compound denotes a sub-class of the items
denoted by one of its constituents

- Ex.: beehive ¤ hive

sea-bird ¤ bird

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 subdivision by semantic criteria
(II)
• exocentric compounds
- the compound does not denote a sub-class of
the items denoted by one of its constituents

- Ex.: redneck, scatterbrain

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 subdivision by semantic criteria
(III)
• exocentric compounds
- an exocentric compound is a hyponym of an
unexpressed semantic head (‘scatterbrain’)
- if the formation with an unexpressed head
contains no verbal constituent (as in ‘redneck’),
it is called a bahuvrihi compound
- bahuvrihi is a compound in Sanskrit, meaning
”much rice”

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 subdivision by semantic criteria
(IV)
• appositional/copulative compounds
- the compound denotes either sub-class of the
items denoted by its constituents

- Ex.: maidservant, learner-driver, girlfriend

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 subdivision by semantic criteria
(V)
• dvandva compounds
- the compound does not denote the sub-class of
either constituent

- Ex.: Rhineland-Palatinate, Austria-Hungary

- dvandva is a compound in Sanskrit, meaning ”two

and two”

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 subdivision by word-class (I)
• headedness of compounds
- the morpheme which determines the word-class
of the entire word is called its head (or morpho-
syntactic head)
- in most compounds, the head is the rightmost
morpheme

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 subdivision by word-class (II)
• properties of the head
- it determines a number of morpho-syntactic
properties of a compound, such as
• word-class
• gender
• inflectional properties
• the case (in syntax)
- Ex. in German:
der Schuljunge vs. die Jungenschule

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 subdivision by word-class (III)
• inversion compounds
- compounds with the leftmost morpheme as the
head are called inversion compounds (very little
in number)

- Ex.: looker-on, court martial, knight errant,

whenever, herself

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 subdivision by word-class (IV)
• compounds with bound words
- both parts are independently attested
- Ex.: swimming pool, rain coat

- semi-productive formations, called

combining forms
- Ex.: television, church-goer, electrophile, hydrology

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 subdivision by word-class (V)
• subconstituency
- emphasis is the decisive matter

- Ex.: American history teacher or

American history teacher

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 types of compounds
(formal criteria)
• it is possible to combine nearly all word
types together:
– Examples: noun + noun: letter-opener
verb + noun: drawbridge
adjective + verb: greenhouse
noun + adjective: waterproof
adverb + verb: newly-wed

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 short historical excursion
• 1803: Lewis and Clark expedition to the
American Northwest
• result: 367 new compounds added to the
American lexicon

- Ex.: bull snake, catbird, ground squirrel

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 overview

Morphological
Processes

Inflection Lexical Processes

Derivation Compounding ...

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 other word-formation processes
• abbreviation
- clipping
- acronymics
• blending
• back-formation
• reduplication
• “Tall Talk”
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 abbreviation
• clipping
• acronymics

Back to Other Word-Formation Processes 55

 clipping (I)
• shortening of a word out of a two- or more
syllabic word
• process and result are equally called
clipping
• the denotational meaning and the word-
class do not change

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 clipping (II)
• either a stressed or an unstressed syllable is
retained
• the clipped part does not need to be a
morpheme

Back to Abbreviation 57
 sub-classes of clippings
• fore-clippings
- Ex.: telephone
• back-clippings
- Ex.: advertisement
• medial clippings
- Ex.: spectacles
• fore-and-back-clippings
- Ex.: influenza
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 acronymics
• one word is formed by the (capital) initial
letters or syllables of two or more words of
one phrase

Back to Abbreviation 59
 sub-classes of acronyms (I)
• alphabetical pronunciation (pronunciation
of the single letters)
- Ex.: FBI, CIA, BBC, RP, MP
• orthoepic pronunciation (pronunciation as a
whole word)
- Ex.: NATO, UNESCO
• non-reduced pronunciation (pronunciation
of the abbreviated words)
- Ex.: i.e. (id est), e.g. (example given) 60
 sub-classes of acronyms (II)
• descriptive pronunciation (pronunciation by
describing the abbreviation)
- Ex.: AAA (triple A)
• pronunciation + apposition (pronunciation
by inserting a sound)
- Ex.: SCSI /skʌzɪ/ or /skɪzɪ/

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 blending
• two words (free morphemes) are melted
(blended) together to form one single word
• the process is called blending, its result is a
blend(ing) or a telescope or portmanteau
word
• a new linguistic sign appears

Back to Other Word-Formation Processes 62

 sub-classes of blendings
• concatenated blends1
- Ex.: happenident, bisalo
• overlapping blends
- Ex.: bedventure, frogurt, alcoholiday
• implanted blends
- Ex.: askillity, destarture, enfarcement

1) words do not overlap 63

 back-formation
• shortening of a word of a real or pretended
suffix
- Ex.: babysitting – to babysit
editor – to edit

Back to Other Word-Formation Processes 64

 reduplication
• doubling of a word
• slight changes in spelling can occur
– Ex.: goody-goody, wishy-washy

Back to Other Word-Formation Processes

E xercises Other Word-Formation Processes
65
 “Tall Talk”
• the creation of high-sounding, “mouth-
filling” words
• can be traced back to folk characters like
Paul Bunyan and Mike Fink

- Ex.: A frontiersman could “teetotaciously

exflunctiate” his opponent in a “con-
bobberation”.
Back to Other Word-Formation Processes
E xercises Word-Formation 66
 bibliography/further reading
Adams, Valerie. An Introduction to Modern English Word-
Formation. London: Longman, 1973.
Bauer, Laurie. English Word-Formation. Cambridge: CUP,
1983.
Lipka, Leonhard. An Outline of English Lexicology. Tübingen:
Niemeyer, 21992.
Marckwardt, Albert H. American English. New York: OUP,
1958. Repr. 1968.
Mencken, Henry Louis. The American Language. An Inquiry
into the Development of English in the United States. New
York: Knopf, 1949.
Quirk, Randolph, et.al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the
English Language. London: Longman, 1985. 67
Check your knowledge!
 exercises 1
• identify the type of derivation:
– amoral, desire, boyish
– bottle, friendship, disorder
– starlet, degrading, grade
– subnormal, baker, telegraph

S olutions
Back
69
 exercises 2
• identify the type of prefixation:
– asexual, disown, mishear
– unpack, pseudo-intellectual, unfair
– malodorous, disuse, desegregate

S olutions
Back
70
 exercises 3
• identify the right type of suffixation:
– teenager, chlorinate, monkeylike
– amplify, starvation, citizenship
– kindness, possessive, boiler

S olutions
Back
71
 exercises 4
• identify the type of word-formation:
– ha-ha, demo, advise
– inspect, seesaw, DIY
– ID, photo, Eurovision

S olutions
Back
72
 exercises 5
• identify the type of word-formation and
some possible characteristics:
1. disunity 7. inhabitant
2. greyhound 8. ping-pong
3. codify 9. release
4. laze 10. baggage
5. useful 11. heliport
6. defrost 12. maltreat

S olutions M ore Exercises 73

 exercises 6
• identify the type of word-formation and
some possible characteristics
1. slavery 6. popcorn
2. longboat 7. butter
3. exam 8. pub
4. symbolize 9. sadden
5. UN 10. denationalisation

S olutions Back 74
 solutions 1
- prefixation, zero-derivation, suffixation
- zero-derivation, suffixation, prefixation
- suffixation, prefixation, zero-derivation
- prefixation, suffixation, zero-derivation

Back to Exercises 1

75
 solutions 2
negative:
- asexual, disuse, incomplete, unfair
reversative:
- desegregate, disown, unpack
pejorative:
- malodorous, mishear, pseudo-
intellectual
Back to Exercises 2 76
 solutions 3
noun: denominal: teenager, citizenship
deverbal: boiler, starvation
de-adjectival: kindness
verb: denominal: chlorinate
de-adjectival: amplify
adjective: denominal: monkeylike
deverbal: possessive

Back to Exercises 3

77
 solutions 4
back-formation: advise(or), inspect(or)
reduplicative: seesaw, ha-ha
clipping: demo(nstration), photo(graph)
acronym: DIY (do it yourself),
ID (identification card)
blending: Eurovision (European television)

Back to Exercises 4

78
 solutions 5
1. prefixation, negative prefix
2. compound, adj. + noun
3. compound, adj. + noun
4. back-formation, lazy
5. suffixation, denominal suffix
6. prefixation, reservative prefix

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 solutions 5
7. suffixation, deverbal noun-suffix
8. reduplicative
9. zero-derivation
10. suffixation, denominal suffix
11. blending, helicopter + airport
12. prefixation, pejorative prefix
Back to Exercises 5

80
 solutions 6
1. suffixation, denominal noun-suffix
2. compound, adj. + noun, endocentric
3. clipping, examination
4. suffixation, denominal noun-suffix
5. acronym, United Nations

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 solutions 6
6. compound, verb + noun, exocentric
7. zero-derivation
8. clipping, public-house
9. suffixation, de-adjectival verb-suffix
10. pre- and suffixation,
reversative prefix + de-adjectival noun-suffix

Back to Exercises 6

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