Inglese 2
WORDSMITHERY
Some common types of Word Formation are:
Affixation: is the process of forming a new word by the addiction of a morpheme (or suffix) to an
already existing word.
We have kind of affixations: Prefixation and Suffixation
Clusters of affixes can be used to form complex words.
Back formation: Forming a new word by extracting meaning from another word; shortened
words created from longer words.
EX: The verb BURGLE from the older english BURGLAR.
Blending: A word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two or more other words or
parts.
The most common type of blending is a FULL WORD + WORD PART (SPLINTER/frammento)
EX: Emoticon= emote (mostrare emotività) + icon
Sitcom= situation + comedy
Clipping: words formed by dropping one or more syllable from a polysillabic word.
EX: Cell from Cellular Phone / Prof from Professor
Some of the most common products of clipping are names: Liz, Rob, Kim
Compounding: process of combining 2 words (free morphemes) to create a new word
·They are written sometimes as one word (sunglasses)
·Sometimes as two hyphenated words (life-threatening)
·Sometimes as two separate words (football stadium)
Borrowing: is a word from one language that has been adapted for use in another.
The english language has been described as an insatiable borrower. More than 120 other
languages have served as sources for the contemporary vocabulary of English.