Word Formation Processes: Affixation, Compounding, Conversion

Posted on Feb 27, 2025 in English Studies

Major Word-Formation Processes

T5

  • Affixation:
    • Prefix: non-smoker
    • Suffixation: useless
    • Infix: fan-freaking-tastic
  • Conversion (Functional Shift):
    • clean (adj) vs. clean (v)
  • Compounding:
    • Solid: wastepaper
    • Hyphenated: week-end
    • Open: corner shop

Minor Word-Formation Processes

  • Commonization/Eponym: A proper name enters the language as a common noun (to xerox, sandwich, guy).
  • Reduplication:
    • Rhyme compounds: walkie-talkie, bye-bye
    • Ablaut compounds: ping-pong
  • Onomatopoeia: quack, cuckoo
  • Back-formation: Deletion of a supposed suffix: edit (from editor), baby-sit (from baby-sitter).
  • Clipping:
    • Apocope (back-clipping): ad (from advertising)
    • Procope (fore-clipping): burger (from hamburger)
    • Compound clipping: Amerindian
  • Hypocorism: mommy, doggy
  • Blending (Portmanteau words): brunch
  • Acronym
  • Metaphor: mouse, cookie, virus, window

In blending, the two source words are independent words that are joined into one, whereas in compound clipping, the two source words make a compound (compare brunch, which is a blend, and sci-fi, from the compound science fiction, which is compound clipping).

  • karaoke night: borrowing & compound
  • car-phone: clipping & compound
  • carjackings: blend & conversion
  • Xerox: eponym
  • party (v): zero derivation/conversion
  • skateboards: compound
  • kickass: compound
  • doc/vet: apocope
  • babysitting: back-formation
  • comfy: hypocorism

Orthographic Realizations of Compounds

T6

Three different possible orthographic realizations of compounds:

  • Solid: firewood
  • Hyphenated: fire-engine. These include phrasal compounds, compounds with a particle, and compounds with a letter. Also, when compound nouns function as adjectives, they are normally hyphenated (open-air).
  • Open: fire insurance

When compound adjectives are used as complements of the verb, they are usually written without hyphens: out of date. Compound nouns are normally written as two separate words: driving license, human being.

Defining Criteria

  • Spelling conventions: Compounds are written as one orthographic word, while phrases are written as two orthographic words.
  • Phonological patterning: Compounds are stressed on their first member: ‘English teacher (compound, a person who teaches) vs. English ‘tea (noun phrase, a tea that is English).
  • Meaning: Phrases have predictable meanings. For instance, cotton shirt (shirt made of cotton). On the other hand, compounds have meanings which are unpredictable: yellow fever.
  • Morphology: The tense and plural markers are typically attached to the second element. For instance, drop-kicked. The exception is left-headed compounds like passers-by.
  • Syntax:
    • Inseparability: *boring literary book
    • Internal stability
    • Expansion by coordination isn’t possible.
    • Compounds are opaque; we cannot refer back to one of the components within a compound.

Classifying Compounds

T7

Semantic Classification

The head is the component which determines the grammatical category of the entire compound; usually, it is the rightmost element (armchair). However, passers-by.

Different Types of Compounds

  • Endocentric: They have a head and can be reduced to it, e.g., armchair (modifying element + head).
  • Exocentric: They have no internal head and cannot be reduced to any of the components: redskin (A+N), pickpocket (V+N).

Endocentric and exocentric compounds are morphologically distinguished in their plural forms: policemen (endocentric); Walkman(s) (exocentric).

  • Coordinative:
    • Appositional: singer-songwriter (person who is both a singer and a songwriter)
    • Additive: Proper nouns formed by coordinated place names denoting a merger of territory (Austro-Hungary), coordinated company names, coordinated surnames, coordinated common adjectives or nouns (deaf-mute), coordinated verbs (sleep-walk).

Syntactic Classification

One component is understood in relation to another component. Examples: poetry writer (poetry is the result, writer the agent), swimming pool, hard ball.

Structure of Compounds (Selkirk)

  • Noun (N): N-N, A-N, P-N, V-N
  • Adjective (Adj): N-A, A-A, P-A, V-A
  • Verb (V): N-V, A-V, V-V
  • Endocentric compound:
    1. Verbal: Endocentric adjective or noun compounds whose head is morphologically complex, having been derived from a verb, and whose non-head is interpreted as an argument of the head. This could be the semantic classification of the argument:
      • Agent
      • Instrument
      • Theme (entity moved as a result of the action)
      • Goal
      • Source
    2. Nonverbal: The non-heads add a locative, manner, or temporal specification to the head.

Quirk’s Classification

  1. Grammatical class of the compound as a whole.
  2. Grammatical function of each of the components.
  3. Order of the components, modification, grammatical class, and subclass of components.

For instance, taxidriver: Grammatical class and category: Noun (N+N); Syntactic relation: O+V; Subtypes: N + agentive N in -er.

Classification of Conversion

Major Types

  • Conversion to noun:
    • Deverbal (he is a bore)
    • De-adjectival (drink a bitter)
  • Conversion to verb:
    • Denominal (bottle the wine)
    • De-adjectival (dry the cloth)

Denominal Verbs, Semantic Types

  • Locative verbs (to put something in N)
  • Locatum verbs (to put N somewhere)
  • Instrumental verbs
  • Agentive verbs
  • Result verbs (to change something into N)
  • Privative verbs (to remove N from)
  • Duration verbs (to spend N)

Deverbal Nouns, Semantic Types

  • Act of V-ing (fall, hit, jump)
  • State of V-ing (daze, defeat)
  • Someone who V-s (bore, guide, help)
  • Instrument of V-ing (clip, rattle)
  • Object of V-ing (find)
  • Result of V-ing (burn, bump)
  • Place of V-ing (drop, dump)

Minor Types

  • Conversion of functional words to noun (patriotism, racism)
  • Conversion of prepositions to verb or noun (down, profit)
  • Conversion of pronouns to adjectives