How are English words formed?

• Derived words• Lexical gaps• Compounds: also how to

differentiate compounds from noun phrases

• Acronyms• Abbreviations/Truncation/Clipping• Eponyms• Blends

Different types of words from different formations.

= new words with new meanings formed from

root + derivational morphemee.g. ir+regular = irregulardis+ like = dislikeun+ do = undore + present = represent

Derived words

Lexical Gaps

• Well-formed but nonexisting word

• Reason : a permissible sequence has no meaning attached to it <like “blick” or “slarm” or “krobe”>

• Possible comniations of morpheme never come into use (Ex. “disobvious” ,“linguisticism”)

• Word like *bnick is not a lexical gap in English because English does not allow the sequence of ‘bn’

Compounds

• Word + word = compound word (meaning may or may not change)

• When the two words are in the same grammatical category, compound will be in this category.

• Ex. Home (n.) + Work(n.) = homework (noun)

• white (adj.) + house (n.) = Whitehouse (noun)

• Compounds can be more than two words:

• Two-word compounds are the most common in English.

• Three – word compounds: three-time loser

• Four– word compounds: four-dimensional space-time

Meaning of compounds• Same meaning as the parts : a

boathouse = (a house for boats)

• New meaning but relate to the meaning of the individual parts :

• a blackboard (can be in other colors, not just black)

• a Redcoat (slang for British soldier during American Revolutionary War)

For example

black bird

(turdus merula)

blackbird

For example

hot dog hotdog

For example

red wood

(Giant Sequoia)

redwood

Acronyms

• Acronyms are words derived from the initials of several words

• NASA <National Aeronautics and Space Agency>

• UNESCO <United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization>

Abbreviations

• Abbreviations of longer words or phrases can become lexicalized

• Fax <facsimile>• Telly (The British word for ‘television’)

• Eponyms are words formed from proper names.

• Example: • alexandrine (verses) Alexander the Great (356-323BC),

king of Macedonia• Alzheimer's Disease Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), German

neuropathologist and psychiatrist• platonicPlato (c.427-347BC), Greek philosopher

Eponyms

Blends• Similar to compounds but parts of the words

that are combined are deleted.• Example: smog <from ‘smok + fog’>, motel

<from ‘motor + hotel’>• spoon+ fork→ spork

• Cybernetic + organism cyborg