Word Formation

 


Around mid 17th century the English language had emerged more or less in its present form, so far as grammatical structure, spelling and pronunciation are concerned, with only slight modifications later on. After the middle of the century chief developments have been in (1) the enlargement of vocabulary on the one hand, and (2) changes in meanings of words on the other. A number of processes were responsible for this growth of vocabulary. They are:

1. Imitation or Onomatopoeia.

A number of words are echoic or imitative in character, the sound echoing the sense. Eg: buzz, hiss, giggle, click, sniff, bang, mumble etc. The name of the bird cuckoo is obviously an imitation of the bird's call and Barbarian is supposed to be from a verbal imitation of the uncouth babbling of that tribe. Quite often certain sounds seem to reflect certain ideas. For eg., the consonants, /p. t. k/ suggest quick action as in pitch, torrent, kick etc. The combination bl suggests inflation as in blow, blast, blister, bloated, bladder, fl suggests hurry as in fly, flee, fling, flash, fleet etc., wh suggests something subdued and quiet as in whisper, whimper, whine etc., and st often suggests stability as in stop, stay, station, still, stand, stable, statue.

2. Affixation

New words can be formed by the addition of prefixes or suffixes, the former method called prefixation and the latter suffixation. Examples of purely English suffixes are -dom (kingdom, freedom), -ship (worship, friendship), -th (strength, length), -y (healthy, cloudy), -ling (darling, duckling), -ness (swiftness, richness), -ous (glorious, furious), -ment (Government, basement), -hood (motherhood, priesthood) etc. The suffix -ee from French is used in words like employee, nominee, refugee etc. Most of the prefixes have come from Greek and Latin. For eg., ambivalent, antecedent, preposterous, postpone, exposure, convert, persuade, extraordinary etc. Probably the only native prefix in common use now is -un (unhappy, unkind). From the Latin suffix -vert we get a number of words like convert, pervert, introvert, extrovert, invert, revert etc. The suffix -esque belongs to the 19th century eg., picturesque, statuesque. The various -isms of our age reflect its obseession with theory and doctrine, just as the use of -inter (international, interracial etc.) indicates the tendency towards a wider outlook.

3. Abbreviation / Clipping / Shortening

The contracted form of a word, by and by becomes recognized as a word replacing the full form. Examples are zoo (zoological gardens), exam (examination), bus (omnibus), photo (photograph), pram (perambulator), pants (pantaloon), curio (curiosity), bike (bicycle), extra (extraordinary), chap (chapman), miss (mistress), cab (cabriolet), fan (fanatic), flu (influenza), etc.

Another type of abbreviation is that by which a lengthy Latin phrase is clipped down into one or two significant words. Eg., affidavit (he has sworn), subpoena (under the penalty), veto (I forbid), status quo (the state existing before war), etc. Different sections of the community have their own abbreviations, eg., for students: prof, maths, lab, vac, certif etc., in sports ref (referee), for doctors dip (diphtheria), TB (tuberculosis), etc.

4. Portmanteau words (Blends)

When part of one word is combined with part of another to form a new word, carrying with it the ideas behind both the original terms, we have a portmanteau word. Thus, brunch is from breakfast and lunch, radiogram from radioset and gramaphone. Other examples are:

smoke         +     fog                    >     smog                                                                                                       

swiss          +     watch                >     swatch

tragedy       +    comedy             >     tragicomedy

melody      +     drama               >      melodrama

electric      +     execute            >       electrocute

Export      +     Import + Bank >       Exim Bank

5. Acronyms

These are words made from initials of words which become more commonly used than the originals themselves. Thus we often speak of a B.A. or M.A. rather than a Bachelor of Arts or a Master of Arts. Other examples are, M.P., M.L.A., T.B., B.B.C., TV, UNESCO, UNICEF, NASA, RADAR, LASER etc. During Word War I the pipe line laid beneath the English Channel to supply oil to the armies in France was called PLUTO (Pipeline Under the Ocean). The Women's Royal English Naval Service was referred to as the WRENS.

6. Compounding

The combination of two or more words gives rise to new words. Eg: down fall, book case, girl friend, birthday, breakfast, goldfish etc. There are combinations of noun + noun, adjective + noun (Black bird, round table etc.) and with prepositions, as in daughter-in-law, mother-of-pearl, etc.


Prepared by:

Dr. Susan Mathew

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