Word formation processes in the English language.

1. Words and word formation
Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico
Facilitator

2.  etymology: studies of the history of words,
their origin, and how their form and
meaning changed over time
 coinage, borrowing, compounding,
clipping, blending, backformation,
conversion, acronyms, calque,
onomatopoeia, derivation
**Note: The words and word formation processes here use
the English language as an example.
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

3.  Guido (Guy) Fawkes, the leader of a plot to blow
up the English Houses of Parliament in 1605
> a person of grotesque appearance – after the
burning of Fawkes’ effigy
> 20th century, general reference for a man
> replaced "fellow," "bloke," "chap" and other such
words throughout the English-speaking world
> both genders : “I like being with you guys!” (refers
to a group of men and women).
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

4. PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

5.  neologism; invention of new terms
--happens in rapidly changing cultures;
speedy dissemination of information
--mass media, internet, etc.
Ex: robotics (1941), genocide (1943),
black hole (1968)
blog, internet, google
emoticon
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

6.  e-stalk -to stalk someone using internet
searches and email.
 flame war - rude and angry exchange of
email messages
 mailbomb -to intentionally disrupt a
computer system by bombarding it with
email
 e-cruitment - online recruitment of
employees; online submission of resumes
and cover letters
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

7.  snail mail - standard system of delivering mail
which is very slow in contrast to electronic mail.
 tweet - send short messages via Twitter
 netbook –small laptop computer which
weighs less than 3 pounds and has a 7 to 10
inch screen
 hotspot –places where wireless internet access
is available like airports, hotels, train stations,
etc.
 notspot -an area where there is slow internet
access or no connection at all.
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

8.  slumdog -very poor, underprivileged person
who lives in an overcrowded a slum
 viral marketing -marketing strategy that
encourages people to pass along information to
friends, family and colleagues through e-mail
messages, blogs, video-sharing, etc., so that the
marketing message spreads like a virus.
 freemale -a woman who prefers to stay single
and independent to do things she wants when
she wants
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

9.  noughties- the years between 2000 and 2009
which contain a 'nought' (zero), as other decades
are called the 'thirties', 'sixties', etc .
 road rage -aggressive habits often resulting in
violence against other drivers
 sandwich generation - generation of people
who care for the needs of their children as well
as those of their own elderly parents
 meritocracy - the idea that merit and
individual effort determine one’s success rather
than wealth or birth.
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

10. --new words based on names of persons/place
 sandwich [the Earl of sandwich]
 jeans [from Genoa, Italy where the cloth was
first made Genoa (ˈdʒɛnəʊə) ]
 fahrenheit [Gabriel Farenheit, German
scientist]
 volt [ Alessandro Volta, Italian]
 watt [James Watt, Scot scientist]
 boycott [Charles Boycott, Irish]
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

11.  Latin: interim, memorandum, agenda,
p.m. and a.m., sponsor, etc.
 Greek : pneumonia, panorama,
psychoanalysis, psychology, python
 French: bureau, café, chauffeur, coup
d'état, abattoir, attaché, á la carte
 Sanskrit : chakra, cashmere, mahatma,
nirvana, musk
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

12.  sago, kapok, gong, orang-utan,
gutta-percha, sarong, batik
 kampong (trading stations) > compound
 amuk > amok or amuck
 kati (container for tea) > caddy
 padi (Malay, harvested rice) > paddy
Source: World Wide Words, Michael Quinion, 1996–2009
http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/malay.htm
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

13.  boondocks -rural or back country
 cogon -type of grass used for thatching; from
Tagalog kugon
 abaca -hemp fiber made from abaká, a plant
in the banana family
 jeepney
 manila paper -light brown cardboard
material used for folders and paper
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

14.  Turkish- yogurt; Bantu- zebra
 Tahitian –tattoo; Japanese-tycoon
 Hindi -avatar, bungalow, jungle, karma,
pajamas, verandah, sentry, shampoo
yoga, pundit, bangle, cheetah
 Tamil: cash, catamaran, curry
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

15.  combining two words to create a
single word
 compounds –independent words that
can occur by themselves.
-handbag; wallpaper, fingerprint,
sunburn, photograph, buzzword
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

16. –shortening of a poly-syllabic word
 facsimile > fax
 fanatic > fan
 gasoline > gas
 influenza > flu
 condominium > condo
 gym, lab, exam, math, prof, typo
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

17. – combining the initial part of one word
and the final part of another
 brunch < breakfast+ lunch
 spam < spice + ham
 motel < motor + hotel
 smog < smoke + fog
 transistor < transfer + resistor
 emoticon < emotion and icon
 webinar < web + seminar
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

18.  smirt <smoke + flirt; smirting- smokers
getting to know each
 burkini or burquini <burqa + bikini;
swimsuit which covers the whole body,
hair and neck
 sitcom < situation + comedy; television
series based on humorous everyday
situations
 netiquette <network + etiquette
 netizen < internet + citizen
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

19. -- nouns > verbs: reduction of nouns
to form verbs
 television > televise
 donation > donate
 option > opt
 emotion > emote
 enthusiasm > enthuse
 editor > edit
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

20. - changing the category of words
 zero derivation – no affixes are added
nouns > verbs: bottle, butter, chair, vacation
verbs > nouns: guess, spy,
print out > printout
verbs > adjectives : see through
adjectives > verbs: empty, dirty
adjectives > nouns: the poor; the weak
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

21.  shift
of stress: verb > noun:
presént – présent
subjéct - súbject
contést - cóntest
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

22. – word from initials of a set of words
 scuba -Self-Contained Underwater
Breathing Apparatus
 radar - RAdio Detection And Ranging
 laser – Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission of Radiation
 PIN - Personal Identification Number
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

23.  Captcha : Completely Automated Public
Turing Test To Tell Computers and
Humans Apart
- distorted image of letters and numbers
used to ensure that a response is not
generated by a computer, in order to
prevent spamming.
Source: http://www.learn-english-today.com/New-words/new-words-in-english.html
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

24. Onomatopoeia : creating words from
the sounds they represent
buzz, hiss, sizzle, cuckoo, crash, bang,
hush, ticktack, etc.
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

25. word-for-word translation of a phrase
borrowed from another language
 Spanish from English
perros calientes – dog hot > hot dog
 Bahasa Malay from English
pasar malam – market night
> night market
nasi ayam – rice chicken
> chicken rice
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

26. - word formation by affixes
 prefixes: un-usual
mis-pronounce/demeanor; mis-lead
pre-departure
dis-respect
 suffixes : care-less, child-ish
marx-ism, faith-ful, red-ness
 prefix and suffix: dis-loyal-ty
un-erring-ly
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico

27. O'Grady, W.D., Archibald, J., [eds.] (2009). Contemporary Linguistic Analysis: An
Introduction, 6th edition. Ontario: Pearson Education Canada.
Yule G. 2006. The study of language. Cambridge: CUP.
Online:
A Sampling of new words and senses from the new 2006 update of Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Retrieved 12 August 2010 from
www.merriam-webster.com/info/new_words.htm
English words of Indian Origin. Retrieved 12 August 2010 from
http://www.ratnasagar.co.in/language/71English_words_of_Indian_Origin.doc
New words in English. Retrieved 12 August 2010 from
http://www.learn-english-today.com/New-words/new-words-in-english.html
PBET 1101 TESL Program Faculty of Education Universiti Malaya Dr. Jessie Grace U Rubrico