Word formation processes are basically how new words are created and become part of the language. There are some word formation processes:
A. Compounding
Compounding is simply the joining of two or more words into a single word. Example: Cannot, Baseball, Fireworks, Grandmother, Elsewhere, Upside, Together, Sunflower, Crosswalk, Become, Basketball, Moonligh, Football, Railroad, Anybody, Weatherman, Skateboard, Earthquake
B. Derivation
Derivation is the forming of new words by combining derivational affixes or bound bases with existing words. Derivational morphology studies the principles governing the construction of new words, without reference to the specific grammatical role a word might play in a sentence. In the formation of drinkable from drink, or disinfect from infect, for example, we see the formation of new words, each with its own grammatical properties."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook Press, 2005)
C. Invention
Now and then new words are totally invented like Kodak and Goof. Few of them find their way in the common vocabulary.
D. Echoism
Echoism is the formation of words whose sound suggested their meaning. Example: Splash, Meow, Roar, Quack, Ouch, Cuckoo
E. Clipping
Clipping means cutting off the beginning or the end of a word, or both, leaving a part to stand for the whole. Example:
1. Advertisement(ad): In sentence (All company’s spend a lot of money on ads).
2. Hamburger(burger): In setence (Burger does not suit old people).
3. Omnibus(bus): In sentence (The tourist bus broke down near Paris).
F. Acronymy
Acronymy is the process whereby a word is formed from the initials or beginning segments of a succession of words. Example:
1. RADAR - Radio detecting and ranging
2. LASER - Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation.
3. NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
4. UNICEF - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.
5. SCUBA - Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
6. WASP - White anglo saxon protestant.
G. Blending
Blending is the fusion of two words into one, usually the first part of one word with the last part of another. Example: affluenza (affluent + influenza)
1. agitprop (agitation + propaganda)
2. alcopop (alcohol + pop)
3. bash (bat + mash)
4. biopic (biography + picture)
5. Breathalyzer (breath + analyzer)
6. camcorder (camera + recorder)
7. chexting (cheating + texting)
8. clash (clap + crash)
9. cosmeceutical (cosmetic + pharmaceutical)
H. Back-Formation
Backformation is the formation of new words by the removal of an affix. It may be defined as the formation of word from one that looks like its derivative. Example:
If affixation means forming a word by adding an affix (e.g. frosty from frost, refusal from refuse, instrumentation from instrument), then back-formation is essentially this process in reverse: it adapts an existing word by removing its affix, usually a suffix (e.g. sulk from sulky, proliferate from proliferation, back-form from back-formation).
I. Folk Etymology
Folk etymology is changing a word, in part or in whole, to make it more understandable and more like familiar words. Example:
Woodchuck and Cockroach "Examples: Algonquian otchek 'a groundhog' became by folk etymology woodchuck; Spanish cucaracha became by folk etymology cockroach."(Sol Steinmetz, Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meanings. Random House, 2008)
J. Antonomasia
Antonomasia is the formation of a common noun, a verb, or an adjective from the name of a person or place. Example: Imagine that you have a friend who is a fantastic chef, and you want to say hello.
Normal sentence: “Oh, look! Dian’s arrived!”
Sentence with Antonomasia: “Oh, look! The great chef has arrived!”
Here, the use of antonomasia allows you to greet your friend with a nickname which also reveals something about his character: she’s a great chef.
K. Reduplication
Reduplication is the process of forming a new word by doubling a morpheme, usually with a change of vowel or initial consonants. Example: Pooh-pooh, Tiptop, Hanky-panky, Tiny-winy, Zig-zag
A. Compounding
Compounding is simply the joining of two or more words into a single word. Example: Cannot, Baseball, Fireworks, Grandmother, Elsewhere, Upside, Together, Sunflower, Crosswalk, Become, Basketball, Moonligh, Football, Railroad, Anybody, Weatherman, Skateboard, Earthquake
B. Derivation
Derivation is the forming of new words by combining derivational affixes or bound bases with existing words. Derivational morphology studies the principles governing the construction of new words, without reference to the specific grammatical role a word might play in a sentence. In the formation of drinkable from drink, or disinfect from infect, for example, we see the formation of new words, each with its own grammatical properties."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook Press, 2005)
C. Invention
Now and then new words are totally invented like Kodak and Goof. Few of them find their way in the common vocabulary.
D. Echoism
Echoism is the formation of words whose sound suggested their meaning. Example: Splash, Meow, Roar, Quack, Ouch, Cuckoo
E. Clipping
Clipping means cutting off the beginning or the end of a word, or both, leaving a part to stand for the whole. Example:
1. Advertisement(ad): In sentence (All company’s spend a lot of money on ads).
2. Hamburger(burger): In setence (Burger does not suit old people).
3. Omnibus(bus): In sentence (The tourist bus broke down near Paris).
F. Acronymy
Acronymy is the process whereby a word is formed from the initials or beginning segments of a succession of words. Example:
1. RADAR - Radio detecting and ranging
2. LASER - Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation.
3. NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
4. UNICEF - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.
5. SCUBA - Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
6. WASP - White anglo saxon protestant.
G. Blending
Blending is the fusion of two words into one, usually the first part of one word with the last part of another. Example: affluenza (affluent + influenza)
1. agitprop (agitation + propaganda)
2. alcopop (alcohol + pop)
3. bash (bat + mash)
4. biopic (biography + picture)
5. Breathalyzer (breath + analyzer)
6. camcorder (camera + recorder)
7. chexting (cheating + texting)
8. clash (clap + crash)
9. cosmeceutical (cosmetic + pharmaceutical)
H. Back-Formation
Backformation is the formation of new words by the removal of an affix. It may be defined as the formation of word from one that looks like its derivative. Example:
If affixation means forming a word by adding an affix (e.g. frosty from frost, refusal from refuse, instrumentation from instrument), then back-formation is essentially this process in reverse: it adapts an existing word by removing its affix, usually a suffix (e.g. sulk from sulky, proliferate from proliferation, back-form from back-formation).
I. Folk Etymology
Folk etymology is changing a word, in part or in whole, to make it more understandable and more like familiar words. Example:
Woodchuck and Cockroach "Examples: Algonquian otchek 'a groundhog' became by folk etymology woodchuck; Spanish cucaracha became by folk etymology cockroach."(Sol Steinmetz, Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meanings. Random House, 2008)
J. Antonomasia
Antonomasia is the formation of a common noun, a verb, or an adjective from the name of a person or place. Example: Imagine that you have a friend who is a fantastic chef, and you want to say hello.
Normal sentence: “Oh, look! Dian’s arrived!”
Sentence with Antonomasia: “Oh, look! The great chef has arrived!”
Here, the use of antonomasia allows you to greet your friend with a nickname which also reveals something about his character: she’s a great chef.
K. Reduplication
Reduplication is the process of forming a new word by doubling a morpheme, usually with a change of vowel or initial consonants. Example: Pooh-pooh, Tiptop, Hanky-panky, Tiny-winy, Zig-zag
