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LINGUISTICS:WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

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WORD FORMATION PROCESSES In the English language words are formed differently to form distinctive meanings. The process is called word formation and it is through this that creation of new lexical units is achieved. The process that are involved in word formation include; affixation, derivation, zero derivation, compounding, acronyms, alphabetisms, clipping, blending and backformation. Through the processes, new English are formed. In the compounding process, words are formed from joining up of two or more root morphemes, and hence the words take the name compound words. The words can either be native or borrowed meaning that the words can either be native compounds or they can occur independently by themselves. Examples of compound words include; mailman, email, teapot, soft drink, waterproof, breakfast, babysit, sunshine, fireplace, cupcake. In the derivation process, words are formed through modification of a root, without adding another root. The derivation process happens when the derivational suffix is applied to a word in the syntactic category, and hence converting them into another syntactic category. Examples of word formed through derivation include; fakeness, delivery, modernize, recreational, pettiness, unhealthy, encircle, enlarge, behead, besiege. The other form of word formation is zero derivation, existing words are used for different grammatical functions or in a different sense with alteration, and this is why the process is also called conversion. Therefore, an affix or a prefix are not used in this process. Examples of such words include, host, chair, bridge, better, empty, faint, cook, play, blunt, plump. Acronyms are formed through abbreviations of the first initial letters of the constituent words or phrases. Acronyms are pronounced in a distinct way from how the full name of the word is pronounced. The process is the same as alphabetism, the only difference being the way they are pronounced, and here the letters are read word by word. Examples include; DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), (LED) light-emitting diode, (NATO)North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), IOU (I owe you), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), (WWW) world wide web, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), (scuba)self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, (IMF) International Monetary Fund. Clipping is another form of word formation where words are formed by shorting other words. Clipping is grouped into Back clipping, Fore-clipping, Middle clipping and Complex clipping. In back clipping, the beginning is retained, in fore clipping the final part is retained, middle clipping the middle part is retained and in complex clipping original compound remains intact. Examples, ad (advertisement), Doc (doctor), gym (gymnasium), varsity (university), flu(influenza), exam (examination), gator (alligator), prof (professor), gas (gasoline), lit (literature). Blending process involves the formation of a word from parts of two other words. It mostly involves the beginning of word and the end of another. Examples include; brunch, smog, motel, cyborg, californication, slithy, multiversity, telex, paratroops, newscast. The other process is the back formation an this involves the formation of new words by removing affixes. For example, peddle, hawk, insert, project, resurrect, swindle, televise, donate, buttle, edit.

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