Chapter III Word Formation-major methods
Chapter III Word Formation (I)
(The Three Major Processes of Word-Formation)
I．General Introduction
1. The categories of word-formation processes
A. the three major processes
a. Compounding/Composition: (daybreak, earthquake, air-conditioner, housekeeping)
b. Derivation/Affixation:
(a) prefixation: (unfair, prewar) (b) suffixation: (bookish, modernize)
another example: anti-dis-establish-ment-arian-ist-ic-ally (反对脱离英国国教主义
地：8 morphemes, 34 letters)
c. Conversion: (love: v.→n., bottle: n.→v.)
B. The eight minor processes
a. Initialisms and acronyms: initialism (首字母连写法：VOA, PLO), acronym (首字
母拼音法：NATO, UNESCO)
b. Blending (拼缀法: smog, brunch,)
c. Clipping（截短法: pop, phone, flu, cric）
d. Words from proper names: an Uncle Tom, Judas, John Hancock)
e. Back formation（逆成法: investigate, orate）
f. Reduplication（重叠法: zig-zag, hodge-hodge:什锦菜，hotch-potch: in disorder）
g. Neoclassical formation（新古典构词法: neurolinguistics）
h. Others
2. some basic concepts of word-formation
1). Word-formation rules (p.50)
2). Distinguishing Root (词根), Stem（词干）and Base（词基）: p.51-52 and the
examples: p.53-53
II．Compounding (Composition) 6
1. Definition and the relative three criteria
Compounding is a word-formation process consisting of joining two or more bases to form a new unit ( i.e.a compound word).
The relative criteria of a compound word:
1). Orthographic criterion: solid: airline; hyphenated: air-conditioner; open: air force.
2). Phonological criterion: compound accent & phrase accent (p.55-56)
3). Semantic criterion: a compound is taken as a combination forming a unit expressing
a single idea. E.g. flatfoot: policeman, dog days: the hottest days, blue blood: the
quality of being a noble man by birth.
2. Classification of compounds
1). Noun compounds
a. subject and verb: sunrise, flashlight
b. verb and object: bloodtest, knitwear
c. verb and adverbial: living room, sunbathing
d. subject and object/ verbless:
A operates B: steamboat
B produces A: honeybee
e. restrictive relation:
A modifies B: blueprint; A has B: doorknob
B consists of A: raindrop; B is for A: ashtray
f. appositve relation: pinetree
g. from phrasal verbs: fall-out, take-off
2). Adjective compounds
a. subject and verb: suntanned
b. verb and object: fact-finding
c. verb and adverbial: heartfelt, hardworking
d. noun and adjective: taxfree, ocean green
e. adjective and adjective: bitter-sweet, Sino-Japanese, opto-electronic
f. from phrasal verbs: talked-about
g. from adverbial phrases: on-the-spot
h. from proverbs and idiomatic expressions: a never-to-be-too-old-to-learn spirit
i. from attributive clauses: a jet-propelled plane. Other examples (p.62-63)
3). Verb compounds
a. a verb followed by an adverb: doff (take off one’s hat, give up a bad habit)
don (put on one’s hat)
b. a verb preceded by an adverb: over-hear
c. by backformation: ghost-write, spoonfeed (p.63)
d. by conversion: honeymoon, nickname
4). Reduplicative compounds
a. repeated unchanged: quack-quack, honk-honk
b. repeated with change of vowels: zig-zag, criss-cross, dilly-dally, ping-pong,
sing-song, see-saw
c. repeated with change of initial consonant: hocus-pocus, walkie-talkie,
walkie-lookie. 7 III．Derivation
1. Definition:
Derivation (or affixation) is generally defined as a word-formation process by which new words are created by adding a prefix, or suffix, or both, to the base.
2. Prefixation:
Generally, prefixes do not change the part of speech of a word.
According to meaning, prefixes can be divided into the following 10 categories:
1) Negative prefixes(否定)
un-/in-/im-/ir-/il-/dis-/non-/a-(an-): not, the opposite of
examples: unexpected, inactive, impractical,
irregular, illiterate, disloyal,
non-nuclear, asymmetrical, anarchy
2) Reversative or privative prefixes（变反，反义）
un-: to reverse the action untie, unhorse
de-: to deprive of/to reverse action defrose, debone
dis-: to reverse the action disconnect
3) Pejorative prefixes（降格，转贬）
mis-: wrongly, astray misinform, misleading mal-: badly maltreat, malodorous pseudo-: false, imitation pseudo-democratic
4) Prefixes of degree or size（大小，程度）
arch-: highest, worst arch-criminal
super-: more than, above supernatural
sub-: lower than, less than substandard
out-: do…faster, longer outrun, outlive
sur-: over and above surtax
over-: too much overeat, overdressed under-: too little under-estimate
hyper-: extremely hypercritical
ultra-: beyond, excessively ultraviolet
infra-: below, base infrastructure
maxi-: large, long maxiskirt
mini-: little, small miniskirt
macro-: large macroeconomic
micro-: small microscope
5) Locative prefixes（位置）
super-: over superstructure
sub-: beneath, less in rank subway, sublet
hyper-: over, above hypersonic
hypo-: under hypotension
inter-: between, among interchange, interstate
in-, im-, intra-/ intro-: into, inside input, import, introspect e-, ex-, ec-, extra/o-: out, away emit, external, extrosolar trans-: across, fromone place to another transplant 8 dia-/via-: as for trans- diametre, viaduct
ab-: away, from abnormal, abduct
6) Prefixes of attitude（态度）
co-, col-, com-, con-, cor-, sym-, syn-: with, joint
examples: co-chair, collaboration, commemorate,
conference, correlate, sympathy, synchronize
pro-: in support of, on the side of: pro-communist
counter-, contr-, anti-: against
examples: counteract, contrast, anti-social
7) Prefixes of time and order（时间，顺序）
fore-, pre-: before foretell, predict
post-: after postwar
ex-: former ex-president
re-: again, back return, resettlement
8) Number prefixes（数字）
semi-/hemi-: half semicircle, hemisphere uni-/mono-: one unilateral, monograph
bi-/di-: two bigamy, dioxide
tri-: three triangle, triple
quadr-/tetra-: four quadruple, tetrametre quinqu-/ penta-: five quinquagenarian, pentagon sex-/hexa-: six sextet, hexametre
sept-: seven septangle
oct-: eight octagon
nona-: nine nonagon
dec-: ten decimal, decathlon
centi-(100 or 1%) centigrade, centimetre hecto-:100 hectometre
milli/e-:1000 or 1‰millennium, millimetre
kilo-: 1000 kilometre
poly-/ multi-: many polygamy, multi-lateral
9) Conversion prefixes（转类）
be-: adj→v./n→v. belittle, bewitch
de-: n→v. debug, deform
en-: n→v. encourage, enslave
un-: n→v. unearth, unhorse
anti-: n→adj. antiwar, anti-aircraft
inter-: n→adj. inter-state
pre-: n→adj. pre-school, prewar
post-:n→adj postwar, postliberation 10) Other prefixes
auto-: self autobiography, automatic neo-: new, revived neofascism, neo-Darwinism pan-: all, worldwide pan-American, pan-Africanist 9 proto-: first, original prototype, protolanguage vice-: deputy vice-president
ambi-: both ambiguous
homo-:the same homosexual, homogeneous hetero-: other, different heterosexual, heteroatom mid-: middle midstream
3. Suffixation
Generally, the addition of the suffix not only modifies the meaning of a word, but also changes the part of speech, so suffixes can be classified according to the class of words they form.
1). Noun→noun suffixes
a. the formed noun refers to a person or thing
-ster/-eer gangster, youngster, profiteer -er/-or/-ar driver, villager, stranger,
Londoner, actor, beggar -ee (passive) trainee, exaininee
-ess (female) lioness, waitress
-ant/-ent inhabitant, resident
-ese/-an/-ian Chinese, American,physician -ist socialist, violinist
-crat democrat, bureaucrat
b. the formed noun refers to abstractness, including status, condition, domain,
state, system, etc.
-hood boyhood, neighborhood
-ship friendship, dictatorship
-dom freedom, stardom
-ocracy democracy
-ry slavery, nunnery, machinery -ance/-ence importance, confidence
-ity sincerity, maturity
-ness consciousness, carelessness -ics/-logy statistics, psychology
-sure pressure
-ture mixture, texture
-ism Darwinism, formalism
-age shortage,drainage
-y difficulty, victory
c. the formed noun refers to an act
-ion/-tion/-sion/-ssion invitation
decision, permission -ment movement, achievement
-al refusal, dismissal
-ing building, driving
d. the formed noun refers to smallness 10
-en kitten
-et(te) cigaret(te), kitchenet(te)
-ling darkling
-let piglet, booklet
-eme morpheme, sememe
-on electron, neutron
e. the formed noun refers to a place
-ary libray
-ery refinery
-ory factory, dormitory
-ium auditorium, solarium
2) adjective suffixes
-ful (affirmative) careful, useful
-less (negative) careless, useless
-ly friendly, cowardly
-y sunny, hairy
-en woolen, wooden
-like childlike
-ish(like,about,somewhat) childish, girlish, thirtyish, yellowish
-esque(like) picturesque
-(i)an Darwinian, American
-ese Japanese
-ist socialist, capitalist
-al economical, criminal
-ic economic, historic
-ive sensitive, respective
-ous advantageous, virtuous, famous
-ed respected, pointed, pleased
-ite definite, opposite
-some tiresome, troublesome
-able/-ible(passive sensible, respectable
3) Verb suffixes
-ize/-ise/-yze/-yse modernize, analyze
-en soften, lengthen
-ify beautify, simplify
-ate excavate
4) Adverb suffixes
-ly happily, wholly, carefully -ward upward, stationward
-wise anti-clockwise, weatherwise Additional: Some commonly-used roots:
1) agr- (field) agriculture
2) alter- (other) alternative, alternate, alterable, alterative
3) am- (love) amicable (友善的), amiable （和爱可亲的）11
4) ann-/enn- (year) annual, centennial, millennial
5) aqua-/hydra- (water) subaquatic, aqueduct, aquarium (水族馆)
hydrant, carbohydrate
6) aster-/astro-/stell- (star) astronomy, asterisk, stellar (星体的)
7) audi-/phon-/son-/voc- audible, auditorium, symphony,
(sound, listen, hear) sonorous (响亮的), unequivocal=clear
8) bio- (life) biology, biochemistry
9) card-/cord-/psych- (heart) cardiogram (心电图), cordial (衷心的),
psychology, psychiatric (精神的，心理的)
10) cede-/ceed-/cess (go, yield) recede, precede, proceed, recession (退出)
11) chrom- (color) chromosome (染色体)
12) chron-/temp- (time) chronological, synchronize, temporary
13) cide- (kill) suicide, bactericide （杀菌剂）
14) corp- (body) corporation, corporal (bodily), incorporate
15) cred- (believe) credible, credulous, credit card
16) demo- (people) demography, democracy
17) derm- (skin) dermatitis (皮肤炎), hypodermic
18) dict-/dic-/loqu-/loc- (speak) predict, eloquent (雄辩), elocution (雄辩术)
19) duc-/duct- (lead) produce, deduce, induce, viaduct
20) fac-/fic-/fect-/-fy (do, make) factory, beneficial, beautify
21) form-/morph- (form, shape) transform, formula, morphology
22) gen- (cause, race, origin) generate, genetics
23) geo- (earth) geography, geology, geothermal
24) grad-/gress- (step) degrade, upgrade, progress, digress
25) gram-/graph-/scrib-/script- telegram, photograph, describe, prescribe,
( write, writing) inscribe, scribble, postscript, manuscript
26) greg- (flock, gather) aggregate (集合)
27) magn- (great) magnify, magnificent
28) manu- (hand) manual, manufacture
29) mort- (death) mortal, immortal, mortality
30) neur- (brain, nerve) neurolinguistics, neurosurgery
31) onom-/onym- (name) onomastic (名字的，亲自签名的), anonymous
32) opt-/phot- (light, sight) optics, photogenic (发光的)
33) path- (feeling, suffering) sympathy, apathy, pathology (病理学)
34) ped- (foot) expedition, pedestrian
35) port- (carry) portable, export, import, transport
36) sec-/seg-/sect- (cut) transect (横切), segment （切片）, secant (切的)
37) sol- (sun) solar, parasol (阳伞)
38) lun- (moon) lunar, lunatic
39)spec-/spect-/vid-/vis- evident, visible
(look, see) spectator, prospect, introspection, retrospection,
40) therm- (heat) thermometer, geothermal
41) theo/i- (god) atheism, monotheism, polytheism, theology
42) gamo/y- (marriage) monogamy, bigamy, polygamy 12
43) vers-/vert-/volv- (turn) reverse, extrovert, introvert, ambivert,
revolve, involve, evolve
44) viv-/vit- (live) survive, revive, vivid, vivacious, vital, vitamin IV．Conversion
A. Definition
Conversion is the process whereby a word is changed from one part of speech
into another without the addition of an affix, so also called zero derivation.
B. Types of Conversion
Like suffixation, conversion should be classified according to the class of words they form.
1. Noun→verb conversion
a. “to put in/on/into N” : to can apple
b. “to give N, to provide with N”: to shelter the orphan
c. “to deprive of N”: to weed the garden
d. “to… with N”: to brake the car
e. “to be/act as N with respect to…”: to father sb,
f. “to change/make… into N”: to cripple sb.
g. “to send/go by N”: to bicycle to school
h. “to spend the period of time denoted by N”: to summer in Qingdao
2. Verb→noun conversion
a. to denote state of mind or state of sensation: e.g. He had a desire to be a scientist.
b. To denote an event or activity:
e.g. to give a cry/shudder/start/laugh
to have a look/swim/ride/try
to make a dash/dive/guess/search
to take a rest/break/peep/turn
c. as object or result of the verb:
e.g. answer, bet, catch, find, handout
d. as subject or agent of the verb:
e.g. He is a great bore.
Others are: cheat, spy, coach, showoff, stand-in
e. as instrument of the verb:
eg. The cloth is a good cover for the table,
Others: wrap. wrench, polish
f. as place of the verbs:
e.g. This is the divide between the two rivers.
Others:turn, rise, dump, etc.
g. as manner of the verb: walk, throw. Other examples (compounds): p.97
3. Adjective→verb conversion
a. Intransitive verbs: meaning to be/become the quality denoted by the adjective:
pale, slim, sour, dim(out), idle(away)
b. Transitive verbs meaning to cause sb./sth.
to be/become the quality denoted by the adjective:
Bare, busy(oneself), free, smooth(out) 13
4. Adjective→noun conversion
a. Partial conversion: p.98
1). the + adj. : the poor, the young, the oppressed,
the exploited, the sentimental p.99
2). Adjectives ending in –sh, -se, -ch:
the English, the Scotch, the Japanese
3). The/one’s + superlatives of adj./adv.
He is to come here on Friday at the lates t.
She is at her best in the description of college life.
b. Complete conversion:
e.g. He is a natural for the job. p.100
5. Noun→adjective conversion:
e.g. a brick garage, a very Oxbridge accent
6. Some other minor categories of conversion : p.100-102
7. Approximate conversion:
a. Voicing of final consonants: (noun→verb)
advice→advise thief →thieve
b. Shift of stress: (verb→noun)
conˊduct →ˊconduct
reˊcord →ˊrecord
V．Conclusion
1) A brief outline of all the eleven categories of word-building processes.
2) Definitions and classifications of the three major word-formation processes:
compounding, derivation and conversion.
Questions and Exercises
1. Do all the exercises on pp.104-111 in the textbook.
2. List all the categories of word-building processes with examples.
3. List different types of compounding, derivation and conversion