WORD FORMATION

Word Formation

Refers to the ways in which new words are formed on the basis of other words or morphology

Types of formation

5. Abbreviation

1. Prefixes

6. Back formation

2. Suffixes

3. Conversion

7. loan words

4. Compounding

8. New words

Let´s talk about some of them

Prefixes

Before the base or stem of a word

EXAMPLES

• Prefixes
• mono- means ‘one’
• multi- means ‘many’
• post- means ‘after’
• un- means ‘not’ or ‘opposite to’

• Examples
• monorail, monolingual
• multipurpose, multicultural
• post-war, postgraduate
• unusual, undemocratic

-ism and -dom are used to form nouns

Example:terrorism, sexism, freedom

Suffixes

-er and -or are used to form nouns to describe people who do things

After the base or stem of a wordThe main purpose of a suffix is to show what class of word it is (e.g. noun or adjective).

employer, actor

widen, simplify

-en and -ify are used to form verbs

-able is used to form adjectives

reasonable, unprofitable

Other forms

ABBREVIATION

CONVERSION

Abbreviation involves shortening a word. We do this in three main ways: clipping, acronyms and blends.

Involves the change of a word from one word class to another. Email and to microwave are formed from the nouns email and microwave

NEW WORDS

COMPOUNDING

When we use compounding, we link together two or more bases to create a new word. Normally, the first item identifies a key feature of the second word.

Some prefixes are commonly used to create new words. In modern English the prefix e- is used to create new words that are connected with the Internet and the use of the Internet:

Read the text and identify ...

PrefixesSuffixes Compound

Architecture

In the study of the arts and sciences, architecture ranks highly as one of the most fundamental and practical subjects based on human culture. Architecture is the living proof of the persistence of man's ideas with the passage of time. Back in prehistoric times, early man lived in caves. Many years later, simple huts were erected to replace the caves as places of dwelling. The earliest known huts were found in Russia and were made from mammoth bones.

Importance of wood

Wood was a popular building material with the Chinese and the Japanese. Many Buddhist temples were built from wood. The roofs of these buildings were covered with tiles that curved gently upwards. Wooden Japanese houses still retain the same design as those constructed centuries ago. Rooms in such houses are divided by paper screens. In India, the Hindu temples are the pinnacle of Indian architecture. Huge, carved statues of Hindu gods decorate the pillars and the roofs of these temples.

During the fourth century, much of Europe was under siege from her enemies. Kings and noblemen resorted to building strong castles to protect themselves. These castles had thick walls, high towers and small windows to discourage invaders. Another feature was the inclusion of a moat around the castle. Access to the castle was only via the drawbridge which would be lowered and raised accordingly to admit traffic in and out of the castle.

It was not until the turn of the twentieth century that architects realized the appearance of a building must be closely related to its function. New techniques and new materials were thus used to create more interesting designs.

As more and more European countries became stable politically, European architects shifted towards a style that highlighted grace and beauty instead of protection.