The main methods of word formation. Modern word formation

The vocabulary of any language is constantly expanding due to new lexical units. The main way to replenish it is word formation. This process has its own characteristics and types. The main methods of word formation are individual for each specific language. It depends on the structure, characteristics and compatibility of parts of speech.

The concept

By word formation is understood the emergence of new lexical units with the help of suffixation, prefixation, as well as other techniques. A person who knows the methods of word formation in languages ​​is able to more quickly replenish his vocabulary, as well as read and understand phrases without the need for a dictionary.

There are several classifications of word formation methods. Some linguists use the concepts of synchrony and diachrony to typologize, but the most common option is to distribute this process into morphemic and non-morphic subspecies. Classification also depends on the language where word formation occurs. The table below illustrates the features of this process for the Russian language.

Each subspecies has its own characteristics and characteristics.

Morpheme word formation

The morphemic method is characterized by the fact that new words in the language appear due to the use of already existing lexical units and specific affixes. This type has its main ways of word formation:

• Suffix.
• Prefixal.
• Different combinations of prefix, suffix, and postfix types.
• Addition.
• Abbreviation.

Each option has distinctive characteristics, features and certain rules of education.

Suffix type

The main way of word formation for the Russian language is the process of suffixation. In this case, new lexical units appear by adding the suffix of the word-formation type to the base of the word . For example, teach, teacher. Suffixation covers almost all parts of speech, but the most common is the word formation of nouns, adverbs and adjectives.

This process is accompanied by a variety of morphemic changes, which are divided into several subspecies:

• Alternation of morphemes: friend - to be friends (mrs).
• Truncation of the producing morpheme: high - height.
• Overlay of several morphemes: pink - pinkish.
• Accent change: green - greens.

This is not a complete list of changes that word formation can lead to. Suffixes also affect other morphemic characteristics. The level of change depends on the characteristics of a particular language.

Prefix type

If a new word is formed by adding the appropriate prefix to the base, then we are talking about the prefixing process. Unlike the suffix, the prefix usually forms new lexical units within one part of speech. For the Russian language, traditional using this method is the word formation of verbs. For example: cook - cook - prepare; write - sign - unsubscribe, etc.

Despite the sufficient prevalence of this type, most often prefixing is used in parallel with other types of word formation. Quite often, this is suffixation, postfixation, etc.

The combination of suffix, prefix and postfix

Modern word formation is characterized by the presence of words with the simultaneous use of suffixation, prefixation, and other similar variants, as well as their diverse combination. In Russian, the following methods are distinguished:

• Prefix Suffix. A new word is formed simultaneously with a prefix and suffix. For example, a road is a plantain; the border is foreign.
• Postfixal. The emergence of a new word by adding a postfix: -sya, -aliba, -nibud, -so, -ka, etc. For example, who - someone - someone.
• Prefix-postfixal. In this case, a new word is formed using the prefix and postfix at the same time. Most often, this option is present in the same part of speech. Accordingly, in this way word formation of adjectives, nouns, verbs, etc. is possible. For example, to call - to get through; sleep - get enough sleep, etc.
• Suffixal-postfixal. The word appears simultaneously with the suffix and postfix. For example, vanity - to fuss; crowd - crowd. Word formation of verbs is the only sphere in the Russian language where this method is used.
• Prefixal-Suffixal-Postfixal. This option is characterized by the formation of a new word using both suffix, prefix and postfix. For example, whispering - whispering; talk - talk.

Similar types of word formation are very active not only in Russian, but also in many other languages.

Addition

Common enough for the Russian language is the presence of addition as a way of word formation. In this case, a new lexical unit appears as a result of combining two or more separate words into a single whole. Depending on which words are combined and in which way, the following main word formation methods are distinguished using addition:

• The foundation. New lexical units appear after adding two or more words with the use of the interfix. In this case, the main component is precisely the last component of the combination. For example, fertilize, everyday, etc.
• The addition of two or more words, which is characterized by the presence of substantial equality. For example, a sofa bed, the Prime Minister, etc.

Addition is actively used in Russian and other languages ​​and is most often responsible for the word formation of nouns and verbs.

Abbreviation

The method of education, which is the construction of new tokens by means of splicing parts of other words, is called abbreviation. Depending on the combination method and features of the used parts of the word, the following abbreviations are distinguished:

• Initial. In this case, new words appear through the use of individual sounds or letters. Accordingly, the initial abbreviation can be sound (for example, Moscow Art Theater, university) or alphabetic (for example, UFO, CIS, etc.).
• Syllabic. This type involves the use of separate parts of different words (for example, a department store, trade union committee, etc.).
• Mixed. This type is a combination of the initial part of one lexical unit and another unit completely (for example, salary, trade union, etc.).

Abbreviation is especially relevant in modern lexicology, because now there is a global trend regarding the maximum accuracy and brevity of the language.

Nonmorphic types of word formation

As for the construction of new lexical units without the use of morphemes, the following main ways of word formation are distinguished:

• Lexico-syntactic.
• Morphological and syntactic.
• Lexico-semantic.

In such cases, new words appear due to the transition of one part of speech to another, merging or dividing the lexical meaning of the word into separate components.

Lexico-syntactic method

This option is also called splicing, since new words in this case are formed by splicing a specific phrase. This leads to the fact that not only the lexical meaning of the word is changing, but also its syntactic role. For example, forever green - evergreen: gone crazy - crazy, etc.

Most often, an adverb acts as a dependent lexical unit, and the union itself is often a derivation of adjectives or participles. Such lexical units differ from synonyms in that they have an emphasis and a strict order of arrangement of all their parts.

Morphological and syntactic method

This option is characterized by the formation of new words by moving one part of speech to another. The following subspecies of this method are:

• Substantiation. Transition of one part of speech into a noun. For example, a leading specialist and host of a show, a wounded fighter and a silent wounded, etc.
• Adjective. Transition of parts of speech into an adjective. For example, a novice singer, a painted table, etc.
• Adverbialization. Converting a noun into an adverb. For example, on a winter morning, come in the morning.

There are also other variants of the morphological-syntactic method. Each language has its own characteristics, compatibility options and distinctive features.

Lexico-semantic way

In this case, new lexical units appear after a particular word splits its basic meaning and receives additional ones. For example, a satellite is like a companion and like a celestial body; titanium is a mythical giant and metal and many others. Thus, the composition of the language dictionary changes due to variations in the semantics of the word.

For word formation in a similar way, certain conditions and the similarity of two phenomena or objects are needed. This often requires a fairly large amount of time.

Word formation in English

The construction of new words in English is carried out in different ways. Traditionally, linguists distinguish phrasing and word production as word formation in the English language. The table below illustrates this:

As for the collocation, this method is also characteristic of the Russian language. Similarly, almost any part of speech is formed in English. For example, to blackmail, girlfriend, dark-blue, somebody, etc. Word production is characterized by the formation of some lexical units from others. This can be done by converting one part of the speech to another (answer - to answer), changing the place of stress (conflict - to conflict), alternating sounds (advice - to advise) or affixing using suffixes and prefixes. Combination and transition is the foundation that word formation has in English. The table demonstrates this.

The main way to expand the dictionary is word formation, which has its own types, as well as features depending on the part of speech. The process of formation of new lexical units never stops and has its own distinctive features in different languages.