The formation of new words is a very important process. He says that the language does not stand still, it is developing, it is in motion. The process of becoming a word as a particle of the language is very lengthy, because native speakers must get used to it. New words are called neologisms. And the science that studies the ways of their appearance is word-formation.
Word formation as a language section
Any word has significant parts, morphemes. This applies not only to Russian, but also to all other languages. These parts are called significant because they participate in the formation of new words, they do not change during declination or conjugation. Such morphemes are prefix, suffix and base. Hence the methods of word formation of words: prefix and suffix.
Also in the emergence of new words is involved and the basis. Usually she is responsible for the formation of complex words, because the basics, interacting with each other, add up.
It is worth noting that it is sometimes difficult to trace what was the source of a particular word. In this case, the word-building dictionary will help. He is in every language. You can also look into the etymological, because often the morphemes with which the word was once formed are fused with the root.
An example is the word memory . In the process of historical development, this word has lost the prefix pa- with which it happened. At present, during morphemic analysis, we single out only the root, base and ending in this word.
Suffixing words
Suffixes are actively involved in the emergence of new words. They can either be added to the base from which they originate (the suffix method), or be truncated (the non-suffix, non-affix method). Consider examples of suffix word formation.
We observe how the noun nebula was formed. To do this, we will analyze the word-formation chain: First, the fog was formed from the word fog using the suffix - n - (suffix method), then from it using the suffix -ost - the word fog was formed also in the suffix way.
We will also analyze similar word formation. Examples (briefly): white - protein (basis white - and suffix - ok -); load - loader (the basis of the cargo - and the suffix - chik -); earth - earthen (the basis of the earth - and the suffix - yang -).
Now we will observe how the words are formed in a non-affix way. We note immediately that this phenomenon in the Russian language happens less frequently than the addition of a suffix. So exclusively nouns are formed. This way is as follows: the suffix is cut off from the producing base.
Consider an example: from the adjective deep by cutting off the suffix a noun depth has appeared. We are talking specifically about the non-affix method, because the basis of the adjective has changed, truncated.
Other examples: silence - silence (from the basis of silence - cut off the suffix); switch - switch (from the base, switch off the suffix - and -); run - run (from the base of the run - cut off the suffix - a -).
Word formation using prefixes
Another very popular way is prefixing, or prefixing. It consists in the fact that a prefix is attached to the basis of the original word. It should be remembered that when using this method, the derivative and the generating word are one and the same part of speech.
Consider how word formation occurs. Examples are: Word-formation chain station - station - station . From the word station , the word station was formed in the suffix way (the suffix -n- participated), then with the help of the prefix the word station was formed in the prefix way. Be sure to pay attention to the fact that the words station and station are adjective names.
Another word-formation chain: blue - blue - blue . Here, from the base of the word blue , the verb has turned blue in a suffixive way , and from it the prefix is already used to make the verb turn blue .
The words were also formed: the verbs go - go (prefix u-); verbs write - rewrite (prefix re-); adjectives fashionable - superfashionable (prefix super-); nouns grandmother - great-grandmother (prefix great- ); adverbs left to left (prefix na); pronouns who - some (prefix some)
Attachment suffix method
There are frequent cases when a suffix and a prefix are simultaneously involved in the formation of a new word. This is a prefix-suffix word formation. We will show examples below.
Let's analyze the word-formation chain: the earth - to land . The derivative word was formed using the prefix at - and the suffix - and - attached simultaneously. Thus, we observe the prefix-suffix method.
Often words formed in this way arise from a combination of a noun with a preposition. For example: a district - across the river ; desktop - on the table ; boletus - under the birch . Thus, the prepositions used once became prefixes.
Compound words
In the emergence of new words, the basis may be involved. Thus, complex words or complex abbreviations arise. Let's analyze these word formation methods with examples.
Addition method
It can participate as a whole word, and the base or some part of it. The words sofa bed, booster, table-book are formed in this way.
Also, the addition of the basics can take place using connecting vowels. There are two of them in Russian: oh, e. So there were such words as forest-steppe, moon rover, reinforced concrete.
Another way of adding is to attach the full base to the truncated one: noon, camping trip, wall newspaper.
A new word may appear from a phrase, composing or subordinate: meat and milk (meat and milk - composing), German-Russian (German and Russian - composing); agricultural (agriculture - subordinate), left-bank (left bank - subordinate). If there is a connective connection between words, they are written through a hyphen, and if subordinate, you need to write together.
These are examples of word formation in Russian of complex words.
Compound words
The youngest way of Russian word formation is the abbreviated words. They appear by adding syllables or the initial letters of a word. Let's analyze these word formation methods with examples.
If the word arose when adding the initial letters, then it is called an abbreviation, and the technique is called an abbreviation. Computers (electronic computing machine), youth theater (theater for young spectators), nuclear power plants (nuclear power plants) - these are all abbreviations. It should be remembered that there is no need to put dots between the letters.
Another way to form compound words is to add syllables. These are words such as an atomic ship (atom, walk), collective farm (collective farm), young farm (young naturalist), department store (department store).
Verbs in such ways are not formed, only nouns and adjectives.
Word Education in English
In the same way as in Russian, word formation takes place in English. We will analyze examples below.
Word formation using the prefix: possible (possible) - inpossible (impossible - prefix in); war (war) - prewar (pre-war - prefix pre); to write - rewrite (rewrite - prefix re). We can make an unambiguous conclusion that in English the lexical meaning of a derivative word is governed by the meaning of the prefix, that is, if we need to form a new word, it is enough to choose a prefix that matches the lexical meaning.
Examples of suffix word formation: to teach - teacher . The last word appeared by joining the basis of teach - the suffix - er -; free (to be free) - freedom (freedom) - the word is formed using the suffix - dom -; power (power) - powerful (powerful) - formed by the suffix - ful -.
Word formation by addition: downtown (city center) came from the merger of the foundations down (bottom) and town (city); underground (metro, underground) the merger of the fundamentals under (under) and ground (earth); duty-free ( duty-free shop) - the basics of duty (tax) and free (free, free).
In English there are words formed by truncation: grandmother - granny (grandmother); subway - sub (metro); mathematics - maths (mathematics).
Abbreviation in English also takes place: unknown flying object (UFO) - unidentified flying object (UFO); e-mail (electronic mail) - electronic mail.
Conversion
Both in Russian and in English there is another way of forming words: conversion. In this case, part of the speech goes from one to another.
Consider in Russian such word formation. Examples are as follows: from an adjective teacher (room) to a noun teacher ; ice cream - from an adjective to a noun.
In English: rain (rain, noun) - to rain (drizzle, verb); to use (use, verb) - use (use, noun); blue (blue, noun) - blue (blue, adjective).
Inflection and derivation: what is the difference?
It is necessary to distinguish inflection and word formation. We will analyze examples below. An inflection is a change in the form of a word: its case, number, gender, tense (for a verb). In other words, these are inconsistent signs of one or another significant part of speech. A change in the form of the word through its end is realized.
Word-formation, on the other hand, is the formation of a fundamentally new word, possessing morphological features characteristic only of it. They are unchanged no matter in what form this word stands. Let's analyze a specific example: window - to window . Here we observe a change in the form of the word, because the ending has changed: the word was in the nominative case, and it became in the dative. Another thing is a couple of words window - windowsill. In this case, we got a fundamentally new word in a prefix way: to the base of the window - a prefix for . In addition, the window is a generic word, and the window sill is masculine. Permanent morphological characters have changed.
We will analyze two more options with verbs. First: loaded - loaded . In this case, there was a change in the word by birth, the ending changed: zero to - a . accordingly, inflection takes place. Another option: ship - ship . Here, with the help of the prefix, a new, perfect one was formed from the imperfective verb.