WORDS

1
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
Words
The structure of words
- Derivation
- Inflection
Word formation
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
2
The structure of words

antidisestablishmentarianism
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

trees

Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
3
The structure of words
Derivation
inappropriateness
in + appropriate + ness = inappropriateness


prefix base suffix
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
4
Prexes are added to the beginning of a word to
create a new word. They contribute specic types
of meaning.
Ex. anti-, de-, dis-, extra-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, inter-,
mis-, non-, post-, pre-, pro-, re-, un-
Sufxes are added to the end of a word to create
a new word. Certain sufxes are associated with
certain word classes.
Ex. Noun suffixes: -age, -al, -ism, -ist, -ness, -
ment; Adjective suffixes: -able, -ful, -ish, -less, -y, -
like; Verb suffixes: -ate, -en, -ify, -ize; Adverb
suffixes: -ly, -wards, -wise
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
5
Inflection
tree + -s = trees plant + -ed = planted
An inflection is added to the end of a word to
indicate a grammatical property. For instance,
the s inection is added to a noun to indicate
plural number (letter/letters). Adding an
inection, however, does not create a new
word, but a different grammatical form of the
same word.
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
6
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
7
Word formation
newspaper vs. netizen
RAM vs. DVD vs. movie
televise
cyberspace

Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
8
Word formation
Compounding and blending
Compounding involves combining two bases to create
a new word. For instance, the bases head and ache
combine to form headache.
chair + person = chairperson
green + house = greenhouse
help + line = helpline
key + board = keyboard
life + style = lifestyle
match + box = matchbox
news + paper = newspaper
post + card = postcard
Many adjectives are also formed by compounding a
noun with the -ed or -ing form of a verb.
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
9
Blending is similar to compounding, except
that only parts of existing words are combined to
create a new word. For example, the word
camcorder is formed by combining cam (from
camera) with corder (from recorder).
bionic = biological + electronic
biopic = biographical + picture
Britpop = British pop music
docudrama = documentary + drama
docusoap = documentary + soap opera
ecoterrorism = ecology + terrorism
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
10
Acronyms, abbreviations, and clipping
Acronyms are formed by combining the initial
letters or syllables of two or more words. The
combination is pronounced as a single word.
AIDS acquired immune deciency syndrome
BIOS Basic Input Output System
DOS Disk Operating System
laser light amplication by stimulated emission
of radiation
radar radio detecting and ranging
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
11
Abbreviations are also formed from the initial letters of
words, but unlike acronyms, they are spoken by
spelling out each letter.
ATM automated teller machine
BST British Standard Time
cpu central processing unit
DVD digital video disk
EC European Community
HTML hypertext markup language
http hypertext transfer protocol
ISD international subscriber dialling
IT information technology
UFO unidentied ying object
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
12
Clipping is a type of abbreviation in which one
or more syllables are omitted or clipped from
a word. Most commonly, the beginning of the
word is retained.
ad (or advert) advertisement
decaff (also decaf) decaffeinated coffee
demo demonstration
exam examination
movie moving picture
photo photograph

Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
13
Back formations
Back formations are words (usually verbs)
formed by removing from a noun what is
thought to be a sufx, and adding a verb
ending. In the following, the right-hand
column shows the word from which the back
formation is derived.
emote emotion
enthuse enthusiasm
televise television

Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
14
Combining forms
Combining forms are segments that do not
exist as words in their own right. They are
added to the beginning or end of another
segment or word to create a new word.
bio- biodiversity, bioethics, biohazard, biosphere
cyber- cybernaut, cybernetics, cyberspace

Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
15
Triad Task
In a half yellow pad (crosswise),
write a meaningful sentence
containing words that are
derived (with a prefix; with a
suffix) and inflected and are
formed by compounding,
blending, acronym,
abbreviation, clipping,
backformation, and
combination.
Indicate whether a word has
derivation or inflection and the
type of word formation.
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
16
Jasmine, the chairperson
(compounding) of Kpop
(blending) Lovers (derivation: -
er-suffix; inflection: -s-plural
form)in the Cyberspace
(combination), was watching a
DVD (abbreviation) copy of
My Sassy Girl while sipping
her decaff (clipping) when she
was suddenly attacked by her
SAD (acronym) that all she
wanted to do was to emote
(backformation).
Prof. Janinn M. Almeyda,
Lyceum of the Philippines University
17