WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

COMPOUNDING; BACKFORMATION; COINAGE.

INTRODUCTION

English as one of the widely used languages in the world has attracted a significant number of
scholars in its study. Some linguists, for example, have invested enough time in the field of
Morphology coming up with morphological processes and principles in relation to word
formation processes: the common ways of creating new lexemes. There are a number of them
including Affixation, Compounding (forming major ways in which English words are
formed), blending, clipping, acronomy, coinage, backformation (which are minor word
forming process in the English language). This paper will concentrate on Compounding,
backformation and coinage.

COMPOUNDING

Compounding has a Latin root meaning to put together. In English grammar compounding
can be defined as the process of combining two words to create a new word: the commonly
compounded word classes are nouns, adjectives and verbs. In Linguistics compounding is the
process of fussing or combining more than one base, root or stem to create new words or
lexemes. The most significant morphemes in this process are free bases: they are the ones
combined or fussed to form or generate new lexemes.

Compounds can also be formed by fusion of free and bound bases. The result is termed as
neo-classical compounds by some linguists. This is because these bound bases are from
classical languages: Greek and Latin. Examples of such compounds are psychopath,
pathogen, endoderm.

Compounds can be formed by combining two morphemes of the same or different word
class. For example, footpath is a compound from two nouns (foot, path); pick pocket is a
compound from a verb and a noun (pick, pocket respectively). Compounds can be written in
three forms: as one word-breakdown; as two words- slow dance; and as hyphenated words-
year-in.

COMPOUND STRUCTURES

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Like any typical word, compounds have internal structures represented in a word tree form. It
should be noted that the nature of the compound (simple or complex) and the number of roots
or bases or stems in compounds will determine the number of tree structures and bases. Few
examples can help elaborate:

SIMPLE COMPOUNDS

windmill dog walker

N N

N N N

Wind mill N V N

Dog walk er

The simple compounds windmill and dog walker above have a single tree structure each and
two and three bases respectively.

COMPLEX COMPOUNDS

paper towel dispenser factory building committee report

N
N

N N

N N N N N N N
2

Paper towel dispenser factory building committee report

It is worth noting that the more complex a compound is, the greater the possibility of multiple
interpretations and therefore multiple structures. The example above has many interpretations
meaning that it can be represented with various structures.

TYPES OF COMPOUNDS

Traditionally, English has two types of compounds namely root or primary compounds
and synthetic or deverbal compounds

1. SYNTHETIC OR DEVERBAL COMPOUNDS

They are composed of two lexemes where the second element is derived from a verb and the
first is interpreted as an argument of that verb. Hand washing or home made are some
examples.

2. ROOT OR PRIMARY COMPOUNDS

In contrast, they are made of two or more lexemes which may be nouns, adjectives, or verbs.
The second lexeme is typically not derived from a verb. The interpretation of the semantic
relationship between the head and non-head in this category is quite free as long as it is not
the relationship between a verb and its argument. Examples include windmill, red hot, or
ice cold.

However, there has been a further classification of compounds by other morphologists. Their
point of focus is in the several distinct aspects of a compound structure: first is according to
the part of speech or category of the words that form them; the second pertains the semantic
relationships that they express; and the third relates to the placement of the head of the
compound.

a. Classifying compounds according to word class or parts of speech

This involves identifying the word class of individual morphemes forming a compound on
one hand, and determining the general category of the entire compound in relation to parts of
speech on the other hand.

The table below can be helpful

Compound elements Category of compound Examples

Noun and Noun Noun Footpath, file cabinet,

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 godfather
Noun and Adjective Adjective Sky blue, bone dry, stone
cold
Adjective and Adjective Adjective Blue-green, icy cold
Adjective and Noun Noun Blackbird, greenhouse, fast
food
Noun and Verb Verb Hand wash, brainwash,
babysit
Verb and Noun Noun Pick pocket, think tank
Verb and Verb Verb Blow dry, stir-fry
Adjective and Verb Verb Hot cake, slow dance
Verb and Adjective Adjective Go-slow
Noun and Preposition Adjective Year-in
Preposition and Noun Noun Backseat, afterbirth
Verb and Preposition Noun Breakdown
Preposition and Verb Verb Downgrade
Adjective and Preposition Adjective Tuned-in
Preposition and Adjective Adjective Inbuilt
Preposition and Preposition Preposition Into

It is worth noting that in English language it is rare to find a compound under the following
combination of lexemes preposition and verb, noun and preposition, and finally verb and
adjective.

b. Classification of compounds according to semantic relations

The grammatical and semantic relationships between the elements forming a compound is
another basis of classifying compounds. Bisetto and Scalise (2005) propose three types of
relations.

i. Attributive compounds: there is a grammatical relationship of elements

composing such compounds with a semantic function. The non-head (first or left
element of a compound) acts as a modifier of the head (the second or right
element of a compound). For example, windmill is a type of mill that is activated

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 by wind-wind modifies mill and thus assigning meaning to the compound as a
whole.
ii. Coordinative compounds: unlike the case of attributive compounds elements in
such category of compounds convey a semantic interdependence with equality, or
can express a relationship, or connotation of just a mixture. Semantically speaking
the two elements in producer-director have the same meaning-that this is a
person who is equally a producer and director; a prince consort is one who is a
prince and a consort at the same time; blue-green is a mixture of the two
elements; and teacher-learner denotes relations between the two bases.
iii. Subordinative compounds: these are compounds where one element acts as an
argument of another usually as its object. This is common when one element of
the compound is either a verb or derived from a verb. Truck driver, mystery
writer, man eater, are examples whose second elements are derived from verb
roots where the suffix -er has been added; truck driving, food shopping, hand
holding exemplify verb roots having a suffix -ing; meal preparation, home
invention point out verb roots suffixed with -ation; and we also have cost
containment where the verb root has the suffix -ment. It is important to note that
the first element of the compound is often interpreted as the object of the verb that
forms the base of the deverbal noun.

c. Classifying compounds according to headedness or placement

The head of a compound is that element which determines the part of speech and the
semantic interpretation denoted by the compound as a whole. In the English language it is
the second base which acts as the head of a compound. This is the reason why English
language is referred to as right-headed. These examples can demonstrate this greenhouse
grammatically is a noun because its second or right element is a noun (house), and
semantically house is a type of building; in sky blue the compound is an adjective
because of its head (blue), and semantically blue is a colour.

This category is further divided into endocentric where the referent of the compound is
always the same as the referent of the head for example sawmill is a kind of a mill. The
second subcategory is exocentric where the denotation of the compound as a whole is not

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the denotation of the head. For example, parent-child shows the relationship between a
parent and a child or a child and a parent but not a type of a child.

BACKFORMATION

It is a minor word formation process in the English language. This process occurs when a
word is reduced causing it to change to a different word class usually from a noun to a
verb. It can also be defined as “the formation of new words from monomorphemic words
whose endings sound identical to or reminiscent of certain affixes” Lieberr (2016). The
term was coined by a Scottish lexicographer James Murray who was also the primary
editor of the Oxford English Dictionary from 1879 to 1915. The following are some of
the examples:

Noun Verb
Television Televise
Revision Revise
Donation Donate
Relation Relate
Babysitter Babysit
Peddler Peddle
Affliction Afflict
Lazy Laze
Aggression Aggress

Backformation in Middle English.

The weakening of flexional endings during the early Middle English Period which made
possible for the derivation of verbs was also essential to the rise of backformation as a
genesis for new words. Esko V. Pannaren (1960).

Backformation in Contemporary English

Backformation continues to make a few contributions to the English language. For

instance, television giving rise to televise, revision to revise among others.

Functions of backformation

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Backformations are likely to occur strongly in patterns and they have the effect of filling
an apparent void in the lexicon world. For example, the active form of liaison became
liaise and burgle from burglar were possible because of backformation, a void was filled.
Kate (2011).

Also, backformations are objection-Ades when they are merely needless variations of pre-
existing back-formed verbs.

Ordinary/ pre-existing verbs Back-formed verbs

Administrate Administer
Cohabitate Cohabit
Delimitate Delimit
Interpretate Interpret

COINAGE

Coinage is another minor word formation process in the English language. It is the
process where new words are generated as a result of new objects or experiences that
must be labelled. Commercial objects or commodities have encouraged coinage resulting
to words like Kleenex, Vaseline, nylon, aspirin, kodak and some more which never
existed before.

Eponyms is a category of coinage where names of products bare their inventors’ or

manufacturers’ names with examples such as Volkswagen, Google, Colgate, Kevian.

Reasons for few coinages

Coinages are semantically opaque: the words themselves give no clue to their meaning. It
is only when the context is clear that the meaning of a word can be clear.

Another factor is that many pure coinages that crept into English language came from
original product names: the association of the coined word with the product makes its
meaning clear.

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CONCLUSSION

The more we continue to evolve and interact as human beings in our totality the more our
languages continue to take shape. And the word being one of the medium of our
interaction it is important that we understand its nature. Some linguists have devoted
enough time in this sphere that falls under Morphology. The importance is that we are
able to benefit from their theories and postulations which should be embraced and
develop after carefully studying them. Understanding morphological processes like word
formation process is a positive step in the context of the English language which has a
global upper-hand in its usage.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Erika Hoff, (2005). Language Development 3rd ed. Toronto: Wadsworth.

Esko V., Pannaren, (1960). Contribution to the Study of Backformation in English.

Kate Burridge, (2001). Gift of the Morsels of English Language. Australia: Harper
Collins.

Rochelle Lieber, (2016). Introducing Morphology, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

William B., McGregor, (2012). Linguistics: An Introduction. New York: Continuum

International Publishing Group.

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