Linguistic Processes of Word Creation and Structure
Word Classification: Origin and Formation
Words can be classified based on their origin and their formation process.
Classification by Word Origin
Words classified by origin often involve borrowing from other languages. A key concept here is the calque (or loan translation).
Calques and Loanwords
Calques are expressions or structures used in a language by imitation of another, tracing semantic meaning or structure. This involves the addition of foreign linguistic elements to a native word or phrase (e.g., casual, informal, serious, grave).
When differing loanwords or calques completely alter the semantic meaning, the resulting terms are often referred to as false friends.
Procedures of Word Formation
Terms enter the language through various procedures:
- Derivation
- Composition
- Parasynthesis
- Acronymy
- Shortening (Clipping)
Derivation and composition are considered essential procedures. Parasynthesis often results in lexical families.
Flexion (Inflection)
Flexion involves changes in words that do not alter their core lexical meaning or their fundamental grammatical category. These changes are achieved through inflectional morphemes.
Examples of features obtained by flexion:
- Nouns and Adjectives: Gender and number.
- Verbs: Time, mode, number, aspect, and person.
- Adjectives and Adverbs: Degree (extent).
In general, a word supports a wide range of morphemes through flexion.
Derivation
Derivation is the procedure by which new words are created by joining a lexeme (root) with optional morphemes (affixes). There are three main types of affixes:
- Prefixes: Placed before the stem.
- Suffixes: Placed after the stem. Suffixes can be:
- Appreciative: Incorporate a personal assessment (e.g., diminutives, augmentatives).
- Non-Appreciative: Alter the meaning of the lexical base.
- Infixes: Placed between the prefix and the lexeme (or within the stem).
Composition
Composition is the union of two or more lexemes to form a new word. Compound words are generally formed by two independent morphemes. We differentiate four types of formations based on the degree of union between the constituent words:
- Synapsis
- The union of two nouns connected by a preposition (e.g., coffee table).
- Disjunction
- Involves apposition or complementation, often using an adjective (e.g., red wine).
- Opposition
- The two elements are written together using a hyphen (e.g., socio-economic).
- Juxtaposition
- Total graphic fusion of the elements involved in the compound, leading to full lexicalization (e.g., sunflower).
Parasynthesis
Parasynthesis is the realization of words through the simultaneous addition of affixes and/or lexemes. It combines elements of both composition and derivation.
- Parasynthesis by Composition: (Lexeme + Lexeme + Suffix). This is the union of composition and derivation within the same term.
- Parasynthesis by Affixation: (Prefix + Lexeme + Suffix). This occurs when a word is created by the simultaneous addition of a prefix and a corresponding suffix to a lexeme, provided that the resulting word did not previously exist either with just the prefix or just the suffix.
Acronymy and Initialisms
Acronymy is the procedure by which we create words from the initial letters or syllables of a phrase.
- Acronyms: Words formed from initials that are read as a single word, without resorting to spelling out the letters (e.g., NASA).
- Initialisms (or Spelled-out Acronyms): Involve the need to spell out the whole sequence of letters (e.g., FBI).
Shortening (Clipping)
Shortening, or clipping, is the reduction of a word by the loss of one or more of its letters or syllables. There are three main types:
- Apheresis: Loss of sounds or syllables at the beginning of the word (e.g., phone from telephone).
- Syncope: Loss of sounds or syllables inside the word.
- Apocope: Loss of sounds or syllables at the end of the word (e.g., ad from advertisement).