Word-Formation Examples and Key Morphology Terms

Part 1: Word-Formation Examples

1. Reversative verb: uncork — to reverse the state of being corked/sealed.
2. Locative noun: bakery — a noun denoting a place where something happens or has a specific function; here, a place where baking occurs.
3. Denominal verb: cannibalize — a verb derived from a noun (cannibal).
4. Diminutive noun: duckling — a noun with the diminutive suffix -ling, indicating a small or young duck.
5. Attenuative adjective: None from the set. An attenuative adjective expresses a lessened degree of a quality (e.g., greenish). Indecisive is negative/privative, not attenuative.
6. Repetitive verb: replay — a verb with the prefix re-, indicating an action done again.
7. Collective noun: aristocracy — a noun referring to a collective social class or group of people.
8. Quality noun / Nomen Essendi: curiosity — an abstract noun denoting the state or quality of being curious.
9. Causative verb: deepen — a verb meaning "to cause to become deep."
10. Negative adjective: indecisive — an adjective with a negative or privative meaning, formed from decisive + the negative prefix in-.
11. Complex lexeme: replay — a complex/derived word consisting of the prefix/base re- and the base play.

Part 2: Relevant Terms for Definitions

1. 1. A word derived from another word: Derivative.
2. 2. Branch of morphology which deals with the morphological realization of grammatical categories such as number, case, gender, tense: Inflectional morphology.
3. 3. Attested novel lexemes (new words) that were not observed before in the language, formed in accordance with productive rules of word-formation or creative strategies of lexicon expansion: Neologisms.
4. 4. An affix the addition of which changes the stress pattern in the input base: Stress-shifting affix (e.g., the suffix -ion in perfect → perfection).
5. 5. The part of a word that is its core and is not further subdivisible: Root.
6. 6. A type of compound which is a hyponym of its second member, i.e., the first member modifies and narrows the meaning of the second compound member (e.g., school bus): Endocentric compound.
7. 7. A class of bound morphemes which are attached at the margins of words but which are inflectional, e.g., the genitive 's in the professor's car: Clitic.
8. 8. Creation of new lexical items without any alteration being made to the shape of the base (e.g., empty → to empty, to kick → a kick, butter → to butter): Conversion or Zero-derivation.
9. 9. A type of derivation involving only change in category: A → N (Nomina Essendi: rare → rarity), N → A (relational adjectives: navy → naval), V → N (Nomina Actionis: act → action): Transposition.

Answer Key (True / False)

f, t, t, f, f, t, f, f, t, t