What are some word-formation processes? In what ways does knowing about these processes help you learn and improve your lexical resources?
In linguistics, word-formation processes are the creation of a new word. The processes that are formed frequently or commonly in the use of the English language. Word formation is sometimes contrasted with semantic change, which is a change in a single word's meaning. There are some kinds of word-formation processes, such as derivation, compounding, conversion, blending, clipping, back-formation, acronym, initialism, borrowing. To know how words are created helps us to extend their vocabulary and guess the word’s meaning, the word’s category easily. Word-formation processes help us study English very easy and quick.
There are many kind of word-formation processes which used for creating new words. However, I want to introduce about Acronyms, blending and clipping. First of all, in the acronyms word-formation process, words created from the initial letters of several words. The difference between an initialism and an acronym is that an acronym can be pronounced as a single word instead of being spelled out by letter. Examples in my field, the word “IT” = Information Technology, WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get. If you know this process, you can guess a meaning easily by remember the common sentence. We can improve our listening skill with applying this process. These words help you note quickly and you have more time to listen the audio records.
Secondly, I want to discuss about blending word-formation process, the process of creating new words by shortening parts of a longer word. Instance, the word “blog” (web + log) = a regularly updated website, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style – this is a BLOG. The another example, the word “bit” Binary and digit = bit. Her minicomputer has a 16-bit processor. In my major (IT), you may be get a lot of new words with blending word-formation process. In this way, we can improve our reading skill because there are many new words in specialized magazine, news which are created by this process. For example, you can search the key-word “blending word-formation in technology information” to learn many new vocabularies about IT with this process.
Finally, the clipping word-formation process of creating new words by shortening parts of a longer word. There are many new words which are created by this way in information technology field such as: app, ads, pic, etc. Application = app, advertises = Ads, Picture= pic. Because in specialized majors, words are very long and it is difficult to remember, so that people usually use the clipping words. This way helps us remember easily the vocabulary about our specialized major.
Conclusion, we have a lot of benefits to learn English thank to word-formation process. They help us to remember easily new vocabulary and extends to guess meaning of other words. In my opinion, the word-formation processes will help us learn English very well to improve all of skills as speaking, listening, reading and writing, especially is vocabulary.
Thanh-Nhan Huynh-Ly