It is easy to guess that word formation is the process of forming new words in a particular language. This article will consider the ways of word formation in English. So, in English today there are 4 such methods: conversion, word formation, stress change in a word and affixation. Let's consider each of them in more detail.
Conversion
Conversion is the process of forming a new word without any changes in its spelling and pronunciation. Conversion occurs when a word changes its meaning, becomes a new part of speech, and performs a new syntactic function in a sentence. In this case, as already mentioned, neither the spelling nor the pronunciation change. For example, the noun water (water) formed a new word - the verb to water (water). Such examples in English can be found very anda lot, since this is the most common and acceptable conversion.
Composition
Word-formation in English by means of compounding is a combination of full-valued lexical units or their stems into one compound word. A new unit can be written both together and with a hyphen (this is historically formed). Examples include words such as birthday - birthday (birth + day), airman - aviator (air + man) and others. Compound words can also be made up of two words written separately. In most cases, these are nouns, and one of them performs the function of an adjective. For example, shop window is a showcase.
Changing the stress in a word
Sometimes new words are obtained just after changing the stress. This way of word formation is similar to conversion. So, for example, the noun conduct (behavior) with an emphasis on the first syllable turns into a verb to conduct (lead) with an emphasis on the second syllable.
Affixation
Word formation in English has its own characteristics. Usually affixing - adding a suffix or prefix to the root of a word - causes difficulties for language learners. The fact is that the prefixes and suffixes attached to the base of the word are so diverse that it will not be possible to understand them very quickly and forever. So what's the point?
Prefixes - affixes (prefixes),which join the root at the beginning of the word, suffixes - at its end. New lexical units that are obtained as a result are called derivatives. Both prefixes and suffixes attach to different parts of speech and change their meaning. For example, from the name of the adjective happy (happy), you can form several words with the help of affixation: the noun happiness (happiness), the adjective unhappy (unhappy), the adverb happily (happily). Prefixation helps to slightly change the meaning of a word (for example, create the opposite in meaning), indicate negation, and so on. Suffixation, in turn, often changes the part of speech.
Conclusion
Word formation in English is a topic that needs to be studied very carefully, since the variety of options for the formation of a new word and its meaning from a particular lexical unit is very large. An incorrectly added ending can cause a foreign interlocutor to simply not understand you, or misunderstand you. In any English textbook, you can find tables with the meanings of affixes, options for the formation of new words through conversion and stress change. The main thing is to spend enough time and effort so that the topic is mastered, and you perfectly know all the nuances that word formation has in English! Exercise and repetition will help you in this difficult task.
