tion. Affixes that come before the roots are called prefixes; those that come after the roots are called suffixes.
2. Word-formation Processes
2.1 Main Processes Of English Word-formation
a. Compounding
New words can be formed from existing words by a process known as compounding ,which means independent words are put together to make one word. For example, sandstorm(沙尘暴), playboy(花花公子), fat farm(减肥场所), beauty contests(选美竞赛), mail order(邮购货物), acidhead(吸毒者), Alpha geek(电脑能手), corporate culture(企业文化) , customer-centric(顾客至上) etc. Compounding has been a source of new words since earliest times and it takes the largest parts of modern English neologisms.
Compounding is written in three ways: solid (blackbird), hyphenated (open-heart surgery), and open (ice cream). In English, the conventions of writing compounds are not consistent.
Generally speaking, the part of speech of the whole compound is the same as that of the old member of the compound. For example, do is a verb, and overdo is also a verb, do is the old member of the whole compound.
Phonologically, compounds can often be identified as having a main stress on the first element and a secondary stress on the second element. E.g. the sequence high and chair can be pronounced HIGHchair, in which case it is a compound noun denoting a special kind of chair that babies sit in ; or it can be pronounced highCHAIR, in which case it is simply a noun phrase, denoting some chair that happens to be high( not necessary a baby’s chair) (Crystal,1985).
The meaning of compounds can not always be inferred from the meaning of its parts. The reason is that we have one conception in a compound rather than the sum of the two concepts expressed by the two elements. For instance, a darkroom (a room used for photographic processing) is not just a dark room, since most dark rooms are not darkrooms.
During the modern period, compounds are not limited to two words. They can be made up of more than two words. These neologisms are called group compounds. Such as, go-with- the stream person(随波逐流的人), laid-off workers(下岗工人).
b. Derivation
Derivation is also called Affixation, which refers to creating neologisms by attaching suffix or prefix to the root. There is a prefix cyber- ; it might be the affix for such derivations as cyberspace, cyber-café, cybernut, cybersurfing, cyberculture, etc. Affix likes cyber- is active. Besides, there are many productive affixes, such as anti-, super-, mini-, -ism, -ese, and so on. Using them can create a series of English neologisms. The process of derivation allows us to expand our vocabulary without specifically memorizing new words. So it is one of the most important ways for word-formation.
Table 1. Examples for Derivation
super- super-model, super-fit, super-fresh
-ism healthism, ableism, sizeism
-e e-cash, e-commerce, e-mail
-nik filmnik, computernik, peacenik
c.Conversion
Conversion is a word- formation which means a word is shifted into another speech without changing the word form. Essentially, it is an extension of grammar function, which can change the nouns into verbs or adjectives, or make the verbs with the function of nouns.
For the process of conversion, nouns are shifted into verbs occurring most frequently. For example, in the two sentences, the boss gave no answer, but eyed him with anger(老板没有回答,只是狠狠瞪了他一眼); I had to moonlight to support the family.(为养家糊口,我晚上还得打工). Even compound nouns get shifted to verbs, the secretary who
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