Write short note on “How are new words formed through affixation and compounding? Give examples of both.”
Solution
Affixation and compounding are two common ways in which new words are formed in the English language.
Affixation is the process of adding a prefix or suffix to a base word to create a new word. There are two types of affixes: prefixes, which are added to the beginning of a base word, and suffixes, which are added to the end of a base word. For example, the prefix “un-” added to the base word “happy” creates the word “unhappy”, the suffix “-ness” added to the base word “happy” creates the word “happiness”.
Compounding is the process of joining two or more words together to create a new word. Compounds can be formed by combining two words, such as “bookshelf” (book + shelf), or by combining more than two words, such as “firefighting” (fire + fight + ing). For example, “bookshelf” is a compound of “book” and “shelf”, “firefighting” is a compound of “fire”,”fight” and “ing”.
In conclusion, new words can be formed through the process of affixation by adding prefixes and suffixes to base words, and through the process of compounding by joining two or more words together. These processes are a common way that languages evolve and adapt over time.