What is Word formation?
Word formation refers to the process of creating new words from existing words or word roots. There are several ways in which words can be formed, including:
Prefixation: adding a prefix to the beginning of a word to create a new word with a different meaning (e.g. "dislike" from "like").
Suffixation: adding a suffix to the end of a word to create a new word with a different meaning (e.g. "happiness" from "happy").
Compounding: combining two or more words to create a new word with a different meaning (e.g. "bookshelf" from "book" and "shelf").
Conversion: changing the grammatical category of a word to create a new word (e.g. "to email" from "email").
Back-formation: creating a new word by removing a part of an existing word (e.g. "edit" from "editor").
Blending: combining parts of two or more words to create a new word (e.g. "brunch" from "breakfast" and "lunch").
Acronyms: creating a new word by using the first letter of each word in a phrase (e.g. "NASA" from "National Aeronautics and Space Administration").
Word formation is an important aspect of language because it allows for the creation of new words to describe new concepts or experiences.