Difference between revisions of "Back formation"

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(New page: '''Back formation''' (also known as retrograde formation) is a type of word formation in which a word is assumed to have a morphological structure (for instance, a root and an affix) that ...)
 
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'''Back formation''' (also known as retrograde formation) is a type of word formation in which a word is assumed to have a morphological structure (for instance, a root and an affix) that it did not originally have and is then decomposed. Often monomorphemic words are decomposed into a root and a affix if the language has a productive affix with the same phonological form as a part of the word that underwent back formation. The process can be schematically represented as follows:
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'''Back formation''' is a type of [[word formation]] in which a word is assumed to have a morphological structure (for instance, a [[root]] and an [[affix]]) that it did not originally have and is then decomposed. Often monomorphemic words are decomposed into a root and a affix if the language has a productive affix with the same phonological form as a part of the word that underwent back formation.  
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===Comments===
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The process can be schematically represented as follows:
  
 
* Initial morphological structure: ('''''abcdef''''')<sub>stem</sub>; the language also has a productive affix with the form (''ef'').
 
* Initial morphological structure: ('''''abcdef''''')<sub>stem</sub>; the language also has a productive affix with the form (''ef'').
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For example, ''edit'' is a result of backformation from ''editor'', ''sculpt'' from ''sculptor'' (decomposed as having the productive suffixes ''–or'' or ''–er'' used to build words denoting a person who performs the action denoted by a verb).
 
For example, ''edit'' is a result of backformation from ''editor'', ''sculpt'' from ''sculptor'' (decomposed as having the productive suffixes ''–or'' or ''–er'' used to build words denoting a person who performs the action denoted by a verb).
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===Synonym===
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*[[retrograde formation]]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
* Campbell, Lyle & Mauricio J. Mixco. 2007. A Glossary of Historical Linguistics. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
 
* Campbell, Lyle & Mauricio J. Mixco. 2007. A Glossary of Historical Linguistics. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
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===Other languages===
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German [[Rückbildung]]
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{{dc}}
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[[Category:Morphology]]
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[[Category:Diachrony]]

Revision as of 15:54, 7 September 2008

Back formation is a type of word formation in which a word is assumed to have a morphological structure (for instance, a root and an affix) that it did not originally have and is then decomposed. Often monomorphemic words are decomposed into a root and a affix if the language has a productive affix with the same phonological form as a part of the word that underwent back formation.

Comments

The process can be schematically represented as follows:

  • Initial morphological structure: (abcdef)stem; the language also has a productive affix with the form (ef).
  • Morphological structure after back formation: (abcd)stem(ef)suffix.

For example, edit is a result of backformation from editor, sculpt from sculptor (decomposed as having the productive suffixes –or or –er used to build words denoting a person who performs the action denoted by a verb).

Synonym

References

  • Campbell, Lyle & Mauricio J. Mixco. 2007. A Glossary of Historical Linguistics. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

Other languages

German Rückbildung