We often come across new words or technical terms in different subjects. An awareness of word formation processes enables us to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words in academic contexts.

This part will introduce the following common word formation processes:

  i)  affixation (prefixes and suffixes)
 ii)  compounding
iii)  clipping
iv)  blending
 v)  borrowing (loan words)

i)  Affixation
Affixation is the most common way of making new words in English. An affix is a word element which can be added to alter the meaning or form of a root word. It usually comes in the form of either a prefix (which is put before the root word) or a suffix (which is put after the root word). The diagram below helps to illustrate this:



A suffix is a word element added to the end of the root word to convey extra meaning. It often changes the part of speech of the root word too. The table below shows some suffixes commonly seen in academic contexts and their meanings.