Conversions of the form of the word through inflection:
Conversions:
Some words may be employed as nouns, verbs, adverbs, or adjectives without changing the form of the word or adding an affix or prefix. Conversion is the name given to this process of derivation. Following are some examples:
Light | Switch on the light | Noun |
Light the lamp | Verb | |
The luggage is light | Adjective | |
Travel light if you must | Adverb | |
Round | The earth is round like a ball | Adjective |
The principal went on a round | Noun | |
You must round all the sharp corners | verb |
Miscellaneous conversions:
Sentence | Conversion |
Please give me two coffees | An uncountable noun used as a countable noun |
This instrument is a must for you | A closed system word being used as a noun |
I do not like this touch-me-not policy | A phrase is used as an adjective. |
I do not believe in any ism bothering the society today | A suffix is used as a noun |
In some words of two syllables, change of accent from the first to the second syllable changes a noun/adjective to a verb:
‘conduct | con’duct |
‘subject | sub’ject |
‘object | ob’ject |
‘present | pre’sent |
‘contrast | con’trast |
There are some words, in which there is a change in the meanings of words if the final consonant is voiced (either by a change in spellings or without it); for example:
Word | Final sound | Word | Final sound |
advice (n.) | /s/ | advise (v.) | /z/ |
thief (n.) | /f/ | thieve (v.) | /v/ |
house (n.) | /s/ | house (v.) | /z/ |
Compound Formation:
Compounds are generated by combining two or more bases together. In some situations, a hyphen separates these bases, whereas, in others, the hyphen seems to have vanished with the passage of time. The presence or absence of the hyphen is not governed by any rule. The following are some instances of compound words:
Noun + Noun | Motor cycle, hair breadth, goldfish |
Noun + Adjective | trustworthy, beauty conscious, duty free |
Adjective + Noun | paleface, yellow press, red light |
Compounds with verbs/adverbials/verbal nouns | sight-seeing, man-eating, heart-breaking |
Blends:
When two words are cut, the clippings are merged to make a new term, such as brunch from breakfast and lunch, smog from smoke and fog, telecast from television and broadcast, and motel from motorists and hotel.
Borrowings:
In general, English (or any other language) borrows terms from other languages with which it interacts. English continues to add new terms to its vocabularies, such as Guru (from Hindi), bazaar (from Persian), Sheikh (from Arabic), tycoon (from Japanese), and Dame (from French)
Innovations:
New terminology must be assigned to new inventions. Such terms (like other words in the language) are arbitrary, but after time, they get ingrained as part of the language.
X-rays, lasers, sputnik, astronauts, etc.
Some words are produced by the sounds that indicate their meaning, which is known as echoism. For example, clang, whisper, thunder, click, tick, lisp, and murmur.
Language, as we all know, is dynamic. With the passage of time, it continues to gain new terms. Some words also fade away with the passage of time for a variety of causes. Language is malleable and adaptable.