Lecture the word and its meaning

LECTURES 3-5.
WORD-BUILDING. STRUCTURE OF WORDS.
OUTLINE

1. 
   Structural types of words.
   
2. 
   Affixation. Classification of affixes. Suffixes and prefixes.
   
3. 
   Conversion (zero derivation).
   
4. 
   Compounding. Classification of compounds. Criteria of compounding. Borderline cases (semi-affixes).
   
5. 
   Shortening.
   
6. 
   Abbreviations.
   
7. 
   Minor types of word-building.
   

I. Structural types of words.
Each word consists of morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of the language. According to the role they play in constructing words, morphemes are divided into roots and affixes.
The root expresses the main lexical meaning of a word. The root may often be homonymous with the word. Such roots are called free morphemes. Affixes are always bound morphemes, they can function only within a word.
According to their function and meaning affixes are divided into derivational that serve to form new lexemes (words) and functional that express grammatical meanings and serve to create grammar forms of the same word. Functional affixes are also called flections (inflections), or endings. When a functional affix is stripped from a word, what remains is the stem. If the stem contains nothing but the root, it is a simple stem. If a stem also contains one or more derivational affixes, it is a derived stem.
Depending on their structure and type of formation words are divided into:

1. 
   simple words consisting of a root morpheme and the ending or zero-ending (e.g. start, helps);
   
2. 
   affixational derivatives consisting of a root morpheme and one or more derivational affixes (suddenly, fearless, teacher);
   
3. 
   compounds in which several stems are joined together (peace-loving, car-sick, sweetheart);
   
4. 
   derivational compounds where stems are joined together by composition and affixation (bare-legged, heart-shaped);
   
5. 
   shortened words (fridge, ed, pram);
   
6. 
   abbreviations (MP, UN).