English Word-formationLaurie Bauer

Interest in word-formation dates back as far as the study of language itself. As Dr. Bauer notes in his introduction, many questions asked by modern scholars were already considered in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Despite this long history, there remains little consensus on methodologies, theoretical approaches, or even what counts as relevant data in the study of word-formation.

In this book, Dr. Bauer offers both students and general linguists a fresh perspective on this often complex and controversial field. He clarifies the terminological confusion that has long characterized the study of word-formation, while highlighting both the challenges and the inherent fascination of the subject. Recent linguistic research has increasingly recognized the relevance of word-formation to areas such as syntax, semantics, phonology, and morphology. Within a largely synchronic and transformational framework, Dr. Bauer addresses key theoretical issues and explores how word-formation contributes to broader linguistic inquiry.

While the book does not propose a complete theory of word-formation, it focuses on central topics, drawing on examples from a variety of languages. English examples are particularly emphasized, including detailed analyses of neologisms and a survey of English word-formation types. Some prior knowledge of linguistics is assumed, but the book remains accessible and engaging for students of linguistics and English who are new to word-formation or morphology.