WORD FORMATION:

What is derivation?

According to the editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998), derivation is the formation of a word by changing its base or root by adding new things to it. These "things" here are called affixes. Therefore, a word is simply formed by adding affixes. Derivation is by far the most familiar and standard way used to create new words in the English language. (WORD FORMATION THROUGH DERIVATION, n.d.) 

In this article, James Clear has used lots of derived words in his musings, including;

• Frustrating

• Discomfort

• Helpful

• Rehearsal

• Characteristic

This, in return, emphasizes the importance of derivation in language, and how it plays a significant role in helping oneself to fully immerse in one’s feelings.

In this context, Clear mentioned that the discomfort in feeling like giving up is only temporary, and that it should provide motivation to strive forward despite countless trials and tribulations. He used the word ‘strengthen’ to indicate the cruciality of turning a moment of hopelessness into something that one could greatly benefit from, simultaneously instilling wisdom, patience, and a sense of perseverance.

Did you know?

Derivation has been present in languages for more than a thousand years. This widely known technique changes over centuries as humans continue to evolve. This could be seen from the way a lot of English words we know today are derived from ancient languages. The term 'derivation' itself came from an analogy between language and a river (Latin rivus). It has been assumed for many years now that Modern English originates from Old English, in which the elements then came from languages that were deemed to be prestigious at the time, some of them being Greek, Latin, and even Old French.

For instance, the word 'outrage', despite looking like two ordinary and unrelated words combined together ('out' and 'rage'), it is actually far more interesting than that. 'Outrage' actually originates from Old French, 'oultrage' (excess), which was then derived from the Italian language 'oltraggio' (beyond). There were also some philologists that reconstructed 'ultraticum' from Vulgar Latin to be the original ancestor of those three words altogether. (Derivation | Encyclopedia.com, n.d.) 

Despite the apparent differences, it is safe to conclude that languages had played a significant role in shaping the words we now know today.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, word formation is the creation of words in a certain language using various processes, one of the common ones being derivation. 

Derivation is described as the formation of a word by changing the base by adding appropriate affixes to it. It is generally known to be the biggest source of new words in a certain language (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998). Additionally, Yule (2020) also stated that derivation is accomplished by putting small “bits” and “pieces” of the English language into familiar and existing words to form new words with totally different meanings and structures. These small “bits” are typically categorized as affixes.

Affixes could be further dissected into three parts. Prefixes are added to the beginning of a word such as ‘un-’, ‘dis-’, and ‘pre-’. Meanwhile, suffixes are added to the end of a word. For instance, adding ‘-ist’ in the word ‘artist’, or combining ‘-less’ with the word ‘calm’ to form a new word; calmness. There is also another type of affix that is not typically used in the English language, but perhaps could be found in other languages. Infix is an affix that is added in between a word, staying in the middle as the original word is divided into two phrases. The word ‘unfreakingbelievable’ is an example of infix that is normally used when a speaker is in a state of disbelief, perhaps wanting to create a comical effect or simply driven by overwhelming emotions. (Yule, 2020)

Affixes, as stated above are 'bits' added to a base of a word to form an entirely new word with a different meaning. We will further dive into the topic by using examples from James Clear's article.

Frustrating

• Base word: Frustrate (verb)

• Suffix '-ing'  is added to the word, now forming an adjective.

• The suffix '-ing' in terms of grammar is usually used to form the present participle of a verb, but also widely used to form adjectives.

Discomfort

• Base word: Comfort (noun)

• When prefix 'dis-' is added to the word, it changes the meaning entirely.

• The prefix 'dis-' means to bring a sense of negativity. Therefore, while 'comfort' defines to be in a state of ease, 'discomfort' is to be in pain or feel slightly uneasy.

Helpful

• Base word: Help (verb)

• Suffix '-ful' is added to the word, and thus becomes an adjective.

• The suffix '-ful' conveys to be full of something, In this context, 'helpful' signifies someone to be ready to help or assist.

   Rehearsal

• Base word: Rehearse (verb)

• The bit '-al' in the word 'rehearsal' is a suffix and is used to form adjectives and certain nouns. 'Rehearsal' becomes a noun as it implies the action of rehearsing.

• 'Re-' is also considered as a prefix. The word 'hearse' did not originally come from English, but instead borrowed from Old French 'rehercier', which means to go over something again. Additionally, 'hearse' is originated from Anglo-Norman French as well, 'herce', meaning a harrow or a vehicle conveyed to display the coffin at a funeral. 

   Characteristic

• Base word: Character (noun)

• There are two suffixes here, '-ist' and '-ic'. Both suffixes are typically used to form certain nouns and adjectives.

• In the article, 'characteristic' is used as a noun, signifying that it is a distinguished quality or trait likely possessed by someone or something.

James Clear's continuous use of derived words such as including different types of affixes in his article above effectively supports the fact that the readers could easily, almost immediately relate to his underlying feelings just from the constant use of derived words alone. Despite not knowing each other, the vulnerability and honesty displayed by Clear was enough to spark some kind of connection between both the writer and the reader.

All in all, it can be concluded that derivation plays a huge and significant part in creating and forming new words. It undeniably helps people to further elaborate on their complex feelings and comprehend everything that surrounds them, be it in the form of speaking, writing, listening, and most importantly, reading. Furthermore, it is apparent that the English language relies on derivation in order to make up new words to be used in every different context and situation. Without this technique, the words that are widely and universally used today would not exist at all.

1. Clear, J. (2020, February 3). 5 Useful reminders for when you want to give up. James Clear. What I Do When I Feel Like Giving Up - James Clear

2. Derivation | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-terms/language-and-linguistics/derivation

3. James Clear | Penguin Random House. (2018, October 16). PenguinRandomhouse.com. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2140314/james-clear/

4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998a, July 20). Affix | Definition & Examples. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/affix

5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998b, July 20). Derivation | Syntactic Rules, Morphology & Morphophonology. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/derivation-traditional-grammar

6. The free online Dictionary of Affixes. (n.d.). https://www.affixes.org/index.html

7. Word-formation. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/word-formation

8. WORD FORMATION THROUGH DERIVATION. (n.d.). Morphology. https://semanticsmorphology.weebly.com/word-formation-through-derivation.html

9. Yule, G. (2020). The Study of Language (7th ed.). Cambridge University Press.