Derivation without affixation

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,1, University of Cologne (Institut für Englische Philologie), course: English Word Formation, language: English, comment: The essay presents a motley assortment of word formation processes outside of the regular derivation requiring affixation. Despite the apparent arbitrariness of the language games involved in clipping, blending and Co., all moves are strictly calculated and unveil the elaborate language machinery. , abstract: The aim of the following essay is to expose the irregular character of derivation without affixation. To this end, the derivational processes of conversion and shortening will be surveyed first and different types of shortenings will be scrutinised as to their heterogeneity; second, the unpredictability of their output will be exposed, and, third, it will be shown that no definite rules can be sustained; fourth, a certain unifying approach to the consideration of irregularities will be outlined.