The Tendency Of Contemporary English Word-formation-An Analysis Of English Neologisms Based On OED

This paper analyzes1680English neologisms taken from the online version of Oxford English Dictionary with the earliest known attestations dating from1983to2006.From the perspective of word-formation process, this paper adopts the synchronic method and divides all the neologisms collected into four basic categories (compounding, affixation, shortening and the others). Subsequently, they are analyzed into more detailed subclassifications. Then the result of this study is compared with the study conducted before by Laurie Bauer with the earliest known attestations between the year of1880and1982. Through this comparative study, this paper aims to present an overall picture describing the changing processes of English word-formation over a century.The study finds that the rise of neo-classical compounds directly results in the descending of prefixation. It makes compounding more productive than affixation in current English. Shortening with the increasing trend of blends and clippings might denote that English tends to develop towards informality, colloquialism and simplicity. Throughout this century, borrowing keeps a continuous decrease, which implies that English has turned into a strong exporter rather than an importer.Hopefully by analysis of word-formation processes and development, this paper can help English learners grasp the status quo of English vocabulary as well as the dynamic tendency of English word-formation. Undoubtedly, this will also facilitate the understanding and memorizing of neologisms to enlarge their vocabulary efficiently.