Derivasi

Derivasi, in linguistics, is the process by which new words or new word forms are created from an existing base, such as a root or stem. It typically involves altering meaning, part of speech, or syntactic function, and it is distinct from inflection, which mainly marks grammatical categories without generating a new lexical item.

Derivasi operates through several mechanisms. Affixation is the most common, including prefixation, suffixation, infixation, and circumfixation, where bundles of morphemes are added to a base to form a new word. Conversion or zero derivation changes the word class without adding overt affixes, such as a noun becoming a verb. Back-formation or derivational shortening can create new words by removing apparent affixes. Some languages also use reduplication or internal vowel changes as part of derivational processes.

Derivational morphemes often produce words with related but distinct meanings and can change the word class (for example, turning a verb into a noun or an adjective into a noun). Productivity varies across languages and historical periods; some derivational patterns are highly productive and widely used, while others are fixed or limited by phonology, semantics, or morphology.

In linguistic analysis, derivasi is a central concept in morphology and word formation. It helps explain how lexicons grow, how related words are organized, and how semantic and syntactic properties emerge from base forms. It contrasts with inflectional systems, where form changes reflect grammatical context rather than creating new lexical items. See also morphology, word formation, and linguistic derivation.