nounforming

Nounforming refers to the process by which new nouns are created from other words or morphemes. In linguistic usage, it is often described under the broader umbrella of nominalization or noun formation. The term highlights the productive ways languages derive nouns from verbs, adjectives, other nouns, or entire phrases.

The main mechanisms of nounforming include derivational affixation, conversion, and compounding. Derivational affixation attaches suffixes or prefixes to a base to yield a noun. Examples in English include happiness (noun from happy + -ness), information (from inform + -ation), movement (from move + -ment), and friendship (from friend + -ship). A suffix like -er or -or can form agent nouns from verbs, as in teacher or actor. Conversion, or zero-derivation, forms nouns without an explicit affix, such as laugh becoming a noun in There was a laugh. Compounding combines two or more words to create a new noun, as in bookcase or blackbird.

Nounforming varies in productivity across languages and historical periods. Some processes are highly productive and widely used, while others are restricted to particular lexical items or morphological classes. Cross-linguistic differences shape which affixes or compounding patterns are common and how easily new nouns can be formed. In many languages, nominalization also encompasses turning whole clauses or adjectives into nouns, which is distinct from the more item-focused nounforming that creates individual lexemes.

In summary, nounforming covers the diverse methods by which languages generate nouns from other lexical categories, including affixation, conversion, and compounding, with varying degrees of productivity and cross-linguistic variation.