szóalkotási

Szóalkotási, or word formation, is a branch of linguistics that studies how new words are created in a language, with a focus on Hungarian. In Hungarian, word formation relies mainly on derivation, compounding, and to some extent conversion and neologism formation. The language’s morphology is highly agglutinative, so affixation plays a central role in creating new forms and meanings.

Derivation is the primary means of producing new words. Derivational suffixes attach to bases to form nouns, adjectives, or verbs. Common Hungarian derivational suffixes include -ás/-és to form abstract nouns from verbs (olvasás, írás), -ó/-ő to denote agents or instruments (író, futó), and -ható/-hető to indicate possibility or usability (olvasható). Other productive suffixes such as -ság/-ség create further abstract nouns (barátság, tudás). Suffix choices are subject to vowel harmony and other phonological adjustments.

Compounding is another major process, combining two or more stems into a single word. Hungarian has extensive noun–noun and adjective–noun compounds, such as útlevél (passport) from út + levél, vagy asztalterítő (tablecloth) from asztal + terítő. Blends and retronymic formations are also common in technical and everyday language, for example weboldal (web page).

In addition, word formation includes conversions or zero-derivation in smaller measure, where a word shifts meaning or part of speech without explicit affixation, and the creation of neologisms through borrowing, calques, or shortening.

Overall, szóalkotási processes shape Hungarian vocabulary by expanding lexicon with semantically nuanced and context-dependent forms, reflecting both historical development and contemporary usage.