REFLECTION WEEK 7

We have prepared our next activities for our project on language games about word formation on week 6 as our lecturer was not around at this week.  A language game is a philosophical concept developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein, referring to simple examples of language use and the actions into which the language is woven. After some discussion with my group member, we have decided to do a language game about compound word.

In week 7 we had learned about Word Structure and Word Formation. Word structures are like breaking down a word to understand its meaning. Where we can break it down to separate the prefix, the base/root word, and the suffix. For example: Uncool-  the prefix is un and the base/root word is cool. un means not, so the word means not cool.

In linguistics, word formation is the creation of a new word. Word formation is sometimes contrasted with semantic change, which is a change in a single word's meaning. The line between word formation and semantic change is sometimes a bit blurry; what one person views as a new use of an old word, another person might view as a new word derived from an old one and identical to it in form; see Conversion (linguistics). Word formation can also be contrasted with the formation of idiomatic expressions, though sometimes words can form from multi-word phrases; see Compound (linguistics) and Incorporation (linguistics).

Have you ever experienced textpectation? According to the Urban Dictionary, that's "the anticipation one feels when waiting for a response to a text message." To a linguist, textpectation is an example of a blend or (in Lewis Carroll's more fanciful phrase) a portmanteau word. Blending is just one of the many ways that new words enter our language.

In fact, most new words are actually old words in different forms or with fresh functions. This process of creating new words out of old ones is called derivation--and  the six of the most common varieties are affixation, back formation, blending, clipping, compounding, conversion. English has many words that have been lost from daily vocabulary, though they live on in dictionaries and sometimes deserve to be revived.

Besides, we had conducted our language game that we have prepared which is on compound word. Word games are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties. Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well. For instance, young children can find enjoyment playing modestly competitive games such as Hangman, while naturally developing important language skills like spelling. Solving crossword puzzles, which requires familiarity with a larger vocabulary, is a pastime that mature adults have long credited with keeping their minds sharp. There are popular televised word games with valuable monetary prizes for the winning contestants. Many word games enjoy international popularity across a multitude of languages, whilst some are unique to English-speakers. Every group had done their best by preparing a creative game for this project.  I really enjoy this section because I had learned a lot of thing from it. Moreover, I learned lots of new vocabulary by searching the dictionary.