This option will present students with an extensive coverage of the different ways in which new words are formed in English. The course will begin by a survey of the basic concepts relating to word-formation and morphology (affix, derivation, root, base, lexeme, opaqueness, transparency etc.). We shall then move on to examine the many different processes by which new words are formed in English (e.g. derivation, compounding, blending, clipping, sound-symbolism). The course ends with two relatively recent ways of putting together new words (cut-down puns and knock-knock words).

Course work includes regular attendance of the weekly sessions, homework assignments (theory handouts and practical exercises relating to various aspects of word-formation), and an end-of-term examination.