Which term best describes the process of creating new words by adding prefixes or suffixes?

Which term best describes the process of creating new words by adding prefixes or suffixes?

• A. Affixation
• B. Compounding
• C. Reduplication
• D. Conversion

Answer: (A)

Affixation is the process of creating new words by attaching prefixes or suffixes to a base word. These bound pieces add or shift meaning and can even change the part of speech, producing related words like unhappy from happy or happiness from happy. The idea is precisely about adding those affixes to extend or modify what the word conveys. Other processes involve different patterns: compounding combines two separate words into one unit (note + book = notebook), reduplication repeats a unit (bye-bye), and conversion changes how a word functions in a sentence without adding any affixes.

Affixation is the process of creating new words by attaching prefixes or suffixes to a base word. These bound pieces add or shift meaning and can even change the part of speech, producing related words like unhappy from happy or happiness from happy. The idea is precisely about adding those affixes to extend or modify what the word conveys. Other processes involve different patterns: compounding combines two separate words into one unit (note + book = notebook), reduplication repeats a unit (bye-bye), and conversion changes how a word functions in a sentence without adding any affixes.