ABSTRACT
Word-formation deals with ‘complex words’. There are two main ways of forming words in Norwegian, viz. compounding and derivation. These are the two main branches of word formation, that is the processes by which new words are formed – and by which existing complex words are motivated. Compounding may be an even more productive aspect of Norwegian word-formation than is derivation; at least, many learners find compounding more striking. Simplified, compounding involves creating a (new) word by ‘putting two words together’, while in derivation one word is combined with an affix, an element that is less than a word, a non-word element. This chapter deals with some lesser used ways of forming new words, and with loans. The fact that there are regular patterns in word-formation is helpful both when speakers wish to coin new words and when they try to infer the meaning of existing words.
