Fig. 6

Word formation processes in the German language. Word derivation and word compounding are the major processes underlying word formation. Word derivation involves the combination of bound morphemes (suffixes, prefixes, and infixes) with free morphemes (regular words of a language). The graphic shows how the German Krankheitsverlauf ‘disease progression’ has been created in multiple stages by which the adjective krank ‘sick’ was nominalized with help of the suffix -heit and later compounded with the nominal form of the complex verb verlaufen ‘to progress’. Note that free morphemes may easily turn into suffixes during language change