A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WORD FORMATION PROCESSES BETWEEN ENGLISH AND HAUSA LANGUAGES
Abstract
Word formation is a fundamental aspect of morphology that explains how new words are created and expanded within a language. This study presents a comparative analysis of word formation processes in English and Hausa languages. It examines the similarities and differences in the morphological strategies employed in both languages, including derivation, compounding, borrowing, reduplication, abbreviation, clipping, conversion, and acronym formation. Data were obtained from textbooks, dictionaries, journal articles, and linguistic publications on English and Hausa morphology. The findings reveal that both languages share common word formation processes such as compounding, derivation, borrowing, and reduplication. However, English exhibits more productive processes like conversion, clipping, blending, and acronym formation, whereas Hausa relies more extensively on affixation and borrowing, particularly from Arabic and English. The study concludes that understanding these similarities and differences enhances linguistic research, language teaching, translation studies, and bilingual communication.
Keywords: English, Hausa, morphology, word formation, comparative linguistics.
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