Ritkább szóalkotási módok a magyar nyelvben: elvonás

Word truncation (back-formation) is a linguistic process in which a new word is created from an existing one by removing a part of it (usually the ending). The resulting word can be traced back to the original one, but it has its own meaning and usage. This process is based on speakers' perception that certain parts of a word appear to be suffixes or other affixes, even though they are not. Speakers then remove this perceived affix, forming a shorter, new word. It often happens that a shorter version of a longer word emerges in the language and eventually becomes widely used. Examples: Verb →noun: olvas→olvasmány, then truncated to: olvas; Verb →noun: épít→építés, then truncated to: épít; Adjective →noun: boldog→boldogság, then truncated to: boldog; Adverb →noun: késő→késésThe aim of our research is to examine the frequency of words formed by back-formation based on The Historical-Etymological Dictionary of the Hungarian Language(Volumes I–III). According to the literature, back-formation is among the less common word-formation processes; however, our lexicon indicates that in various periods of language history, this process has yielded a considerable amount of lexical material (627 entries). In our study, we also seek to determine when this word-formation method was at its peak and to what extent language cultivation considers these newly formed lexemes acceptable.Wordtruncation contributes to the enrichment and evolution of the language. The newly formed words are shorter, easier to use, and often first appear in spoken language before becoming established in standard and written language.Truncation is a natural linguistic process that continuously takes place and leads to the creation of new words. Although it is not the most common method of word formation, it plays a crucial role in the development of the Hungarian language and its adaptation to new communicative needs.Analyses show that 65% of truncated words originate from verbs, 15% from nouns, and another 15% from adjectives. The remaining 5% derive from adverbs, compound words, proper nouns, or phrases.