Editing Hungarian language (section)

===Word formation===
Words can be compounds or derived. Most derivation is with suffixes, but there is a small set of derivational prefixes as well.

====Compounds====
Compounds have been present in the language since the [[Proto-Uralic]] era. Numerous ancient compounds transformed to base words during the centuries. Today, compounds play an important role in vocabulary.

A good example is the word ''arc'':

: ''orr'' (nose) + ''száj'' (mouth) → ''orca'' (face) (colloquial until the end of the 19th century and still in use in some dialects) > ''arc'' (face)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nemzetismeret.hu/?id=3.2 |title=It's written in chapter Testrészek |publisher=Nemzetismeret.hu |access-date=2010-01-31}}</ref>

Compounds are made up of two base words: the first is the prefix, the latter is the suffix. A compound can be ''subordinative'': <!-- subordinative is "alárendelő" in Hungarian; it was rather coined by me. I can't find *ANY* reference on this in English. If you can, please translate alárendelő properly. Other "Hunglish" words include subjective, objective, determinative, adjunctive and coordinative. --> the prefix is in logical connection with the suffix. If the prefix is the subject of the suffix, the compound is generally classified as a [[subjective case|subjective]] one. There are [[objective case|objective]], [[determiner (linguistics)|determinative]], and [[adjunct (grammar)|adjunct]]ive compounds as well. Some examples are given below:

: Subjective:
:: ''menny'' ([[heaven]]) + ''dörgés'' (rumbling) → ''mennydörgés'' (thundering)
:: ''Nap'' (Sun) + ''sütötte'' (lit by) → ''napsütötte'' (sunlit)
: Objective:
:: ''fa'' (tree, wood) + ''vágó'' (cutter) → ''favágó'' (lumberjack, literally "woodcutter")
: Determinative:
:: ''új'' (new) + ''já'' (modification of ''-vá, -vé'' a suffix meaning "making it to something")  + ''építés'' (construction) → ''újjáépítés'' (reconstruction, literally "making something to be new by construction")
: Adjunctive:
:: ''sárga'' (yellow) + ''réz'' (copper) → ''sárgaréz'' (brass)

According to current orthographic rules, a subordinative compound word has to be written as a single word, without spaces; however, if a compound of three or more words (not counting one-syllable verbal prefixes) is seven or more [[syllables]] long (not counting case suffixes), a hyphen must be inserted at the appropriate boundary to ease the determination of word boundaries for the reader.

Other compound words are ''coordinatives'': there is no concrete relation between the prefix and the suffix. Subcategories include [[reduplication]] (to emphasise the meaning; ''olykor-olykor''
'really occasionally'), twin words (where a base word and a distorted form of it makes up a compound: {{lang|hu|gizgaz}}, where the suffix 'gaz' means 'weed' and the prefix {{lang|hu|giz}} is the distorted form; the compound itself means 'inconsiderable weed'), and such compounds which have meanings, but neither their prefixes, nor their suffixes make sense (for example, {{lang|hu|hercehurca}} 'complex, obsolete procedures').

A compound also can be made up by multiple (i.e., more than two) base words: in this case, at least one word element, or even both the prefix and the suffix, is a compound. Some examples:

: ''elme'' [mind; standalone base] + (''gyógy'' [medical] + ''intézet'' [institute]) → ''elmegyógyintézet'' ([[Psychiatric hospital|asylum]])
: (''hadi'' [militarian] + ''fogoly'' [prisoner]) + (''munka'' [work] + ''tábor'' [camp]) → ''hadifogoly-munkatábor'' (work camp of prisoners of war)