Abstract
The terms clipping and truncation are most commonly used to denote non-concatenative word-formation processes by which a word is truncated down to a predictable form which is describable with the help of the categories of prosodic structure (Alber & Arndt-Lappe 2012, to appear, Bat-El 2019). For instance, one typical pattern of name truncation in English involves reduction of a base name like Patrícia to the hypocoristic Pat, which predictably consists of a heavy syllable (hence a minimal foot, in English), and preserves material taken from the initial part of the base name. The term 'clipping' is usually used for processes where the base is a common noun, adjective, verb or phrase, while 'truncation' is often used irrespective of the syntactic status of the base. In this contribution we present the defining features of truncation patterns and propose a classification according to the templates they realize and their anchoring properties. We discuss the meaning and function of truncations and the relevance they have for phonological and morphological theory.