The major devices of word building are: affixation, composition
and conversion.
AFFIXATION (Leon
Leviţchi):
PREFIXATION
Prefixes may be classified taking
into account two criteria:
1) according to whether they
change or maintain the form class/parts of speech
2) according to their origin
1) According to the first
criteria, prefixes may be:
A. Class-changing prefixes
a- This prefix forms
adjectives mainly from forms which are ambiguous between verbs and nouns. The
adjectives formed by this process are restricted to predicative position (i.e.
they occur after the link verbs – verbe copulative): e.g. asleep: The child is asleep/awake.
be- This prefix forms
transitive verbs from adjectives, verbs or nouns.
e.g. to becalm, to bewitch (this prefix is probably no longer
productive).
en - this prefix forms
transitive verbs mainly from nouns.
e.g.: to entomb, to enslave,
enclose
de- debark
un- unhorse
B. Class-maintaining prefixes
a) used exclusively with a noun
base:
arch – (still productive)
– arch-exponent
mini – is very productive
(and has several meanings): minicomputer, minidress
step – is probably no
longer productive: step-father, step-sister but stepgrandmother, stepcousin
mal-malnutrition
pro- prodean
b) used exclusively with a verb
base (it is rare)
de- decapacitate
c) used exclusively with an
adjective base
A – is not very productive being
replaced by UN
e.g. apolitical, atypical
(unpolitical, untypical)
cis- (very rare = on this
side of) e.g. cislunar
extra – extrasensory
d) prefixes added to nouns and
verbs
fore - (înainte) foretell, forewarn (vb)
foreground, foreman (n)
re – reelection,
rearrangement (n)
reconfigure, recycle (vb)
mis- mislead (vb), misfortune (n)
e) Prefixes added to nouns and
adjectives
in, im, il, i(r) – insane, irrelevant, impossible,
illegal
mid- mid-morning,
mid-November
ex- ex-president,
exorbital
f) Prefixes added to verbs and
adjectives
circum – circumscribe,
circumstellar
g) Prefixes added to nouns, verbs
and adjectives
counter- counterculture,
counterdemonstrate, counterproductive
co- coauthor, co-equal,
co-articulate
inter- interdependence,
interdigital
dis- disinformation,
disbenefit
2. According to their origin,
prefixes may be:
a) Germanic
a- asleep, awake
be- (about, over) – besmear
by – by-product, by-effect
for (away, off) - to forbid
in (into) – insight
mis (badly, wrongly) – misunderstand, mislead
out (out of) – (outline) outshine
over (above, beyond) – overflow
under – undertake, undergo
un- unnecessary, unfriendly
up – upset, upstart
with (against) – withdraw
b) Romance
a-, ab-, abs- : (from) abuse, asleep, abstain
ad, af, at, ac – to adhere, to accredit, to attract
bi-, bis- (twice) – bi-lingual, bi-monthly
com-, con-, co- (with) – compress, concatenate
de (separation) – depart, deprecate
dis, di (with a negative force) = to displease, dislike, diverge
em-, en- - embark, enclose,
enlarge
ex-, e- (out of, from) – to extend, elongate, elapse
in, il, ir – illiberal, irrational, ineffectual
inter- interacademic, international, interdependent
neo- neoclassicism, neologism
non – non-German, non-verbal
ob, op (against) - obliterate
pre (before) - predict
pro (before, for) - to propose
re (back again) - reread
self- self-command, self-motivated
sub, suc (under) – subdivide, subordinate, succinct
super- superstructure, super-lucky
trans- transcontinental, transatlantic
c) Greek
an, a (neg) – anomalous, anarchy
arch – archbishop, archduke
bio- biogenesis, biography
di (twice) – diphthongs
ec (out of) – eccentric
geo- geopolitics, geomorphology
hydro- hydrolysis, hydrodynamics
macro – macroscopic
micro- microscopic
hyper- hypercivilized, hyperfiction, hyperlinks
psycho- psychodrama, psychobiology
tele- telecomputer, telescope
Suffixation
According
to the form class of the derivatives they produce, suffixes are classified
into:
1. Suffixes forming nouns:
a) Nouns from nouns
- dom (Germ) – this suffix forms abstract, uncountable nouns from
concrete, countable nouns; it is still productive.
e.g. kingdom, gangsterdom, Dollardom, Kingdom
- ess (French) – is used to form the feminine gender of certain
nouns.
e.g. stewardess, actress,
shepherdess
- iana – this suffix is added almost exclusively to human proper
nouns to form uncountable nouns meaning “things”, especially literary facts, connected
with the person in the base.
Butterfieldiana, railroadiana etc
- er (Germ) – denotes the doer of an action: worker, teacher,
cigarette-lighter
- ette (French) – kitchenette, leaderette
- ese (It) – denotes the origin of a person – Chinese, Japanese. It
may also denote a style: journalese, telegraphese
- er, - ier (Frech) – denotes persons in connection with the object
of their occupation: musketeer, cavalier. Sometimes it has a deprecatory
meaning: profiteer, sonneteer.
- ster (Germ) – denotes profession – gamester
- ite (Greek) – denotes adherents to a political movement, to a mass
movement – Leninite, Luddite
- or (Latin) – denotes person in accordance with their profession –
doctor, actor, sculptor
It may also denote instruments –
calculator, accumulator
- age (Romance) – denotes totality – tonnage
- ie, y – characteristic of nouns used in colloquial English –
grannie, mummy, daddy
b) Nouns from verbs
This is probably the most common
type of derivation – ation, -tion, -sion,
- ion.
Many
words ending in – ation in
fact show borrowings from Romance rather than English word formation. It is
extremely productive where the base ends in the suffix – ize (categorize- categorization, lexicalize –
lexicalization, institutionalize – institutionalization) but it also found with
bases comprising simple lexemes (formation, vexation, mutation, possession).
- ee (Romance)– this suffix appears to be more productive in current
English: absentee, adaptee,
- ure – closure (it is no longer productive)
- ing (Germ) – denotes processes – teaching, doing, coming
- ance, - ence (Romance) – continuance, appearance
- al (Romance)– arrival
- ary (Romance) – dispensary (dispense)
- er- (Germ)- killer
- ment (Romance ) – management, improvement
c) Nouns from adjectives
- cy (Romance)– This suffix forms nouns particularly from adjectives
ending in –ant or –ent.
e.g. excellent – excellency,
militant – militancy.
It is probably no longer
productive, its place being taken by –ce(s):
dependent – dependence, elegant -
elegance, excellent – excellence. This -ce is no longer productive either. Many of the words using
these suffixes represent loans from Latin or French rather than genuine cases
of English Word Formation.
- ness (Germ) – is one of the most productive suffixes in the English
language today. It is added predominantly though not exclusively to adjectives
to replace other suffixes. It often gives rise to pairs of words which some
speakers distinguish semantically.
e.g.: sincerity – sincerness,
productivity - productiveness
- dom (Germ)– freedom, wisdom
- ist (Greek) – realist, socialist
- th (Germ) – truth, warmth, length
2. Suffixes forming verbs
There
are two main suffixes deriving verbs from nouns - ify and –ize and these are
also used to derive verbs from adjectives. The more productive of these is
–ize.
- ise/ize (Greek) – to fertilize, to utilize, to Latinize,
instantize, marginalize, structurize, Vietnamize
- fy, -ify (Romance) – magnify, intensify, fishify (supply with fish)
A
third suffix driving verbs is –en (Germ), unproductive: e.g. shorten, whiten,
darken, widen.
3. Suffixes forming adjectives
a. Adjectives from nouns
- less (Germ) – added to nouns, it denotes the absence of what is
expressed by them: useless, fearless
- al (Romance) – this prefix is relatively unmarked semantically,
providing adjectival forms with no major change in meaning, e.g. education
policy – educational policy. The suffix is frequently added to already suffixed
forms, especially where the earlier suffix shows nominalization, e.g.
environmental, transformational. It is very productive.
- ish (Germ) – denotes qualities, states: boyish, whitish, bluish,
- added to a non it may have the
meaning of belonging to: English, Spanish
- it can also mean addicted to:
bookish, freakish
- ed (Germ) – it is a suffix forming adjectives from nouns, used it
the sense of having: dark-eyed, fair-haired
- ly (Germ) – denotes the quality of a noun: manly, friendly
or the quality of chronological
regularity: yearly, weekly
- y (Germ) – dirty, rainy, windy (qualities characteristic of the
respective noun)
- able (Romance) – it forms adjectives meaning “capable to suffer the
action” denoted by the basic word: e.g. understandable, readable, detestable
- ful (Germ) – eg. useful, peaceful, spoonful, mouthful, handful
- esque (Fr) – Byronesque, picturesque
- ive (Romance)– defensive, massive
- ate (Romance)– passionate
- en (Germ.)– wooden, golden
- ese (Romance)– Japanese
- ic (Greek)– geometric (geometry), algebric, Germanic
-ous (Romance) – famous, humorous
b. Adjectives from verbs
- less – is no longer productive when added to verbs: e.g. countless
- ant/-ent – dependent, pleasant
- atory – affirmatory, exploratory
- ive: generative, creative
c. Adjectives from adjectives
- ish (Germ.) - yellowish, greenish
- ly (Germ.) - goodly
4. Suffixes forming adverbs:
The main suffix forming adverbs
are:
- ly (Germ) – is added to adjectives:
e.g. beautifully, scientifically,
kindly, happily, precisely
Sometimes it makes the adverb differ
in meaning from adjective:
e.g. hard – hardly, high –highly
-ward (s) (Germ) – it implies direction
e.g.: upwards, afterward(s),
backward(s)
- previously added to particles is now
added mainly to nouns: homeward(s), earthward(s)
- wise (Germ.) – added to nouns: lengthwise
According to R.Quirk, prefixes are classified as follows:
1. NEGATIVE
2. REVERSATIVE OR
PRIVATIVE
3. PEJORATIVE
4. OF DEGREE OR SIZE
5. OF ORIENTATION OR
ATTITUDE
6. LOCATIVE
7. OF TIME AND ORDER
8. NUMBER
1. NEGATIVE
(lacking in, lack of; not, the converse of)
•
A/AN - amoral,
asexual, anhydrous, anarchy
•
DIS- disobey,
disloyal, disorder, disuse
•
IN
(IL/IM/IR)- incomplete, illegal,
impossible, irrelevant
•
NON - +
nouns/adjectives/adverbs
non- smoker, non-
perishable, non- trivially
•
UN- unfair,
unexpected
•
! With
adjectives, UN- can usually replace in- or dis-:
unrepairable/irreparable
unreplaceable/irreplaceable
but – *infaithful
(wrong)
*dishappy (wrong)
! in in-inflammable, in does not have a negative meaning (it does
not mean non-flammable, but flammable)
2. REVERSATIVE OR
PRIVATIVE
(reversing the action, depriving of)
•
DE- decentralize, defrost
- decapitate, defraud
•
DIS-
disconnect, disinfect
- smt. with privative force: dishearten
dispossess
- disinterested, discoloured (lacking)
•
UN-
undo, untie, unpack
+ nouns, turning them into verbs:
unseat, unhorse, unmask, unman
3. PEJORATIVE
•
MAL- badly, bad: maltreat, malformed, malnutrition
•
MIS-
wrongly, astray: miscalculate, mishear, misinform,
misleading
•
PSEUDO-
false, imitation: pseudo-classicism, pseudoscientific
4. OF DEGREE OR SIZE
•
ARCH- supreme, most: archbishop, archangel, archenemy
•
CO- joint(ly): coexist, co-heir,
co-driver
•
HYPER- extreme: hypersensitive, hypercritical
•
MINI- little: minimarket, minicab
•
MAXI- large: maxi-length
•
OUT- surpassing: outnumber, outgrow,
outclass
•
OVER- excessive: overeat, overplay,
overconfident
•
SUB- below: subconscious, subnormal
•
SUPER- more than, very special:
supernatural, superman, superimpose
•
SUR- over and above: surcharge, surtax
•
ULTRA- extreme, beyond: ultramodern,
ultraconservative
•
UNDER- too little: underestimate, underprovided
5. OF ORIENTATION OR
ATTITUDE
•
ANTI (an
attitude of opposition) - against:
anti-social, anti-war
•
CONTRA- opposite, contrasting: contradistinction, contraindicate
•
COUNTER-
action in opposition to or in
response to a previous action:
counteract, counter-clockwise
•
PRO- for, on the side of: pro-student,
pro-English
- on behalf of, deputizing for:
pro-consul
6. LOCATIVE
•
FORE- front part of, front: forearm,
foreground
•
INTER- between, among: international,
interweave, interplay
•
SUB- under: subsection, subway
•
UNDER-
underground
•
SUPER- above: superstructure
•
TRANS- across, from one place to another:
transatlantic, transplant
•
EXTRA – outside: extraterrestrial
•
INTRA- within: intravenous, intraplant
7. OF TIME AND ORDER
•
EX- former: ex-president
•
FORE- before: foretell, foreplay
•
POST- after: post-war, postpone
•
PRE- before, in advance: pre-school
•
ANTE- before: antediluvian
•
RE- again, back: renew, rebuild,
recycle
•
MID-
mid-morning, mid-November
8. NUMBER
•
BI-, DI-
two: bilateral, divalent
•
POLY-,
MULTI- many: polyglot, polysemy, multipurpose
•
SEMI-,
DEMI- half: semivowel,
•
TRI- three:
tricycle, trimester
•
UNI-,
MONO- one: unilateral, monologue
MISCELLANEOUS
PREFIXES
•
AUTO- self:
autobiography
•
SELF-
self-command, self-motivated
•
EXTRA- exceptionally:
extra affectionate
•
NEO- new:
neo-classicism
•
PALEO- old:
paleography
•
PAN- world-wide:
pan-African
•
PROTO- first,
original: prototype
•
TELE- distant:
telephone
•
VICE- deputy:
vice-president
•
A-, AB-, ABS- : (from) asleep, aloud
abuse, abstain
•
BE-
befriend, bewitch
•
EN-, EM- endanger, empower
•
UP –
upset, upstart
•
WITH (against) – withdraw
•
COM-, CON-, CO-
(with) – compress, concatenate
•
BY –
by-product, by-effect
•
CIRCUM –
circumscribe, circumstellar
•
BIO-
biogenesis, biography
•
GEO-
geopolitics, geomorphology
•
HYDRO-
hydrolysis, hydrodynamics
SUFFIXATION (R.Quirk)
1. Suffixes forming
nouns:
Nouns from nouns
•
- DOM:
kingdom, gangsterdom, Dollardom, Kingdom
•
- ESS:
stewardess, actress, shepherdess
•
- IANA:
Butterfieldiana, railroadiana
•
- HOOD:
boyhood, childhood
•
- ER- the doer of an action: worker,
teacher, cigarette-lighter
•
- ETTE:
kitchenette, leaderette
•
- ESE - the origin of a person – Chinese,
Japanese
a style:
journalese, telegraphese
•
- OR:
doctor, actor, sculptor, calculator, accumulator
•
- ER, - IER: musketeer, cavalier; deprecatory
meaning: profiteer, sonneteer.
•
- STER:
gamester
•
- ITE:
Leninite, Chomskyite
•
AGE- denotes totality: tonnage
•
- IE, Y
– characteristic of nouns used in colloquial English – grannie, mummy,
daddy
•
LET:
booklet, leaflet
•
LING:
princeling, duckling
•
IST:
violonist, stylist
Nouns from verbs
•
This is probably the most common type of
derivation – ation, -tion, -sion, - ion
•
- EE:
absentee, adaptee,
•
- URE – closure
(it is no longer productive)
•
- ING - denotes
processes – teaching, doing, coming
•
- ANCE, - ENCE – continuance, appearance
•
- AL – arrival
•
- ARY – dispensary (dispense)
•
- ER-
killer
•
- MENT –
management, improvement
Nouns from
adjectives
•
- CY
forms nouns particularly from adjectives ending in –ant or –ent: excellent
– excellency, militant – militancy
It is no longer productive, its place being taken by –ce(s): dependent – dependence,
elegant - elegance,
excellent – excellence
•
- NESS: sincerness (also sincerity), productiveness (productivity)
•
- DOM:
freedom, wisdom
•
- IST:
realist
•
- TH:
truth, warmth, length
Suffixes forming verbs
•
- IFY:
magnify, intensify, fishify (supply with fish)
•
–ISE/IZE
:to fertilize, to utilize, to structurize
•
–EN:
shorten, whiten, darken, widen
Suffixes forming
adjectives
•
Adjectives
from nouns
•
- LESS–
added to nouns, it denotes the absence of what is expressed by them: useless,
fearless
•
- AL-
educational, environmental
•
- ISH–
denotes qualities, states: boyish, whitish,
- added to a noun it may have the
meaning of belonging to: English, Spanish
- it can
also mean addicted to: bookish
•
- ED - having: dark-eyed, fair-haired
•
- LY –
denotes the quality of a noun:
manly, friendly
or the quality of chronological regularity: yearly, weekly
•
- Y –
dirty, rainy, windy (qualities characteristic of the respective noun)
•
- ABLE
forms adjectives meaning “capable to suffer the action” denoted by the basic
word: e.g. understandable, readable, detestable
•
- FUL–
useful, peaceful, spoonful, mouthful, handful
•
- ESQUE
– Byronesque, picturesque
•
- IVE –
defensive, massive
•
- ATE –
passionate
•
- EN –
wooden, golden
•
- ESE –
Japanese
•
- IC –
geometric (geometry), algebric, Germanic
•
-OUS – famous, humorous
Adjectives from
verbs
•
- LESS
–countless
•
- ANT/-ENT
– pleasant, dependent,
•
- ATORY
– affirmatory, exploratory
•
- IVE:
generative, creative
•
Adjectives
from adjectives
•
- ISH -
yellowish, greenish
•
- LY - goodly
Suffixes forming adverbs:
•
- LY –
beautifully, kindly, happily
•
-WARD
(s) – direction: upwards, afterward(s), backward(s), homeward(s), earthward(s)
•
- WISE:
lengthwise
