Word Building 2

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