Modern English Word-Formation, Детальна інформація

In conformity with the division of derivational affixes into suffixes and prefixes affixation is subdivided into suffixation and prefixation.

Distinction is naturally made between prefixal and suffixal derivatives according to the last stage of derivation, which determines the nature of the immediate constituents of the pattern that signals the relationship of the derived word with its motivating source unit, e.g. unjust (un– + just), justify (just + –ify), arrangement (arrange + –ment), non-smoker (non– + smoker). Words like reappearance, unreasonable, denationalize, are often qualified as prefixal-suffixal derivatives. R. S. Ginzburg[22] insists that this classification is relevant only in terms of the constituent morphemes such words are made up of, i.e. from the angle of morphemic analysis. From the point of view of derivational analysis, such words are mostly either suffixal or prefixal derivatives, e.g. sub-atomic = sub– + (atom + –ic), unreasonable = un– + (reason + –able), denationalize = de– + (national +

–ize), discouragement = (dis– + courage) + –ment.

A careful study of a great many suffixal and prefixal derivatives has revealed an essential difference between them. In Modern English, suffixation is mostly characteristic of noun and adjective formation, while prefixation is mostly typical of verb formation. The distinction also rests on the role different types of meaning play in the semantic structure of the suffix and the prefix. The part-of-speech meaning has a much greater significance in suffixes as compared to prefixes which possess it in a lesser degree. Due to it, a prefix may be confined to one part of speech as, for example, enslave, encage, unbutton, or may function in more that one part of speech as over– in overkind, overfeed, overestimation. Unlike prefixes, suffixes as a rule function in any one part of speech often forming a derived stem of a different part of speech as compared with that of the base, e.g. careless – care; suitable – suit, etc. Furthermore, it is necessary to point out that a suffix closely knit together with a base forms a fusion retaining less of its independence that a prefix which is as a general rule more independent semantically, e.g. reading – ‘the act of one who reads’; ‘ability to read’; and to re-read – ‘to read again’.

Prefixation is the formation of words with the help of prefixes. The interpretation of the terms prefix and prefixation now firmly rooted in linguistic literature has undergone a certain evolution. For instance, some time ago there were linguists who treated prefixation as part of word- composition (or compounding). The greater semantic independence of prefixes as compared with suffixes led the linguists to identify prefixes with the first component part of a compound word.

At present the majority of scholars treat prefixation as an integral part of word-derivation regarding prefixes as derivational affixes which differ essentially both from root-morphemes and non-derivational prepositive morphemes. Opinion sometimes differs concerning the interpretation of the functional status of certain individual groups of morphemes which commonly occur as first component parts of words. H. Marchand[23], for instance, analyses words like to overdo, to underestimate as compound verbs, the first component of which are locative particles, not prefixes. In a similar way he interprets words like income, onlooker, outhouse qualifying them as compounds with locative particles as first elements.

R. S. Ginzburg[24] states there are about 51 prefixes in the system of

Modern English word-formation.

Unlike suffixation, which is usually more closely bound up with the paradigm of a certain part of speech, prefixation is considered to be more neutral in this respect. It is significant that in linguistic literature derivational suffixes are always divided into noun-forming, adjective- forming and so on; prefixes, however, are treated differently. They are described either in alphabetical order or sub-divided into several classes in accordance with their origin,. Meaning or function and never according to the part of speech.

Prefixes may be classified on different principles. Diachronically distinction is made between prefixes of native and foreign origin.

Synchronically prefixes may be classified:

1) According to the class of words they preferably form. Recent investigations allow one to classify prefixes according to this principle. It must be noted that most of the 51 prefixes of Modern

English function in more than one part of speech forming different structural and structural-semantic patterns. A small group of 5 prefixes may be referred to exclusively verb-forming (en–, be–, un–, etc.).

2) As to the type of lexical-grammatical character of the base they are added to into: (a) deverbal, e.g. rewrite, outstay, overdo, etc.; (b) denominal, e.g. unbutton, detrain, ex-president, etc. and (c) deadjectival, e.g. uneasy, biannual, etc. It is interesting that the most productive prefixal pattern for adjectives is the one made up of the prefix un– and the base built either on adjectival stems or present and past participle, e.g. unknown, unsmiling, untold, etc.

3) Semantically prefixes fall into mono– and polysemantic.

4) As to the generic denotational meaning there are different groups that are distinguished in linguistic literature: (a) negative prefixes such as un–, non–, in–, dis–, a–, im–/in–/ir– (e.g. employment ( unemployment, politician ( non-politician, correct ( incorrect, advantage ( disadvantage, moral ( amoral, legal ( illegal, etc.); (b) reversative of privative prefixes, such as un–, de–, dis–, dis– (e.g. tie ( untie, centralize ( decentralize, connect ( disconnect, etc.);

(c) pejorative prefixes, such as mis–, mal–, pseudo– (e.g. calculate ( miscalculate, function ( malfunction, scientific ( pseudo-scientific, etc.); (d) prefixes of time and order, such as fore–, pre–, post–, ex–

(e.g. see ( foresee, war ( pre-war, Soviet ( post-Soviet, wife ( ex- wife, etc.); (e) prefix of repetition re– (e.g. do ( redo, type ( retype, etc.); (f) locative prefixes such as super–, sub–, inter–, trans– (e.g. market ( supermarket, culture ( subculture, national ( international, Atlantic ( trans-Atlantic, etc.).

5) When viewed from the angle of their stylistic reference, English prefixes fall into those characterized by neutral stylistic reference and those possessing quite a definite stylistic value. As no exhaustive lexico-stylistic classification of English prefixes has yet been suggested, a few examples can only be adduced here. There is no doubt, for instance, that prefixes like un–, out–, over–, re–, under– and some others can be qualified as neutral (e. g. unnatural, unlace, outgrow, override, redo, underestimate, etc.). On the other hand, one can hardly fail to perceive the literary-bookish character of such prefixes as pseudo–, super–, ultra–, uni–, bi– and some others (e. g. pseudo-classical, superstructure, ultra-violence, unilateral, bifocal, etc.).

Sometimes one comes across pairs of prefixes one of which is neutral, the other is stylistically coloured. One example will suffice here: the prefix over– occurs in all functional styles, the prefix super– is peculiar to the style of scientific prose.

6) Prefixes may be also classified as to the degree of productivity into highly-productive, productive and non-productive.

Suffixation is the formation of words with the help of suffixes. Suffixes usually modify the lexical meaning of the base and transfer words to a different part of speech. There are suffixes however, which do not shift words from one part of speech into another; a suffix of this kind usually transfers a word into a different semantic group, e. g. a concrete noun becomes an abstract one, as is the case with child—childhood, friend—friendship, etc.

Chains of suffixes occurring in derived words having two and more suffixal morphemes are sometimes referred to in lexicography as compound suffixes:

–ably = –able + –ly (e. g. profitably, unreasonably) –ical–ly = –ic + –al +

–ly (e. g. musically, critically); –ation = –ate + –ion (e. g. fascination, isolation) and some others. Compound suffixes do not always present a mere succession of two or more suffixes arising out of several consecutive stages of derivation. Some of them acquire a new quality operating as a whole unit. Let us examine from this point of view the suffix –ation in words like fascination, translation, adaptation and the like. Adaptation looks at first sight like a parallel to fascination, translation. The latter however are first-degree derivatives built with the suffix –ion on the bases fascinate–, translate–. But there is no base adaptate–, only the shorter base adapt–. Likewise damnation, condemnation, formation, information and many others are not matched by shorter bases ending in

–ate, but only by still shorter ones damn–, condemn–, form–, inform–. Thus, the suffix –ation is a specific suffix of a composite nature. It consists of two suffixes –ate and –ion, but in many cases functions as a single unit in first-degree derivatives. It is referred to in linguistic literature as a coalescent suffix or a group suffix. Adaptation is then a derivative of the first degree of derivation built with the coalescent suffix on the base adapt–.

Of interest is also the group-suffix –manship consisting of the suffixes

–man and –ship. It denotes a superior quality, ability of doing something to perfection, e. g. authormanship, quotemanship, lipmanship, etc.

It also seems appropriate to make several remarks about the morphological changes that sometimes accompany the process of combining derivational morphemes with bases. Although this problem has been so far insufficiently investigated, some observations have been made and some data collected. For instance, the noun-forming suffix –ess for names of female beings brings about a certain change in the phonetic shape of the correlative male noun provided the latter ends in –er, –or, e.g. actress (actor), sculptress

(sculptor), tigress (tiger), etc. It may be easily observed that in such cases the sound [?] is contracted in the feminine nouns.