II. Affixation. Classification of affixes. Suffixes and prefixes.

Affixation is a way of forming new words by adding derivational affixes to the stem. Derivational affixes are classified in a number of ways.

According to their position in a word affixes are divided into prefixes, which precede the root, suffixes, which follow the root, and infixes inserted into the root (historically n in stand is an infix).

According to the degree of productivity affixes are divided into productive that help to form new words nowadays and non-productive no longer used in word-formation at the present stage of language development, e.g. –lock (as in the word wedlock).

According to their origin affixes are divided into native and borrowed. Native affixes are those, which already existed in O.E. or were formed from O.E. words. A root morpheme in a compound word may gradually develop into a suffix and become a bound form no longer homonymous with any Modern English word. E.g. –dom (O.E. fate, power), -hood (O.E. state), etc.

The most important native affixes are: -d, -dom, -ed, -en, -fold, -ful, -hood, -ing, -ish, -less, -like, -let, -lock, -ly, -ness, -red,-ship, -some,-teen, -ty, -th, -wise, -y.

Borrowed affixes are classified according to their origin: Latin (-able, -ible, -ant/ent), French (-age, -ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency, -ard, -ate), Greek (-ist, -ism, -ite), etc. Affixes are borrowed only if a large number of words with the same affix are borrowed, if both the meaning and the function of the affix are clear and if the structural pattern corresponds to the structural patterns already existing in the language. If all these conditions are fulfilled, the foreign affix may even become productive and combine with native stems or borrowed stems within the system of the English vocabulary. E.g. –able in laughable, unforgettable, unforgivable. The English words balustrade, brigade, cascade are borrowed from French but the English word blockade was coined by analogy from an English root with the borrowed suffix.

The next classification deals with suffixes and divides them according to the part of speech the words they help to form belong to:

1) noun-forming suffixes: -age (bondage, breakage), -ance/-ence (assistance, reference), -ant/-ent (desinfectant, student), -dom (freedom, kingdom), -hood(widowhood, sisterhood), -ee(nominee, trainee, employee), -er(teacher, writer), -ess(actress, lioness), -ing (building, moving), -ion (rebellion), -tion (creation), -ation (explanation), -ism (heroism, criticism),

-ist(novelist), -ment (government), -ness (tenderness), -ship(scholarship), -ty (minority);

2) adjective-forming suffixes: -able(unbearable), -al(formal), -ant/ent (dependent),

-ary(revolutionary), -ate/ete(accurate, complete), -ful(delightful), -an(African), -ish(reddish, childish), -ive(active), -less(useless), -ly(manly), -ous(curious), some (tiresome), -y(cloudy, dressy);

4) adverb-forming suffixes: -ly(coldly); -wards(northwards), -wise(likewise);

5) numeral-forming suffixes: -teen(fourteen), -ty (sixty), -th(seventh);

6) verb-forming suffixes: -ate(facilitate), -er(twitter), -en(shorten), -fy(terrify),

-ise(specialise), -ish (establish).

As to their lexico-grammatical meanings suffixes can be further subdivided, for example, noun suffixes into:

a) suffixes of abstract nouns: -dom, -hood, -ion, -ism, -ment, -ness.

b) suffixes of personal nouns which are emotionally neutral: -an(grammarian), -ent (student), -ant (servant), -er (porter), -or (inspector), -ist (linguist), -ician (musician);

c) feminine suffixes as a subgroup of personal noun suffixes: -ess (actress, lioness, tigress, hostess), -ine (heroine), -ette (cosmonette);

d) derogatory suffixes of personal nouns: -ard (drunkard), -ster (gangster), -ton (simpleton);

e) diminutive suffixes (used to name both persons and things): -y/ie (hanky, daddy, auntie, nightie), -let(booklet), -ock(hillock), -ette(kitchenette).

In contrast to suffixes most prefixes do not radically change the basic lexico-grammatical

meaning of the stem but just modify it. So the prefixed derivative and its prototype usually belong to the same part of speech. E.g. behave- misbehave, read – re-read, please – displease, grateful – ungrateful. Some prefixes are used with words of one part of speech only, others – with several parts of speech, e.g. re- with verbs and nouns, un- with adjectives, verbs and nouns.

In some cases, however, prefixes may also change general lexico-grammatical meaning and form words belonging to a different part of speech as compared with the original word:

1) verb-forming prefixes be- (with adjective and noun stems), e.g. belittle, benumb, befriend, becloud, behead; en-/em- (with adjective and noun stems), e.g. encamp, enable, enslave, encase, embed;

2) adjective-forming prefixes pre-, post-, non-, anti- (with noun stems): pre-war, post-war, anti-war, non-party.

The meanings conveyed by prefixes are as follows:

1) negative or reversative: de-, dis-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, non-, un, anti-.

e.g. decentralise, disagree, impatient, illiterate, irregular, nonsense, unhappy, unmask,

anticlockwise.

2) repetitive: re-.

e.g. rearrange, remake, remarriage.

3) adverbial of size or degree: out-, over-, under-, super-.

e.g. outdo, outnumber, overgrow, overfeed, underestimate, superman.

4) adverbial of manner: mis-.

e.g. misbehave, mistake.

5) adverbial of time: post-, pre-.

e.g. post-mortem, postgraduate, prepay, pre-war.

6) adverbial of place: trans-, sub-, in-, out-, a-.

e.g. transatlantic, subway, input, output, aboard.

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