1. Word formation. Affixation. Native and borrowed affixes.

Productive and non-

productive affixes.
ZHIBEK-Word formation.
Word-formation is the system of derivative types of words and the process of creating new words from
the material available in the language after certain structural and semantic formulas and patterns. Let’s
take the word: «Driver» = v+-er (a verbal stem + the noun- forming suffix –er). The meaning of the
derived noun driver - the meaning of the stem drive- ‘to direct the course of a vehicle’ and the suffix -er
meaning ‘an active agent’: a driver is ‘one who drives’ (a carriage, motorcar, railway engine, etc.).
A distinction is made between two principal types of word–formation: Word-derivation and Word-
composition.
I. Word-derivation in morphology is a word-formation process by which a new word is built from a stem
with the addition of an affix that changes the word class and / or basic meaning of the word.
The basic ways of forming words in word-derivation are:
1. Affixation is the formation of a new word with the help of affixes: pointless (from point).
2. Conversion is the formation of a new word by bringing a stem of this word into a different formal
paradigm: a fall (from to fall), a cut (from to cut).
II. Word-composition is the formation of a new word by combining two or more stems which occur in the
language as free forms: door-bell, house-keeper.
Like any other linguistic phenomenon word-formation may be studied from two angles - synchronically
and diachronically.
Synchronically a derived word is structurally and semantically more complex than a simple one, while
diachronically it was formed from some other word.
In the history of the English language there are cases when a word structurally more complex served as
the original element from which a simpler word was derived. Those are cases of the process called back-
formation (or back-derivation): Examples include beggar = to beg, editor = to edit, and chauffeur = to
chauffeur.
However, in Modern English, this historical connection is no longer relevant. For contemporary speakers,
words like to beg, to edit, and to chauff are considered simple and independent.
Apart from principal there are some minor types of modern word-formation: -shortening (abbreviation or
curtailing of the word./exam, doc, lab)
-blending (merging the sounds and meanings of two or more words./camcorder=camera+recorder,
sitcom=situation+comedy, brunch=breakfast+lunch)
-acronym (is a word created by combining the first letter or syllable of each word in a phrase to create a
new, single word./FOMO-fear of missing out, GIF-graphics interchange format, PIN-personal
identification number)
-sound interchange (the change of a unit in a morpheme resulting in a new lexical meaning./life - live)
and others.
ARUZHAN-Affixation.
The process of affixation consists in coining a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some
root morpheme. Affixation is generally defined as the formation of words by adding derivational affixes
to different types of bases. Affixation is divided into suffixation and prefixation.
Suffixation is the formation of words with the help of suffixes, which usually modify the lexical meaning
of the base and transfer words to a different part of speech.
According to the lexical-grammatical character of the base suffixes are usually added to, they may be:
a) Deverbal suffixes (those added to the verbal base): -er (builder); -ing (writing);
b) Denominal suffixes (those added to the nominal base): -less (timeless); -ful (hopeful); -ist
(scientist); -some (troublesome);
c) Deajectival suffixes (those added to the adjectival base): -en (widen); -ly (friendly); -ish
(whitish); -ness (brightness).
According to the part of speech formed suffixes fall into several groups:
 Noun-forming suffixes: -age (breakage, bondage); - ance/-ence (assistance, reference); -dom
(freedom, kingdom); -er (teacher, baker); -ess (actress, hostess); -ing (building, wasing);
 Adjective-forming suffixes: -able/-ible/-uble (favourable, incredible, soluble); -al (formal,
official); -ic (dynamic); -ant/-ent (repentant, dependent);
 Numeral-forming suffixes: -fold (twofold); -teen (fourteen); -th (sixth); -ty (thirty);
 Verb-forming suffixes: -ate (activate); -er (glimmer); -fy/-ify (terrify, specify); -size (minimize); -
ish (establish);
 Adverb-forming suffixes: -ly (quickly, coldly); - ward/-wards (backward, northwards); -wise
(likewise).
Semantically suffixes fall into:
 Monosemantic: the suffix -ess has only one meaning ‘female’ – tigress, tailoress;
 Polysemantic: the suffix -hood has two meanings:
 ‘condition or quality’ – falsehood, womanhood;
 ‘collection or group’ – brotherhood.
According to their generalizing denotational meaning suffixes may fall into several groups. E.g., noun-
suffixes fall into those denoting:
 The agent of the action: -er (baker); -and (accountant);
 Appurtenance: -an/-ian (Victorian, Russian); - ese (Chinese);
 Collectivity: -dom (officialdom); -ry (pleasantry);
 Diminutiveness: -ie (birdie); -let (cloudlet); -ling (wolfling).
AMINA-Prefixation is the formation of words with the help of prefixes, which are derivational
morphemes, affixed before the derivational base.
According to the lexico-grammatical character of the base prefixes are usually added to, they may be:
a) Deverbal (those added to the verbal base): re- (rewrite); over- (overdo); out- (outstay);
b) Denominal (those added to the nominal base): - (unbutton); de- (detrain); ex- (ex-president);
c) Deadjectival (those added to the adjectival base): un- (uneasy); bi- (biannual).
d) Deadverbial (those added to the adverbial base): un- (unfortunately); in- independently).
According to the class of words they preferably form prefixes are divided into:
 Verb-forming prefixes: en-/em- (enclose, embed); be- (befriend); de- (dethrone);
 Noun-forming prefixes: non- (non-smoker); sub- (sub-committee); ex- (ex-husband);
 Adjective-forming prefixes: un- (unfair); il- (illiterate); ir- (irregular);
 Adverb-forming prefixes: un- (unfortunately); up- (uphill).
Semantically prefixes fall into:
 Monosemantic: the prefix ex- has only one meaning ‘former’ – ex-boxer;
 Polysemantic; the prefix dis- has four meanings:
 ‘not’ (disadvantage);
 ‘reversal or absence of an action or state’ (diseconomy, disaffirm);
 ‘removal of’ (to disbranch);
 ‘completeness or intensification of an unpleasant action’ (disgruntled).
According to their generalizing denotational meaning prefixes fall into:
 Negative prefixes: un- (ungrateful); non- (non- political); in- (incorrect); dis- (disloyal); a-
(amoral);
 Reversative prefixes: un2- (untie); de- (decentralize); dis2- (disconnect);
 Pejorative prefixes: mis- (mispronounce); mal- (maltreat); pseudo- (pseudo-scientific);
 Prefixes of time and order: fore- (foretell); pre- (pre-war); post- (post-war), ex- (ex-president);
 Prefix of repetition: re- (rebuild, rewrite);
 Locative prefixes: super- (superstructure), sub- (subway), inter- (inter-continental), trans-
(transatlantic).
According to their stylistic reference prefixes fall into:
 Those characterized by neutral stylistic reference: over- (oversee); under- (underestimate); un-
(unknown);
 Those possessing quite a definite stylistic value: pseudo- (pseudo-classical); super-
(superstructure); ultra- (ultraviolet); uni- (unilateral); bi- (bifocal). These prefixes are of a
literary-bookish character.

ZERE-Native and borrowed affixes.

The role of the affix in this procedure is very important and therefore it is necessary to consider certain
facts about the main types of affixes. From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into the
same two large groups as words: native and borrowed.

worker, teacher, driver painter loneliness, coldness,

-er -ness -
Noun- loveliness meaning, singing, reading, understanding
ing -dom -
forming freedom, kingdom, wisdom childhood, manhood,
hood -ship -
suffixes motherhood friendship, leadership, mastership health,
th -let
length, truth booklet, coverlet

careful, wonderful, skilful sleepless, cloudless,

Adjective- -full -less -y
senseless snowy, tidy, cozy English, Spanish, stylish
forming -ish -ly -en -
ugly, likely, lovely golden, silken, wooden handsome,
suffixes some -like
tiresome, quarrelsome dreamlike, ladylike, cowlike

Verb-
forming -en sadden, darken, redden
suffixes

Adverb-
forming -ly hardly, simply, warmly
suffixes

be- mis- befriend. befool, befog misname, misuse, mismanage

Prefixes
un- over- unselfish, overdo, overact, overanalyze

Borrowed affixes are those that have come to the English language from different foreign languages. The
affixes of foreign origin are classified according to the source into:

-able/-ible -ant/- advisable, divisible servant, student extraterritorial,

Latin ent extra- pre- extracurricular pre-school, pre-election ultra-high, ultra-
ultra- intelligent

-ist -ism -ite anti- artist, realist materialism, darwinism vulcanite anti-
Greek
sym-/syn- democratic symmetrical

-age -ance/-ence - percentage, wreckage perseverance, coherence wizard,

Frenc
ard -ate -ee -ess drunkard doctorate, filtrate employee, absentee
h
en-/em- princess, authoress enlist, embed

The adoption of countless foreign words caused the appearance of many hybrid words in the
English vocabulary. There are two basic types of forming hybrid words:
1/ a foreign base is combined with a native affix, e.g. uncertain, colourless
2/ a native base is combined with a foreign affix, e.g.drinkable, ex-wife. There are also many
hybrid compounds, such as schoolboy (Greek + English), blackguard (English + French).

PHARIZA-Productive and non-productive affixes.

Productive affixes
By productive affixes we mean the ability of being used to form new, occasional or potential words,
which take part in deriving new words in this particular period of language development.
The most productive prefixes in Modern English are:
de- /decontaminate/
re- /rethink/
pre- /prefabricate/
non- /non-operational/
un- /unfunny/
anti- /antibiotic/
dis- /disappoint/
The most productive English suffixes are:
1. Noun-forming suffixes -er, -ing, -ness, -ation, -ee, -ism, -ist, -ance/-ancy, -ry, -or, -ics
2. Adjective-forming suffixes -able, -ic, -ish, -ed, - less, -y
3. Verb-forming suffixes -ize/-ise, -ate, -ify
4. Adverb-forming suffixes -ly
Non-productive affixes
By non-productive affixes we mean affixes which are not able to form new words in the period in
question. Non-productive affixes are recognized as separate morphemes and possess clear-cut semantic
characteristics.
Some non-productive English suffixes are:
Noun-forming suffixes -th, -hood, -ship
Adjective-forming suffixes -ful, -ly, -some, -en, -ous
Verb-forming suffixes -en