Optional

Кубрякова, Е.С. Основы морфологического анализа / Е.С. Кубрякова. – М.: Наука, 1974. – С. 118–131.

Anderson, S. A-Morphous Morphology / S. Anderson. – Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992. – P. 7–72.

Spencer, A. Morphological Theory. An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar / A. Spencer. – Oxford: Blackwell Publ., 1993. – P. 3–61.

4.3. Major and Minor Ways of English Word Formation

4.3.1. Affixation

Key words: derivational affix, suffix, prefix, derivational (underlying) base, selectional rule, steps (degrees) of derivation, native and Neo-Latin bases of affixation, word formation affixal field, semi-affix, morphonological change.

Look up these terms in the glossary or in the sources indicated in the bibliography to the glossary. Compare the definitions given in English and in Russian.

Problems for Discussion

1. The derivational status of an affix. Derivational vs. inflectional morphology. Problems and solutions.

2. Derivation on the native and neo-Latin bases in present-day English.

3. Selectional rules and derivational affixal patterns.

4. Productivity and activity of affixal derivational patterns.

5. Affixal word formation fields.

6. Correlative word formation fields and patterns in English and Belarusian (Russian, German, French, etc.) languages.

Questions and Tasks

1. Study the following words and say in which of them the affix is a derivational one: redeem, redefine, ardent, dependent, educator, alligator, harmonious, vivacious, intake, inspect, desurface, destroy, appreciative, derogative. Find your own examples of analogous words.

2. Study the following pairs of words and group them. Define the difference between the groups: create – creation, eliminate – elimination, dominate – domination, farm – farming, clean – cleaning, question – questioning, polite – politeness, separate – separateness, persuade – persuasive, submit – submissive. Comment on the etymology of the derivational affixes used in the above given derivatives and on the way of borrowing affixes.

3. Write down the derivational formulae of the following words: unpretentiousness, malodorousness, trades-unionist, nuclear-physicist, desynonymize, misappreciation, unpleasantness. Use two ways of notation.

4. Analyze the derivational structure of the following words and say how many steps of derivation they have undergone: indisputableness, unknowableness, irresponsiveness, unseaworthyness, theatricalization, revitalization, dehydrogenizer, librarianess, petticoatless. Find your own examples of words of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. degrees of derivation.

5. Study the rows of derivatives with the affixes anti-, non-, re-, un-, -able, ed, -er, -ish, -ism, -like. Use dictionaries, including the reverse ones, for the purpose.

6. Comment on the phonological, morphological, semantic properties of derivational bases with which the affixes anti-, non-, re-, un-, -able, -ed, -er, -ish, -ism, -like go into combination.

7. Give examples of productive, semi-productive and non-productive derivational patterns in present-day English word formation.

8. Give examples of active and non-active affixal patterns in present-day English word formation.

9. Name the English affixes of negation, resemblance, state and quality. Find the correlative affixes in Belarusian, Russian, German, French, etc.

10. Compare the groups of derivatives with the English suffixes -an, -er, -ist and other agentive suffixes with the groups of derivatives with the Russian agentive suffixes -тель, -ник, -арь, -щик and others. Comment on their differences and similarities.