Affixation in English.

Affixation is generally defined as the formation of words by adding derivational affixes to stems. Affixation is divided into suffixation and prefixation. Prefixes may be classified on different principles.

The following groups of prefixes may be distinguished:

1. prefixes of negative meaning: un-, in-, dis- (ungrateful, incorrect, disadvantage).The prefix in - has different phonemic shapes: il- (before i) - illogical, im- (before p, m) -improbable, immature, ir- (before r ) - irruption;

2. prefixes denoting reversal or repetition of an action: un-, dis-, re- (unfasten, disconnect, re-write);

3. prefixes denoting space and time relations, such as fore-, pre-, post-, over-, super- (foretell, pre-historic, post-position, overspread, superstructure).

Suffixes may be classified according to the part of speech they form:

1. adjective-suffixes: readable, helpless, hopeful, heroic, famous;

2. noun-suffixes: teacher, kingdom, happiness;

3. verb-suffixes: frighten, modernize;

4. adverb-suffixes: early

According to the meaning they may be classified into nouns forming suffixes denoting:

1. agent or doer of the action: actor, worker;

2. political of scientific adherence: Communist, Fascist;

3. the object of an action, the one to whom an act is done or on whom a right is conferred: addressee, employee;

4. nationality: Russian, English;

5. abstract concepts: distance, eloquence, corruption, payment, condescension.

From the historical point of view prefixes may be of native and foreign origin. Many of the suffixes and prefixes of native origin were originally independent words. In the course of time they have gradually lost their independence, and turned into derivational affixes. For instance, such noun - suffixes as -dom, -hood, -ship existed as independent words in Old English: dom meant "judgement, sentence;" -hood existed as had which meant "state, condition;" -skip goes back to scipe meaning "form, state;" the adjective-suffix -ly (e.g. manly) goes back to the OE noun lic, meaning "body, shape."

According to their origin suffixes are usually divided into:

1. Germanic (or Native): -dom, -th,- hood, -ly, -ness, -ful, -ing, -less, -ish, -ship, -ly, -en, -er.

2. Romanic: 1) Latin: -able, -ion, -tion, -ation, -ate, -ant, -or, -al, -ar; 2) French: -age, -ance, -ment, -ous, -ess, -ence.

3. Greek: -ism, -ist, ite, -ic, etc.

Productivity of affixes

There are dead and living affixes. Dead are described as those which are no longer felt in Modern English as component parts of words: they lost their independence completely. Living affixes may be easily singled out and differ in their productivity. Productivity is characterized by the ability of a given affix to make new words. There are three degrees of productivity in derivational affixes:

1. Productive (or highly productive):-er, -ing, ness, -ism, -ance, -y (adjective forming suffix), -able, -ate, -ize, -ish, -less, –proof, -y, etc.;

2. Semiproductive: -ese , -ette;

3. Non-productive: -th, -hood, -ly, -some, -ous, -en, -ship, -age, etc.

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Composition

Composition can be defined as the formation of a lexical unit by putting together two or more words Compound words are not always easy to distinguish from free word combinations, on the one hand, and from set expressions, on the other. There is a certain criterion to distinguish between them. A word consists of morphemes, in this case of stems, and a word combination consists of words. Compounds may consist of simple and derived stems (week-end, sleeping bag); the stems of the compound word may be compound themselves as in the words fancy-dress-maker, flower-pot-stand.