The origin

While examining the stock of derivational affixes in Modern English from the point of view of their origin distinction should first of all be made between:

• native affixes (the suffixes -ness, -ish, -dom and the prefixes be-, mis-, un- are of native origin)

• foreign affixes (suffixes as -ation, -ment, -able and prefixes like dis-, ex-, re- are of foreign origin)

Many of the suffices 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 may be traced back to words: -dom represents the Old English noundom which meant ‘judgement’; ’sentence’. The suffix -hood goes back to the OE, noun had, which meant ’state’, ‘condition’; the adjective suffix -ly (e.g. manly, friendly) is also traced back to the OE. noun līc — ‘body’, ’shape’. Some suffixes are known to have originated as a result of secretion. An instance of the case is the suffix -ling occurring in words like duckling, yearling, hireling, etc. The suffix is simply the extended form of the Old English suffix -ing and has sprung from words in which -ing was tacked on to a stem ending in [1] as lỹtling. Many suffixes, however, have always been known as derivational affixes within the history of the English language, for instance -ish, -less-, -ness, etc.

The same is true of prefixes: some have developed out of independent words, e.g. out-, under-, over-, ethers have always functioned as derivational affixes, e.g. mis-, un-.

In the course of its historical development the English language has adopted a great many suffixes and prefixes from foreign languages. This process does not consist in borrowing derivational affixes as such. It is words that the language borrows from a foreign language and the borrowed words bring with them their derivatives formed after word-building patterns of this language. When such pairs of words as derive and derivation, esteem and estimation, laud and laudationfound their way into the English vocabulary, it was natural that the suffix -ation should be recognised by English speakers as an allowable means of forming nouns of action out of verbs. In this way a great many suffixes and prefixes of foreign origin have become an integral part of the system of word-formation in English. Among borrowed derivational affixes we find both suffixes, e.g. -able, -ible, -al, -age, -ance, -ist, -ism, -ess, etc., and prefixes, e.g. dis-, en[em]-, inter-, re-, non- and many others.

It is to be marked that quite a number of borrowed derivational affixes are of international currency. For instance, the suffix -ist of Greek origin is used in many European languages to form a noun denoting ‘one who adheres to a given doctrine or system, a political party, an ideology’ or ‘one, who makes a practice of a given action’ (cf. socialist, communist, Marxist; artist, scenarist, realist and their Russian equivalents). Of international currency is also the suffix -ism of Greek origin used to form abstract nouns denoting ‘philosophical doctrines, political and ’scientific theories,’ etc. (e.g. materialism, realism, Darwinism). Such prefixes as anti-, pre-, extra-, ultra- are also used to coin new words in many languages, especially in political and scientific terminology (e.g. anti-fascist, pro-German, extra-territorial, transatlantic, ultra-violet).

The adoption of countless foreign words exercised a great influence upon the system of English word-formation, one of the result being the appearance of many hybrid words in the English vocabulary. The term hybrid words is, needless to say, of diachronic relevance only. Here distinction should be made between two basic groups:

1. Cases when a foreign stem is combined with a native affix, as in colourless, uncertain. After complete adoption the foreign stem is subject to the same treatment as native stems and new words are derived from it at a very early stage. For instance, such suffixes as -ful, -less, -ness were used with French words as early as 1300;

2. Cases when native stems are combined with foreign affixes, such as drinkable, joyous, shepherdess. Here the assimilation of a structural pattern is involved, therefore some time must pass before a foreign affix comes to be recognised by speakers as a derivational morpheme that can be tacked on to native words. Therefore such formations are found much later than those of the first type and are less numerous. The early assimilation of -able is an exception. Some foreign affixes, as -ance, -al, -ity, have never become productive with native stems.

Reinterpretation of borrowed words gave rise to affixes which may not have been regarded as such in the source language. For instance, -scape occurring in such words as seascape, cloudscape, mountainscape, moonscape, etc. resulted from landscape of Dutch origin. The suffix -ade developed from lemonade of French origin, giving rise to fruitade, orangeade, gingerade, pineappleade, etc.; the noun electron of Greek origin contributed the suffix -tron very widely used in coining scientific and technical terms, e.g. cyclotron, magnetron, synchrophasotron, thyratron, etc.