Lecture 2 Word-Formation Modern English

Plan:

1. Morphological composition of English words. Structural types of words.

2. Affixation, classification of affixes, suffixes, prefixes.

3. Conversion

4. Compounding, classification of compounds

5. Shortening

Word-building is the processes of producing new words from the resources of this particular language. Words consist of morphemes, the smallest meaningful unit of language.

All morphemes are subdivided into two large classes: roots or radicals and affixes.

Root morpheme is a basic part of a word without it a word is inconceivable. Every root morpheme has a lexical meaning.

The affixes are always used within the boundary of the word, they are bound morphemes. Affixes are divided into lexical or derivational which serve to form new lexemes and functional or grammatical which express grammar meaning which express grammatical category. Functional affixes are also called flections or endings. The affixes fall into prefixes which precede the root in the structure of the word (as in re-read, mis-pronounce. unwell) and suffixes which follow the root (as in teacher, curable). A word stripped from grammatical affixes is called a stem. In English words stem and root often coincide.

From the structural point of view morphemes are divided into free, bound and semi-free

Free morphemes coincide with a word form: book, teach, boil

Bound morphemes occur in the speech only as a part of a word. Affixes are bound morphemes.

Semi-free can be in speech both free and bound: outcry, inside

Depending on the structure of a stem all English words are divided into following types:

• simple or root words: cat, pen, dog

• derivatives words formed by affixation: re-write, doctor

• compounds whose stems contain two or more roots: bullfight

• derivational compounds. these are words formed by two-word building processes at the same time: four-legged chair

• shortened words, words formed by cutting a part of some other word: fridge, prof, doc.

• Abbreviations: USA, P.S.

The main structural types of Modern English word-building process are affixation, conversion, composition, contraction.

The process of affixation (derivation) consists in coining a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme (teacher, helpful.) 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

large groups as words native and borrowed.

Native affixes either existed in old English or developed later from English words.

Borrowed affixes appeared in the English language with words containing them from other language. Affixes became borrowed only when a large number of word building pattern is clear. Borrowed affixes classified according to their origin:

Greek affixes: -ism- realism, -ist- linguist

Latin: -ant, -ent – assistant, student, -able – capable, comfortable

French: -age- courage, ancy - pregnancy, ency- currency

Russian: nik- sputnik

Affixes can also be classified into productive and non-productive types. By productive affixes we mean the ones, which take part in deriving new words in this particular period of language development: -ly- coldly, lovely, - un-unhappy, -dis- disappointed, - re-reconstruct

Non-productive: -th- truth, some- handsome, -hood- childhood

English suffixes are also classified depending on the part of speech the words they form belong to:

-noun- forming: -er- worker, teacher, -ness- coldness, -ing- feeling, -dom- freedom, -hood- motherhood, -ship- friendship, th- length

- adjective- forming: - ful- careful, -less- sleepless, -y- cosy, tidy, -ish- childish, -ly- lonely, -en- wooden, some- handsome

- verb- forming: -en- widen, -er- whisper, -ate- facilitate, - fly- qualify

-adverb- forming: - ly- warmly, -wise- clockwise

- numeral- forming: -th- fifth, -ty- twenty, -teen- seventeen

According to their lexical meaning:

- suffixes of abstract nouns: -ship, dom, ness

Within personal suffixes there is a group of feminine suffixes:-ess- stewardess, -ine-heroine

• derogatory suffixes those which express contempt, dislike: drunkard, ganster

• diminutive suffixes:-y- mummy, sweety, -ock- hillock, -ette- kitchenette