Word Formation Plan

1. The patterns of word-formation.

2. Meaning in affixes.

3. Valency in the affixes.

4. Conversion

5. Regularity of semantic types of conversion.

6. The direction of derivation

1. Words are formed of two kinds of units:

• bases and

• affixes which are combined according to rules of word-formation.

The result can be predicted. Word-formation is a patterned process (at least some linguists say so).

Affixes are generally simple units while bases are functional units and present various complexes.

e. g. soft-ness (the base is simple)

playful-ness (the base is complex)

seasick-ness(the base is complex)

The base is identical in form and meaning with a word in one of its meanings.

e. g. footnote, footstep, footwear

foot – стопа

• подножие

Footnote – в конце (взято одно из значений foot)

If the base is motivated by a polisemantic word only one of its meanings is considered to form a word.

The base may be a certain form of the word. Thus in the word “worsen” (ухудшать) – “worse” is the comparative degree of “bad”. Just the same with “betterment”, “well-known”.

Bases and affixes are arranged according to certain rules and the result can be predicted.

Here we find two mainpatterns:

1. affixation,

2. conversion.

Derivational patterns that employ one base and an affix or no affix at all. The new unit is called a derivative.

The most important feature of derivation is that the derivative differs from the base in its grammatical properties (признаки). It usually belongs to a different part of speech.

e. g. a walk – to walk

a watch – to watch

In derivation the semantic relations between the base and the derivative are also patterned (моделированы). In affixation it is the affix that points to the meaning of the pattern.

e. g. demonstrate

• ion (an act of demonstrating)

• or (one who demonstrates).

e. g. beauty

• ful (having beauty)

• fy (to make beauty, украсить)

In conversion the pattern is not supported by any obvious units.

e. g. gossip

• verb

• noun (a person, an instance)

e. g. warm – to warm (to become / make warm)

The semantic patterns of affixation and conversion are often the same.

Affixation is a pattern of word-formation which consists in adding an affix to a base. Depending on the arrangement of the constituents we distinguish between suffixation and prefixation.

In suffixation the affix follows the base. In prefixation the affix precedes the base.

The affixes take part in building the lexical meaning of the derivative. Thus suffixes and prefixes introduce additional semantic elements. The noun “speaker” contains 2 semantic elements compared to a verb. It is : speak + person. Thus the meaning of the noun – “the person who speaks”.

The noun “an addressee” also has 2 elements: somebody who is addressed.

The noun “kindness” is interpreted as “kind nature”.

Affixes determine the part of speech that the derivative belongs to. We recognize the part of speech of the derivative by a suffix. Suffixes are classified according to classes of words they form (nouns, adjectives).

Prefixes are more indifferent to the part of speech. There are some prefixes that shift the base to a different part of speech.

e. g. be- forms verbs: to befriend (приблизить к себе, сделать другом).

e. g. belittle

e. g. post-, pre- form adjectives: postwar, prewar (послевоенный, довоенный)

Generally the affix resolves the polisemy of the base but sometimes one has to have a better knowledge of the word to arrive to a meaning of the derivative.

e. g. Headless body found in topless bar.