Seminar 3 Word Formation

I. Speak on the following topics.

1. Affixation. Classifications of suffixes.

2. Valency of suffixes.

3. Prefixes, their classification.

4. Compounding, classifications of compounds.

5. Conversion

6. Sound interchange, clipping, blending.

7. Distinctive stress, onomatopoeia, back formation

II. Do the following assignments.

1.Affixation

Assignment 1.

Analyse the following affixed words and try to deduce their meaning:

Brainy, catty, dressy, foxy, stagy, touchy, chatty.

Eatable, loveable, questionable, imaginable.

Lovely, lonely, friendly, heavenly.

Assignment 2.

Analyse the meaning of suffixes and translate sentences.

Humanity – humanism

1.His theory was rooted in Western Marxism and liberal humanism. 2. They degraded them and denied their humanity. 3. That act was rightly considered as a crime against humanity. 3. He has a sense of humour, a warm humanity, and a strong common sense. 4. She has a background in humanities and modern languages.

Reality – realism

1.She had never seemed able to face reality. 2.He did as much as anything to foster the new note of realism. 3.Extraordinary degrees of realism are reached in the film. 4.Day-dreams have become realities.

Womanish –womanly

1.I should never imagine him to be able to take decisive steps, he has always seemed to me a bit womanish: weak and emotional. 2.Her figure has become more womanly. 3. The womanly virtues of gentleness and compassion attract men.

Childlike –childish

1. She looked at me with her big, childlike eyes. 2. I thought her nice but rather childish. 3. I was annoyed at the childishness of the remark.

Assignment 3.

Form diminutive forms of the following nouns.

Book, cloud, kitchen, aunt, girl, bird, night-gown, dad, handkerchief, squirrel, wolf.

Assignment 4.

Translate into Russian.

Boyish, girlish, bookish, childish, reddish, bluish, greenish, hoggish, baldish.

Assignment 5.

Deduce the meanings of the following derivatives from the meanings of their constituents.

Disrespectable, unladylike, disorganise, snobbish, breakable, tallish, underfed, unsystematic,

inwardly, clannishness, workaholic, reconstruction, to re-sit, gangsterdom, concentration,

counter-culture, allusion, to computerize, dispensable, to overreach, actorishness, brinkmanship,

unbecoming, outfield, to outnumber.

Assignment 6.

Explain the difference between the meanings of the following words produced from the same root by means of different suffixes.

Watery – waterish, colourful – coloured, embarrassed – embarrassing, manly – mannish, respected – respectful – respectable, exhaustive – exhausted –exhausting, bored – boring, touchy – touched –touching.