Affixation. The process of Af consists of coing a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme

The process of Af consists of coing a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme. Af is generally defined as the formation of words by adding derivational affixes to different types of bases. Af includes suffixation and prefixation.

Derivation in morphology is a WF process by which a new word is built from a stem usually trough the addition of an affix that changes the word class or basic meaning of the word.

Af has been productive in all periods of the history of English

Linguists distinguish 3 types of affixes. The affix which is attached to the front of its base is called a prefix, to the end of the base- suffix. But less common are infixes, a type of an affix that occurs within the base of the word to express such notion as tense, number gender.

Suffixes can be classified along different lines^ their origin, their meaning, according to the part of speech they form, according to productivity.

Borrowed affixes especially Romanic origin are numerous in the English vocabulary. It will be wrong to suppose that the affixes are borrowed in the same way and for the same reasons as words.

An affixes can be regarded as borrowed only after it has begun an independent and active life in the language, that is taking part in the ord-making process of the language.

The adoption of countless foreign words caused they appearance many hybrid words in the English vocabulary.

Hybrids are words which are made-up of elements derived from 2 or more different languages.

There are 2 basic types of forming hybrids words:

1) a foreign base is combined with a native affix (ex: colorless – color- borrow, less- native; uncertain)

2) a native base is combined with a foreign affix. (ex: ex-wife, drinkable)

Valiancy of affixes is understood as their capability to be combined with the certain base. (ex: adjective forming suffixes are mostly attached to nominal base, e.g. the words “golden”, “meaningful” etc).

The highly productive suffix “able” however can be combined with nominal and verbal bases (ex: advisable).

The valiancy of bases is not unlimited.

The combining possibilities of valiancy are very important semantically, because the meaning of the derivative depends not only on the morphemes of which it is compose, but also on combinations of bases and affixes that can be contrasted vivid.

2)The next group is meaning.

The suffix –er denotes an agent of the action (ex: writer, doer, teacher)

-dom(old English native) denotes state, rang of condition (ex: freedom, kingdom)

-ness(old English native) denotes quality and state (ex: happiness, softness)

Foreign –ence suffix. Its meaning – act, condition or fact (ex: evidence)

-ment – result, action, means (ex: treatment, amazement)

-y – result, action, quality (ex: jealousy)

-en – become, cause to (ex: darken)

-ish – do, make, perform (ex: finish, punish)

3) Part of speech.

Noun-forming, adjective-forming. Prefixes are indifferent to part of speech.

4) Productivity.

Affixes can be productive and nonproductive. By productivity of affixes we mean the ability to form new words; an occasional or?words, which take part in deriving new words in a particular period of language development.

The best way to identify the productive affixes is to look for them among the neologisms.

The most productive prefixes in modern English are following:

de-, re-,pre-, non-,un-,anti-,dis-.

Suffixes productive: noun-forming (-ing,-er,-ness,-tion,-ism,-ist), adjective-forming (-ish,-less,-able,-y), verb-forming (-ise, -ate, -ify), adverb (-ly).

Non-productive affixes are recognized as separate morphemes poses clear-cut semantic characteristics. Some non-p suffixes: noun-forming – th, -hood, -ship; adjective-forming – full,-some,-en.

An affix may lose its productivity and then become productive again in process of word-formation (ex: noun-forming “dom” and “ship” where productive centuries ago; professor Arnold in the book “The English word” gives some examples of comparatively new formations with the suffix “dom” – boredom; adjective-forming “ish” nowadays has comparatively regained its productivityafter having been non-productive for many centuries).

The productivity of an affix should not be confused with its frequency of occurrence. An affix may occur in hundreds of words but if it is not used to form new words, it is non-productive (ex: “full”).

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