P. Perivaftonal analysis. Derivative structure

So, it is important alongside morphological analysis of a word to carry out its derivational (word-formation) analysis in order to determine the type and arrangement of IC there i.e., to establish a word's derivative (derivational) structure. Restoring a derivative structure in a word helps to answer the question how new words are formed, or derived.

The difference between morphological and derivational analysis is not only in the aims and results of the procedure but also in the units they operate with. While the basic elements in morphological analysis are morphemes (the ultimate meaningful units in a word), the basic elements of a derivative structure of a word are immediate constituents -

a derivational base and a derivational affix, as well as a derivational pattern of their arrangement.

A derivational base is the word constituent to which a rule of word-formation is applied.

Structurally, derivational bases fall into three classes:

1) bases that coincide with morphological stems of different degrees of complexity. A derivational base which is the starting point for new words may coincide with a simple morphological stem as the derivational base father- used for creation of the verb to father coincides with a simple morphological stem father- which is a starting pont for such noun forms as fathers, father's. A. derivational base may coincide with a derived morphological stem as computer- in computer-he or even compound morphological stem as week-end- in the word weekender. This class of derivational bases is the biggest.

2) bases that coincide with word forms as the base known- in un-known or dancing- in a dancing- girl;

comedian) is active though not a productive pattern because a limited number of words

are derived according to it.

One should also be aware that the meaning of a derived word is usually not a mere sum of meanings of all the constituents mentioned above, though it sometimes is, as in doer 'one who does'. Derived words usually have an additional idiomatic component of their own (word-formation meaning) that is not observed in either of the constituent components (cf.: the meanings of such derived words like undo infml 'to loosen or unfasten Can you undo my dress at the back for meT; a builder is not just the 'one that builds' but also 'esp. one that contracts to build and supervises building operations'; a teacher is not just the 'one that teachers' but 'esp. one whose occupation is to instruct'; a dancing girl 'a girl, espesically in the East, who dances to entertain especially men'.

Derived words enter the lexicon, both lexicographical and mental, mainly due to this idiomatic component that makes them semantically special, demands their memorization and provides easy retrieval from memory in use and quick recognition.

|9. Derivative types of words. Degree of derivationi

Derivationally all the words in a language are subdivided into simple (non derived) words (or simplexes), and derived (or complexes, or derivatives). The majority of the word-stock in any language is made up of derived words.

The most common source lexeme for a derived word in English is nouns (child (n)- childftood (n) - childless (adj). Adjectives and verbs are quite active in deriving new words, too (green (adj)— greenish (adj) -greenness (n); write (v) - write off(y) — writer (n). The least likely sources for a derived word are adverbs and the lexemes of minor word classes like articles and pronouns.

In English there are three major types of'word-formation: zero derivation, or conversion, affixation and composition, or compounding. There are also some minor types of word-formation'. back-formation, shortening, blending, extension of proper names, and

some others.

Derivatives may be qualified according to the latest type of word-formation process and the total number of derivational acts that were necessary for their formation. The number of derivational processes acts that took place in a word forms its degree of derivation.

The monomorphic words read, dead, table, and even polymorphic words of conditional and defective types of segmentability like deceive or hamlet are simplexes. They are non-derived from the point of view of modern English because their derivational processes have either been deleted, forgotten and are no longer perceived, or their derivation has never taken place in English. The number and character of borrowed words with similar segments is not grounds for perceiving them as derived.

The nouns reader (v+-er—*N) and reading (v+-ing—>N) as well as the adjective readable (v+-able—>Adj) are complexes: they may be qualified as suffixational derivatives of the first degree of derivation (v+suf). The verb reread is a prefixational derivative of the first degree of derivation (prf+v).

The noun reading-lamp 'a lamp to give light for reading by' is a compound of the second degree of derivation. There are two derivational processes — suffixation and composition, the last being composition — and it can be seen in the derivational pattern of the word: (v+-ing)+n—>N. Care should be taken of the word reading which is marked in dictionaries as a noun and that means that a word-formation process took place here. In contrast, a dancing-girl is a derivative of the first degree because dancing is only a form of the word to dance, not a separate word, and it is not registered in the dictionary as a special entry.

The adjective unpredictable, according to its derivational pattern un-+(v+-able)—>Adj, is a prefixational derivative of the second degree. Though the number of affixes in un-+pre-+-dict-+able is greater than in the word (read-+ing)+lamp discussed above, on the derivational level of analysis these words may be regarded to be equal in degrees of derivation because the derivational base predict is a simplex in modern English.

The noun aircraft-carrier is a compound derivative of the third degree, the last derivational process being composition, and the previous two derivational processes being composition and suffixation: (n+n)+(v+-er)—>N.

The noun denationalization (de- +[(n+-al)+-ize]}+-tion— >N appeared as the result of four acts of derivational processes and may be qualified as a suffixational derivative of the fourth degree of derivation. Since the prefix de- may also be attached to the noun with the suffix -tion, this word may also be qualified as a prefixational derivative of the fourth degree of derivation de+{[(n+-al)+-ize]}+-tion—>N (cf.: its even more complicated morphemic structure including six bound morphemes: de-, nat-, -ion, -al, -ize and -tion).

Theoretically any derived word may become a basis for a new derivative. But in practice there are many restrictions on further derivation. For example, some affixes, like -ness,

-ship, -ity close the derivational process: they do not allow other affixes to be added to the derivational bases. Furthermore, with each act of derivation the word loses its derivational potential. As the result of these restrictions and some other restrictions, the most common derivatives in English are derivatives of the first and second degree.

5.2. Major types of word-formation in modern English 5.2.1. Affixation