PREFIXATION

Prefixation is the formation of words by means of adding a prefix to the stem. In English it is characteristic for forming verbs. Prefixes are more independent than suffixes. Prefixes can be classified according to the nature of words in which they are used: prefixes used in notional words and prefixes used in functional words. Prefixes used in notional words are proper prefixes which are bound morphemes, e.g. un- (unhappy). Prefixes used in functional words are semi-bound morphemes because they are met in the language as words, e.g. (overhead), c.f. over the table.

The main function of prefixes in English is to change the lexical meaning of the same part of speech. But the recent research showed that about twenty-five prefixes in Modern English form one part of speech from another (bebutton, interfamily, postcollege etc). The prefix be- forms transitive verbs with adjective, verb and noun stems, e.g. belittle – to make little, benumb – to make numb, to befriend – to treat like a friend, to becloud – to cover with clouds, to bemadam – to call madam, to bejewel – to deck with jewels. Sometimes the meaning is quite different, as in such a case as to behave which means to cut off the head.

The prefix en-/ern - is now used to form verbs from noun stems with the meaning to put an object into or on something, e.g. to engulf, to embed. It can also form verbs with adjective and noun stems with the meaning to bring into som e condition or stale, e.g. to encase, to enable, to enslave.

The prefix a- is the characteristic feature of words belonging to statives: asleep, awake, anew etc.

The prefixes pre-, post-, non-, anti- and some other very productive modern prefixes of Romanic and Greek origin are used to form adjectives with a very clear-cut lexical meaning of their own, e.g. pre-war, post-war, anti - war, non-party, pro-life etc.

Prefixes can be classified according to different principles:

1.Semantic classification:

a) prefixes of negative meaning, such as: in- (invaluable), non- (nonformals), un- (unfree) etc. Non- is used to be restricted to simple unemphatic negation. Beginning with the 1960s non- indicates not so much the opposite of something but rather that something is not real or worthy of the name, e.g. non-book, is a book published to be bought rather than to be read; non-thing – something insignificant and meaningless, non-person – somebody unworthy of attention etc. Un - can denote simple negation, e.g. uneven, unkind, unhappy, and also reversative action when it shows an action contrary to that of a simple verb, e.g. unpack, unbind;

b) prefixes denoting repetition or reversative actions such as: de- (decolonize), re- (revegetation), dis- (disconnect) and also un- mentioned above;

c) prefixes denoting time, space, degree relations, such as: inter (interplanetary), hyper (hypertension), ex- (ex-student), pre- (pre-election), over- (overdrugging) etc.

2. Origin of prefixes:

a) native (Germanic), such as: un- (unhappy), over- (overfeed), under- (undernourish) etc;

b) Romanic, such as: in- (inactive), de- (demobilize), ex- (ex - student), re- (rewrite) etc;

c) Greek, such as: sym- (sympathy), hyper- (hypertension) etc.

When we analyze such words as adverb, accompany where we can find the root of the word (verb, company) we may treat ad-, cu- as prefixes though they were never used as prefixes to form new words in English and were borrowed from Romanic languages together with words. In such cases we can treat them as affixed words. But some scientists treat them as simple words. Another group of words with a disputable structure are such as contain, detain, conceive, receive, deceive where we can see that con- and de- act as prefixes and -lain, -ceive can be understood as roots. But in English these combinations of sounds have no lexical meaning and are called pseudo-morphemes by some scientists, e.g. after - in the word afternoon. American lexicographers working on Webster dictionaries treat such words as compound words. British lexicographers treat such words as affixed ones.

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