Affixation

How words are created

Vocabulary
• English vocabulary include short words like the
article a as well as longer word such as
inextricably and denunciation.
• Short word such as speak and solve are called
base words
• Base words cannot be reduced to smaller parts.
• Other words can be added to them to produce
longer words with various meanings.
Word Parts
• There are two kinds of word parts: roots and
affixes.
• A root (also calles as stem, base, or core)
is the morpheme that makes the most precise
and concrete contribution to the word’s
meaning, and is either the sole morpheme or
else the only one that is not a prefix or a suffix.
• An affix is a word part that can be attached to
either a root or a base word to create a new
word.
Affixes
• Affixes can be divided into two categories:
prefixes (appear at the beginning of words) and
suffixes (appear at the end of words).
Common Prefixes Common Suffixes
Bi- two -al adjectival suffix
Anti- against -fy verb suffix
Inter- between -ic adjectival suffix
Pre- before -ion noun suffix
Super- above -ism noun suffix
Trans- across -ize verb suffix
Dis- not -ous adjectival suffix
Meaning
• The meaning of a word is related to the meaning
of its word parts.
• To unlock the meaning of an unfamiliar word,
break the word down into its component parts;
then think about the meaning of the word’s
affixes and root.
Affixation
 formation of words by adding derivational
affixes to bases
 one of the most productive ways of word-
building
Types of Affixation

affixation

mixed
prefixation suffixation
affixation
PREFIXATION
 The formation of words with the help of prefixes
 Modifies the lexical meaning of the base

 Seldom shift words from one part of speech into

another
 Prefixes are classified into different types
according to different principles
1. according to lexico-grammatical
character of the base

a) deverbal (those added to the verbal base): re-

(rewrite); over- (overdo); out- (outstay);
b) denominal (those added to the nominal base): -
(unbutton); de- (detrain); ex- (ex-president);
c) deadjectival (those added to the adjectival base):
un- (uneasy); bi- (biannual).
d) deadverbial (those added to the adverbial base):
un- (unfortunately); in- independently).
2. According to the class of words formed
prefixes are
a) verb-forming prefixes: en-/em- (enclose,
embed); be- (befriend); de- (dethrone);
b) noun-forming prefixes: non- (non-
smoker); sub- (sub-committee); ex- (ex-
husband)
c) adjective-forming prefixes: un- (unfair);
il- (illiterate); ir- (irregular);
d) adverb-forming prefixes: un-
(unfortunately); up- (uphill).
3. Semantically
a) Monosemantic: the prefix ex- has only one
meaning ‘former’ – ex-boxer;
b) Polysemantic; the prefix dis- has four
meanings:
1)‘not’ (disadvantage);
2)‘reversal or absence of an action or state’
(diseconomy, disaffirm);
3)‘removal of’ (to disbranch);
4)‘completeness or intensification of an
unpleasant action’ (disgruntled).
4. According to their generalizing denotational
meaning prefixes fall into:

a) negative prefixes: un- (ungrateful); non- (non-political); in-

(incorrect); dis- (disloyal); a- (amoral);
b) reversative prefixes: un2- (untie); de- (decentralize); dis2-
(disconnect);
c) pejorative prefixes: mis- (mispronounce); mal- (maltreat);
pseudo- (pseudo-scientific);
d) prefixes of time and order: fore- (foretell); pre- (pre-war);
post- (post-war), ex- (ex-president);
e) prefix of repetition: re- (rebuild, rewrite);
f) locative prefixes: super- (superstructure), sub- (subway),
inter- (inter-continental), trans- (transatlantic).
SUFFIXATION
 Is the formation of the words with the help of
suffixes
 Suffixes usually modify the lexical meaning of
the base and transfer words to a different part
of speech
 Suffixes are classified into different types
according to different principles
1. according to lexico-grammatical
character of the base

 Deverbal suffixes (added to the verbal bases)

-er, -ing, -ment, -able
-er (builder); -ing (writing)
 Denominal suffixes (added to nominal base)
-less, - ful, -ist, -some
-less (timeless); -ful (hopeful); -ist (scientist); -some
(troublesome);
 Deadjectival suffixes (added to adjectival base)
-en, -ly, -ish, -ness
-en (widen); -ly (friendly); -ish (whitish); -ness
(brightness).
 2. According to the part of speech formed
suffixes are
 Noun-forming
-age (breakage, bondage); -ance/-ence (assistance, reference); -dom
(freedom, kingdom); -er (teacher, baker); -ess (actress, hostess); -ing
(building, wasing);
 Adjective-forming
-able/-ible/-uble (favourable, incredible, soluble); -al (formal, official); -ic
(dynamic); -ant/-ent (repentant, dependent);
 Numeral- forming
-fold (twofold); -teen (fourteen); -th (sixth); -ty (thirty);
 Verb-forming
-ate (activate); -er (glimmer); -fy/-ify (terrify, specify); -ize (minimize); -
ish (establish);
 Adverb-forming
-ly (quickly, coldly); -ward/-wards (backward, northwards); -wise
(likewise).
3. Semantically
 Monosemantic (one meaning)
-ness “female” ------------ lioness

 Polysemantic (some meanings)

-hood
“condition or quality” ---- womanhood
“collection or group” ---- brotherhood
4. Origin of affixes
 Native
Suffixes –er, - ness, - dom, -ing, -hood, -ship, -let, -ful,-
ish, -ty, -en, - like,
Prefixes mis-, un-, over-, be-
Latin
-able\ -ible, -ant\ -ent,
- extra-, pre-, ultra-
Greek
- ist, -ism, -ite, -ize
- anti-, sym-\ syn-
 Russian
-nik
 French
–age, -ance\-ence, -ard, - ate, -ee, -ess,
en-\-em
 Borrowed Affixes have come to the English
language from different foreign languages. The
affixes of foreign origin are classified according to
their source into:
Latin Examples

-able/ -ible Capable, divisible.

-ant/-ent Servant, student.
extra- Extralinguistic.
pre- Pre-election.
ultra- Ultra-high.
 Greek Examples
-ist Artist
-ism Marxism
-ite Vulcanite
anti- Anti-democratic
sym-/ sin- Synthesis
 French Examples
-age Percentage
-ance/ -ence Extravagance,
-ard coherence
-ate Wizard
-ee Electorate
-ess Employee
en-/ em- Princess
Enclose, embed
PRACTICE!
Add appropriate suffixes to the verbal bases to form words
corresponding
to the meaning of the given sentences and analyze the process
EX:
There was an (amuse) story in the paper.
Verbal base AMUSE + adjective forming suffix –ING=
adj AMUSING
 He made himself (use) by handing round the
coffee cups.
Verbal base USE + adj forming suffix –FUL =
adj USEFUL

 The photos made him look quite (attract)

Verbal base ATRACT + adj forming suffix –IVE =
adj ATTRACTIVE
• He didn’t want to meet other (appoint) to the
post.
Verbal base APPOINT + noun forming suffix –EE
= noun APPOINTEE
Word Families
• A group of English words may be derived from
the same word part of root. Such a group is
called a word family.
• You can use this knowledge to help you
determine the meaning of unknown words.
• Try this out:
Shared roots: solo, solitary, solitude
Root: sol= ?
Answer: Alone, can you think of other
words in the family?
• Solitare
• Soloist
• Based on your knowledge of the root and the
meaning of other words in the same family, try
to define the meaning of the above words.
• Solitare- a card game played by one person
• Soloist- one who performs alone
• The following words have been divided into their
smallest meaningful units. (i) Identify the root
and state which syntactic category it belongs to.
(ii) Draw a tree to show how each word is
formed and at each node indicate the syntactic
category.
Do the same analysis to the
following words:
1. discouraged
2. friendliness
3. truthfully
4. unacceptable
5. researchers