English 256
Spring 2005
Homework Assignment #1
Due in class Monday, 24 January
IA. Identify all the morphemes in each set below.
B. Identify the morphological processes operating in each set to derive the second member of each pair.
C. Identify the general function of each process.
D. Discuss anything semantically unpredictable about any of the derived forms in each set.
EXAMPLE:
child/childish
man/mannish
book/bookish
fiend/fiendish devil/devilish
fool/foolish
A. ROOTS
SUFFIXES
child man
fool book
fiend devil
-ish
(Note: Since these are English roots which are also words, I have not included a gloss; for data from
languages other than English, each morpheme needs a translation.)
B. Suffix - ish .
C. - ish is suffixed to a noun stem to derive an adjective meaning "like a NOUN".
D. bookish appears to mean something different from "like a book"; it means "fond of books" or
"commonly found with books". (Notice that the change in spelling of some forms like man to mann- in
the suffixed form does not need to be discussed here since it is merely a regular spelling change without
any unpredictable change in form.)
1. Sranan (C. L. Schumann, Neger-Englisches Wörterbuch )
kamkamm ‘comb (noun)’
kamm ‘to comb’
krabbokrabbo ‘rake (noun)’
krabbo ‘to scratch’
nainai ‘needle (noun)’
nai ‘to sew’
sibisibi ‘broom (noun)’
sibi ‘to sweep’
fumfumm ‘beating (noun)’
fumm ‘to beat’
takkitakki ‘prattle (noun)’
takki ‘to talk’
2. Latin ( Cassell’s Latin Dictionary )
ducere ‘to lead’
ire ‘to go’
icere ‘to strike, hit’
radere ‘to scrape’
negare ‘to say no’
solvere ‘to loosen, release, free’
abducere ‘to lead away’
abire ‘to go away’
abicere ‘to throw away’
abradere ‘to scrape off’
abnegare ‘to deny, refuse’
absolvere ‘to loosen, free’
3. Mojave (P. Munro, Mojave Dictionary)
mavar- ‘be powdery’
tamavar- ‘grind into powder’
maduuly- ‘be sweet’
tamaduuly- ‘sweeten’
hapel- ‘be dirty’
tahapel- ‘make dirty’
laplap- ‘be flat’
talaplap- ‘flatten’
4. Persian
zendegi ‘life’
xastegi ‘fatigue’
šāyestegi ‘worthiness’
zende ‘alive’
xaste ‘tired’
šāyeste ‘worthy’