UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI
Pedagogická fakulta
Katedra anglického jazyka
ŠÁRKA HÝVNAROVÁ
III. ročník - prezenční studium
Obor: Anglický jazyk se zaměřením na vzdělávání - Výchova ke zdraví se zaměřením
na vzdělávání
WORD FORMATION IN ENGLISH
Bakalářská práce
Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Blanka Babická, Ph. D.
OLOMOUC 2011
Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou práci vypracovala samostatně a použila jen uvedených
pramenů a literatury.
V Olomouci 29. 6. 2011
.....................................................................
vlastnoruční podpis
I would like to thank Mgr. Blanka Babická, Ph.D. for her support and valuable comments
on the content and the style of my final project.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 7
THEORETICAL PART
1. Word-formation.................................................................................................... 8
1.1 The definition of a word..................................................................................... 8
1.2 Meaning of word-formation................................................................................ 8
1.3 Word-formation units.......................................................................................... 8
1.3.1 Affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes)................................................................... 8
1.3.2 Root................................................................................................................. 8
1.3.3 Stem................................................................................................................ 9
1.3.4 Base................................................................................................................ 9
1.4 The difference between inflection and derivation............................................... 9
2. Word-formation processes................................................................................... 10
2.1 Affixation............................................................................................................ 10
2.1.1 Prefixation....................................................................................................... 11
2.1.1.1 Negative prefixes......................................................................................... 11
2.1.1.2 Reversative or privative prefixes.................................................................. 11
2.1.1.3 Pejorative prefixes........................................................................................11
2.1.1.4 Prefixes of size or degree............................................................................ 12
2.1.1.5 Prefixes of orientation and attitude.............................................................. 12
2.1.1.6 Locative prefixes.......................................................................................... 12
2.1.1.7 Prefixes of time and order............................................................................ 12
2.1.1.8 Number prefixes........................................................................................... 13
2.1.1.9 Miscellaneous neo-classical prefixes........................................................... 13
2.1.1.10 Conversion prefixes................................................................................... 13
2.1.2 Suffixation....................................................................................................... 13
2.1.2.1 Noun suffixes............................................................................................... 14
2.1.2.1.1 Denominal nouns: Abstract....................................................................... 14
2.1.2.1.2 Denominal nouns: Concrete......................................................................14
2.1.2.1.3 Deverbal nouns......................................................................................... 15
2.1.2.1.4 De-adjectival nouns................................................................................... 15
2.1.2.2 Noun/adjective suffixes................................................................................ 15
2.1.2.3 Adjective suffixes......................................................................................... 15
2.1.2.3.1 Denominal suffixes.................................................................................... 15
2.1.2.3.2 Deverbal suffixes....................................................................................... 16
2.1.2.4 Adverb suffixes............................................................................................. 16
2.1.2.5 Verb suffixes................................................................................................ 16
2.2 Conversion......................................................................................................... 17
2.2.1 Nouns converted into verb.............................................................................. 17
2.2.2 Verbs converted into nouns............................................................................ 17
2.2.3 Adjectives to verbs.......................................................................................... 17
2.2.4 Adjectives to nouns......................................................................................... 18
2.2.5 Other types of conversion............................................................................... 18
2.3 Compounding..................................................................................................... 18
2.3.1 Parts of compounds........................................................................................ 18
2.3.2 Noun compounds............................................................................................ 19
2.3.2.1 Subject and verb.......................................................................................... 19
2.3.2.2 Verb and object............................................................................................ 19
2.3.2.3 Verb and adverbial....................................................................................... 19
2.3.2.4 Verbless compounds - subject and object................................................... 19
2.3.2.5 Verbless compounds - subject and complement......................................... 20
2.3.3 Adjective compounds...................................................................................... 20
2.3.3.1 Verb and object............................................................................................ 20
2.3.3.2 Verb and adverbial....................................................................................... 20
2.3.3.3 Verbless....................................................................................................... 20
2.3.4 Adverb compounds......................................................................................... 20
2.3.5. Compounds containing particles.................................................................... 20
2.3.6 Compound verbs............................................................................................. 21
2.3.7 Neoclassical compounds................................................................................ 21
2.4 Backformation.................................................................................................... 21
2.5 Reduplicatives.................................................................................................... 21
2.6 Abbreviations..................................................................................................... 22
2.6.1 Clipping........................................................................................................... 22
2.6.2 Acronyms........................................................................................................ 22
2.6.3 Blending.......................................................................................................... 23
3. Conclusion........................................................................................................... 23
PRACTICAL PART
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 24
1.1 Research questions........................................................................................... 24
1.2 Texts analyzed during the research................................................................... 25
2. Methodology.........................................................................................................25
3. Collected data from the newspapers.................................................................... 27
3.1 Suffixation.......................................................................................................... 28
3.2 Prefixation.......................................................................................................... 28
3.3 Compounding..................................................................................................... 29
4. Collected data from the academic texts............................................................... 29
4.1 Suffixation.......................................................................................................... 30
4.2 Prefixation.......................................................................................................... 30
4.3 Compounding.................................................................................................... 31
5. Collected data from contemporary fiction............................................................. 31
5.1 Suffixation.......................................................................................................... 32
5.2 Prefixation.......................................................................................................... 32
5.3 Compounding..................................................................................................... 33
6. Overview of the collected data............................................................................. 33
7. Collected data from the three types of texts together.......................................... 33
8. Answers to research questions............................................................................ 34
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 40
BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................... 41
LIST OF APPENDICES........................................................................................... 42
APPENDICES
RESUMÉ
ANNOTATION
ABSTRACT
The results of the research in this bachelor thesis show that the frequency of nouns
among other word classes is the highest in academic text and lowest in contemporary
fiction. The most frequent type of word-formation process is suffixation (77% of nouns
are on the average with suffixes) and its most productive suffix is -tion. Compounding is
the second most productive process (18% of compound nouns) with the pattern noun +
noun as the most frequent one. Prefixation is the least frequent process (9% of nouns
with prefixes). The most frequent prefix is re-.
7
INTRODUCTION
The topic of this bachelor project is English word-formation. The reason for my choice
was that I find all of the methods for creating words in the English language very
interesting and that is why I wanted to learn about English word-formation in more detail.
During my studies abroad the English teachers paid great attention to the importance of
the word-formation.
Knowledge of word-formation processes can be very helpful when building our
vocabulary. For instance, a learner understands the meaning of a verb „to work,’ and
comes across another noun „a worker.’ If he knows what the suffix -er means he can
understand that this noun „a worker‟ means „a person who works.’ Of course we can
learn each word individually, but that would require more time, which we often do now
have. By learning and applying affixes to what we already know, we can become more
eloquent in a relatively short amount of time.
This bachelor thesis is divided into two parts, the theoretical part and the practical part.
In the theoretical part, several terms related to the English word-formation are explained
in the first chapter. Next, different approaches of dividing word-formation processes are
noted. Each of the word-formation processes of different word-classes are described in
the following chapters along with examples.
Research on the frequency of nouns in academic text, contemporary fiction and
newspapers is conducted in the practical part. First of all, the methodology is introduced
along with stating the research questions. The next part consists of data that are
collected from each text separately and their description. The last part deals with
analysis of the data and answers the research questions.
The purpose of this research is to find out what the most frequent suffixes, prefixes and
compound patterns in nouns are. Furthermore, the results of affixation and
compounding in academic text, newspapers and contemporary fiction will be compared
with the research by Biber (2007).
Another aim of this research is to see if there are any differences between the three
types of texts in terms of word-formation processes that are applied.
Finally, the three texts will be analyzed as one. The result will be the average
occurrence of word-formation processes and will be compared with each type of text
separately to see which one is the most similar.
I believe that working on this project will enrich my knowledge of English vocabulary and
will be useful for me in the future as a teacher-to-be of the English language.
8
THEORETICAL PART
1. Word-formation
1.1 The definition of a word
One of the two word definitions provided by Štekauer (2000, p. 137) describes a word
as sounds that follows one another in order to create a word that carries a meaning. It
can also be represented by writing. The smallest items of a word, morphemes, cannot
be used independently. A word should always be formed from at least one morpheme.
A sentence is built by combining words together in a certain order.
1.2 Meaning of word-formation
Word-formation is a term used when a new word is created by using one of the wordformation processes. There are several types of word-formation process and each of
them has its own specific rules and can create different types of words (Jackson & Zé
Amvela, 2007, p. 81).
e.g.
employ (verb) + -ee (suffix) = employee (noun; process of suffixation)
black (adjective) + board (noun) = blackboard (noun; process of compounding)
(Plag, 2003, p. 10)
1.3 Word-formation units
1.3.1 Affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes)
The smallest units that carry a meaning are called morphemes and from morphemes a
complex word is built (Plag, 2003, p. 10). Affixes are bound morphemes which means
that they cannot stand on their own. When an affix is attached in front of the root/stem, it
is called a prefix. On the other hand, if an affix follows the root/stem, it is a suffix. An
infix is a morpheme that is placed within the root/stem (Crystal, 1995, pp. 11 - 12).
e.g.
unfriendly (un = prefix)
friendship (ship = suffix)
absobloominglutely (blooming = infix) (Crystal, 2002, p. 128)
1.3.2 Root
Crystal (1995, pp. 303 - 304) explains that the root is a base form, which if analyzed,
would lose its identity. Thus, when all of the affixes are removed from a word, what is
left is then called the root.
e.g. meaningfulness – mean (root)
9
1.3.3 Stem
An inflectional suffix can be attached to the stem. Therefore, a root can be already
included in the stem (Hornová, 2003, p. 17). Crystal (1995, p. 326) describes the stem
as an item which is part of a word structure. It can be a root morpheme, which is also
called a simple stem (man). The stem may consist of two root morphemes, called a
compound stem (blackbird). Lastly, the stem can already include a root morpheme and
a derivational affix and therefore be called a complex stem (manly, unmanly, manliness).
1.3.4 Base
The base can be a morph, a word or a lexeme which is used to form another word by
adding derivational or inflectional suffixes.
e.g.
happy – unhappy, happily
unhappy – unhappily, unhappiness (Hornová, 2003, p. 17)
Hornová (2003, p. 50) explains that morphs represent varieties of morphemes, or socalled allomorphs (walk-ed(t), listen-ed(d), wait-ed(id), spoke, told, etc.).
Lexeme is “a unit of lexical meaning, which exists regardless of any inflectional endings
it may have or the number of words it may contain.” (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p.
e.g. table - tables, big - bigger, come in, put up with, etc. (Crystal, 2002, p. 118).
1.4 The difference between inflection and derivation
Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, pp. 82 - 83) state the difference between inflection and
derivation:
In the English language, inflection means adding an inflectional suffix to the words. It is
never a prefix. The result is a word which has a different grammatical form. For instance,
a common inflectional morpheme is a plural morpheme. When an inflectional morpheme
is added to a word, it does not mean that a new lexical word is created.
e.g.: book – books
Derivation, on the other hand, is when a derivational affix is added and a new word is
created from the one that already exists.
e.g.: resign + -ation – resignation
In conclusion, it is obvious to see that the difference between inflection and derivation is
only a morphological issue. When an inflective morpheme is added, an alternative
grammatical form is created of the same word, whereas by adding a derivational
morpheme, we can create a new vocabulary item.
10
2. Word-formation processes
According to Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1520 - 1584), these are the processes of wordformation:
-
-
Affixation (Derivation)
o Prefixation
o Suffixation
Conversion
Compounds
Back-formation
Reduplicatives
Abbreviations
o Clipping
o Acronyms
o Blends
Crystal (2002, pp. 128, 131) and Plag (2003, p. 101) also mention an infixation as a
type of affixation although it is not a very frequent type of word-formation.
Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, p. 102) allocate the back-formation process to processes
of shortenings along with clipping, abbreviations and acronyms.
Plag‟s (2003, p. 17) division slightly differs in terminology (truncation):
Derivation:
-
Affixation
o Prefixation
o Suffixation
o Infixation
-
Non-affixation
o Conversion
o Truncation
o Blending
Truncation is a process of shortening words and names, for example trunctuated names
(Ron - Aaron), -y diminutives (comfortable - comfy) and clippings (demo demonstration) (Plag, 2003, p. 116).
2.1 Affixation
Carter & McCarthy (2006, p. 474) write that affixation is one of the most common wordformation processes.
According to Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, pp. 88 - 91), one way of describing affixation
is to divide derivational affixes into two groups: class-changing and class-maintaining.
Class-changing derivational affixes are those affixes that when added to a word they
change its word class.
e.g. Verb + affix = noun (resign + -ation = resignation, farm + -er = farmer)
8
Class-maintaining affixes do not change the word class of the derived noun, but change
its meaning.
e.g. Noun + affix = noun (malaria + anti- = anti-malaria, chief + -dom = chiefdom)
For a full list of examples of affixes see Appendix 1 (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, pp. 88
- 91).
2.1.1 Prefixation
Prefixation is attaching a prefix in front of the word stem. There are about 57 varieties of
prefixes. They can be divided into groups according to their meaning or function. Some
of the prefixes can appear more than once and in different groups as the meaning is
sometimes different; one example is the prefix un- (Crystal, 2002, p. 128).
On the other hand, Carter & McCarthy (2007, pp. 475 - 476) only provide a list of the
main 40 prefixes that are used in the English language, providing each prefix with a
short definition and examples.
e.g.
anti-
‘against or opposed to’
antibiotic, anticlimax, anti-nuclear
de-
‘to reverse, to alter’
decommission, deform, destabilise
over-
‘too much’
overeat, overindulgent
Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1540 – 1546) divide prefixes into more detail as described in
Chapters 2.1.3.1 - 2.1.3.10 according to their meaning in contrast with the division of
Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, pp. 88 - 91). For more examples of prefixes according to
Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1540 - 1546) see Appendix 2.
2.1.1.1 Negative prefixes
Quirk et. al. (1985, pp. 1540) explain that the meaning of the following prefixes is
negative. Prefix a- suggests that there is a lack of something and the rest of the prefixes
(dis-, in-, non-, and un-) mean the converse of something. The prefix non- is usually
combined with a hyphen.
The prefix in- also means „inside‟ (Biber at al., 2007, p. 320).
e.g. inattention, discomfort, nonpayment (Biber et al., 2003, p. 89)
2.1.1.2 Reversative or privative prefixes
Reversal prefixes de-, dis-, and un- denote the reverse of the action (Quirk et al., 1985,
p. 1541).
e.g. decommission (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 475)
9
2.1.1.3 Pejorative prefixes
When adding pejorative prefixes to a word, we change its meaning into something that
is bad or done badly (Quirk et al. 1985, p. 1541). Crystal (2002, p. 128) calls this group
disparaging, but provides the same prefixes as Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1541). The prefixes
are mal-, mis- and pseudo-.
e.g. malnutrition, misconduct (Biber et al., 2003, p. 89)
2.1.1.4 Prefixes of size or degree
These prefixes tell us about the size, amount or degree of something. Prefixes arch-,
mega-, out-, over-, super-,and sur- mean a large amount or high position, while ultraand hyper- denote an extreme. On the other hand, prefixes mini-, sub- or under- and
hypo- suggest that the meaning is a little or below something. Arch- and over- can also
have a pejorative meaning. Lastly, the prefix co- means jointly or on the same footing
(Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1542). Prefixes mega-, having the meaning of something being
very large or important and vice- as a deputy, are stated in the division by Crystal (2002,
p. 128).
e.g. viceroy (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 476), co-founder (Biber et al., 2003, p. 89)
2.1.1.5 Prefixes of orientation and attitude
Prefixes of orientation and attitude such as anti- and counter- mean against or in
opposition to something. The prefix contra- marks contrast and the prefix pro- denotes
for or on the side of something (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1543). In this group, Crystal (2002,
p. 128) includes one more prefix auto-.
e.g. anti-malaria (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 90)
2.1.1.6 Locative prefixes
Locative prefixes can extend the meaning of the words to metaphorically abstract
spheres. Fore- means the front part of something, inter- means between two or among
more than two and sub- means under something and super- is the opposite of sub-. The
prefix trans- means across something, from one part to another part (Quirk et al., 1985,
p. 1543 - 1544). Crystal (2002, p. 128) mentions three more locative prefixes: extra-,
pan- and tele-.
e.g. subgroup, teleshopping (Biber et al., 2007, p. 89)
2.1.1.7 Prefixes of time and order
Prefixes fore- and pre- both mean before. The opposite meaning has the prefix post-.
Ex- can be understood as former and the prefix re- is as „again‟, or „back‟ (Quirk et al.,
1985, p. 1544). Crystal (2002, p. 128) mentions in this group prefixes neo-, paleo- and
proto-., e.g. reopen, prejudge (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 91).
10
2.1.1.8 Number prefixes
Number prefixes express the numeric meaning of a word. Prefixes such as uni- and
mono- stand for the number one, bi- and di- stand for the number two, tri- is for three,
semi- and demi- are for half and poly- and multi- are for many (Quirk et al., 1985, p.
1546).
e.g. bilingualism, polysyllable (Biber, 2007, p. 89)
2.1.1.9 Miscellaneous neo-classical prefixes
There are some prefixes that are not included in the groups stated above. These are
prefixes auto- as „self‟, extra- meaning exceptionally, neo- is new and the opposite can
be paleo- as old. Proto- stands for the first, pan- for all or world-wide and vice- for
deputy or representative. Prefix tele- means distant or connected with communication
(Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1545 - 1546).
e.g. telepathy, viceroy (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 476)
2.1.1.10
Conversion prefixes
As the title of these prefixes suggests, they are slightly different prefixes from those
already mentioned. Conversion prefixes do not have a stress and their main use is
influencing the conversion of the base form in order to form a different word-class. The
prefix a- is used to form adjectives from verbs, while be- and en- (em- before /p/ and /b/)
form verbs from nouns (Quirk et al., 1985, pp. 1546).
e.g. bewitched, endanger (Crystal, 2002, p. 128)
2.1.2 Suffixation
Attaching an affix after the base form is called suffixation. Suffixes are not free
morphemes and as Crystal (1995, p. 128) points out, they are different from prefixes
chiefly because of causing a change in the word-class. Prefixes rarely change a wordclass and it is also more difficult to describe their denotation.
Suffixes are the most frequent class-changing affixes (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p.
88).
Carter & McCarthy (2007, pp. 476 - 477) simply divide suffixation into groups based on
which suffixes form nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs. Then, they also provided
examples with a remark on the change of class. For example:
Suffixes which form nouns: -age (count to non-count noun) baggage, mileage
Suffixes which form adjectives: -ed (noun to adjective) bearded, short-tailed
Suffixes which form verbs: -en (adjective to verb) harden, lengthen, stiffen
Suffixes which form adverbs: -ly slowly, aggressively
11
The division in the following Chapters 2.1.4.1 - 2.1.4.4 is based on Quirk et al. (1985, pp.
1546 – 1558). To see full list of examples of suffixation see Appendix 3. This division is
identical to the division of Crystal‟s (2002, p. 198) types of suffixes. However, it provides
more detailed explanations of the suffixes provided in each group.
Because the suffixes are usually attached to a base form in certain word classes, it is
convenient to name them according to what word class they are attached to (e.g. -ness
is a de-adjectival noun suffix. It forms nouns from adjectives; for example in gracious graciousness).
2.1.2.1 Noun suffixes
Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1546 - 1547) explain that it is essential to differ suffixes “according
to the word class that results when they are added to a base,” and that is why they are
called Noun suffixes or Verbs suffixes.
2.1.2.1.1
Denominal nouns: Abstract
Nouns formed by a suffix that is attached to a noun base are called denominal (Quirk et
al. (1985, p. 1547).
By using the following suffixes, uncountable abstract nouns or aggregate nouns of
status or activity can be created. For instance, suffixes such as –age means „the
measure of‟ or „collection of‟ something. The suffix –dom sometimes carries pejorative
overtones, but not always. Suffixes – ery and -ry are understood as „the condition‟ or
„behaviour associated with‟ something, or „location of‟ something. –ful expresses „the
amount contained in‟ and –ing can refer to the material of a base from which it is made
of. –ism means „doctrine‟ of or „practice of‟ and -ocracy is connected with „government
by‟ (Quirk et al., 1985, pp. 1548 - 1549).
e.g. baggage, freedom, membership (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 476 - 477)
2.1.2.1.2
Denominal nouns: Concrete
Denominal concrete nouns are the opposite of denominal abstract nouns. When
suffixes are attached to a base form of a word, new concrete words are created.
The suffix –err sometimes has a pejorative meaning and means skilled in or engaged in.
–er suggests having a dominant characteristic or to be a denizen of. The suffix–ess is
obvious, marking the feminine nouns. –ette can also be a feminine marker, but it can
also mean an imitation or something that is compact or fairly productive. –let shows that
something is quite small or unimportant and –ster has a mainly pejorative meaning.
–ling means „minor‟ or „offspring‟ (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1549).
e.g. New Yorker, actress, booklet (Biber et al., 2003, p. 90)
12
2.1.2.1.3
Deverbal nouns
Deverbal nouns are created when a suffix is attached to a verb base. As a result,
concrete count nouns are formed. Suffixes such as –ant, -ee –er, and -or mainly have a
personal reference (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1550).
e.g. informant, absentee, supervisor (Crystal, 2002, p. 198)
Other suffixes can also be combined with verb bases which then create abstract nouns.
The following suffixes are: –age, meaning „action of‟ or an „instance of‟ something; –al
also means action but is also „a result of‟ something and –ation means „the process‟ or
„state of.‟ This suffix can also mean „the product of‟ or „the institution produced by.‟ The
suffix –ment means the result of something. –ing means “concrete count nouns referring
to what results from the action of the base” (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1550 - 1551). Suffix
-ence, -ance means „action or state of verb-ing‟ (Biber et al., 2007, p. 321).
e.g. involvement, wrapping, arrival (Plag, 2003, pp. 87 - 92)
2.1.2.1.4
De-adjectival nouns
De-adjectival nouns are those nouns that are formed by a suffix attached to an
adjectival base.
The two suffixes – ity and –ness are used to form abstract non-counting nouns which
are formed from adjectives (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1551). The suffix -ence, -ance means
„state of being an adjective‟.
e.g. electricity, goodness (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 88 - 89)
2.1.2.2 Noun/adjective suffixes
The following suffixes can create both nouns and nongradable adjectives. These
denominal and de-adjectival formations can basically relate to human beings or
members of groups.
The suffix –ese means „a member of‟ or also „the language‟ and „style of‟ something.
The suffix –(i)an also means „the language of‟ but also „adherent to,‟ „relating to‟ and
„citizen of.‟–ist means „skilled in‟ and –ite means „adherent to‟ or „a member of‟ (Quirk et
al., 1985, p. 1552).
e.g. Portugese, republican, loyalist, socialite (Crystal, 2002, p. 198)
2.1.2.3 Adjective suffixes
2.1.2.3.1
Denominal suffixes
These suffixes form adjectives from nouns.
There are suffixes which are of native origin, such as –ed, creating a nongradable
adjective with the meaning of „having.‟ -ful, as it suggests, means „full of‟ or „providing.‟
–ish and –y signify „somewhat‟ or also „characterized by.‟ -less denotes „without,‟ and
13
-like suggests that ‘x-like’ means ‘like (an) x’. –ly forms concrete nouns and carries the
meaning of „having the qualities of‟ (Quirk et al., pp. 1552 - 1553).
e.g. bearded, helpful, foolish, frosty, childless, rubber-like (Carter & McCarthy, pp. 476 477)
Then, there are suffixes that originate from foreign countries and combine with bases
that have also been adopted from other languages. Suffixes –al, -exque, -ic and -ous
are considered as the most frequent suffixes and all have the same meaning as „having
the properties of‟ or „having a relation to (the base)‟ (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1553 - 1554).
e.g. accidental, Kafkaesque, Celtic, desirous (Crystal, 2002, p. 198)
2.1.2.3.2
Deverbal suffixes
The most common deverbal suffixes are –able and –ive. The predominant distinction
between these two suffixes is the voice. –able is related to the passive and –ive is the
active voice (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1555).
e.g. arguable, creative (Jackson & Zé Amvela, p. 90)
2.1.2.4 Adverb suffixes
The suffix -ly can be used when forming an adverb from an adjective. The meaning can
be „in a ... manner‟ or „to a ... degree,‟ or „in a ... respect.‟ However, there are adjectives
that have no separate adverbial form (fast, hard), so they do not take -ly. Also, -ly is not
added to an adjective that is pronounced with /l/ at the end; this suffix is not used when
the adjective ends in -ly.
Nongradable directional adverbs are formed by the suffix -ward(s). The (s) is commonly
found in spoken American English (AmE) and in British English (BrE). The form without
(s) can be found mainly in spoken AmE.
The suffix -wise creates nongradable adverbs from noun bases. The meaning can be in
relation to a manner, dimension, or in the sense „so far as (the base) is concerned‟
(Quirk et al., 1985, pp.1556 - 1557).
e.g. fatherly, piecewise, homewards (Biber et al., 2003, p. 194)
2.1.2.5 Verb suffixes
There are not many suffixes combined with the verb that are frequently used in the
English language. -ate can be mainly found attached to neo-classical noun bases, and
-en can mean „to make ...‟ or „to become ....‟ The last suffixes are -ify, -fy and -ize.
Meanings are connected to the denotation of their base form (Quirk et al. 1985, pp.
1557 – 1558).
e.g. dominate, harden, identify, caramelise (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 477)
14
2.2 Conversion
“Conversion may be defined as a process by which a word belonging to one word class
is transferred to another word class without any concomitant change of form, either in
pronunciation or spelling” (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 100).
Adams (1997, p. 37) names conversion as derivation by zero suffix. There is no suffix
attached to the base form and yet the word changes its word-class. It mainly functions
as a process of creating verbs from nouns and adjectives and new nouns from verbs.
Formation of verbs from other word classes is not very common.
Carter & McCarthy (2007, p. 479) and Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, p. 100) describe
and explain the division of conversion very briefly. Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1558 - 1566)
and Adams (1997, pp. 37 - 55) describe conversion in detail and explain the meaning of
each of the groups of converted nouns, verbs or adjectives. The main word-class
changes in Chapters 2.1.5.1 - 2.1.5.4 are stated according to all of the writers
mentioned above.
2.2.1 Nouns converted into verb
Adam‟s (1997, pp. 42 - 49) division is restricted by sentence elements and whether or
not the verb is transitive or intransitive. Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1561 - 1562) simplify the
division of subclasses according to their meaning. For instance, „to put in/on noun‟ (to
bottle, to carpet, to shelve) is to give „noun,‟ to provide with „noun‟ (to butter, to coat), to
deprive of „noun‟ (to core, to peel), to ... with „noun‟ (to elbow, to glue), to be or act as
„noun‟ with respect to ... (to father, to nurse), to make or change ... into „noun‟ (cash,
cripple), or to send or go by „noun‟ (to mail, bicycle).
2.2.2 Verbs converted into nouns
These are the subgroups according to Adams (1997, pp. 52 - 55): An agent of action
(cheat, spy), concrete object or result of action (drink, kill, smile, whisper), concrete
result of action (give a cry, have a look, make a guess), and an abstract result of action
- subjective or objective (dislike, dismay, rescue). Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1560) also
mention a subgroup called a Place of a verb (rise, lay-by) and Manner of verb-ing (walk,
throw).
2.2.3 Adjectives to verbs
Both Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1561 - 1562) and Adams (1997, p. 50) describe two groups
of converted word-classes: one group of intransitive verbs means to be or become with
the quality denoted by the adjective (e.g. dim, slim, sour) and in the second group, the
transitive verbs mean to cause someone or something to be, become, and the quality is
denoted by the adjective (dirty, dry, humble, blind). Adams (1997, p. 50) then adds one
more group of verbs expressing the manner in which an action is performed (brave,
rough, gentle).
15
2.2.4 Adjectives to nouns
Conversion from adjectives to nouns is mentioned by Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, p.
100), e.g. the poor, the rich, a convertible, and by Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1560), e.g. as a
football player, he‟s a natural. Crystal (2002, p. 129) also shows this in his examples,
e.g. final, regular. This type of conversion does not appear in the works by Carter &
McCarthy (2007) and Adams (1997).
2.2.5 Other types of conversion
Crystal (2002, p. 129) briefly mentions less productive groups.
Grammatical word to noun: e.g. too many ifs and buts, that‟s a must, the how and the
why.
Affix to noun: e.g. ologies and isms.
Carter & McCarthy (2007, p. 479) point out new forms created by conversion: e.g. to
email, to impact, to text, a download. Also, adjective compounds that are created by
whole phrases are mentioned: e.g. four-wheel-drive car, good-for-nothing brother of his,
fly-on-the-wall documentary.
Some of these word-classes can undergo conversion more than once, meaning that not
only one can be created from a one word-class, e.g. to go down (adverb particle), to
down a beer (verb), to have a down on someone (noun) (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p.
100).
Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1563 - 1566) also mention changes as noncount to count (two
coffees - two cups of coffee), count to noncount (an inch of pencil), proper noun to
common noun (the museum has several Renoirs), intransitive verbs to transitive (run
the water), and the opposite (your book reads well), and nongradable adjective to
gradable (he is more English than English).
2.3 Compounding
Crystal (2002, p. 129) explains the meaning of compounds as a part of the vocabulary
which is compounded together by two or more lexical stems. At first sight, there seems
to be more than one lexeme. However, all parts of the compound word function together
as a single unit. For instance, a compound word flower-pot does not mean two objects
(flower and pot), but only one. Also, the plural form is created by adding -s to the
second element, but not to both (flower-pots, not *flowers-pots).
2.3.1 Parts of compounds
Nouns as initial elements: air, arm, eye, foot, rose
Verbs as initial elements: break, carry, play, take
16
Adjectives as initial elements: big, hot, quick, red
Adverbs as initial elements: about, down, off, over
Neo-classical compound elements from Greek and Latin roots: astro (star), naut (sailor),
biblio (book), graphy (writing), xeno (foreigner), and phobia (fear). There is one
difference as neo-classical compound elements do not stand alone as single words
(Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, pp. 94, 95).
2.3.2 Noun compounds
Noun compounds can be formed by adding a noun, verb, adjective and adverb to a
noun.
e.g. ash-tray, pick-pocket, black-bird, back-talk (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 96)
Quirk et al. (1985, pp. 1570 - 1576) and Carter & McCarthy‟s (2007, p. 480 - 481)
division is more detailed. There are several subgroups of noun compounds.
2.3.2.1 Subject and verb
This group includes compound words such as headache (head that aches) and rainfall
(rain that falls) (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 481). The subclasses presented by Quirk
et al. (1985, p. 1570 - 1571) are Subject and deverbal noun (sunrise, bee-sting,
heartbeat), Verb and subject (popcorn, playboy, watchdog) and Verbal noun in -ing plus
subject (cleaning woman, washing machine).
2.3.2.2 Verb and object
Compounds of verb and object are: know-all (a person who thinks they know all) and
killjoy („kill joy,‟ someone who spoils the enjoyment of others) (Carter & McCarthy, 2007,
p. 481). Further division by Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1571): Object + deverbal noun (birthcontrol, haircut, handshake), Object + verbal noun in -ing (air-conditioning, story-telling,
housekeeping), Object + agential noun in -er (gamekeeper, matchmaker, songwriter),
Verb + object (call-girl, push-button, scarecrow), and Verbal noun in -ing + object
(drinking-water, spending money).
2.3.2.3 Verb and adverbial
Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1572) include: adverbial + verbal noun in -ing (churchgoing,
sleepwalking, handwriting), adverbial + agential noun in -er (backswimmer, factoryworker, daydreamer), adverbial + deverbal noun (boat-ride, daydream, gunfight), and
verb + adverbial (workbench, springboard).
2.3.2.4 Verbless compounds - subject and object
The subgroups are: a noun powers or operates the second noun (air-brake, cable car,
motorcycle), a noun produces the next noun (honey-bee, water pistol, cane sugar,
gaslight), a noun has another noun (shirt-sleeves, bedpost), and one noun controls or
17
works in connection with the next noun (chairperson, police-officer, fireman, postman)
(Quirk et al., 1985, pp. 1573 - 1574).
2.3.2.5 Verbless compounds - subject and complement
There are groups such as: noun „is‟ a noun (manservant, drummer boy, tape-measure)
which is an adjective + noun, noun „is‟ an adjective (blackboard, blackbird, madman),
noun „is like‟ a noun (catfish, dragonfly, tissue paper), noun „consists of‟ a noun
(snowflake, raindrop, breadcrumb), and noun „is for‟ a noun (ashtray, birdcage,
doghouse) (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1574 - 1575).
2.3.3 Adjective compounds
Adjective compounds are created when adding any root (except verbs) to an adjective.
The first root can be a noun, an adjective or an adverb. For example, noun + adjective =
earth-bound and sea-sick; adjective + adjective = blue-green and south-west and
adverb + adjective = near-sighted and off-white (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 96).
These adjective compounds mostly end in an adjective, or in an -ing form, or -ed
adjective form (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 481).
2.3.4 Verb and object
Quirk et al. (1985, p. 1576) explain that in this case the word „self‟ is very often the first
constituent as in a group consisting of an object + -ing participle (self-defeating, heartbreaking, life-giving).
2.3.5 Verb and adverbial
In this group are stated patterns like adverbial + -ing participle (ocean-going), adverbial
+ -ed participle (handmade), adverb/adjective + -ing participle (hard-working) and
adjective/adverb + -ed participle (dry-cleaned) (Quirk et al. 1985, p. 1577).
2.3.6 Verbless
Verbless adjectival compounds can consist of a noun-based adverbial and adjective
(airsick, duty-free), a noun that is denoting basis of comparison and adjective (ashblonde, sea-green) or can consist of an adjective and another adjective (grey-green,
psychosomatic) (Quirk et al., 1985, pp. 1577 - 1578).
2.3.7 Adverb compounds
Adverb + adverb are mentioned by Jackson & Zé Amvela (2007, p. 97); for example
compounds such as in-to, through-out.
2.3.8 Compounds containing particles
These kinds of compounds are described by Adams (1997, pp. 113 - 127). The general
division of this group is into nominal (bystander), adjectival (offputting), verbal (update)
or adverbial compounds (on-line).
18
2.3.9 Compound verbs
Compound verbs are not very common, however, they are usually created by a
backformation process or they can be derived from a different word class by conversion.
e.g. to daydream, to blackmail, shoplift, babysit (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 481).
2.3.10 Neoclassical compounds
This group is mentioned by Štekauer (2000, p. 103), Plag (2003, p. 155 - 158) and by
Adams (1997, p. 128 - 134). They all write the same about those compounds created by
parts borrowed from other languages (Latin, Greek, French, etc.).
Neo-classical elements are very similar to affixes (electro-, hydro-, bio-, mini-, phobe,
etc.), but the main difference is that neo-classical elements can be combined with
affixes (bionomics, astro-dog, bio-science, megacity) (Štekauer, 2000, p. 103). Plag
(2003, p. 156) shows a table where he provides some examples and explains the form
(if it is the first element in compound or the second) and translates the meaning.
e.g.
geo- (form)
‘earth’ (meaning)
geographic (example)
theo-
‘god’
theology
2.4 Backformation
Backformation is another word-formation process, when a new word is created by
deleting a suffix-like element from suffixed and non-suffixed words (Štekauer, 2000, p.
109). There are two main groups which are good sources for backformation: nouns and
compound nouns that end in -tion or -ion and in -ar, -er, -or, or -ing.
e.g. emote: derived from emotion, intuit: derived from intuition, televise: derived from
television, air-condition: derived from air-conditioner, sightsee: derived from sightseeing,
diagnose: derived from diagnosis.
Adams (1997, pp. 105 - 112) describes backformation along with verb compounds as
these two word-formation processes are related to each other.
2.5 Reduplicatives
Reduplicatives are those words which are similar or identical in form and create another
lexeme. The identical words connected together are quite rare (goody-goody, din-din).
On the other hand the distinction between similar words is often only a change of
consonant (Crystal, 2002, p. 130). The change of consonants can be initial (walkietalkie), or vowels can be changed in the medial position (criss-cross). Reduplicatives
are mainly used when parents talk to their children („parent-talk‟) as in words like din-din
(dinner) (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1579).
19
The usage of a reduplicative lexeme can be used to initiate a sound (ding-dong, bowwow), or to suggest alternative movements (flip-flop, ping-pong). Reduplicatives can
also have a disparaging meaning (dilly-dally, wishy-washy), or can intensify meaning
(teeny-weeny, tip-top) (Crystal, 2002, p. 130).
Štekauer (2000, p. 112) distinguishes combinations that rhyme, such as hocus-pocus,
loco-foco, super-duper. Reduplicatives can occur mainly in colloquial language, jocular
or are emotionally coloured.
2.6 Abbreviations
Abbreviations are shortened words. There are three main types of shortening: clipping,
acronyms and blends (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 482).
2.6.1 Clipping
As Adams (1997, p. 135) explains, clipped words are shortened by removing a part of
the word but without changing its function. Clipping is usually used in informal language
and the full words in formal language. There is probably no rule where the word should
be exactly shortened. Usually the first or sometimes the first two syllables retain.
e.g. pub (from public house), exam (from examination)
Crystal (2002, p. 120) adds examples of clipped words where the middle or last part
retains. He also mentions groups of words that are adapted from a foreign language.
e.g. fridge (from refrigerator), plane (from airplane), fries (from fried potatoes)
Plag (2003, p. 116) also mentions truncated names (Ron from Aaron, Mike from
Michael), and -y diminutives (bed - beddie, comfortable - comfy, Andrew - Andy).
2.6.2 Acronyms
Acronyms are created from the initial letters of two or more words (Carter & McCarthy,
2007, p. 482). The pronunciation of acronym is like an individual lexical item while
initials (the same word-formation process) are pronounced as individual letters and are
often called alphabetism (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 103).
e.g.
VIP / !vi; aI "pi/, UN /!ju; "en/, FBI /!ef bi; "aI/ (Quirk et al., 1985, p. 1582)
NATO /"neIt@U/, UNESCO /ju;"nesk@U/ (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 103)
20
2.6.3 Blending
Blending means combining one part of a word (usually the initial phonemes) and one
part of another word (usually the final phoneme) together and thus creating a new word
(Štekauer, 2000, p. 110). The elements blended together are usually well recognized as
enough of each unit is left in the word (Crystal, 2002, p. 130).
e.g.
brunch (lunch + breakfast), chunnel (channel + tunnel), motel (motor + hotel),
glitzy (glitter + ritzy) (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, p. 101)
Other types of blends are combinations of overlapping words (guestimate = guess +
estimate, slanguage = slang + language), or blends where one of the combined parts
retains a whole word (Nixonomics = Nixon + economics) (Štekauer, 2000, p. 111) and
blends where the last parts of words create a new blended word (netiquette = internet +
etiquette) (Carter & McCarthy, 2007, p. 483).
3. Conclusion
The theoretical part provides a description of word-formation processes such as
derivation (prefixation and suffixation), conversion, compounds, back-formation,
reduplicatives and abbreviations (clipping, acronyms and blends). Each description of
word-formation process is completed by examples of such words. Any differences in
division of word-formation of different linguists were also noted.
21
PRACTICAL PART
1. Introduction
The practical part of this bachelor project is dealing with two types of noun wordformation (derivation and compounding) and the frequency of their occurrence in three
different texts. The types of text are as follows:
-
Academic texts,
Newspapers,
Contemporary fiction.
The formation of derived nouns along with graphs showing the frequency of noun
suffixes in academic prose can be found in the work by Biber et al. (2007, p. 318 - 327).
That research is based on findings in the British National Corpus.
Similar research is conducted in this work.
The nouns that are analyzed in this bachelor project are common nouns, abstract and
concrete (friendship, bread) in singular. They are not proper nouns (not *David, London).
1.1 Research questions
Analysis of the three types of texts separately:
1. What is the most frequent type of noun word-formation according to this
research? Suffixation, prefixation or compounding? Is it different in each type of
text?
2. What is the occurrence of suffixation, prefixation and compounding in each of the
texts?
3. What are the four most frequent types of suffixes in each text?
4. What are the four most frequent types of prefixes in each of the texts?
5. What are the four most frequent compound patterns in each of the texts?
6. Which text has the biggest and smallest number of different types of suffixes,
prefixes and compound patterns?
7. What is the occurrence of all nouns (with repetition) in each text per 1000 words?
8. What is the occurrence of nouns (without repetition) with a derivational affix or
compounds per 1000 words?
9. In which type of text was the smallest occurrence of repeated nouns? In which
text was the highest occurrence of repeated words?
10. Are the results of suffixation in academic text, newspapers and contemporary
fiction provided in this bachelor project any different from the findings provided by
Biber et al. (2007, p. 322 - 323)?
11. Are the results of compounding in newspapers any different from the findings
provided by Biber et al. (2007, 327)?
22
Analysis of the three types of text together:
12. What is the most frequent type of noun word-formation according to this
research? Suffixation, prefixation or compounding?
13. What are the most frequent suffixes, prefixes and compound patterns?
1.2 Texts analyzed during the research
Academic text:
The book, representing academic text, is a work by Penny Ur, A Course of Language
Teaching (2006). This book is mainly aimed at language teachers. It provides different
methodology patterns for teaching a foreign language.
Newspapers:
A sample representing newspapers is the well-known British newspapers called The
Daily Telegraph.
Contemporary fiction:
Nick Hornby and his fiction called “About a Boy” was the choice when deciding what will
represent contemporary fiction in this research.
2. Methodology
In order to obtain reliable results in this research, 200 sample nouns had to be found in
each of the three texts. By a sample noun, it is meant as a common noun to which
derivation or compounding is applied. All the other words beside nouns were also
counted. No inflectional endings were taken into account. This means that if a word was
plural, it was counted in its singular form.
Here is an example of text that was analyzed. This part is taken from the academic text:
“The ideas for raising interest suggested in the previous unit are useful as overall
guidelines for the design of materials or tasks. This unit looks at how learner’s level of
attention and interest fluctuates within the period of engagement with a task, and what
might cause such fluctuations (Ur, p 282).”
There are 48 words in this sample text; 15 nouns and out of those there are 4 nouns
which can be taken as samples for the research of noun word-formation. One is a
compound (guideline) and the other 3 are nouns with suffixes (attention, engagement,
fluctuation).The nouns unit, interest and task appear twice. Dealing with repeated words
will be explained below.
This bachelor project is only focused on nouns that are in position of the noun. This
means that nouns in position of adjectives were not counted among the samples
needed for the research (the learner interest - learner functions as an adjective, thus it
is not counted).
23
The first step in conducting this research was counting the words. By words, it is meant
to include all word-classes such as nouns, adjectives, articles, prepositions, etc. In the
newspapers, I marked sections containing 400 words from different articles. The themes
of the articles were business, culture, sport, travelling, technology, international issues,
etc. Random sections of 400 words were similarly marked in contemporary fiction and in
academic texts. Sections of 400 words in random chapters were marked.
After finishing counting about 2000 words, the collection of nouns was conducted in four
steps.
First, all nouns were denoted along with the page or article title that the nouns were
taken from. For example:
Penny Ur, p. 282: ideas, interest, unit, guidelines, design, materials, task, unit, level,
attention, interest, period, engagement, task, fluctuations.
Second, all of the nouns were copied from the first document, alphabetized and lastly
numbered in columns so that it was clearly seen which nouns were repeated and also
how many nouns were there altogether. For example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
attention
design
engagement
fluctuation
guidelines
6. ideas
7. interest
8. interest
9. level
10. materials
11. period
12. task
13. tasks
14. unit
15. unit
The third step was to copy all of the nouns from the second document and reduce them
by deleting repeated words. Thus, in the third document no two nouns are the same.
However, there still are nouns created by derivation or compounding together with the
nouns that are not. For example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
attention
design
engagement
fluctuation
5.
6.
7.
8.
guidelines
ideas
interest
level
9. materials
10. period
11. task
12. unit
Additionally, this list was once more reorganized to see the number of only the repeated
nouns with either derivation or compounding.
Lastly, the fourth step was to reduce the list of nouns to the samples that were created
only by affixation or compounding. These were the words that were mainly analyzed.
For example:
24
1. attention
2. engagement
3. fluctuation
4. guidelines
The texts were first analyzed separately and after that, the texts were analyzed as one.
However, only the fourth step mentioned above was conducted during the analysis of all
the texts together.
The number of all words must have been enlarged, copied and reduced several times
until there were 200 samples of noun word-formation in the last step.
Next, different suffixes, prefixes and compound patterns that occurred in each of the
texts were denoted. There also was the number of occurrences in each of the three
texts and examples.
For better clarity, the suffixes, prefixes and compound patterns were arranged into
tables, ordered from the most frequent to the least frequent, provided with examples
and also graphs were created showing the occurrence in percentages.
Compound nouns were divided into following patterns according to the division by Biber
et al (2007, p. 326): adjective + noun, noun + noun, noun + verb(er), noun + verb(ing),
noun + verb/noun, particle + verb/noun, self + noun, verb + particle, verb/noun + noun
and other patterns.
Other patterns refer to words that are compounded by more than two words or by a
pattern that is not listed above. One more pattern was added during the analysis and
that was neoclassical compounds.
Lastly, the results were analyzed together and the research questions were answered.
3. Collected data from the newspapers
About 4100 words were needed in order to collect 200 sample nouns for the analysis.
This was the smallest number in comparison with academic texts and contemporary
fiction.
Altogether there were 718 nouns. This number of nouns was not reduced, so it means
that many of the nouns were repeated two or more times. Some of the nouns appearing
quite often were words such as people (11x), book (10x), thing (6x), child (9x), family
(6x), official (6x), market (5x), letter (5x) and government (5x).
After deleting the repeated words, there were 491 different nouns left.
For the whole tables of frequency of suffixes, prefixes and compounds see Tables 1 - 9
in the Appendix 4.
25
3.1 Suffixation
Table 1: Frequency of suffixation in the newspapers
Suffix
-er, -or
-tion
-ing
-ity
Number Examples
lawyer, leader, negotiator
specification, reconciliation
childrearing, parenting, planning
ability, humility, identity
37
26
24
14
158 nouns created by 18 different suffixes among 254 nouns with either a derivational
affix or created by compounding were found in the newspapers. The most frequent
suffixes were -er, -or, -tion, -ing and -ity. The nouns with the suffix –er and -or were
mostly concrete nouns referring to a person (see chapter 2.1.2.1.1 and chapter
2.1.2.1.2). On the other hand, the suffix -ion expresses only abstract nouns (see chapter
2.1.2.1.3). Suffixes -ity and -ing appear in abstract nouns and the suffix -ing is also in
concrete nouns (see chapters 2.1.2.1.1, 2.1.2.1.3 and 2.1.2.1.4).
3.2 Prefixation
Table 2: Frequency of prefixation in newspapers
prefix number examples
redisteleintermini-
3
3
3
2
2
return, reconciliation
disclosure, disadvantage
telephone, television
intermediary, interview
minidisc, mini-series
21 nouns with 13 different prefixes were found in the newspapers. 9 of them were
concrete nouns (minidisc) and the rest were abstract nouns (interview). Each prefix was
not repeated many times as it is seen from the table above.
The table shows four most frequent types of prefixes. They are re-, dis-, tele-, inter- and
mini-. The prefix re- belongs among prefixes of time and order (see chapter 2.1.1.6),
dis- among reversal or negative prefixes (see chapters 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.1.2), teleexpressing the kinds of communication (see chapter 2.1.1.9.), inter- means „between
two‟ and mini- expresses a small number (see chapters 2.1.1.6 and 2.1.1.4.)
26
3.3 Compounding
Table 3: Frequency of compounding in newspapers
type of compound number of occurrence examples
noun + noun
others
adjective + noun
verb/noun + noun
6
6
4
3
fruitcake, gunman
school-of-hard-knocks
smartphone, goodwill
slapdashness, notebook
28 sample compounds were found in the newspapers. They were divided into 10
different patterns. The most frequent patterns are shown in the table above. The pattern
noun + noun mainly consists of concrete nouns; for example, gunman is a verbless
compound of the subject and object describing a person who operates a gun (see
chapter 2.3.2.4).
Adjective + noun pattern (see chapter 2.3.2.5) and other patterns also appear often.
The compound can sometimes be made of very complex words, such as the noun
school-of-hard-knocks which means an education that is hard; usually it is an education
through life experiences.
4. Collected data from the academic texts
In order to analyze the academic texts and collect 200 sample nouns with a derivational
affix or compounds, 5850 words were needed.
Altogether there were 1106 nouns with repetition. In this type of text there were nouns
that were repeated far more times than in the newspapers or in contemporary fiction.
Here are some examples of nouns that were repeated more than 10x: activity (17x),
assessment (15x), child (14x), class (20x), language (27x), learner (61x), motivation
(12x), practice (12x), question (14x), task (16x) and teacher (36x).
There were 388 nouns left after deleting the repeated nouns and leaving only one
sample of each noun.
27
4.1 Suffixation
Table 4: Frequency of suffixation in the academic text
suffix
-tion
-ment
-ing
-er, -or
number examples
79
18
16
14
motivation, participation
statement, improvement
code-learning, meaning
learner, instructor
175 nouns with 16 different suffixes were found in the academic text.
This table shows that the suffix -tion is by far the most frequent suffix. Nouns with this
suffix are all abstract (see chapter 2.1.2.1.3). They are all derived from verbs (to
motivate - motivation).
Other suffixes are not very frequent in comparison to the suffix –tion, but there are some
that appear more than ten times such as the suffixes -ment, -ing, -er, -or, -ance, -ence
and -ity. (see chapters 2.1.2.1.1, 2.1.2.1.3, and 2.1.2.1.4). Most of these suffixes create
abstract nouns.
4.2 Prefixation
Table 5: Frequency of prefixation in the academic text
prefix number examples
reinterindis-
5
4
3
2
reinforcement, re-production
interaction, interlanguage
indifference, independence
discouragement, disagreement
There were 22 nouns with 10 different prefixes in the academic text. The four most
frequent prefixes were the same as in the newspapers. The prefix in- appeared three
times as much as a derivational prefix of abstract nouns (see chapter 2.1.1.1). Other
prefixes such as pre-, over- and co- appeared once or twice.
28
4.3 Compounding
Table 6: Frequency of compounding in the academic text
type of compound
noun + noun
self + noun
particle + verb/noun
number examples
5
5
3
ego-involvement, classroom
self-access, self-image
outcome, overlap
21 sample compounds were found in the academic text. This is the smallest number in
comparison with the other two types of texts.
The table above shows the three most frequently used compound nouns. The pattern
noun + noun mainly consisted of abstract nouns, but the example classroom is a
concrete noun. The second pattern, self + noun also appears five times.
Other patterns do not appear frequently as is seen from the rest of this table in the
Appendix.
5. Collected data from contemporary fiction
14400 words were read in order to collect 200 sample nouns with a derivational affix or
compound nouns.
The number of all nouns with repetition was the highest. It was 1348 nouns total. There
were several samples that appeared more than 10 times. For instance: boyfriend (11x),
child (14x), day (18x), friend (10x), kid (26x), life (21x), man (12x), mother (11x), mum
(36x), people (34x), point (22x), reason (11x), room (15x), school (25x), thing (31x), time
(16x), way (17x), and woman (17x). These nouns can have a hyperonym such as
everyday life or ordinary life.
After reducing the nouns, deleting the repeated words and leaving only one sample of
each noun, there were 593 nouns left.
When deleting the nouns that were not samples of word-formation (out of all nouns with
repetition), there were 297 sample nouns left with repetition.
It can be clearly seen that only several nouns with a derivational affix or compounds
were repeated a few times.
29
5.1 Suffixation
Table 7: Frequency of suffixes in contemporary fiction
suffix
number examples
-tion
-er, -or
-ity
-ance, -ence
35
22
16
14
conversation, registration
beaker, reader
possibility, frivolity
annoyance, assistance
There were 140 nouns with 21 different suffixes. The most frequent suffix is -tion. All of
the nouns with this suffix are abstract nouns created from verbs (see chapter 2.1.2.1.3).
On the other hand, the suffixes –er and -or mainly construct concrete nouns that were
created either from a noun or from a verb. Suffix -ity forms nouns from adjectives and
also from suffixes –ance and -ence. This suffix creates nouns that are also from verbs.
Other suffixes such as -ness and -ment were also quite frequent.
5.2 Prefixation
Table 8: Frequency of prefixes in contemporary fiction
prefix number examples
indisunhypo-
3
2
2
1
indiscretion, infidelity
disgrace, disinfectant
unhappiness, untrustworthiness
hypothermia
Contemporary fiction had the least number of prefixes. Only 8 nouns with four different
prefixes were found. As can be seen from the table above, there are only 4 prefixes
such as in-, dis-, un- and hypo-. Prefixes in-, dis- and un- express negative meaning
(see chapter 2.1.1.1) and the prefix hypo- is expressed below the usual standard (see
chapter 2.1.1.4).
5.3 Compounding
Table 9: Frequency of compounding in contemporary fiction
type of compound number examples
noun + noun
verb/noun + noun
noun + verb/noun
verb + particle
23
7
6
5
swordfish, motorway
noticeboard, playground
homework, lipstick
leftover, makeup
30
In comparison with the other two types of text, the largest number of compound nouns
was found in contemporary fiction. There were 53 compounds and 9 compound patterns.
The noun + noun pattern (verbless compounds, see chapters 2.3.2.4 and 2.3.2.5)
created 23 nouns and they were all concrete nouns.
6. Overview of the collected data
See the Appendix 4 to see Table 10: Overview of the collected data. This table shows
all of the important findings that the research was based on. From the table the
numbers are clearly seen and could be easily compared with each other.
Table 10 contains the number of all words (the size) that were needed to conduct the
research (each text prepared separately), the number of all nouns found in each text
(before reduction and after reduction) and also the number of non-reduced nouns with
word-formation (affixation or compounding) and the number of nouns with wordformation, which is the same for all three texts (200).
Next, there are numbers of prefixes, suffixes and compounds along with the numbers of
the types of prefixes, suffixes and compounds.
To see the collected data of the numbers of each of the prefixes, suffixes and
compounds, view Tables 1 - 9 in the same Appendix 4.
To see the percentages of suffixation, prefixation and compounding see Table 11:
Percentages of suffixation, prefixation and compounding out of 200 nouns with wordformation is described below in chapter 7.
7. Collected data from the three types of texts together
After joining the 3 lists of 200 nouns (either with a derivational affix or compounding)
from contemporary fiction, academic writing and newspapers and deleting repeated
nouns, there were 557 nouns left. There remained 428 nouns with suffixes, 49 nouns
with prefixes and 101 compound nouns.
The most frequent suffix is -tion (128x). Other frequent suffixes are -er, -or (66x), -ing
(51x), -ity (31x) and -ance, -ence (34x). Among the prefixes include the prefixes re- (8x),
dis- (7x), in- (6x) and inter- (5x). The most frequent compound pattern is noun + noun
(33x). Other frequent patterns are self + noun (8x), verb/noun + noun (12x), verb +
particle (9x) and noun + verb/noun (8x).
To see the whole table of collected data from the three texts together see Table 11 in
the Appendix.
31
8. Answers to research questions
Analysis of each type of the text done separately:
1. What is the most frequent type of noun word-formation according to this
research? Suffixation, prefixation or compounding? Is it different in each type of
the texts?
Suffixation was the most frequent type of noun word-formation in each text. In the
newspapers, there were 158 nouns created by suffixation out of 200 nouns, in the
academic text there were 175 nouns and in contemporary fiction there were 140 nouns
created by suffixation. Thus, it was not different with regards to the type of texts.
Biber et al. (2007, p. 324) suggest that suffixes appear more often because of the fact
that they are of Romance or native Germanic origin and many of the prefixes are of
Greek origin. Greek prefixes such as hyper-, mono- and poly- are therefore quite new in
the usage of derivational affixes.
2. What is the occurrence of suffixation, prefixation and compounding in each of the
texts?
In the newspapers, there were 158 nouns with a suffix, 21 with prefixes and 28
compounds out of 200 sample nouns. That means that the percentage of nouns with
suffixes is 79%, nouns with prefixes is 10.5% and compound nouns is14%.
When counting the percentages together, this does not equal 100% because there were
several nouns that carried a prefix as well as a suffix, or there was a compound noun
with either a suffix or a prefix. Thus, a noun carrying two word-formation units was
counted twice.
In the academic text there were 175 nouns with suffixes, 22 with prefixes and 21
compounds out of 200 sample nouns. The percentage of suffixation in the academic
prose is 87%, prefixation 11% and compounding 10.5%.
In contemporary fiction there were 140 nouns formed by suffixes, 8 nouns formed by
prefixes and 53 nouns formed by compounding. Thus the percentage is 70% for
suffixation, 4% for prefixation and 26.5% for compounding.
Table 11: Percentages of suffixation, prefixation and compounding out of 200 nouns
with word-formation
Newspapers Academic writing Contemporary fiction
% of nouns with suffixes
79%
87%
70%
% of nouns with prefixes
10.5%
11%
4%
% of compound nouns
14%
10.5%
26.5%
32
Comparison of each of the texts and the percentage results is shown in Table 10. It is
clearly seen that suffixation and prefixation is least frequent in contemporary fiction. On
the other hand, in comparison with academic texts and newspapers, a higher number of
compound nouns was found in contemporary fiction.
3. What are the four most frequent types of suffixes in each text?
The suffixes –er, -or is the most frequently used suffixes in newspapers. This suffix
carries 37 (18.5% of the nouns with suffixes) nouns. The suffix -tion can be found in 26
(13%) nouns, the suffix -ing in 24 (12%) nouns and -ity in 14 (7%) nouns. The
percentages were counted out of the number of all suffixed nouns and that accounts for
158 nouns.
In academic texts the most frequent suffix is -tion. It creates 79 (45% of the nouns with
suffixes) nouns. Another frequent suffix is -ment and it creates 18 nouns (10%), -ing 16
nouns (9.1%) and -er, -or create 14 nouns (8%). The number of suffixed nouns is 175.
In contemporary fiction, the most frequent suffix is also the suffix -tion. It forms 34 nouns
(25% of the nouns with suffixes). 15.7% of the suffixed nouns are nouns with -er, -or,
11.4% is for the suffix -ity and 10% is for the suffixes -ance, -ence. The number of
suffixed nouns is 140.
The reason why the suffix -tion is so frequent is that “it is used to form numerous high
frequency nouns as well as rare coinages” (Biber et al., 2007, p. 324).
4. What are the four most frequent types of prefixes in each of the texts?
The prefixation in each of the texts was not very frequent. As seen from Table 2, 5 and
8 the prefixes that appeared most frequently are prefixes dis-, re-, inter- and in-. The
prefix re- appeared in academic writing five times and the prefix inter- four times. On the
other hand, the prefix re- was not found in contemporary fiction at all.
5. What are the four most frequent compound patterns in each of the texts?
The most frequent compound pattern in each of the texts was the pattern noun + noun.
In the academic text, there were 6 compounds with this pattern (out of 28 compound
nouns), 5 compounds in newspapers (out of 21 compound nouns) and 23 (43% of the
compound nouns) compounds in contemporary fiction (out of 53 compound nouns).
Another quite frequent compound pattern is the pattern self + noun which was found
five times in academic writing.
In contemporary fiction, other frequent types of compound patterns are the patterns
noun + verb/noun (6x) and verb/noun + noun (7x). These patterns do not appear often
in academic writing, but in newspapers there are 3 nouns in the verb/noun + noun
pattern.
33
The pattern adjective + noun is often found in the newspapers. This pattern creates 4
nouns (out of 28 compound nouns). The same number of compound nouns in this
pattern is also in contemporary fiction.
6. Which text has the biggest number and the smallest number of types of suffixes,
prefixes and compound patterns?
In newspapers there are 18 different types of suffixes, 13 different types of prefixes and
10 different compound patterns.
In the academic text, there are 16 different types of suffixes, 10 different types of
prefixes and the same number of 10 different compound patterns.
In contemporary fiction there are 21 different types of suffixes, only 4 different types of
prefixes and 9 different patterns of compound nouns.
Thus, the highest number of the types of suffixes is found in contemporary fiction (21)
and the lowest is in the academic text (16).
The highest number of types of prefixes is found in newspapers (13) and the lowest in
contemporary fiction (4).
The numbers of compound patterns are approximately the same.
7. What is the occurrence of all nouns (with repetition) in each text per 1000 words?
In newspapers, it was necessary to go through 4100 words in order to collect 200
sample nouns for analysis. Besides this, other nouns were also marked and could be
analyzed. The number of all nouns with repetition (meaning that some nouns are
repeated several times) is 718 in the newspapers. Approximately every 5th or 6th word is
a noun. There are approximately 175 nouns among 1000 words in the newspapers.
In academic prose, 5850 words were needed in order to collect 200 sample nouns for
analysis. In this case the number of all nouns with repetition is 1106. Approximately
every 5th word is a noun. There are about 189 nouns among 1000 words.
In contemporary fiction, 14400 words were needed in order to collect 200 sample nouns
for analysis. The number of all nouns with repetition is 1350. Approximately every 10th
or 11th word in contemporary fiction is a noun. There are approximately 94 nouns
among 1000 words.
Thus, there are 175 nouns per 1000 words in newspapers (that is 17.5% of all nouns
with repetition), 189 nouns in academic text (18.9%) and 94 nouns in contemporary
fiction (9.4%).
The smallest density of nouns is in contemporary fiction and the highest density of
nouns is in academic writing.
34
The reason why the newspapers and academic texts have such a high occurrence of
nouns might be that these two types of text are much more descriptive than
contemporary fiction. Also, a larger variety of different topics can be found in
newspapers and academic writing along with using a wide range of vocabulary. On the
other hand, contemporary fiction is less descriptive and the vocabulary is simple using
common everyday English words.
8. What is the occurrence of nouns with a derivational affix or compounds per 1000
words (without repetition)?
The occurrence of nouns with a derivational affix or compound words (nouns with types
of word-formation that were analyzed in this bachelor project) per 1000 words is as
follows:
Approximately 49 nouns with a derivational affix or compounds can be found per 1000
words, in academic text there were approximately 34 and in contemporary fiction there
were 14 nouns.
9. In which type of text was the smallest occurrence of repeated nouns? In which
text was the highest?
There were 718 nouns found in the newspapers. This number was not reduced. It
means that several nouns appeared ten times in certain instances. After deleting
repeated words and leaving just one sample of each noun, there were 491 nouns left.
This list of nouns was reduced by 227 nouns.
In the academic prose there were 1106 nouns with repetition and after reduction there
were 388. This list of nouns was reduced by 718 nouns.
In contemporary fiction, there were 1350 nouns with repetition and after deleting the
repeated words there were 593 nouns left. This list was reduced by 757 nouns.
The biggest difference between the non-reduced number of nouns and reduced number
of nouns is in contemporary fiction (757 repeated nouns must have been taken away).
The smallest difference between the non-reduced and reduced numbers of nouns is in
newspapers (227 repeated nouns must have been taken away).
10. Are the results of suffixation in academic text, newspapers and contemporary
fiction provided in this bachelor project any different from the findings provided by
Biber et al. (2007, p. 322 - 323)?
Biber et al. (2007, p. 323) conducted research that analyzed academic prose,
newspapers and fiction. This research was much more extensive (speaking of a million
words) than the research in this bachelor work and it was based on findings from the
British National Corpus.
When describing the findings, Biber et al. (2007, p. 323) explain that “the suffix -tion is
by far the most productive.” According to the research by Biber (2007) the 6 most
35
productive suffixes in academic prose are in the following order (from the most
productive to the least productive): -tion (1st), -ity (2nd), -er (3rd), -ness (4th), -ism (5th), ment (6th).
In this bachelor project the research was done using fewer words, thus the final results
might differ. However, one thing is evident and that is the first position of the suffix -tion
is in the same position as in the research in this project (see Table 4).
Suffixes in this bachelor project are in the following order (from the most productive to
the least productive): -tion (1st), -ment (2nd), -ing (3rd), -er (4th), -ance (5th), -ity (6th).
In comparison, the two findings commonly share the suffixes -tion, -ity, -er and -ment.
The position is different except for the position of the suffix -tion. This difference might
be caused by the extent of the research.
Comparison of four of the most frequent suffixes that create abstract nouns in fiction,
news and academic writing is described below.
The positions of the suffixes in academic writing (from the most frequent to the least
frequent) are according to Biber (2007): -tion (1st), -ity (2nd), -ism (3rd) and -ness (4th).
The positions of suffixes in fiction are: -tion (1st), -ity, -ness (2nd) and -ism (3rd). The
positions of suffixes in newspapers are: -tion (1st), -ity (2nd), -ism and -ness (3rd).
In this bachelor project the order of suffixes used to create abstract nouns is as follows:
In newspapers the order is: -tion (1st), -ity (2nd), -ance, -ence (3rd), -ment (4th) (suffixes –
er and -or are not mentioned because they create concrete nouns). In academic writing
it is: -tion (1st), -ment (2nd), -ance, ence (3rd), -ity (4th) and in contemporary fiction the
order is: -tion (1st), -ity (2nd), -ance, -ence (3rd) and -ment (4th).
The first positions of the suffix -tion is identical in all cases. The second position of the
suffix -ity is identical in newspapers and in contemporary fiction. The third and fourth
positions are different, suffixes -ance, -ence and -ment were located quite frequently in
this research.
11. Are the results of compounding in newspapers any different from the findings
provided by Biber et al. (2007, 327)?
According to the research conducted by Biber (2007) the positions of the four most
frequent noun compounds recognized by structural type in newspapers are: noun +
noun (1st), adjective + noun (2nd), particle + verb/noun (3rd) and noun + verb/noun (4th).
The results of research in this bachelor work show that the order of the four most
frequent noun compounds in the newspapers is: noun + noun and other patterns (1 st),
adjective + noun (2nd), verb/noun + verb (3rd).
Both findings show that the most frequent type of a compound pattern is noun + noun.
Other positions of compound patterns in newspapers are different according to this
research.
36
Analysis of the three types of texts together:
12. What is the most frequent type of noun word-formation according to this
research? Suffixation, prefixation or compounding?
The most frequent type of noun word-formation according to this research is suffixation
which creates on the average 77% of nouns with suffixes. Prefixation forms 9% of
nouns with prefixes and compounding 18% of the compound nouns.
The closest results of the percentages are in newspapers (79% of nouns with suffixes,
10.5% nouns with prefixes and 14% compound nouns).
13. What are the most frequent suffixes, prefixes and compound patterns?
The suffix -tion is the most frequently used suffix which created 128 nouns with this
suffix. This position is identical with contemporary fiction and academic text. The second
most frequent position are the suffixes –er, -or (66 nouns). This position is identical with
the position in contemporary fiction. The third position of -ing (51 nouns) is identical with
the position in newspapers and academic writing. On the fourth, fifth and sixth positions
are suffixes -ance, -ence (34 nouns), -ity (31 nouns) and -ment (30 nouns). These
positions are very similar to all three types of texts(see Table 12 in the Appendix 4).
The prefix re- is the most frequently used (creates 8 nouns with this prefix). This
position is identical with the position in newspapers and in academic writing. Also, the
prefix dis- appears in all three texts in quite high amounts.
The pattern noun + noun is the most frequently used compound pattern. It creates 33
compound nouns. This position is the same as in all of the three types of texts
separately.
37
CONCLUSION
Word-formation patterns of all the word classes to which word-formation can be applied
in the English Language are described in the theoretical part. Along with this description
of word-formation processes, examples of such words are also provided. There were
sometimes slight differences in the divisions of word-formation of different linguists
which were also noted.
Research was conducted in the practical part. The collected data were nouns that were
formed by a derivational affix or by compounding and were collected from three different
texts, newspapers, academic writing and contemporary fiction. Then, the results of this
research were analyzed.
First of all, the results show that suffixation of nouns occurs more often than prefixation
and also more often than compounding in academic texts, newspapers and also
contemporary fiction. This might be caused by the fact that suffixes are generally more
common than prefixes since many prefixes come from foreign languages. Moreover,
they are considered to be quite new, thus many people are not very familiar using them.
Second of all, this research shows that the suffix -tion appears in academic writing and
contemporary fiction as the most frequent type of suffix. Even though it is not the most
often used suffix in newspapers, it is still fairly high in terms of occurrence. The reason
why the suffix -tion is so frequent is that it can be attached to a wide variety of common
and even uncommon nouns. This result of the research by Biber (2007) is the same as
the result in the research in this bachelor project.
Prefixes could not be analyzed very well because many of them could not be found.
Despite this setback, the most frequent prefix is re-.
Another result in this research shows that the most frequent compound pattern was
noun + noun. This result is identical to that of Biber et al. (2007).
During this research I also found out that in academic writing and in newspapers, a
noun (any noun with or without word-formation) occurs every 5th or 6th word. In
contemporary fiction, a noun occurs every 10th or 11th word. The reason for this might
be the fact that newspapers and academic writings are a more descriptive style of
writing, which is also suggested by the high occurrence of the suffix –er and -or in
newspapers. According to this research, contemporary fiction seems less descriptive as
it also uses common, everyday English.
This research also indicates that the smallest number of repeated nouns is in
newspapers. This might be caused by the variety of topics that the newspapers discuss.
Data from this research could be useful for people who like to learn more about
vocabulary or who are English teachers. Therefore, I suggest further research on the
methods that can be applied when teaching English word-formation at school.
38
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Theoretical part:
ADAMS, Valerie. An Introduction to Modern English Word-formation. London and New
York: Longman, 1997. 230 s. ISBN 0-582-55042-4.
BIBER, Douglas, et al. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. 6. vyd.
England: Pearson Education Limited, 2007. 1204 s. ISBN 978-0-582-23725-4.
BIBER, Douglas; CONRAD, Susan; LEECH, Geoffrey. Student Grammar of Spoken
and Written English. 2. vyd. England: Pearson Education Limited, 2003. 487 s. ISBN 0582-237270.
CARTER, Ronald; MCCARTHY, Michael. Cambridge grammar of English : A
comprehensive guide, Spoken and Written English, Grammar and Usage. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2006. 973 s. ISBN 13-978-0-521-58166-0.
CRYSTAL, David. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. 3. vyd. Velká Británie: T. J.
Press, 1995. 389 s. ISBN 0-631-17871-6.
CRYSTAL, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The English Language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2002. 489 s. ISBN 0-521-59655-6.
HORNOVÁ, Libuše. Referenční slovník gramatických termínů. 1. vyd. Olomouc:
Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, 2003. 86 s. ISBN 80-224-0738-8.
JACKSON, Howard; ZÉ AMVELA, Etienne. Words, Meaning and Vocabulary : An
Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. 2. vyd. London: Continuum, 2007. 248 s.
ISBN 0-8264-9018-2.
PLAG, Ingo. Word-formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
239 s. ISBN 0-521-52563-2.
QUIRK, Randolph, et al. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. Velká
Británie: Longman Group Limited, 1985. 1779 s. ISBN 0-582-51734-6.
ŠTEKAUER, Pavol. Rudiments of English Linguistics. 1. vyd. Prešov: Slovacontact,
2000. 332 s. ISBN 80-88876-04-4.
Practical part (sources for the research):
UR, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press, 1997. 375 s. ISBN 0-521-44994-4.
The Daily Telegraph. 29. ledna, 2011, No 48416. Dostupný také z WWW:
<www.telegraph.co.uk>.
HORNBY, Nick. About a Boy. London: Penguin Books, 2000. 307 s. ISBN 0-140-285679.
39
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Examples of affixation (by Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007)
Appendix 2: Examples of prefixation (by Quirk et al., 1985)
Appendix 3: Examples of suffixation (by Quirk et al., 1985)
Appendix 4: Tables with collected data
Appendix 1: Examples of affixation (Jackson & Zé Amvela, 2007, pp. 88 - 91)
Class-changing derivational affixes:
Verb
Affix
Noun
Leak
-age
leakage
Argu(e)
-ment
argument
Betray
-al
betrayal
Resign
-ation
resignation
Defen(d)
-ce
defence
Disturb
-ance
disturbance
Refer
-ee
referee
Depart
-ure
departure
Consult
-ant
consultant
Farm
-er
farmer
Enquir(e)
-y
enquiry
Brag
-art
braggart
Conclud(e)
-ion
conclusion
Affix
Noun
Accurat(e)
-y
accuracy
Social
-ist
socialist
Electric
-ity
electricity
Free
-dom
freedom
Good
-ness
goodness
Tru(e)
-th
truth
Social
-ite
socialite
Adjective
+
+
Noun
Affix
Verb
Fright
-en
frighten
Pressur(e)
-ize
pressurize
Friend
be-
befriend
Glory
-fy
glorify
Title
en-
entitle
Affix
Verb
Soft
-en
soften
Able
en-
enable
Pur(e)
-ify
purify
Legal
-ize
legalize
Affix
Adjective
Season
-al
seasonal
Wretch
-ed
wretched
Care
-less
careless
Suburb
-an
suburban
Gold
-en
golden
Life
-like
lifelike
Hope
-full
hopeful
Day
-ly
daily
Station
-ary
stationary
Fam(e)
-ous
famous
Passion
-ate
passionate
Child
-ish
childish
Cream
-y
creamy
Adjective
Noun
+
+
+
Verb
Affix
Adverb
Consistent
-ly
consistently
Slow
-ly
slowly
Obvious
-ly
obviously
Affix
Adverb
Home
-ward
homeward
Sky
-wards
skywards
Clock
-wise
clockwise
Shore
a-
ashore
Noun
+
+
Class-maintaining derivational affixes:
Noun
Affix
Noun
Malaria
anti-
anti-malaria
Chief
-dom
chiefdom
Scholar
-ship
scholarship
Priest
ex-
ex-priest
Child
-hood
childhood
Duke
-y
duchy
Affix
Verb
Join
ad-
adjoin
Agree
dis-
disagree
Open
re-
reopen
Locate
col-
collocate
Judge
pre-
prejudge
Tie
un-
untie
Verb
+
+
Claim
pro-
proclaim
Affix
Adjective
Social
anti-
antisocial
Kind
-ly
kindly
Possible
im-
impossible
Green
-ish
greenish
Adjective
+
Appendix 2: Examples of prefixation (Quirk et al., 1985, pp. 1540 - 1546)
Negation
a- or an-, appearing in front of vowels (atheist, asexual, anarchy)
dis- (disorder, discontent, disbelieve)
in- or il- before the letter /l/, im- before labials and ir- before the letter /r/ (incomplete,
indecisive)
non- (non-smoker, non-medical, non-perishable)
un- (unfair, unhelpful, unbelievable)
Reversal
de- (defrost, defraud, denationalization)
dis- (disconnect, disinfect, dishearten)
un- (undo, untie, unmask)
Disparaging
mal- (malfunction, maltreat, malformed)
mis- (mishear, mislead, misinform)
pseudo- (pseudo-classicism, pseudo-Christianity, pseudo-intellectual)
Prefixes of size and degree
arch- (archduke, archbishop, arch-enemy)
co- (coeducation, co-heir, co-pilot, cohabit, cooperate)
hyper- (hypersensitive, hyperactive, hypermarket, HyperCard)
mini- (mini-market, mini-skirt, mini-bus)
mega- (megaloan, megamerger)
out- (outnumber, outlive, outrun)
over- (overeat, overestimate, overdressed)
sub- (subnormal, subconscious, submarine)
super- (supersensitive, supermarket, superman, superstructure)
ultra- (ultra-modern, ultra-conservative, ultrasound)
under- (underplay, undercharge, underestimate)
vice- (vice-chair, vice-president)
Orientation
anti- (anti-social, anticlockwise, anti-war)
auto- (autograph, autobiography)
contra- (contraindicate, contrafactual, contraflow)
counter- (counter-clockwise, counterrevolution)
pro- (pro-student, pro-communist, pro-socialist, pro-consul)
Locative prefixes
fore- (forearm, foreshore, foreground, forename)
inter- (international, inter-continental, inter-school)
sub- (subnormal, subway, sublet)
super- (superstructure, superscript)
trans- (transatlantic, transplant, transport)
Prefixes of time and order
ex- (ex-husband, ex-president, ex-serviceman)
fore- (foretell, forewarn, foreshadow)
post- (post-war, post-election, post-modern)
pre- (pre-war, pre-school, pre-marital)
re- (reclaim, reuse, recycle, renew)
Number prefixes
bi-, di- (bicycle, bilingual, diagraph, dioxide)
poly-, multi- (polytechnic, polygamy, multiradical, multipurpose)
semi, demi- (semicircle, semidetached, demigod, demitasse)
tri- (trimaran, tripod, tricycle, trimester)
uni-, mono- (unisex, unicycle, monoplane, monorail)
Miscellaneous neo-classical prefixes
auto- (autobiography, autosuggestion, autocrat)
extra- (extra affectionate, extraterrestrial, extramural)
neo- (neo-classicism, neo-Gothic, neo-Nazi)
paleo- (paleography, paleolithic)
pan- (pan-African, pan-American)
proto- (prototype)
tele- (telegram, telephone, television, telescope)
vice- (vice-president, vice-admiral, viceroy)
Conversion prefixes
a- (astride, aboard, aloud, asleep)
be- (befriend, bewitched, bewigged)
en-, em- (empower, endanger, entrain, embitter)
Appendix 3: Examples of suffixation (by Quirk et al., 1985, pp. 1546 - 1558)
Denominal abstract nouns
-age (baggage, frontage, mileage)
-dom (kingdom, officialdom, stardom)
-ery, -ry (slavery, day-trippery, nursery, bakery, machinery)
-ful (spoonful, glassful)
-hood (boyhood, brotherhood, widowhood)
-ing (panelling, carpeting, farming, blackberrying)
-ism (idealism, impressionalism, fanatism)
-ocracy (democracy, aristocracy)
-ship (friendship, membership, professorship)
Denominal concrete nouns
-eer (pamphleteer, racketeer, mountaineer, engineer)
-er (teenager, villager, Londoner, cooker)
-ess (waitress, actress, lioness, stewardess, hostess)
-ette(kitchenette, leatherette, suffragette)
-let (booklet, leaflet, piglet, starlet)
-ling (duckling, hireling, underling)
-ster (trickster, gangster, gamester, roadster)
Deverbal nouns
-ant (inhabitant, informant, contestant, lubricant)
-ee(appointee, payee, refugee, employee)
-er, -or (writer, driver, incubator, actor, author)
-age(breakage, coverage, wastage)
-al (refusal, revival, dismissal)
-ation (starvation, exploration, organization)
-ing (building, opening, sharing
-ment (arrangement, puzzlement, amazement)
De-adjectival nouns
-ity (elasticity, rapidity, actuality, regularity)
-ness (kindness, usefulness, accurateness, falseness)
Non/adjective suffixes
-ese (Chinese, Japanese, journalese, officialese)
-(i)an (republican, Shakespearian, Indonesian, Russian)
-ist (violinist, loyalist, cellist)
-ite (shamanite, socialite)
Adjective suffixes – Denominal suffixes
-ed (blue-eyed, giant-sized, walled)
-ful (useful, delightful, pitiful, forgetful)
-ish (childish, foolish, snobbish, coldish, brownish)
-less (careless, restless, useless, pitiless)
-like (childlike, monkeylike, statesmanlike)
-ly (soldierly, friendly, cowardly)
-y (creamy, hairy, wealthy, runny)
-al, -ial (accidental, dialectal, editorial)
-esque arabesque, romanesque, burlesque)
-ic (atomic, heroic, Celtic, oceanic)
-ous (desirous, grievous, vivacious)
Deverbal suffixes
-able (visible, suitable, fashionable, seasonable)
-ive (attractive, effective, productive, talkative, causative)
Adverb suffixes
-ly (calmly, scenically, publicly, cowardily)
-ward(s) (earthward(s), northward(s), onward(s))
-wise (clockwise, crosswise, lengthwise, education-wise, moneywise)
Appendix 4: Tables with collected data
Table 1: Frequency of suffixation in newspapers
Suffix
Number of occurrence Examples from The Daily Telegraph
-er, -or
-tion
-ing
-ity
-ance,-ence
-ment
-cy
-ery, -ry
-ness
-ist
-ure
-age
-al
-an, -ian
-ant, -ent
-dom
-ie
-ism
37
26
24
14
11
8
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
lawyer, leader, negotiator
specification, reconciliation
childrearing, parenting, planning
ability, humility, identity
tolerance, patience, appearance
attachment, government, commitment
piracy, legacy, clemency
military, wizardry, symmetry
awareness, moodiness, slapdashness
satirist, activist, evangelist
overture, closure, feature
marriage, mortgage
individual, official, visual
partisan, civilian
dissident, resident
freedom, wisdom
anarcho-Leftie
criticism
Table 2: Frequency of prefixation in newspapers
prefix
redisteleinterminiinantiarchautoilpresupervice-
number of occurrence examples from the newspapers
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
return, reconciliation
disclosure, disadvantage
telephone, television
intermediary, interview
minidisc, mini-series
infidelity
anti-bubble
archbishop
autobiography
illiteracy
predecessor
supermarket
vice chairman
Table 3: Frequency of compounding in newspapers
type of compound
number of occurrence examples
noun + noun
others
adjective + noun
verb/noun + noun
neoclassical
verb + particle
particle + verb/noun
noun + verb/noun
noun + verb-er
self + noun
6
6
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
fruitcake, gunman
school-of-hard-knocks
smartphone, goodwill
slapdashness, notebook
neuroscience, psychology
fallout, lift-off
download, uprising
weekend
typewriter
self-expression
Table 4: Frequency of suffixation in the academic text
suffix
-tion
-ment
-ing
-er, -or
-ance, -ence
-ity
-ure
-ant, -ent
-ism
-al
-ness
-cy
-ship
-age
-dom
-hood
number of occurrence examples from the text
79
18
16
14
13
11
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
motivation, participation
statement, improvement
code-learning, meaning
learner, instructor
appearance, circumstance
activity, facility
exposure, posture
participant, respondent
criticism, cynicism
rehearsal, appraisal
usefulness, effectiveness
fluency, proficiency
relationship, ownership
percentage
freedom
likelihood
Table 5: Frequency of prefixation in the academic text
prefix number of occurrence examples from the newspapers
reinterindisoverautoparaprecoout-
5
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
reinforcement, re-production
interaction, interlanguage
indifference, independence
discouragement, disagreement
overlap, over-simplification
autonomy, automatization
paragraph
pre-learning
cooperation
outcome
Table 6: Frequency of compounding in the academic text
type of compound
noun + noun
self + noun
particle + verb/noun
verb + particle
noun + verb(ing)
verb/noun + noun
adjective + noun
noun + verb/noun
neo-classical
others
number of occurrence examples
5
5
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
ego-involvement, classroom
self-access, self-image
outcome, overlap
feedback, putdown
code-learning, decision-making
guideline, wait-time
audio-lingualism
departure-point
methodology
fifteen-year-old
Table 7: Frequency of suffixes in contemporary fiction
suffix
number of occurrence examples from the contemporary fiction
-tion
-er, -or
-ity
-ance, -ence
-ing
-ment
-ness
-ism
-ship
-ure
-cy
-ant, -ent
-age
-ist
-an, -ian
-dom
-ery, -ry
-hood
-tee
-ie
-ful
35
22
16
14
14
9
8
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
conversation, registration
beaker, container
possibility, frivolity
acquaintance, consequence
coupling, jogging
development, advertisement
craftiness, happiness
realism, scepticism
relationship, friendship
measure, temperature
decency, pregnancy
attendant, disinfectant
passage, package
therapist
vegetarian
boredom
enquiry
fatherhood, neighbourhood
goatee
sweetie
cupful
Table 8: Frequency of prefixes in contemporary fiction
prefix number of occurrence examples from the contemporary fiction
indisunhypo-
3
2
2
1
indiscretion, infidelity
disgrace, disinfectant
unhappiness, untrustworthiness
hypothermia
Table 9: Frequency of compounding in contemporary fiction
type of compound
number of occurrence examples
noun + noun
verb/noun + noun
noun + verb/noun
verb + particle
adjective + noun
noun + verb-er
others
self + noun
particle + verb/noun
swordfish, motorway
noticeboard, playground
homework, lipstick
leftover, makeup
grandparent, grandmother
meat-eater, babysitter
five-year-old
self-indulgence, self-preservation
overlap
23
7
6
5
4
3
3
2
1
Table 10: The overview of all collected data
4100
Academic
writing
5850
718
1106
1350
491
388
593
254
527
297
200
200
200
158
175
140
18
16
21
21
22
8
13
28
10
22
4
53
10
10
9
Newspapers
Length in words
Number of all nouns (not
reduced)
Number of all nouns
(reduced)
Number on nouns with W-F
(not reduced)
Number of nouns with W-F
(reduced)
Number of nouns with suffix
(reduced)
Number of types of suffixes
Number of nouns with prefix
(reduced)
Number of types of prefix
Number of compound nouns
Number of compound
patterns
Contemporary
fiction
14400
Table 12: Frequency of suffixation, prefixation and compounding in all three types of
texts together
Suffix
Number Prefix Number
-tion
-er, -or
-ing
-ance,-ence
-ity
-ment
-ness
-cy
-ure
-ant, -ent
-ery, -ry
-age
-ism
-ist
-al
-an, -ian
-dom
-hood
-ship
-ie
-tee
-ful
128
66
51
34
31
30
16
10
10
8
6
6
6
5
5
3
3
3
3
2
1
1
redisininterautoteleunoverpreminiilsuperviceantiparacooutarchhypo-
8
7
6
5
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Compound
pattern
noun + noun
verb/noun + noun
others
verb + particle
noun + verb/noun
self + noun
adjective + noun
noun + verb(er)
particle + verb/noun
neoclassical
noun + verb(ing)
Number
33
12
10
9
8
8
8
4
4
3
2
RÉSUMÉ
Závěrečná práce se zabývá popisem různých druhů slovotvorby v anglickém jazyce a
následně v praktické části je proveden výzkum četnosti podstatných jmen
v akademickém textu, novinách a současné beletrii. Je zjištěno, že největší četnost
podstatných jmen je v akademickém textu. Dále jsou analyzována ty podstatná jména,
které jsou utvořena pomocí procesu odvozování (příponami nebo předponami) anebo
skládání. Nejčastější proces ve všech typech textů je proces odvozování příponami a to
hlavně příponou -tion.
ANOTACE
Jméno a příjmení:
Šárka Hývnarová
Katedra:
Katedra anglického jazyka
Vedoucí práce:
Mgr. Blanka Babická, Ph.D.
Rok obhajoby:
2011
Název práce:
Slovotvorba v angličtině
Název v angličtině:
Word formation in English
Anotace práce:
Tato práce popisuje druhy slovotvorby v anglickém
jazyce a je rozdělena na část teoretickou a praktickou.
V teoretické části jsou popsány různé druhy
slovotvorby v angličtině. V praktické části je proveden
výzkum četnosti podstatných jmen, které jsou
vytvořeny odvozováním, nebo skládáním. Tento
výzkum je proveden na analýze tří typů textu:
akademické články, současná beletrie a novinové
články.
Slovotvorba, odvozování, přeměna, skládání, zpětné
tvoření slov, zdvojování, zkracování
Klíčová slova:
Anotace v angličtině:
Klíčová slova v angličtině:
Přílohy vázané v práci:
This bachelor thesis deals with methods of wordformation in the English language and is divided into
theoretical and practical parts. Different patterns of
word-formation are described in the theoretical part.
The practical part conducts research of the frequency
of nouns which are formed by derivation or
compounding. This research is based on the analysis
of three types of texts: academic text, contemporary
fiction and newspapers.
word-formation, derivation, conversion, compounding,
back-formation, reduplicatives, abbreviations
Rozsah práce:
Příloha č. 1: Příklady předpon a přípon podle Jackson
& Zé Amvela, 2007
Příloha č. 2: Příklady předpon podle Quirk et al., 1985
Příloha č. 3: Příklady přípon podle Quirk et al., 1985
Příloha č. 4: Tabulky se shromážděnými daty
60
Jazyk práce:
AJ