A. Suffixes

Suffixes may be classified proceeding from different criteria.

1) From the etymological point of view suffixes are classified into the same two large groups as words: native and borrowed. Native (or Germanic) suffixes are: -ness,

-er, -hood, -dom, -ship, -ful, -less, -ish, -ly, -y, -en, -wards, -th. Most of them go back to Old English but are still living suffixes in Modern English. Borrowed affixes are numerous in the English vocabulary. They are of different origin: 1) Romanic, such as: -tion /-ion, -ment, -ance /-ence, -ее, ess, -ette,-let, -able/-ible, -al, -fy, -age. These were borrowed from Latin and French; 2) Greek, such as: -ist, -ism, -ize, -ite, -ic. Most of borrowed suffixes are international. For example, in many European languages there is the Greek suffix -ism denoting philosophical doctrines and scientific theories, etc., e.g. materialism, Darwinism, realism, despotism, hypnotism, barbarism, colloquialism, etc. The suffixes: -ist, -ite, -ant, -ent, -or, -ssion and others are also international.

2) According to the part of speech classification suffixes fall into 4 groups:

a) noun-forming suffixes: -age (marriage, coinage), -ance/-ence (distance, defence), -ancy/-ency (constancy, tendency), -ant/-ent (assistant, student), -dom (wisdom), -er (writer), -ess (actress), -hood (motherhood), -ing (building), -ion/-tion/-sion/-ation (rebellion, creation, tension, explanation), -ist (novelist), -ment (government), -ness (tenderness), -ship (friendship).

b) adjective-forming suffixes: -able/-ible (laughable, audible), -al (natural), -ic (public), - ical (cubical), -ant/-ent (repentant, present), -ary (secondary), -ate/-ete (accurate, complete), -ian (Arabian), -ish (childish), -ive (active), -ful (useful), -less (useless), -ly (friendly), -ous/-ious (curious), -some (troublesome – беспокойный), -у (rainy).

c) Adverb-forming suffixes: -ly (coldly, firmly), -ward(s) (northward), -wise (likewise – подобно).

d) Verb-forming suffixes: -ate (articulate), -er (twitter – щебетать), -en (shorten), -(i)fy (vivify – оживлять), -ize (apologize), -ish (furnish), etc.

3) According to the degree of productivity suffixes are commonly classified into living or productive suffixes and dead or unproductive suffixes. Productive suffixes are those which derive new words in Modern English, and unproductive suffixes are those which do not give any new coinages. The following suffixes are the most productive: (N) -er, -ing, -ness, -ism, -ist, -once; (A) -y, -ish, -ed, -able, -less; (Adv.) -ly; (V) -ize,

-ate. Non-productive suffixes: (N) -th, -ice, -hood; (A) -ly, -some, -en, -ous, (Adv) -long, (V) -en.

4) Distinction should also be made between terminal and non-terminal suffixes. Terminal suffixes take only the final position in a word, e.g. -al, -hood, -ness, -ship, kin, -let, -ling (refus al, brother hood, tender ness, friend ship, boy kin, book let, prince ling). Non-terminal suffixes can be followed by other suffixes. In such cases a derivative is capable of further derivation, e.g. -er, -ly, -less, -ed (lead er ship, love li ness, fear less ness, devot ed ness).

5) From the semantic point of view suffixes may be classified as follows:

Noun-forming suffixes denoting: a) agent or doer of an action: -er /-or (writer, actor, listener, speaker); political or scientific adherence: -ist (communist, socialist); b) the object of an action, the one to whom an act is done: -ее (addressee, refugee, referee); c) nationality: -ian, -ish (Arabian, Spanish); d) abstract concepts: -ance/-ence, -tion/-ion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ing (significance, evolution, development, tenderness, sitting); e) the diminutive suffixes: -ling, -let/-et, -kin/-in, -ette (duckling, gosling, kingling – царек, princeling – князек; booklet, eyelet, leaflet; boykin, catkin, wolfkin; novelette – рассказ, leaderette – короткая редакционная заметка).

Adjective-forming suffixes denoting: a) capacity, fitness or worthiness to be acted upon, tending to, able to, liable to: -able/-ible (capable, eatable, drinkable); b) a certain degree of some quality: -ish (greenish, whitish, bluish); c) the presence of quality: -ful, -ous (beautiful, spacious); d) the absence of quality: -less (fearless, usel ess).

Adverb-forming suffixes denoting: a) the manner of action: -ly (quickly, slowly, readily, warmly); b) course or direction to; motion or tendency toward: -ward(s) (forwards, upwards, northward, southward).

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11