The valency of affixes and stems

Another essential feature of affixes that should not be overlooked is their combining power or valency, i.e. the types of types of the stems with which they they occur.

We have already seen that not all combinations of existing morphemes are actually used. This, unhappy, untrue and unattractive are quite regular combinations, while seemingly analogous unsad, unfalse, un-pretty seems unusual. The possibility of particular stem taking a particular affix depends on phonomor-phological, morphological and semantic factors. The suffix ance – ence, for instance, occurs onli after b, t, d, dz, v, l, r, m, n,: disturbance, insistence, indepence, but not after s or z: condensation, organization.

It is of course impossible to describe the whole system. To make our point clear we shall take adjectives as an example. The adjective-forming suffixes are mostly attached to noun stems. They are: – ed (barbed), – en (golden), – ful (careful), – less (careless), – ly (soldierly), – like (childlike), – y (hearty) and some others. The highly productive suffix-able can be combined with noun stems and verbal stems alike (clubbable). It is especially frequent in the pattern in the pattern un – + verbal stem + able (unbearable). Sometimes it is even attached to phrases producing compound derivatives (unbrushoffable, ungetatable). These characteristics are of great importance both structurally and semantically.

Their structural significance is clear if we realize that to describe the system of a given vocabulary one must know the typical patterns on which its words are coined. To achieve this it is necessary not only to know the morphemes of which they consist but also to reveal their recurrent+ regular combinations and the relationship existing between them. This approach ensures a rigorously linguistic basis for the identification of lexico-grammatical classes within each part of speech. In the English language these classes are so far little studied, although inquiry info this problem seems very promising and begins to affect attention.

It is also worthy of note that from the viewpoint of the information theory the fact that not every affix is capable of combining with any given stem makes the code more reliable, protects it from noise. Noise as a term of the theory of information is used to denote any kind of interference with the process of communication, mistakes, and misunderstanding.

The valiancy of stems is not therefore unlimited. Noun stems can be followed by the noun-forming suffixes: – age (bondage), – dom (serfdom), – eer, – ier (profitter, collier), ess (waitress), – ful (spoonful), – hood (childhood), – ian (physician), ics (linguistics), – ie / – y (daddy), – ing (flooring), – ism (heroism), – ist (violinist), – let (cloudlet), – ship (friendship); by the adjective-forming suffixes: – a/ – ial (doctoral), – an (African), – ary (revolutionary), – ed (wooded), – ful (hopeful), – ic, – ical (historic, historical), – ish (childish), – like (businesslike), – ly (friendly)/ – ous/ – ious/ – eous (spacious), – some (handsome), – y (cloudy); verb – forming suffixes: – ate (aerate), – en (hearten), – fy/, – ify (speechify), – ize (sympathize).

Verbal stems are almost equal to noun stems in valiancy. They combine with the following noun-forming suffixes: – age (breakage), – al (betrayal), – ance/ – ense (guidance, reference), – ant/ – ent (assistant, student), – ee (evacuee), – er/ – or (painter, editor), – ing (uprising), – ion/ – tion/ ation (action, information), – ment (government). The adjective – forming suffixes used with verbal stems are: – able/ – ible (agreeable, comprehensible), – ive/ – sive/ – tive (talkative), – some (meddlesome).

Adjective stems furnish a shorter list: – dom (freedom), – ism (realism), – ity/ – ty (reality, cruelty), – ness (brightness), ish (reddish), – ly (firmly), – ate (differentiate), – en (sharpen), – fy/ – ify (solidify).

The combining possibilities (or valiancy) are very important semantically because the meaning of the derivative depends not only on the morphemes of Wichita’s composed but also on combinations of stave and affix that can be contrasted with it. Contrast is to be local for in the use of the same morpheme in different environment and also in the use of different morphemes in environments otherwise the same.

The difference between the suffixes – ity and – ism, for instance, will become clear if we compare them as combined with identical stems in the following oppositions: formality: formalism: humanity: humanist: reality: realism. Roughly, the words in – ity mean the quality of being what the corresponding adjective describes, or an instance of this quality. The resulting nouns are countable. The suffix – ism forms nouns, naming a disposition to what the adjective describes or a corresponding type of ideology. Beng uncountable they belong to a different lexico-grammatical class.

The similarity on which an apposition is based may consist, for the material under consideration in the present paragraph, in the sameness of a suffix. A description of suffixes according to the stems with which they are combined and the lexico-grammatical classes they serve to differentiate may be helpful in the analysis of the meanings they are used to render.

A good example is furnished by the suffix – ish, as a suffix of adjectives. The combining possibilities of the suffix – ish are vast but not unlimited. Boyish and waspish are used, where as enmesh and aspish are not. The constraints here are of semantic nature. It is regularly present in the names of nationalities as for example: British, Irish, Spanish. When added to noun stems, it formes adjectives of the type «having the nature of with a moderately derogatory colouring» bookish, churlish, monkeyish, sheepish, swinish. Chidish has a derogatory twist of meaning, the adjective with a good sense is childlike. A man may be said to behave with a childish petulance, but with a childlike simplicity. Compare also womanly having the qualities befitting a woman, as in womanly compassion, womanly grace, womanly tact, with the derogatory womanish effeminate as in: Womanish tears, traitors to love and duty. (Cole ridge).

With adjective stems the meaning is not derogatory, the adjective renders a moderate degree of the quality named: greenish somewhat green, stiffish somewhat stiff, thinnish somewhat thin. The model is especially frequent with colours: blackish, brownish, reddish. A similar but stylistically peculiar meaning is observed in combinations with numeral stems. eightyish, fortyish and the like are equivalent to round about eighty, round about forty: Whats she like, Min?«SixtyishStoutGrey hair. Tweeds. Red face.» (MCCRONE)

In colloquial speech the suffix – ish is added to words denoting the time of the day: four-oclockish or more often fourish means round about four o’clock For example: Robert and I went to a cocktail party at Annette’s. (Ituas called «drinks at six thirty ish» – the word «cocktail» was going out). (W. COOPER).

The study of correlations of derivatives and stems is also helpful in bringing into relief the meaning of the affix. The lexico-grammatical meaning of the suffix–ness that forms nouns of quality from adjective stems becomes clear from the study of correlations of the derivative and the underlying stem. A few examples picked up at random will be sufficient proof: good: goodness: kind: kindness: lonely: loneliness: ready: readiness: righteous: righteousness: slow:slowness.

The suffixes – ion (and its allomorphs) and – or are noun-forming suffixes combined with verbal stems. The opposition between them serves to distinguish between two subclasses of noun abstract noun and agent nouns, e.g. accumulation: accumulator; action:actor; election:elector; liberation:liberator, oppressor;vibration:vibrator, etc. The abstract noun in this case may mean action, state or result of action remaining within the same subclass. Thus, cultivation denotes the process of cultivating (most often of cultivating the soil) and the state of being cultivated. Things may be somewhat different, with the suffix – or because a cultivator is a person who cultivates and a machine for breaking up ground, loosening the earth round growing plants and destroying weeds. Thus two different subclasses are involved: one of animate beings, the other of inanimate things. They differ not only semantically but grammatically too: there exists a regular opposition between animate and inanimate nouns in English: the first group is substituted by he or she, and the second by the pronoun it. In derivation this opposition of animate personal noun to all other noun is in some cases sustained by such suffixes as – ard/ – art (braggart), – ist (novelist) and a few others, but most often neutralized. The term neutralization may be defined as c temporary suspension of an otherwise functioning opposition. Neutralization as in the word Cultivator, is also observed with such suffixes as – ant, – er that also occur in agent nouns, both animate and inanimate. CF. accountant a person who keeps accounts and coolant a cooling substance; fitter mechanic who fits up all kinds of metalwork and shutter (in photography) device regulating the exposure to light of a plate of film: runner a messenger and a millstone.

Structural observations such as these show that an analysis of suffixes in the light of their valiancy and the lexico-grammatical subclasses that they serve to differentiate may be useful in the analysis of their semantic properties. The notions of opposition, correlation and neutralization introduced into linguistics by N. Trubetzkoy and discussed in previous chapters prove relevant and helpful in morphological analysis.

Prefixation