A word and its relatives: Derivation

A.Relationships between lexemes

The suffix –ance is not one of the small class of suffixes (so- called “inflectional”
suffixes) whose use is tightly determined by grammar.
What sort of suffix is it then?
Derivational– all aspects of word structure involving affixation that is not
inflectional. This chapter shows how derivation works in English.
Performance– what lexeme could this be?
There is a plural form –performances, so performance and performances are two
forms of the lexeme Performance. The relationship is one of lexemes not of word forms.
(perform and performance)
Derivational morphology is concerned with one kind of relationship between
lexemes.Here, the concern is with relationships involving affixation, and the grammatical
and semantic tasks that such affixation can perform. Base– partially complete word form
to which an affix is attached so as to create either an inflected word form or a new
lexeme.
Some bases are roots, whether bound (e.g. wive, the base for wives) or free (e.g.
cat, base for cats). Others contain a root and one or more affixes, helpful as the base for
helpfulness. DIOECIOUSLY and DIOECIOUS –distinct lexemes (different word class)
but not distinct lexical item. Derivational processes– change the word class of the bases
to which they apply, unlike inflection.
Mono-morphemic adverbs (often,seldom ever, soon), and some other adverbs are
morphologically complex without containing –ly (nowhere, everywhere, today,
yesterday), conversion fast, hard (derived from adjectives).
B.Nouns derived from nouns
Not all derivational processes change word class.
Examples: lexical items, unpredictable meanings.
-let, -ette, -ie
e.g. droplet, booklet, cigarette, doggie
-ess, -ine
e.g. waitress, princess, heroine
-er, -(i)an
e.g. Londoner, New Yorker, Texan, Glaswegian
-ship, -hood
kingship, ladyship, motherhood, priesthood
-ist, -ian
e.g. contortionist,, Marxist, logician, historian
This ‘gappiness’ helps to confirm that these affixes are derivational rather than
inflectional even though they do not change the word class.
These examples glaswegian, logician and historian illustrates at least
superficially, the possibility that the base for a derivational process may be bound rather
than free.glaswegian contains an idiosyncratic bound allomorph Glasweg- of the free
morpheme Glasgow, which is also the only word form belonging to the lexeme Glasgow.

C. Nouns derived from members of other word classes

Nouns derived from adjectives and from verbs are extremely numerous.
Suffixes used to derive nouns from adjectives:
 -ity, e.g. purity, equality, ferocity, sensitivity
 -ness, e.g. goodness, tallness, fierceness, sensitiveness
 -ism, e.g. radicalism, conservatism

Formed from bases other than the freeform of the corresponding adjective, e.g.
FEROCITY from feroc-(not ferocious), CONSERVATISM from conservat- (not
conservative).
D. Adjectives derived from adjectives
Prefixes predominate
Un-adjectives –most dictionaries may not even list them. In with allomorphs such as il-ir-
im as in intangible, illegal, irresponsible,impossible. Examples ,the use of IN is more
restricted.
• eatable/uneatable
• readable/unreadable
• lawful/unlawful
• touchable/untouchable
• edible/inedible
• legible/illegible
• legal/illegal
• tangible/intangible

E. Adjectives derived from members of other word classes

The modifier very and the comparative construction (more… than) show that
interesting, drunk and damaged are adjectives—
Examples:
a. Not very interesting book
b. The party-goers sounded very drunk.
c. The car seemed more damaged than the lamp-post.
Suffixes that form adjectives from verbs:
- -able: breakable, readable, reiable, watachable
-- ent,-ant: repellent, expectant, conversant
--ive : repulsive, explosive, speculative
Suffixes that form adjectives from nouns:
 -ful,
e.g. joyful, hopeful, helpful, meaningful
 -less,
e.g. joyless, hopeless, helpless, meaningless
 -al,
e.g. original, normal, personal, national
 -ish,
e.g. boyish, loutish, waspish, selfish
 F. Verbs derived from verbs
Prefixes– re and negative ones such as un, de, dis.
Example:
 Paint/ repaint
 Enter/ re-enter
 Tie/ untie,
 Tangle /untangle
 Compose/ decompose
 Sensitis/ desensitise
 Entangle/ disentangle
 Believe /disbelieve
Intransitive and Transitive
Intransitive verbs is one that is used with an object a noun phrase or pronoun that
refers to the person or thing that is affected by the action of the verb.
Transitive verbs are ones with an ‘object’ noun phrase, usually indicating the
thing or person that is the goal of the action of the verb.
Verb Transitive Intransive
Move Could you move your car please? The trees were moving in the breeze.
Start Taylor was found guility of staring the fire. The match starts at 3 p.m.
Change Marriage hasn’t changed her. The area’s changed greatly in the last
decade.
Close Close your eyes; I’ve got a surprise for Most shops here close at 5.30 p.m.
you.
Open Open the window’ it’s too hot in here! The museum opens at 10 a.m.

G. Verbs derived from members of other word classes

Some affixes for deriving verbs from nouns are:
 de-,
e.g. debug, deforest, delouse
 -ise,
e.g. organise, patronise, terrorise
 -(i)fy,
e.g. beautify, gentrify, petrify
 Verbs derived by replacing the final voiceless consonant of a noun with a voiced
one, perhaps with some vowel change too .
Nouns Verb
Bath Bathe
Breath Breathe
Wreath Wreathe

The suffixes –ise and –ify can derive verbs from adjectival bases too, as in
Nationalise, TENDERISE, INTENSIFY and PURIFY. When the roots they are attached
are bound (e.g. CAUTERISE, SANITISE, PETRIFY, SATISFY, MAGNIFY), it is often
impossibe to decide whether these roots are fundamentally nominal or adjectival. The
suffix –ate is the same.
Suffixes play a larger role than prefixes in English derivational morphology. One
prefix to be mentioned– en, with an allomorph em. Adjectives BOLD and LIVE as
bases, the prefix en: EMBOLDEN,WIDEN,REDDEN,DEEPEN,TOUGHEN. These
verbs have either an intransitive meaning ‘become bold or an transitive one cause to
become bolden. It turns out that the adjectives that can be bases for deriving –en verbs
are all monosyllabic and all end in plosives (the sounds usually spelled p,b,t,d, k and g) .