A.

Definition:
A word element (morpheme)--a prefix, suffix, or infix--that can be attached to a base or
root to form a new word. Noun: affixation. Adjective: affixable.
For an exhaustive collection of "all four of the types of affixes that appear in English"
(prefixes, suffixes, combining forms, and infixes), see Michael Quinion's Affixes: The
Building Blocks of English, based on his book Ologies and Isms: Word Beginnings and
Endings (2002).
• Problems: some words that have an affix no longer allow the root to be a free form -
unkempt, inept, overwhelmed - any others?
• Some words appear to have affixes but are considered one morpheme - receive,
submit, permit (still formed with other affixes like they do have affixes though -
permission, reception)

B. Etymology:
From the Latin, "fasten"

C. Examples and Observations:

• "Very similar to compounds are formations where one of the elements is a whole
word and the other is not, as in agriculture, biotechnology, Eurodollar, technophobia,
and workaholic. . . .

"Most formations of this kind involve additional elements called affixes, which in
English are of two types: prefixes, occurring before the stem of a word, and suffixes,
occurring after. English does not have affixes in large numbers--about fifty common
prefixes and somewhat fewer common suffixes. Prefixes include dis-, mal-, ex-, and
semi-, as in disinterested, malformed, ex-husband, and semi-detached. Suffixes
include -ship, -ness, -ette, and -let, as in hardship, goodness, kitchenette, and booklet.
Clusters of affixes can be used to build up complex words:
nation, national, nationalize, nationalization
denationalization, antidenationalization
Over half the words in English are there because of processes of this kind. And this is
one reason why children's vocabulary grows so quickly once they learn some prefixes
and suffixes."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook, 2006)

• "Derivational prefixes do not normally alter the word class of the base word; that is, a
prefix is added to a noun to form a new noun with a different meaning. . . .
Derivational suffixes, on the other hand, usually change both the meaning and the
word class; that is, a suffix is often added to a verb or adjective to form a new noun
with a different meaning:
adjective: dark / suffixed noun: darkness
verb: agree / suffixed noun: agreement
noun: friend / suffixed noun: friendship"
(D. Biber, et al., Longman Student Grammar of Spoken English. Longman, 2002)
 D. Kinds
Here are some kinds of affixes:

√INFIX
Definition
An infix is an affix that is inserted within a root. or stem.
Example: Philippines (Tagalog)
 bili: root ‘buy’
 -um-: infix ‘AGT’
 bumili: word ‘bought’

Example (Chickasaw)
In verb roots, a glottal stop is inserted to form a negative.
Example (English)
bloomin of abso-bloomin-lutely

√PREFIX
Definition
A prefix is an affix that is joined before a root or stem. A prefix is an element placed at
the beginning of a word to adjust or qualify its meaning, for example de-, non-, and re-.
Example (English)
The prefix un- attaches to the front of the stem selfish to form the word unselfish.

Common Prefixes in English

1. Words

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the beginning of a word that partly
indicates its meaning. For example, the word prefix itself begins with a prefix--pre-,
which generally means "before."

Understanding the meanings of the common prefixes can help us deduce the meanings
of new words that we encounter. But be careful: some prefixes (such as in-) have more
than one meaning (in this example, "not" and "into").

The table below defines and illustrates 35 common prefixes.

Common Prefixes
Prefix Meaning Example
a-, an- without amoral
ante- before antecedent
anti- against anticlimax
auto- self autopilot
circum- around circumvent
co- with copilot
com-, con- with companion, contact
contra- against contradict
 de- off, away from devalue
dis- not disappear
en- put into enclose
ex- out of, former extract, ex-president
beyond, more
extra- extracurricular
than
hetero- different heterosexual
homo- same homonym
hyper- over, more hyperactive
il-, im-, in-, ir- not, without illegal, immoral, inconsiderate, irresponsible
in- into insert
inter- between intersect
intra- between intravenous
macro- large macroeconomics
micro- small microscope
mono- one monocle
non- not, without nonentity
omni- all, every omniscient
post- after postmortem
pre-, pro- before, forward precede, project
sub- under submarine
syn- same time synchronize
trans- across transmit
tri- three tricycle
un- not unfinished
uni- one unicorn

√SUFFIX
Definition
A suffix is an affix that is attached to the end of a root or stem
Example (English)
The past tense suffix -ed attaches to the end of the stem walk to form the past tense verb
walked.

Common Suffixes in English

1. Words

A suffix is a letter or a group of letters attached to the end of a word to form a new
word or to alter the grammatical function of the original word. For example, the verb
 read can be made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into
the adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.

Understanding the meanings of the common suffixes can help us deduce the meanings
of new words that we encounter. The table below defines and illustrates 26 common
suffixes.

Common Suffixes

Noun Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example
-acy state or quality Privacy
-al act or process of Refusal
-ance, -ence state or quality of maintenance, eminence
-dom place or state of being freedom, kingdom
-er, -or one who trainer, protector
-ism doctrine, belief Communism
-ist one who Chemist
-ity, -ty quality of Veracity
-ment condition of Argument
-ness state of being Heaviness
-ship position held Fellowship
-sion, -tion state of being concession, transition

Verb Suffixes
-ate become Eradicate
-en become Enlighten
-ify, -fy make or become Terrify
-ize, -ise become Civilize

Adjective Suffixes
-able, -ible capable of being edible, presentable
-al pertaining to Regional
-esque reminiscent of Picturesque
-ful notable for Fanciful
-ic, -ical pertaining to musical, mythic
-ious, -ous characterized by nutritious, portentous
-ish having the quality of Fiendish
-ive having the nature of Creative
-less without Endless
 -y characterized by Sleazy

√CIRCUMFIX
Definition
A circumfix is an affix made up of two separate parts which surround and attach to a
root or stem.
The morphological process whereby this is achieved is called circumfixation
Example (Tuwali Ifugao, Philippines)

The circumfix ka--an is a nominalizer and

surrounds a root.

 baddang: root ‘help’ v.

 ka--an: circumfix ‘NOMR’
 kabaddangan: word ‘helpfulness’

√SIMULFIX
Definition
A simulfix is a change or replacement of vowels or consonants (usually vowels) which
changes the meaning of a word.
Examples (English)
• Eat in past tense becomes ate.
• Tooth becomes teeth when plural.

√SUPRAFIX
Definition
A suprafix is a kind of affix in which a suprasegmental is superimposed on one or more
syllables of the root or stem, signalling a particular morphosyntactic operation
This is a morphological process

Example (English)
The placement of stress in the following words signals the difference between a noun
and a related verb:
1. 'produce, n.
2. pro'duce, v.
 Examples
Perfective Imperfective (Moba-Gur,
 †u bod  Øu bod Togo)
 he PERF.get.lost  he IMP.get.lost Suprafixes of
 'he got lost'  'he was getting tone occur on
lost' verb roots. The
 †u pid  Øu pid two suprafixes
 he PERF.dust  he IMP.dust use different
 'he dusted'  'he was dusting' tones on different
groups of verbs.
 †u jaand  Øu jaand
In the following
 he PERF.pray  he IMP.pray
group of verbs,
 'he prayed'  'he was praying'
the high to low
tone is the perfective morpheme. The mid to high tone is the imperfective morpheme.

√SEPARABLE AFFIX
Definition
A separable affix is an affix that can be detached from its stem and located elsewhere in
a construction
Example (German)
 The affix an- is a separable affix. It is attached to its stem in the verb ankommen ‘to
arrive’; but it can be detached from the stem, as in the sentence Ich komme an ‘I arrive’.

√DERIVATIONAL AFFIX

Definition
A derivational affix is an affix by means of which one word is formed (derived) from
another. The derived word is often of a different word class from the original.
In contrast to an inflectional affix, a derivational affix
Discussion
 • is not part of an obligatory set of affixes
• generally occurs closer to the root
• generally is more meaningful, and
• is more likely to result in a form that has a somewhat idiosyncratic meaning.

Examples (English)

• Joyful
• Joyfulness
• Stapler

Kinds

Here are some kinds of derivational affixes:

 PRODUCTIVE AFFIX
Definition
A productive affix is a derivational affix that is currently used in the derivation of new
words.

Example (English)
 The prefix non- is a productive affix, as demonstrated in the following new
coinage:
 The only non-upended chair in the ransacked room

 UNPRODUCTIVE AFFIX
Definition
An unproductive affix is a derivational affix which is no longer used to form new
words

√INFLECTIONAL AFFIX

Definition
An inflectional affix is an affix that
• expresses a grammatical contrast that is obligatory for its stem's word class in
some given grammatical context
• does not change the word class of its stem
• is typically located farther from its root than a derivational affix, and
• produces a predictable, nonidiosyncratic change of meaning.

Examples (English)
Here are some examples of grammatical categories that are expressed by inflectional
affixes:
 • Aspect
• Case
• Modality
• Number
• Person
• Tense
• Voice

E. Comparison of kinds of affixes

Here is a table showing some kinds of affixes with examples:
Affix Relationship to root or Example
stem
prefix Occurs in the front of a unhappy
root or stem
suffix Occurs at the end of a happiness
root or stem
infix Occurs inside of a root or bumili 'buy'
stem (Tagalog,
Philippines)
circumfix Occurs in two parts on kabaddangan 'help'
both outer edges of a root (Tuwali Ifugao,
or stem Philippines)
simulfix Replaces one or more man + plural > men
phonemes in the root or
stem
suprafix Superimposed on one or stress in the words
more syllables in the root 'produce, n. and
or stem as a pro'duce, v.
suprasegmental
 ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY

LECTURER :

Drs. Adib Darmawan, MA

By :

Endang Sularsih (087094)

English Department 2008 – D

SEKOLAH TINGGI KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN

PERSATUAN GURU REPUBLIK INDONESIA
JOMBANG
2011