Suffixation

Suffixation is the formation of words with the help of suffixes.

Diachronic Approach

Native suffixes:-ness, -ish, -dom, -hood, -ing, etc.

Foreign suffixes: -ation, -ment, -ance,-tron, -ist, -ism, -ess, -all, -ade.

Many of the suffixes of native origin were originally independent words. In the course of time they gradually lost their independence and turned into derivational suffixes. E.g., such noun suffixes as -dom, -hood, -ship, may be traced back to words:

-dom (OE dom = judgement, sentence - приговор)

-hood (OE had = state, condition)

Many suffixes, however, have always been known as derivational suf­fixes in the history of the English language: -ish, -less, -ness, etc.

Foreign suffixes, as well as prefixes, were borrowed from other languages in the words, not separately.

Synchronical Classification According to the part of speech:

1) noun-forming suffixes: -er, -dom, -ness, -ist, -ation, -ism, -ment, -age, -
ant, -ее, -ty, -ess;

2) adjective-forming suffixes: -able, -less, -ful, -ic, -ous, -ent, -ish, -аl,
-ative;

3) verb-forming suffixes: -en, -fy, -ize, -ate;

4) adverb-forming suffixes: -ly, -ward.
According to the meaning:

1. noun suffixes:

a) agent, profession, occupation: -er, -eer, -ant, -ist, etc.;

b) appurtinence: -an - Arabian, -ian - Russian, -ese - Japanese;

c) collectivity: -age, -dom, -ery, -hood, -ship;

d) abstract ideas: -age, -ence, -ancy, -dom, -hood, -ship, -ment, -ism, -
tion, -sion, -th, -ty, -ness;

2. adjective suffixes:

a) presence of quality: -ous, -ful, -able (-ible);

b) absence of quality: -less.
According to stylistic reference:

 

- stylistically neutral,

- stylistically coloured: -oid, -i/form, -tron.
According to productivity:

- productive,

- non-productive: -ock, -lock, -t.