Key Points of “English Lexicology”
Chapter 4
Word Formation
(1)
The expansion of vocabulary in modern English depends chiefly on word-formation.
The most productive means of word formation are affixation, compounding and conversion.
Affixation: 30%-40%, compounding: 28%-30%, conversion: 26%, shortening (clipping and acronymy): 8%-10%, blending and others 1%-5%.
Rules themselves are not fixed but undergo changes.
There are always exceptions to rules of word-formation.
4.1 Affixation
Affixation is defined as the formation of words by adding word forming or derivational affixes to bases.
According to their position, affixation falls into prefixation and suffixation.
1. Prefixation
Prefixation is the formation of new words by adding prefixes to bases. Prefixes do not change the word-class of the base but only change its meaning.
The major prefixes can be classified into 10 categories by their meaning.
1. Negative Prefixes否定前缀
Of this group, un- is by far the most productive.
2. Reversative or privative prefixes逆反（反向）前缀 Prefixes of this group are repetition of most of the first set.
3. Pejorative prefixes贬义前缀
4. Prefixes of degree or size程度或大小前缀
5. Prefixes of orientation and attitude倾向和态度前缀
6. Locative prefixes方位前缀
7. Prefixes of time and order时间和顺序前缀
8. Number prefixes数字前缀
9. Conversion prefixes转类前缀
10. Miscellaneous prefixes其它前缀
2. Suffixation
Suffixation is the formation of new words by adding suffixes to bases.
The primary function of suffixes is to change the grammatical
function of the base, i. e. the change of the word class with a slight modification of meaning.
Suffixes can be grouped on a grammatical basis.
If we call a suffix a noun suffix, that means when it is added to the base, whatever class it belongs to, the result will be a noun.
1) Noun suffixes 名词后缀
(1) Denominal nouns 从名词派生的名词
Concrete: Noun base→Concrete noun
Abstract: Noun base→Abstract noun
(2) Deverbal nouns从动词派生的名词
Verb base→agential noun (行为者名词)
Verb base→abstract noun, denoting action, result, process, state, ect.
(3) De-adjective nouns从形容词派生的名词
(4) Nouns and adjectives suffixes
Base→both nouns and adjectives
2) Adjective suffixes
(1) Denominal suffixes从名词派生的形容词
(2) Deverbal suffixes从动词派生的形容词
3) Adverb suffixes
-wise表示“方向”、“样子”、“状态”、“在…方面”，现代英语中最后一种意义用得比较多，如：
ostrich-wise 像鸵鸟一样地 sleep-walker-wise像梦游者一样 percetage-wise 就百分比来说 calorie-wise 就卡路里来说 educationwise 就教育方面来说 weatherwise在气候方面 taxwise 在赋税方面
curriculumwise 就课程方面来说 housingwise 就住房问题来看
4) Verb suffixes
补充：
petrify 吓呆 petroleum 石油 fame 名声，声望 infant 婴儿
sist, stitut, sta, st＝to stand（站立）
assist, consist, exist, constituent, persist, stable, establish, obstacle, static, statue, circumstance, distant, ecstasy, prostitute