Morphology - Adjective derived from member of other word classes
1. 1
CHAPTHER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of The Study
Words are fundamental units in every sentence, so we will begin by
looking at these. An adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of
which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the
object signified.
Adjectives are one of the traditional eight English parts of speech,
although linguists today distinguish adjectives from words such as
determiners that formerly were considered to be adjectives. Adjective is part
of speech which is used to quality or modify noun. To quality or to modify
noun means to give more information about the noun. Generally an adjective
is used before noun or after verb be. Adjective is relatively common for new
adjective to be formed by such processes as derivation. Derivation can affect
the change in the word class because in derivational process there is a way in
which lexemes are related to one another through processes such as
affixation. Adjective can be derived from member of others word classes such
as: adjective derived from adjective, adjective derived from noun, adjective
derived from verb.
Word Class (part of speech) is a category of words (or, more generally,
of lexical items) which have similar grammatical properties. Words that are
assigned to the same part of speech generally display similar behavior in
terms of syntax – they play similar roles within the grammatical structure of
sentences – and sometimes in terms of morphology, in that they
undergo inflection for similar properties. Commonly listed English parts of
speech are noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction,
interjection, and sometimes article or determiner.1
1 Radford. Morphology Across Languages.Boston:Boston University. 2001. Page. 156.
2. 2
Word Class (part of speech) – particularly in more modern
classifications, which often make more precise distinctions than the
traditional scheme does – may also be called a word class, lexical class,
or lexical category, although the term lexical category refers in some contexts
to a particular type of syntactic category, and may thus exclude parts of
speech that are considered to be functional, such as pronouns.
The term form class is also used, although this has various conflicting
definitions. Word classes may be classified as open or closed: open
classes (like nouns, verbs and adjectives) acquire new members constantly,
while closed classes (such as pronouns and conjunctions) acquire new
members infrequently, if at all. Almost all languages have the word
classes noun and verb, but beyond these there are significant variations in
different languages.
Derivational morphology is a process where one word is changed into
another. The process takes a word stem like ‘national’ and adds a prefix,
suffix or infix to make a new word such as ‘international’ or ‘nationality.’
The word fragments added to the stem word are called morphemes, hence
morphology. There are many common morphemes in English. Such changes
in derivational morphology are used to convert nouns, adjectives and verbs
into one another.2
In morphology, the process of creating a new word out of an old word,
usually by adding a prefix or a suffix is called by derivation. Adjective:
derivational. Linguist Geert Booij notes that one criterion for distinguishing
derivation and inflection "is that derivation may feed inflection, but not vice
versa. Derivation applies to the stem-forms of words, without their
inflectional endings, and creates new, more complex stems to which
inflectional rules can be applied" (The Grammar of Words, 2005).3
2
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-derivational-morphology.htm. accessed on April 29,
2015 at 07:30 AM
3
http://grammar.about.com/od/d/g/derivterm.htm . Accessed on April 29, 2015 at 11.45
AM.
3. 3
CHAPTHER II
DISCUSSION
A. The Definition of Derivation
Derivation is the formation of a new word or inflect able stem from
another word or stem. It typically occurs by the addition of an affix (prefix or
suffix). Derivation stands in contrast to the process of inflection, which means
the formation of grammatical variants of the same word, as with
determine/determines/determining/determined.
In linguistics, morphological derivation is the process of forming a new
word on the basis of an existing word, example happiness and unhappy from
the root word happy, or determination from determine. It often involves the
addition of a morpheme in the form of an affix, such as -ness, un-, and -
ation in the preceding examples.
Derivational morphology often involves the addition of a derivational
suffix or other affix. Such an affix usually applies to words of one lexical
category (part of speech) and changes them into words of another such
category. For example, the derivational suffix ly changes adjectives into
adverbs (slow slowly).
Examples of English derivational patterns and their suffixes:
a. Adjective-to-noun: -ness (slow → slowness)
b. Adjective-to-verb: -ise (modern → modernise) in British English or -
ize (archaic → archaicize) in American English and Oxford spelling
c. Adjective-to-adjective: -ish (red → reddish)
d. Adjective-to-adverb: -ly (personal → personally)
e. Noun-to-adjective: -al (recreation → recreational)
f. Noun-to-verb: -fy (glory → glorify)
g. Verb-to-adjective: -able (drink → drinkable)
h. Verb-to-noun (abstract): -ance (deliver → deliverance).
B. Adjectives Derivation
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Adjective is part of speech which is used to quality or modify noun. To
quality or to modify noun means to give more information about the noun.
Generally an adjective is used before noun or after verb be. Adjective is
relatively common for new adjective to be formed by such processes as
derivation. Derivation can affect the change in the word class because in
derivational process there is a way in which lexemes are related to one
another through processes such as affixation. Adjective can be derived from
member of others word classes such as: adjective derived from adjective,
adjective derived from noun, adjective derived from verb.
Derivative adjective
A derivative adjective derives from a verb form. You can take certain
suffixes (-ful, -ent,-ant, -ive, and others), add them to verbs, and produce
derivative adjectives. The word derivative in derivative adjective is, you
guessed it, a derivative adjective.
Be careful about using derivative adjectives. If you mean to convey the
meaning of the base verb, then use the verb. Thus, instead of saying I am
hopeful of an early resolution of this issue, use the verb forms hiding in the
derivative adjective hopeful and the derivative noun resolution, and say this
instead: I hope to resolve the issue soon.
C. Adjectives Derived From Adjectives
In this category, prefixes predominate. The only suffix of note is –ish,
meaning ‘somewhat X’, as in GREENISH, SMALISH, REMOTISH ‘rather
remote’. By contrast, the prefixes un- meaning ‘not’ is extremely widespread:
for example, UNHAPPY, UNSURE, UNRELIABLE, UNDISCOVERRED.
Because it is so common, most dictionaries do not attempt to list all un-
adjectives. This does not mean, however, that un- can prefixed to all
adjectives quite freely, we do not find, for example, ‘UNGOOD’ with the
5. 5
meaning ‘bad’ (though George Orwell included that word in the Newspeak
vocabulary devised for Nineteen Eighty-Four).4
Another negative prefixes is in-, with allomorphs indicated by the variant
spellings il-, ir-, and im- as in INTANGIBLE, ILLEGAL, IRRESPONSIBLE,
and IMPOSSIBLE. It is more restricted that un-, largely for historical
reasons. For the present it is worth noting the existence of pairs of more or
less synonymous adjectives, one of which is negated with un- and the other
with in- or one of its allomorphs:
a) Eatable → uneatable
b) Readable → unreadable
c) Lawful → unlawful
d) Touchable → untouchable
e) Tangible → intangible
f) Edible → inedible
g) Legible → illegible
h) Legal → illegal
Such examples confirm that the use of in- is lexically restricted. As the
negative counterpart of EDIBLE, UNEDIBLE sounds possible, especially if
the speaker has limited education and has not encountered, or has
momentarily forgotten, the form INEDIBLE. However, ‘INEATABLE’ as the
counterpart of EATABLE is not a form that any English speaker would
spontaneously use.
Other example: adding prefixes: dis-, ir-, in-, im-, un- (express the opposite).
4 Carstairs Andrew. An Introduction to English Morphology:Words and Their Structure.
Edinburgh University Press. 2002. P. 52
PREFIXES ROOTS ADJECTIVES
Dis- Qualified Disqualified
Ir- responsible Irresponsible
In- capable Incapable
Im- patient Impatient
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D. Adjectives Derived From Member Of Other Words Classes
Some of the processes that derive adjectives from verbs straddle the
divide between derivation and inflection in a way that we have not yet
encountered.
1. Adjectives Derived From Noun
Suffixes that form adjectives from nouns are more numerous here are
some:
a. (-ful)
Example: Joyful, hopeful, helful, meaningful, powerful, skillful,
faithfull, beautifull, successful.5
b. (-less)
Example: Joyless, hopeless, helpless, meaningless, powerless,
homeless, worthless, useless.
c. (-al)
Example: original, normal, personal, national, universal,
regional.
d. (-ish)
Example: boyish – selfish, waspish, loutish, foolish, childish,
sheepish.
e. (-y)
Example: funny, stormy, sunny, guilty, messy, wealthy,
gloomy.
f. (-ly)
Example: friendly, orderly, manly, costly, monthly.
g. (- ous)
Example: dangerous, mysterious, famous, nervous, poisonous.
h. (-ary)
Example: momentary, customary, fragmentary, complimentary,
honorary, revolutionary.
5 http://seeayunda.blogspot.com/2013/06/adjectives-derivided-form-member-of.html,
accessed on March 31, 2015 at 10:44 AM.
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i. (-ic)
Example: historic, artistic, athletic, basic, rhythmic,
photographic, Islamic, scientific, realistic.
j. (-some)
Example: handsome, lovesome, tiresome.
k. (-en)
Example: wooden, woolen, golden.
l. (-ical)
Example: historycal, alphabetical, biographical.
2. Adjectives Derived From Verbs
The most productive suffixes for deriving adjectives from verbs are -
able (in Catalan, -able and -ible); -ive (in Catalan, -iu, -iva), and -ant and -
ent (in Catalan, -ant, -ent and -int). 6
1) Adjectives Derived From Verbs: -able
a) adapt → adaptable
b) admire → admirable
c) adore → adorable
d) advise → advisable
e) agree → agreeable
f) avail → available
g) bear → bearable
h) break → breakable
i) count → countable
j) cure → curable
Some adjectives derived from verbs ending in silent e can also be
spelled including the e (for example, like →likable or likeable); however,
the spelling without the e is more common. Also, there are some adjectives
that spell the suffix -ible: eat → edible and fail → fallible.
6 http://seeayunda.blogspot.com/2013/06/adjectives-derivided-form-member-of.html,
accessed on March 31, 2015 at 10:44 AM
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2) Adjectives Derived From Verbs: -ive
a) Abort → abortive
b) Abuse → abusive
c) Act → active
d) Adapt → adaptive
e) Adopt → adoptive
f) Assert → assertive
g) Capture → captive
h) Corrode → corrosive
i) Create → creative
j) Cure → curative
Note that adjectives derived from verbs ending in -d or -de
are usually spelled with a –sive ending (expend → expensive, exclude →
exclusive, etc.).
3) Adjectives Derived From Verbs: -ant
a) Abound →abundant
b) Accept →acceptant
c) Ascend →ascendant
d) Descend →descendant
e) Deviate →deviant
f) Disinfect →disinfectant
g) Dominate →dominant
h) Expect →expectant
i) Exult →exultant
j) Hesitate →hesitant
4) Adjectives Derived From Verbs: -ent
a) Abhor → abhorrent
b) Absorb → absorbent
c) Adhere → adherent
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CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
A. Conclusion
Derivation is the formation of a new word or inflect able stem from
another word or stem. It typically occurs by the addition of an affix (prefix or
suffix). Derivational morphology often involves the addition of a derivational
suffix or other affix. Such an affix usually applies to words of one lexical
category (part of speech) and changes them into words of another such
category.
Derivation can affect the change in the word class because in derivational
process there is a way in which lexemes are related to one another through
processes such as affixation. Adjective can be derived from member of others
word classes such as: adjective derived from adjective, adjective derived from
noun, adjective derived from verb.
Some of the processes that derived adjectives from word classes straddle
the divide between derivation and inflection in a way that we have not yet
encountered.
There are some Adjective Derived from Member of Other Word Classes:
1. Adjective derived from noun
2. Adjectives derived from verb
3. Adjectives derived from adjectives.
In short, the key for identify adjective derived from members of other
word classes is like form noun, verb, and adjective, adding by suffix and
prefix.
11. 11
REFERENCES
Radford. Morphology Across Languages. Boston: Boston University. 2001.
Carstairs-McCharty, Andrew. An Introduction to English Morphology: Words and
Their Other Structure. Edinburgj: Edinburgh University Press. 2002.
http://seeayunda.blogspot.com/2013/06/adjectives-derivided-form-member-
of.html, accessed on March 31, 2015 at 10:44 AM
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-derivational-morphology.htm. Accessed on
April 29, 2015 at 07:30 AM
http://grammar.about.com/od/d/g/derivterm.htm . Accessed on April 29, 2015 at
11.45 AM.