Types of Affixation in English:
Affixation is a process of word formation where morphemes (meaningful units) are added to a base word to create new words. The morphemes added are called affixes, and they can be either prefixes (added at the beginning of the word) or suffixes (added at the end).
Here are the main types of affixation in English:
1. Prefixation:
* Adding prefixes to the beginning of a word.
* Examples:
* un- (unhappy, unkind)
* re- (rewrite, redo)
* pre- (prepaid, pre-emptive)
* dis- (disagree, disconnect)
* mis- (misunderstand, misbehave)
2. Suffixation:
* Adding suffixes to the end of a word.
* Examples:
* -ing (walking, singing)
* -ed (walked, sang)
* -er (walker, singer)
* -ness (happiness, sadness)
* -ly (quickly, happily)
* -ment (achievement, movement)
* -tion (creation, information)
3. Infixation:
* Adding an affix inside a word.
* Rare in English, but found in some words:
* "bloody" (in "bloody awful")
* "fan" (in "fan-bloody-tastic")
4. Circumfixation:
* Adding affixes both before and after a word.
* Not common in English, but found in some technical words:
* "en-" (in "enclose")
* "-ed" (in "enclosed")
5. Reduplication:
* Repeating part or all of a word.
* Found in some informal words:
* "super-duper"
* "bye-bye"
* "so-so"
6. Conversion:
* Changing the grammatical function of a word without adding affixes.
* Examples:
* Noun to Verb: "Google" (the company) -> "to Google" (to search on the internet)
* Verb to Noun: "walk" (verb) -> "a walk" (noun)
It's important to note that these types of affixation can be combined to create even more complex words. For example, the word "unhappiness" is formed using both prefixation ("un-") and suffixation ("-ness").
Understanding these different types of affixation can help you to better understand the structure and meaning of English words, and to learn new words more easily.