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Word-Formation in English and Ukrainian

The principal ways of word-formation in the contrasted language are isomorphic. They include the following four ways: 1) morphological; 2) morphologico-syntactic; 3) lexico-semantic and 4) lexico-syntactic. The most productive of them in English and Ukrainian is the morphological way which is realised with the help of the following means: affixation, compounding, and non-affixal word-formation.

I. Affixal or derivational word-formation in both languages includes: a) suffixal word-formation; b) prefixal word-formation and c) combined (suffixal plus prefixal) word-formation. Affixal morphemes in the contrasted languages are used to form the same/common parts of speech. Thus, suffixal morphemes help to form: nouns, adjectives, verbs, numerals and adverbs. These word-forming suffixes also belong to the same semantic groups. Among the noun-forming suffixes there are distinguished the following typologically common classes of them in English and Ukrainian:

a) Agent suffixes (суфікси, що означають діяча): -ist/-icт, -ист: analyst, motorist, journalist, пацифіст, журналіст, артист, тракторист; -ant, -ent (-ант/-ент): irritant, servant, student, solvent, комерсант, лаборант, кореспондент, студент; -аг (-ар/-яр): burglar, scholar, байкар, володар, муляр, дояр, зброяр; -er -or (-ер/-ор): teacher, farmer, coster, singer, milker, actor, director, inspector, інженер, міліціонер, актор, директор, конструктор, вчитель, etc.

It should be added that nouns formed with the help of the suffix -er often have other meaning than that of denoting "performer of an action". They may denote a) process: blabber, roarer, whisperer; b) psychological state: admirer, boaster, adorer, c) physical perception: heaver, thinker, watcher, d) instrument: fanner, rectifier, e) banknotes: fiver (п'ятірка), tenner (десятка); f) time of activity: fourter, fifter (чотирикурсник, п'ятикурсник). The suffix -er is also used to form jargon-isms like crammer, kisser, peeper, etc. No less different meanings are also expressed by nouns formed with the help of other suffixes of this class, as for example: -ier/ -yer corresponding to the Ukrainian suffix -ир:


cashier, employer, lawyer, бригадир, командир, проводир; -eer (- ep/-ip): auctioneer, profiteer, аукціонер, колекціонер, землемір; - ard/-art: corresponding to Ukrainian -ак/-як, -т-юх, -ак(а), -як(а) drunkard, sluggard, braggart, жебрак, пияк, лінтюх, гуляка, задавака, забіяка, гультіпака.

b) The English suffix -ee forms nouns denoting reception of action: contestee, dedicatee, devotee, devorcee, employee, examinee, evacuee, nominee, trustee, refugee and some others. The meaning of this suffix in Ukrainian can be conveyed via the suffix -ець as in the nouns вигнанець, бранець, вихованець, висуванець, переселенець and others. Besides, the meaning of patience can be expressed in Ukrai nian by the suffixes -н-, -т-, as in the substantivised nouns of masculine and feminine gender: вражений, ображений, вражена, ображена, поранений, зображений, забитий, залучена, забута, etc.

c) Suffixes denoting numerous abstract notions: -ing (-н/-а/-я): cloth ing, meeting, wedding; вбрання, зібрання, одруження; -ism (-ізм): Americanism, barbarism, despotism, feudalism, colloquialism, американізм, колоквіалізм, феодалізм, варваризм, деспотизм; -ness (-т/ -a): darkness, goodness, темнота, доброта, сліпота; -tion (-ац/-ія): corruption, errection, generation, protection; генерація, корупція, протекція, сигналізація; -dom (ств/-о/, -цтв /-о/): beggardom, butlerdom, officialdom, newspaperdom; жіноцтво, сусідство, учительство, газетярство; -hood (ств/-о): citizen- hood, brotherhood, widowhood; громадянство, братство, вдівство. Both contrasted languages have also other suffixes. Namely: d) Evaluative suffixes (оцінні суфікси) which are of two types: dimin utive (14 in English) and augmentative (збільшувальні), which are not available in English.

English diminutive suffixes are: -et/-ette: booklet, eaglet, kitchenette, -let: kinglet, ringlet, -y/-ie, -ey: dolly, grannie, sissy; -ling: duckling, princeling, -kin: ladikin, lordkin, -el/-le: corpuscle, morsel; -icle, -cule: monticle, monticule; -een: velveteen; -ock: hillock, -ing: lording, princeling; -ee: bootee and some others.

The evaluative suffix -ard has no augmentative but only a negative meaning in English, eg: bastard, drunkard, dullard. These nouns cor-


respond lexically to Ukrainian vituperative words байстрюк, п'яничка, тупак/ступа, etc.

The number of diminutive only noun-forming suffixes in Ukrainian is as many as 53, which goes in no comparison with the English 14 suffixes, not all of which are productive. Besides, there exist adjective-, pronoun-, numeral-, adverb-, verb- and even interjections-forming diminutive suffixes in Ukrainian. For example, the noun-forming diminutive suffixes: - атк/-ятк: дівчатко, курчатко, телятко, ягнятко; -ик: дубик, носик; -ок: дубок, синок, сучок, коток; -ечок: -батіжечок, пиріжечок, стіжечок; -ечка: качечка, свічечка, річечка, тичечка; -ичка: сестричка, теличка, ягничка; -оньк /-а/: дівчинонька, хатинонька головонька/голівонька, and others.

It should be noted that all Ukrainian diminutive suffixes are productive, whereas in English only -ie/-ey, -y, -ette, -let, -ling and -kin can be considered productive.

The most productive augmentative suffixes in Ukrainian are: -ань: бородань, мордань; -ач: бородач, носач; -ил: барило, чудило, здоровило; -юр: бицюра, собацюра; -ищ вовчище, ручище, собачище; -яр: носяра, мисяра and some others.

е) Gender/sex expressing suffixes of person are clearly distinct in both contrasted languages. They form in Ukrainian 3 groups: 1) masculine gender and sex expressing suffixes of nouns like -ар/-яр (лікар, токар, каменяр), -ист/-іст (бандурист, пацифіст), -їй (водій, носій), -ант/-ент (музикант, студент), -тель (вихователь, мучитель), -ач/-яч (глядач, діяч), -янин/-анин (селянин, киянин, галичанин, мирянин). 2) Feminine gender and sex expressing suffixes usually follow the masculine gender/sex expressing suffixes, which are mostly followed by inflexions. Cf. -к-/-а/ артистка, журналістка, вчителька: -их-/-а/, -анк-, -янк- ковалиха, кравчиха, громадянингромадянка, вінничанинвінничанка, киянинкиянка, -ник/ -ця письменникписьменниця, робітникробітниця.

З. Neuter gender/sex expressing suffixes are numerous in Ukrainian. They may form both abstract and concrete (life and lifeless) nouns, eg: -ств-о/ -цтв-о: братерство, козацтво, конярство; -атк-о, -чк-о/-ятк-о: дівчатко, курчатко, яблучко, ягняточко; -к-о: вушко;


-ячк-, -єчк-, -ечк-о: відеречко, листячко, яєчко; -ц-е: болітце, сальце, сильце.

English "gender suffixes", as they are sometimes called by grammarians [39, 8589], are in reality only sex expressing, but not grammatical gender expressing, eg: actor — actress, waiter — waitress, widow — widower, hero-heroine, lion-lioness, usher-usheress. The suffixes -er/ -or, -ess, -o and -ine clearly identify the objective gender of life nouns, i.e. their natural sex (cf. the young actor, the young actress; the actor playd/sang, the actress played/sang). It is not so in Ukrainian, where genders are expressed by inflexions: молодий артист — молода артистка; артист грав — артистка грала, дитя грало.

f) One more typologically common group constitute the interna tional suffixes, which are mostly of common nature (origin) and mean ing in English and Ukrainian. For example, the suffixes -er: carter, bulldozer, leader, картер, бульдозер, лідер; -or: conductor, dic tator, rector, диктатор, кондуктор, ректор; -ist: Anarchist, So cialist/анархіст, соціаліст; -ism: alcoholism, Byronism, heroism, feudalism, Hegelianism, байронізм, алкоголізм, геґеліанізм, героїзм, феодалізм; -аtion/-ці/я: administration, sensation, or ganisation, адміністрація, організація, сенсація. Here also be longs the suffix -аblе/-абельн: communicable, readable/чи табельний, дисертабельний, комунікабельний; дисерта бельність, комунікабельність.

It must be added that the placement/distribution of suffixes in English and Ukrainian words is identical: they are added either to the root (teacher, sailor, massive; вчитель, масивний, моряк) or to the stem of the word (foolish+ ly,friendli+ ness; розумно, хворобливість), п'ятірка.

g) Many words in both languages are formed by means of zero affix es (without any affixes). This way of word-formation is very productive in English as well as in Ukrainian. Cf. go, come, boy, world, all, they, soon, four, five, he, she, wish; світ, річ, ви, ми, там, тут, два, три, кінь, віл, піч, ніч, варт, жарт, etc.

The derivative function of suffixes finds its realisation in the existence of common word-building models. The major word-forming models in English and Ukrainian are as follows:


Table 9

N + Suf=N circlet, hostess, gunner, librarian, grammarian, Londoner, Kyivan, Odessaer бігун, хатка, тазик, книгар, граматист, лондонець, киянин, лисянець, одесит, чернігівка
V+Suf=N reader, construction, runner painting, insistence, clearance, doer в'язка, знавець, читач, орач, хотіння, очистка, вивіска, продавець, бігун, наполягання, малюнок
A+Suf=N freedom, hardship, clearness, softness, longitude, quietness, highness вільність, гнучкість, глухота, тупак, гостряк, тонкість, глибина, сліпець, добрість, завзяття
D + Suf=N earliness, slowliness, wellness зверхність, любощі, труднощі, виваженість
Q+Suf=N primacy, primaries, secondary, fifter, fourter першість, десятерик, п'ятірка, двієчник, п'ятак
A+Suf=V actualise,modernise, blacken, darken, widen, broaden, shorten білити, біднішати, довшати, лівішати, зеленіти коротшати, чорніти, старіти
N + Suf=A glorious, earthy, watery, interesting, wooden, golden водяний, дерев'яний, земляний, славний, срібний, болотяний, торф'яний, піщаний, поверховий
A + Suf=A bluish, lonely, economical, leftist гарячкуватий, довгастий, синюватий, багатенький, рідненький
N + Suf=Dhomeward, daily, seaward, southward бігцем, (їхати) зайцем, наскоком вітряно, зимно
A + Suf=Dlongwise, simply, shortly, quietly, calmly вільно, коротко, славно, південніше, дешево, сердито, весело
D + Suf=Donwards, outwards, inwards гарненько, щоденно, хутенько, смачненько, холоднувато

II. Prefixal morphemes have also their main features common in the contrasted languages. They may equally be form-building as well as word-forming. English prefixes, however, can form words of more parts of speech than the Ukrainian ones. For example, they can form statives: a+sleep>asleep; verbs: be+dew>bedew; adjectives: pre +war>prewar; adverbs: in+side>inside, etc.

The structure of prefixal morphemes in the contrasted languages is generally common, though there are more single-sign (single-letter) prefixes in Ukrainian than in English, which has only one single letter prefix


a (asleep, alike, aloof). Their number in Ukrainian is larger. Cf. встати, внести, вдвох, зліт, угору, схід, згори, вниз).

All English and Ukrainian prefixes can be typologically subdivided into some groups. The main of them are as follows: 1. International prefixes whose lingual form and meaning are identical in the contrasted languages. Their form-building capacities are equal in the contrasted languages too, which can be seen from the following structural models:

anti + A=A antiglobal, anti-British антиглобальний, антивоєнний
anti + N=N antimonopolist, antibody антимонополіст, антитіло
counter + N=N countermeasure, countermarch контрзмова, контрзахід
counter + V=V counterpoint, counter-attack, counterplot контрапунктувати, контратакувати, контрасигнувати
ex + N = N ex-champion, ex-president екс-чемпіон, екс-президент
extra + A = A extraordinary, extramural, extraactive, екстраактивний, екстраординарний, екстравагантний
sub + N = N submarine, subordination субмарина, субординація
sub + A = A subordinary, subtropical субординарний, субтропічний

2. A large group of prefixes have in the contrasted languages only semantic identity but they are different in their lingual form since they are national prefixes:

foresee - передбачити, extra-natural - надприродний, intraarterial - внутрі/внутрішньоартеріальний; non-party -позапартійний, pre -war- до / перед воєнний, post -war, no / після воєнний, sub -species — під види/ пі дкласи.

3. The third group present semantically alien national prefixes per taining to one of the contrasted languages and non-existent in the other. The lexical meaning of such divergent prefixes forms part of the seman tic structure of the stem, hence it is usually conveyed by other than mor phological (usually by lexico-semantic) means. Cf. decamp - виїжджати з табору/покидати табір; mis-state - робити неправдиву/фальшиву заяву; underhung - той/те, що випирає/ виступає вперед; to recurve — загинати/вигинати назад; (an) upthrow - кидок угору and others.

There are also some allomorphic Ukrainian prefixes which have no semantic equivalents in English. Their meaning is also conveyed by


other than affixal means. Cf. по-українському/по-українськи — in Ukrainian, щонайкраще/якнайкраще in the best way possible or very well indeed; rather/extremely well; якнайповільнішеas slowly as possible/in the most slowly (or in an ever possible slow) way, etc.

A specifically Ukrainian phenomenon which is also alien not only to English but even to other Slavonic languages is the reduplicated use of the prefix no- in verbs to express an intensive and repeated or durative action. Cf. попо водити, попо блукати, попо возитися (з чимсь, з кимсь), попо гребти, попо їсти, попо спати. The meaning of such duplicated prefixes is conveyed in English and other languages in a descriptive way. Cf. попоїсти to eat substantially or to eat repeatedly/again, or to eat without interruption and amply, uninterruptedly. Попоспати to sleep to one's heart's content, to sleep much longer than usually, to sleep and repose nicely after hard work/tiresome walking, etc.


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