Typological Features of the Noun as a Part of Speech

Isomorphism is equally observed in the existence of some other grammatically and typologically relevant groups of nouns in English and Ukrainian. Among these are, first of all, life nouns (boy, girl, cat, cock, goat, wolf — хлопець, дівчина, кіт, півень, цап, вовк); inanimate nouns (atom, bell, door, stone — атом, дзвін, двері, шлях); count nouns (pen, star, tree, wall — ручка, зірка, дерево, стіна), and noncount nouns (air, honesty, slavery — повітря, чесність, рабство), etc. There is some allomorphism, however, in the realisation of the meaning (and category) of number and quantity in some groups of nouns in the contrasted languages.

Among these are some collective nouns, which may be used in English both in singular and in plural (when the constituent members of these collective nouns are meant). Cf: My family is small — My family are early risers. The crew has prepared the aircraft for the take off — The crew are all young. Hence, in plural these collective nouns become nouns of multitude, as militia, police, cattle, having always, however, a singular meaning in Ukrainian (cf. вся родина зійшлася, поліція/міліція слідкує за порядком, etc.).

The most characteristic divergent feature of English nouns as com-

pared with the Ukrainian ones is their usually indistinct lexico-grammatical nature at language level. As a result, determiners (usually the definite or the indefinite article or demonstrative pronouns) are used to identify these nouns: the bear, the round of talks, that round of talks. Besides, English nouns are often determined by the -'s/-s- element (cf. today's weather, London's population, etc.).

From the morphological side, the noun is characterised in the contrasted languages by the existence of a system of suffixes and prefixes performing, as a rule, isomorphic functions in both contrasted languages. These suffixes fall into several common in English and Ukrainian subgroups. Among them are traditionally distinguished productive and unproductive suffixes, native and borrowed (or international) suffixes, as well as different semantic groups of suffixes which, when added to various roots or stems, may form agent nouns. These common classes in the contrasted languages are as follows:

Apart from these there are some more productive and unproductive agent suffixes in both languages. Cf. in English -yer: lawyer; -eer: auctioneer, profiteer; -ard/-art: sluggard, braggart; -ster: rhymester, youngster; in Ukrainians -тай/-тяй: глитай, шахрай, гультяй; -аль: коваль, стригаль, -ень: в'язень, лежень, учень; - ух: пастух, питух; -ар/-яр: лікар, голяр; -ак/-а: забіяка, рубака (augmentative); -ун: бігун, свистун; -ак/-як: жебрак, пияк, etc.

Completely missing in English but available in Ukrainian are augmentative suffixes, eg: - ил -: вітрило, барило; -ищ -: вовчище, дубище, вітрище; -ук-/-юк -: каменюка, зміюка; - уг-/-юг -:

дідуга, злодюга; -ур-/-юр-: ціпура, басюра; -ан, -ань: дідуган, головань, здоровань; -ер- бабера; -яр- мисяра, носяра;-яг-/ -як-: чолов'яга, гуляка, Мусіяка, and some others.

Diminutive suffixes of nouns, as was already mentioned, are 53 in Ukrainian and only 14 or 16 in English nouns. Cf. -y (-ie, -ye), -ling (-ing, -ock, -let, -et, -ette, -ee, -een, -erel/-rel, -kin, -ule, -cole, -el/-le, some four of these being productive as in the nouns daddy, grannie; booklet, kitchenette, launderette, gooseling, kingling; ladykin, mouskin, etc. Diminutive nouns are much more numerous in Ukrainian: -оньк-: голівонька, дівонька, кізонька; -очок: горбочок, садочок; -унь: братунь, Лідунь (diminutive from Ліда); -к-: лапка, ніжка; -очк-: Ліночка, різочка; -еньк: ненька, рученька, etc.

Isomorphic in both languages are also other groups of suffixes, the main of which being as follows:

1. International suffixes which also form nouns denoting doctrine, action, act or fact of doing, manner of action, state, condition, etc. For example: -ism: feudalism, materialism, realism, hypnotism, barbarism, despotism, colloquialism; in Ukrainian: -ізм/изм: дарвінізм, колоквіалізм, реалізм, гіпнотизм, деспотизм, ідіотизм, варваризм.

This group of affixes presents a typologically common subclass not only in English and Ukrainian but in other European languages as well, with the most frequently occurring: -ade: cavalcade, blocade; -age: fuselage, tonnage; -ist: utopist, therapeutist; -or: rector, protector; -tion: protection, selection; -ssion: emission, session; -ate: diplomate, protectorate; -ess/-ness: actress, baroness; -ics: athletics; -y: agony, irony. All these suffixes have naturally their equivalents in Ukrainian: -ізм-, -іст/-ист: активіст, шовініст, артист; -op: автор, оратор; -ці-я/-сі-я, -ція: асиміляція, сесія, протекція; -ад-а: блокада, бравада; -аж: тоннаж; -ик-а: атлетика; -к-,-ес/-ис-а: поетка, поетеса, директриса; -і-я: економія, іронія.

2) Suffixes forming nouns designating abstract notions of state, act, art, skill, quality, condition, etc. These suffixes in both languages are mostly national by nature. Cf. -dom: freedom, serfdom; -hood: brotherhood, falsehood, -ess; easiness, loneliness; -ing: being,

meaning: -ion, -sion: creation, tension, etc. Or in Ukrainian: -ність: вільність, рівність; -ство: братство, рабство; -ивість: вродливість, мінливість; -ість: легкість, самотність; -тт-я: буття, вороття; -нн-я: творіння, напруження; -енн-я: вдоволення, захоплення, прикріплення, etc.

An exception makes one suffix which is pertained only to English and denoting the recipient of action, namely the suffix - ee (evacuee, examinee, employee, refugee).

Prefixal morphemes in both languages have many typological features in common as well. Thus, they may be national, foreign or international by origin. Genuinely national Germanic prefixes in English are: mis- (misunderstanding), out- (outcome), with- (withdrawal), over- (overflow), in- (insight), un- (untruth), under- (undergo), and some others. In Ukrainian genuinely Slavonic by origin are the following prefixes: па- (пасинок), пра- (прадід), без- (безмежжя), від- (віддаль), за- (завулок), пере- (перенапруга), при- (прибудова), над- (надбудова), пра- (праліс), під- (підгрупа), спів- (співвиконавець), не- (небилиця) and some others.

Foreign by origin (usually international) nouns-and-adjectives-forming prefixes are mostly identical in the contrasted languages. The most common of them are the following: ante-/anti-: antethesis, antibody; ex-: ex-champion, ex-chairman; extra-: extraordinariness, extraterritoriality; hyper- hyperbolism, hypersonic; un-, in-, il-, ir-: unbalance, unblock, indelicate, illogical, innovation, illiteracy, impressionistic, impossibility, irregularity, irresolute; super-, ultra-, vice-, etc.: superprofit, superrealism, ultramarine, ultraliberal, viceconsul, vicegerent, vice-governor etc. These prefixes have the same lingual form in Ukrainian where they are used in almost the same international words: антитеза, екс-чемпіон, екстравагантність, гіпертрофічний, гіпостиль, інновація, інокуляція, інтервенція, інконгруентний, суперсегментний, сюрреалізм, ультраправий, ультрафіолетовий, віце-королівський, віце-президент, etc.

English and Ukrainian derivative nouns when in their extended form have the same structure: prefix + root + suffix + inflexion (if any).

Sometimes, as has been pointed out, a derivative noun may consist of more than one suffix and more than one prefix. English and Ukrainian nouns may also be compound (cf. airbus, headache, waterway) or composite (take-off, go-between, sister-in-law, plant мати-й-мачуха, хліб-сіль). Some Ukrainian compound nouns have a similar structure: root/stem + inflexion: лісостепом, льонтрести, Засядьвовк, Неїжмак, Панібудьласка — Засядьвовка, Панібудьласків, Неїжмака/Неїжмакові/Неїжмакам, Печиборщ — Печиборща, Печиборщеві, Печиборщам and naturally Клички - Кличкам, etc.