Comparative Analysis of English and Armenian Noun-Forming Suffixes

Comparative Analysis of English and Armenian Noun-Forming Suffixes

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................3

CHAPTER 1 AFFIXATION AS A MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESS IN ENGLISH AND ARMENIAN.........................................................................................................................................4

1.1 Characteristic Features of Affixation...............................................................................................4

1.2 Suffixation and Its Main Types in English and Armenian................................................................8

1.3 The Productivity of Suffixation in English and Armenian..............................................................11

1.4 Noun-Forming Suffixes in the Process of Affixation.....................................................................14

CHAPTER 2 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND ARMENIAN NOMINAL SUFFIXES..................................................................................................................... .....................15

2.1 The Convergent and Divergent Features of English and Armenian Noun-Forming Suffixes.........15

2.2 The Quantitative Analysis of English and Armenian Nominal Suffixes.........................................26

CHAPTER 3 SOME ASPECTS OF TEACHING SUFFIXES IN EFL CLASSROOM..........28

3.1 The Enrichment of the Vocabulary through Affixation..................................................................28

3.2.Activit ies Designed to Reinforce Students’ Knowledge on Suffixat ion in a n EFL Classroom............................................................................................................................................30

3.3 Exercises Designed to Develop Students’ Knowledge on Noun-Forming Suffixes.......................33

CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................36 REFERENCES................................................................................................................... ...............37

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INTRODUCTION

Most words are made up of the base word known as root, which contains the heart of the meaning of the word. To expand such words, affixes are added at either the beginning or at the end of the word. The process of attaching these affixes is referred to as affixation. Most European languages make an extensive use of affixes, whereas others hardly do. In languages, where affixes are employed, there is a general preference for suffixes over prefixes. As we know, suffixes usually modify the lexical meaning of the base and transfer words to a different part of speech. In our research paper we are going to describe the main types and peculiarities of suffixes in English and Armenian, focusing on the role of noun-forming suffixes in the process of affixation.

This paper studies derivation as a means of word formation, the types and peculiarities of suffixation and analyzes noun-forming suffixes in English and Armenian.

The objectives of this research are:

1.to intorduce all possible types and features of suffixation.

2.to analyze noun-forming suffixes in English and Armenian

3.to compile sets of exercises and activities for teaching suffixes in EFL classroom Structurally this BA paper consists of: introduction, three chapters,conclusion and references.

The first chapter includes an introduction on affixation as a morphological process, investigates suffixation as a separate morphological process, discusses the main types of suffixes in English and Armenian, focusing on the role of noun-forming suffixes in the process of affixation.

The second chapter is the practical analysis of noun-forming suffixes in English and Armenian. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce convergent and divergent features of noun-forming suffixes in respective languages with a number of examples from various sources.

The third chapter is a compilation of various activities and exercises designed to develop EFL learners’ word-formation skills and knowledge on suffixation

The conclusion sums up the main points of the paper and introduces the results of our research. References include the list of books, scientific articles and internet sources used in the research.

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CHAPTER 1

AFFIXATION AS A MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESS IN ENGLISH AND ARMENIAN

This chapter describes affixation as a morphological process and introduces the basic concepts needed for its description. It also investigates suffixation as a separate morphological process, explains what is generally meant by its productivity and discusses the main types of suffixes in English and Armenian, focusing on the role of noun-forming suffixes in the process of affixation.

1.1 Characteristic Features of Affixation

The word-stock of any language develops together with the development of the society. There are two major changes taking place in its vocabulary, such as the disappearance of the existing words and the appearance of new words. The creation of new words is generally known as "word formation." More precisely, it is the process of creating new words from the material available in the language by using certain structural and semantic formulas and patterns.

In other words, word formation is a branch of Lexicology which studies the derivative structure of existing words and the patterns on which a language builds new words. Word-formation is of central interest to theoretical linguists of all persuasions because of the light it throws on other aspects of a language. It is not for nothing that Bauer says the word-formation is considered to be “the deepest, the most unknown part of language”. [2: 206]

As we know there are different means of word formation, such as compounding, blending, clipping, acronyms, backformation, conversion, affixation, etc. Among word-formation processes affixation is considered to be highly productive. It is a morphological process whereby a bound morpheme, an affix, is attached