Word building root words

Decoding longer words is challenging for dyslexic learners so it is essential to make learning visible and relate it to the personal experience of the individual. In decoding longer words the learner will also be exposed to a wider range of vocabulary, and vocabulary development for those with reading difficulties is a particular area for development.

“One study showed 20 root words and 14 prefixes, and knowing how to use them will unlock the meaning of over 100,000 words.
Another study showed that a set of 29 prefixes and 25 root words will give the meaning to over 125,000 words.”

Readers with dyslexia commonly experience difficulties in sequencing and holding units of sound in mind while they process the sounds to make the word. Therefore a systematic and cumulative programme that identifies the steps and discrete elements of word building will be more successful. Helping the individual to create a personal framework for understanding the meanings of root words, also referred to as base words, reduces the pressure on working memory and processing speed which is a characteristic of dyslexic type difficulties. In reading multi-syllable words, it can be common for the dyslexic learner to omit syllables leading to dysfluent reading and a slow reading speed which impacts on comprehension. Skills in word building and a working knowledge of common root words, prefixes and suffixes will improve reading fluency and spelling. It will also help improve the quality of independent writing as the individual gains confidence in using units of sound to spell unknown words, freeing them to concentrate on sentence structure and expression.

As a general rule, start from the known and build in success to activities, this will give the individual the confidence to ‘give it a go’ where they otherwise have learnt to give no response in situations where they are unsure of the correct answer.

In much the same way that sight words are treated as an essential cornerstone of fluent reading for emergent readers, the skills of word building using base word, prefix and suffix, likewise is a cornerstone of fluent reading in older age groups and stages. It is important both in pedagogy and andragogy to start from where the learner is and to use the familiar to structure learning so the learner can, in the first instance  apply rules and then to generalise rules for word building.

Word investigation alone, may not give the dyslexic learner the specific teaching of vocabulary which needs to be developed through explicit teaching as part of a multisensory, cumulative programme.

Whilst younger learners may be fascinated by the idea that some of the English language comes from Greek and Latin, for other learners it can be an anathema! In a recent lesson with an adult learner, their response to this information was one of quizzical skepticism and complaint, «But no one speaks Latin any more!».

The root word act is a good starting point because all learners will be familiar with the root word act and will have some knowledge of a wide range of words using prefixes and suffixes. Use different coloured pens to help establish the steps in building words. This helps reinforce the prefix is before the root word and the suffix is at the end of the root word. Remember many dyslexic and dyspraxic learners have some difficulty with sequencing and left/right direction.

“A single Latin or Greek root word or affix (word pattern) can aid in the understanding (spelling and reading) of 20 or more words.”

The root word act means to ‘drive’, to ‘do’.

Act: actual, active, activate, activity, actor, actress, activist, actually, attract, attractive, attraction, actualize, counteract, redact, deactivate, enact, interaction, radioactive, react, reaction, reactionary, reactive, inaction, reactionary, exact, character, characteristic, contractor, distract, impact, interact, interaction, manufacturer, practical, practically, practice, practitioner, transaction.

Whilst many will be unfamiliar with the meaning of the base word ‘ject’, they will have language experience with vocabulary using the root word ‘ject’. From their knowledge of ‘projector’ they can gain an understanding of the meaning ‘to throw’. 

The root word ject means to ‘throw’. Encourage the learner to create a mind picture to help remember the meaning of the word, and this will help with vocabulary development when working with the root words. It will also help access the meaning more efficiently. Common words for the base word ‘ject’: object, project, deject, adjective, subject, inject, trajectory, eject, conjecture, jettison, interject. Play around with prefixes and suffixes to see how many different words can be built.

The root word rupt means to ‘burst’.

Rupt: bankrupt, bankruptcy, corrupt, corruption, incorruptible, abrupt, rupture, erupt, eruption, interrupt, interruption, disrupt, disruptive, abrupt, abruptly.

The root word port means to ‘carry’ and again is a common root word that the learner can generate lots of words and easily understand the meaning.

Port: transport, deport, support, portable, airport, passport, report, opportunity, teleport

All words appear to be divisible into smaller
units which are called morphemes.
Morphemes do not occur as free forms
but only as constituents of words. Yet they possess meanings of their
own.

All morphemes are subdivided into two large
classes: roots (or
radicals) and
affixes. The
latter, in their turn, fall into prefixes
which precede the root in the structure
of the word (as in re-read,
mis-pronounce, unwell) and suffixes
which follow the root (as in teach-er,
cur-able, diet-ate).

Words which consist of a root and an affix (or
several affixes) are called derived
words or derivatives
and are produced by the process of
word-building known as affixation (or
derivation).

Successfully competing with this structural type
is the so-called root word which
has only a root morpheme in its structure. This type is widely
represented by a great number of words belonging to the original
English stock or to earlier borrowings (house,
room, book, work, port, street, table, etc.),
and, in Modern English, has been greatly enlarged by the type of
word-building called conversion (e.
g. to hand, v.
formed from the noun hand; to can, v.
from can, п.;
to pale, v.
from pale, adj.;
a find, n.
from to find, v.;
etc.)

Another wide-spread word-structure is a compound
word consisting of two or more stems¹
(e. g. dining-room, bluebell,
mother-in-law, good-for-nothing). Words
of this structural type are produced by the word-building process
called composition.

The somewhat odd-looking words like flu,
pram, lab, M. P., V-day, H-bomb are
called shortenings, contractions or
curtailed words and
are produced by the way of word-building called shortening
(contraction).

The four types (root words, derived words, compounds, shortenings)
represent the main structural types of Modern English words, and
conversion, derivation and composition the most productive ways of
word-building.

Affixation

It’s Latin word (affigere) which means to attach to.

According the number of words Affixes can be classified into
productive (-er, -ish) and non-productive (-dem, -ard, -hood) types.

From the point of view of they current
participation in forming words affixes devided to active and dead (-t
if gift).

Other classification of affixes may be made from the point of view:

1. of origin (native –doom, -ship, under-, over-)(borrowed into-,
   none-, diss-)

2. of motivation (motivated –like, some-)(non-motivated –er, -ish)

3. of functional character (convertive or class changing, that change
   word to another part of speech –er, -ing)(non-convertive ex-)

4. of number of concept standing behind them
   (mono-semantic -al)(poly-semantic – have more than one meaning
   -ist: a) wondered performs are specified action; b) specialized in
   particular art or science; c) one that adverse to are particular
   doctrine >royalist)

Affixes may be homonymous forming adjectives and
nouns (-al) (arrival: прибытие;
прибывший)

Prefixes

It’s Latin pre-
means before attach. In modern English
there are about 80 prefixes.

States of some prefixes is not clear. For example
over- and under- treated by some schools as root. But for example
mini-, hyper- are treated as prefixes. Some schools differentiate
between derivational (словообразовательные)
and non-derivational.

For example diss- – part of way, dissuade –
разубеждать
apo- – way
from apocalypses

Some schools differ between active and dead. For example a- in away
is dead.

From etymological point of view native and borrowed prefixes. (…)

Majority of English prefixes (?loan, quotes of prefixes) are native.
From functional point of view classified as convertive (embody,
encourage) and non-convertive (vice-president, disagree,
miscalculate).

Prefixes can be used to form new words in all
parts of speech and they may be classified to noun forming, adjective
forming(into-, co-), verb forming(re-). Most prefixation takes in
verbs. Attaching new meanings or forming some another parts of speech
(to enrich, to enable, to disapprove, to unload).

The most productive prefixes en-, re-, out-, un-, under-.

The follow prefixes are verbal: dis-, re-, under-.

Denominal prefixes are: anti-, none-, post-, sub-, hemi-.

But main feature of English prefixes is mixed character. Some
prefixes can be attach to noun and verb (disagree and disadvantaged)

7 major types of meaning prefixes produce:

1. negotiation and contrary (unemployment, incorrect, antifreeze,
   disconnect)

2. sequence and order in time (prewar, postwar, foresee)

3. different space location (subway, intercontinental)

4. repetition

5. quantity and intensity (bilingual, polytechnic)

6. negotiation (abnormal, maltreat, pseudomorphem, miscalculate)

7. amelioration (улучшение)
   (supermarket, ultramodern)

Some prefixes are polysemantic. They can be found in several semantic
classes (over-: overhill, overdo)

Some affixes remain the same and makes a group of unchanged words
(auto-, de-, counter-, ex-, hemi-, none-, mis-, over-, poly-, semi-,
super-)

But there are changeable prefixes, spelled different in different
context (co-/com-/cor-, dis-/dif-, ir-/il-/im-)

A special group of prefixes is made up of forms
spelling or pronunciation. For example for-
— away and fore-
— ahead or before; en- —
to cover and an- —
negotiate, in-/il-/ir-/em-/en- means
into, ant-/in-/ig- — invisible,
into-/intro-/inter-
— inside, between; hyper
– over; hypu
– less

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Root Meaning Examples ann(u), enn yearly annual, annuity, anniversary, millennium arch chief, first, rule architect, archaic, monarchy aud hearing audio, audience, audition, audiovisual, auditorium, inaudible ced(e), ceed, cess, ceas to go, to yield succeed, proceed, process, precede, recede, exceed, succession, accessible, cease, cessation chron time chronic, chronology, chronicle, synchronize, anachronism dem(o) the people democracy, demography, demagogue, endemic, pandemic dic(t) speak, tell dictate, dictation, diction, dictator, verdict, predict, contradict, dictionary fin end, ended, finished final, finite, finish, finale, confine, refine, define fix repair, attach fix, fixation, fixture, affix, prefix, suffix flex, flect bend flex, reflex, flexible, inflexibility, reflect, deflect fort strength, strong effort, fort, forte, fortify, fortitude form shape, resemble form, format, formulate, formal, formula, conform, perform fract, frag, frai break fracture, infraction, fraction, refract, fragile, frail gen birth, race, produce gene, genesis, genetics, eugenics, genealogy, generate, generous, antigen, pathogen geo earth geology, geologist, geometry, geography, geographer, geopolitical grad, gress, gree go, step grade, gradual, graduate, digress, progress, degree graph to write, to draw graph, graphic, autograph, biography, photograph, telegraph, demographic grav heavy, weighty grave, gravity, aggravate, gravitate her(e), hes stick adhere, cohere, cohesion, inherent, hereditary, hesitate hydr(o) water dehydrate, hydroelectric, hydrogen, hydropower liber, liver free liberty, liberal, liberalize, deliverance liter letters literary, literature, literal, alliteration, obliterate meter measure meter, thermometer, diameter, barometer mob, mov, mot move motion, remove, mobile, motor pel, puls drive, push, urge compel, dispel, expel, repel, propel, pulse, impulse, pulsate, compulsory, expulsion, repulsive pend, pens hang, weigh pendant, pendulum, suspend, appendage, pensive, append phon sound microphone, phonograph, telephone , symphony, phonetic photo light photograph, photocopy, photon, photosynthesis, telephoto, photometer, photosensitive plu(r) more plural, pluralist, plus poli city metropolis, megalopolis, acropolis, police, politics pon, pos, pound place, put component, opponent, proponent, expose, impose, deposit, postpone, posture, position, expound, impound pop people population, populous, popular port carry porter, portable, transport, report, export, support, import, important prin, prim(e) first primary, primitive, primacy, primal, prince, principal rupt to break disrupt, interrupt, rupture, corrupt, abrupt sci know science, conscious, omniscient sec(t) cut intersect, transect, dissect, secant, section sent, sens feel, think sentiment, consent, resent, dissent, sentimental, sense, sensation, sensitive, sensory, dissension sequ, secu, sue follow sequence, consequence, sequel, subsequent, prosecute, consecutive, second, ensue, pursue serv save, serve, keep servant, service, subservient, servitude, preserve, conserve, reservation, deserve, conservation, observe sign(i) sign, mark, seal signal, signature, design, insignia, significant simil, simul like, resembling similar, assimilate, simulate, simulacrum, simultaneous solv, solu(t) loosen, explain solve, solvent, absolve, resolve, soluble, solution, resolution, resolute spect see respect, inspection, inspector, spectator, spectacles, prospect, aspect stru(ct), str(o)y build, form instruct, instruction, construction, reconstruction, obstruct, destruction, infrastructure, construe, instrument, instrumental, industry, ministry tem(po) time tempo, temporary, extemporaneously, contemporary, ver(i) true very, aver, verdict, verity, verify, verisimilitude, veracity vid, vis see video, evident, provide, visible, revise, supervise, vista, visit, vision viv(i), vita alive, life revive, survive, vivid, vivacious, vitality, vital, vitamins, revitalize volv, vol(t) turn about, roll revolve, convolution, revolt, evolution

Chapter 5 how english words are made. word-building1

Before turning to the various processes of making words, it would be useful to analyse the related problem of the composition of words, i. e. of their constituent parts.

If viewed structurally, words appear to be divisible into smaller units which are called morphemes. Morphemes do not occur as free forms but only as constituents of words. Yet they possess meanings of their own.

All morphemes are subdivided into two large classes: roots (or radicals} and affixes. The latter, in their turn, fall into prefixes which precede the root in the structure of the word (as in re-read, mis-pronounce, un-well) and suffixes which follow the root (as in teach-er, cur-able, diet-ate).

Words which consist of a root and an affix (or several affixes) are called derived words or derivatives and are produced by the process of word-building known as affixation (or derivation).

Derived words are extremely numerous in the English vocabulary. Successfully competing with this structural type is the so-called root word which has only a root morpheme in its structure. This type is widely represented by a great number of words belonging to the original English stock or to earlier borrowings (house, room, book, work, port, street, table, etc.), and, in Modern English, has been greatly enlarged by the type of word-building called conversion (e. g. to hand, v. formed from the noun hand; to can, v. from can, п.; to pale, v. from pale, adj.; a find, n. from to find, v.; etc.).

Another wide-spread word-structure is a compound word consisting of two or more stems2 (e. g. dining-room, bluebell, mother-in-law, good-for-nothing). Words of this structural type are produced by the word-building process called composition.

The somewhat odd-looking words like flu, pram, lab, M. P., V-day, H-bomb are called shortenings, contractions or curtailed words and are produced by the way of word-building called shortening (contraction).

The four types (root words, derived words, compounds, shortenings) represent the main structural types of Modern English words, and conversion, derivation and composition the most productive ways of word-building.

To return to the question posed by the title of this chapter, of how words are made, let us try and get a more detailed picture of each of the major types of Modern English word-building and, also, of some minor types.

Affixation

The process of affixation consists in coining a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme. The role of the affix in this procedure is Very important and therefore it is necessary to consider certain facts about the main types of affixes.

From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into the same two large groups as words: native and borrowed.

Some Native Suffixes1

Noun-forming	-er	worker, miner, teacher, painter, etc.
-ness	coldness, loneliness, loveliness, etc.
-ing	feeling, meaning, singing, reading, etc.
-dom	freedom, wisdom, kingdom, etc.
-hood	childhood, manhood, motherhood, etc.
-ship	friendship, companionship, mastership, etc.
-th	length, breadth, health, truth, etc.
Adjective-forming	-ful	careful, joyful, wonderful, sinful, skilful, etc.
-less	careless, sleepless, cloudless, senseless, etc.
-y	cozy, tidy, merry, snowy, showy, etc.
-ish	English, Spanish, reddish, childish, etc.
-ly	lonely, lovely, ugly, likely, lordly, etc.
-en	wooden, woollen, silken, golden, etc.
-some	handsome, quarrelsome, tiresome, etc.
Verb-forming	-en	widen, redden, darken, sadden, etc.
Adverb-forming	-ly	warmly, hardly, simply, carefully, coldly, etc.

Borrowed affixes, especially of Romance origin are numerous in the English vocabulary (Ch. 3). It would be wrong, though, to suppose that affixes are borrowed in the same way and for the same reasons as words. An affix of foreign origin can be regarded as borrowed only after it has begun an independent and active life in the recipient language, that is, is taking part in the word-making processes of that language. This can only occur when the total of words with this affix is so great in the recipient language as to affect the native speakers’ subconscious to the extent that they no longer realize its foreign flavour and accept it as their own.

* * *

Affixes can also be classified into productive and non-productive types. By productive affixes we mean the ones, which take part in deriving new words in this particular period of language development. The best way to identify productive affixes is to look for them among neologisms and so-called nonce-words, i. e. words coined and used only for this particular occasion. The latter are usually formed on the level of living speech and reflect the most productive and progressive patterns in word-building. When a literary critic writes about a certain book that it is an unputdownable thriller, we will seek in vain this strange and impressive adjective in dictionaries, for it is a nonce-Word coined on the current pattern of Modern English and is evidence of the high productivity of the adjective-forming borrowed suffix -able and the native prefix un-.

Consider, for example, the following:

Professor Pringle was a thinnish, baldish, dispeptic-lookingish cove with an eye like a haddock.

(From Right-Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse)

The adjectives thinnish and baldish bring to mind dozens of other adjectives made with the same suffix; oldish, youngish, mannish, girlish, fattish, longish, yellowish, etc. But dispeptic-lookingish is the author’s creation aimed at a humorous effect, and, at the same time, proving beyond doubt that the suffix -ish is a live and active one.

The same is well illustrated by the following popular statement: «I don’t like Sunday evenings: I feel so Mondayish». (Mondayish is certainly a nonce-word.)

One should not confuse the productivity of affixes with their frequency of occurrence. There are quite & number of high-frequency affixes which, nevertheless, are no longer used in word-derivation (e. g. the adjective-forming native suffixes -ful, -ly; the adjective-forming suffixes of Latin origin -ant, -ent, -al which are quite frequent).

Some Productive Affixes

Noun-forming suffixes	-er, -ing, -ness, -ism1 (materialism), -ist1 (impressionist), -ance
Adjective-forming suffixes	-y, -ish, -ed (learned), -able, -less
Adverb-forming suffixes	-ly
Verb-forming suffixes	-ize/-ise (realize), -ate
Prefixes	un(unhappy), re(reconstruct), dis (disappoint)

Note. Examples are given only for the affixes which are not listed in the tables at p. 82 and p. 83.

Some Non-Productive Affixes

Noun-forming suffixes	-th,-hood
Adjective-forming suffixes	-ly, -some, -en, -ous
Verb-forming suffix	-en

Note. The native noun-forming suffixes -dom and -ship ceased to be productive centuries ago. Yet, Professor I. V. Arnold in The English Word gives some examples of comparatively new formations with the suffix -dom: boredom, serfdom, slavedom [15]. The same is true about -ship (e. gsalesmanship). The adjective-forming -ish, which leaves no doubt as to its productivity nowadays, has comparatively recently regained it, after having been non-productive for many centuries.

Semantics of Affixes

The morpheme, and therefore affix, which is a type of morpheme, is generally defined as the smallest indivisible component of the word possessing a meaning of its own. Meanings of affixes are specific and considerably differ from those of root morphemes. Affixes have widely generalized meanings and refer the concept conveyed by the whole word to a certain category, which is vast and all-embracing. So, the noun-forming suffix -er could be roughly defined as designating persons from the object of their occupation or labour (painter — the one who paints) or from their place of origin or abode {southerner — the one living in the South). The adjective-forming suffix -ful has the meaning of «full of», «characterized by» (beautiful, careful) whereas -ish Olay often imply insufficiency of quality (greenish — green, but not quite; youngish — not quite young but looking it).

Such examples might lead one to the somewhat hasty conclusion that the meaning of a derived word is always a sum of the meanings of its morphemes: un/eat/able =» «not fit to eat» where not stands for unand fit for: -able.

There are numerous derived words whose meanings can really be easily deduced from the meanings of their constituent parts. Yet, such cases represent only the first and simplest stage of semantic readjustment with in derived words. The constituent morphemes within derivatives do not always preserve their current meanings and are open to subtle and complicated semantic shifts.

Let us take at random some of the adjectives formed with the same productive suffix -y, and try to deduce the meaning of the suffix from their dictionary definitions:

brainy (inform.) — intelligent, intellectual, i. e, characterized by brains

catty — quietly or slyly malicious, spiteful, i. e, characterized by features ascribed to a cat

chatty — given to chat, inclined to chat

dressy (inform.) — showy in dress, i. e. inclined to dress well or to be overdressed

fishy (e. g. in a fishy story, inform.) — improbable, hard to believe (like stories told by fishermen)

foxy — foxlike, cunning or crafty, i. e. characterized by features ascribed to a fox

stagy — theatrical, unnatural, i. e. inclined to affectation, to unnatural theatrical manners

touchy — apt to take offence on slight provocation, i. e. resenting a touch or contact (not at all inclined to be touched)1

The Random-House Dictionary defines the meaning of the -y suffix as «characterized by or inclined to the substance or action of the root to which the affix is attached». [46] Yet, even the few given examples show that, on the one hand, there are cases, like touchy or fishy that are not covered by the definition. On the other hand, even those cases that are roughly covered, show a wide variety of subtle shades of meaning. It is not only the suffix that adds its own meaning to the meaning of the root, but the suffix is, in its turn, affected by the root and undergoes certain semantic changes, so that the mutual influence of root and affix creates a wide range of subtle nuances.

But is the suffix -y probably exceptional in this respect? It is sufficient to examine further examples to see that other affixes also offer an interesting variety of semantic shades. Compare, for instance, the meanings of adjective-forming suffixes in each of these groups of adjectives.

1. eatable (fit or good to eat)2

lovable (worthy of loving)

questionable (open to doubt, to question)

imaginable (capable of being imagined)

2. lovely (charming, beautiful, i. e. inspiring love)

lonely (solitary, without company; lone; the meaning of the suffix does not seem to add anything to that of the root)

friendly (characteristic of or befitting a friend.)

heavenly (resembling or befitting heaven; beautiful, splendid)

3. childish (resembling or befitting a child)

tallish (rather tall, but not quite, i. e. approaching the quality of big size)

girlish (like a girl, but, often, in a bad imitation of one)

bookish (1) given or devoted to reading or study;

(2) more acquainted with books than with real life, i. e. possessing the quality of bookish learning)

The semantic distinctions of words produced from the same root by means of different affixes are also of considerable interest, both for language studies and research work. Compare: womanly — womanish, flowery — flowered -— flowering, starry — starred, reddened — reddish, shortened — shortish.

The semantic difference between the members of these groups is very obvious: the meanings of the suffixes are so distinct that they colour the whole words.

Womanly is used in a complimentary manner about girls and women, whereas womanish is used to indicate an effeminate man and certainly implies criticism.

Flowery is applied to speech or a style (cf. with the R. цветистый), flowered means «decorated with a patters of flowers» (e. g. flowered silk or chintz, cf. with the R, цветастый) and flowering is the same as blossoming (e. g. flowering bushes or shrubs, cf. with the R. цветущий).

Starry means «resembling stars» (e. g. starry eyes) and starred — «covered or decorated with stars» (e. g. starred skies).

Reddened and shortened both imply the result of an action or process, as in the eyes reddened with weeping or a shortened version of a story (i. e. a story that has been abridged) whereas shortish and reddish point to insufficiency of quality: reddish is not exactly red, but tinged with red, and a shortish man is probably a little taller than a man described as short.

Conversion

When in a book-review a book is referred to as a splendid read, is read to be regarded as a verb or a noun? What part of speech is room in the sentence: I was to room with another girl called Jessie. If a character in a novel is spoken about as one who had to be satisfied with the role of a has-been, what is this odd-looking has-been, a verb or a noun? One must admit that it has quite a verbal appearance, but why, then, is it preceded by the article?

Why is the word if used in the plural form in the popular proverb: If ifs and ans were pots and pans? (an = if, dial., arch.)

This type of questions naturally arise when one deals with words produced by conversion, one of the most productive ways of modern English word-building.

Conversion is sometimes referred to as an affixless way of word-building or even affixless derivation. Saying that, however, is saying very little because there are other types of word-building in which new words are also formed without affixes (most compounds, contracted words, sound-imitation words, etc.).

Conversion consists in making a new word from some existing word by changing the category of a part of speech, the morphemic shape of the original word remaining unchanged. The new word has a meaning Which differs from that of the original one though it can more or less be easily associated with it. It has also a new paradigm peculiar to its new category as a part of speech.

The question of conversion has, for a long time, been a controversial one in several aspects. The very essence of this process has been treated by a number of scholars (e. g. H. Sweet), not as a word-building act, but as a mere functional change. From this point of view the word hand in Hand me that book is not a verb, but a noun used in a verbal syntactical function, that is, hand (me) and hands (in She has small hands) are not two different words but one. Hence, the case cannot be treated as one of word-formation for no new word appears.

According to this functional approach, conversion may be regarded as a specific feature of the English categories of parts of speech, which are supposed to be able to break through the rigid borderlines dividing one category from another thus enriching the process of communication not by the creation of new words but through the sheer flexibility of the syntactic structures.

Nowadays this theory finds increasingly fewer supporters, and conversion is universally accepted as one of the major ways of enriching English vocabulary with new words. One of the major arguments for this approach to conversion is the semantic change that regularly accompanies each instance of conversion. Normally, a word changes its syntactic function without any shift in lexical meaning. E. g. both in yellow leaves and in The leaves were turning yellow the adjective denotes colour. Yet, in The leaves yellowed the converted unit no longer denotes colour, but the process of changing colour, so that there is an essential change in meaning.

The change of meaning is even more obvious in such pairs as hand > to hand, face > to face, to go > a go, to make > a make, etc.

The other argument is the regularity and completeness with which converted units develop a paradigm of their new category of part of speech. As soon as it has crossed the category borderline, the new word automatically acquires all the properties of the new category, so that if it has entered the verb category, it is now regularly used in all the forms of tense and it also develops the forms of the participle and the gerund. Such regularity can hardly be regarded as indicating a mere functional change which might be expected to bear more occasional characteristics. The completeness of the paradigms in new conversion formations seems to be a decisive argument proving that here we are dealing with new words and not with mere functional variants. The data of the more reputable modern English dictionaries confirm this point of view: they all present converted pairs as homonyms, i. e. as two words, thus supporting the thesis that conversion is a word-building process.

Conversion is not only a highly productive but also a particularly English way of word-building. Its immense productivity is considerably encouraged by certain features of the English language in its modern Stage of development. The analytical structure of Modern English greatly facilitates processes of making words of one category of parts of speech from words of another. So does the simplicity of paradigms of En-lush parts of speech. A great number of one-syllable Words is another factor in favour of conversion, for such words are naturally more mobile and flexible than polysyllables.

Conversion is a convenient and «easy» way of enriching the vocabulary with new words. It is certainly an advantage to have two (or more) words where there Was one, all of them fixed on the same structural and semantic base.

The high productivity of conversion finds its reflection in speech where numerous occasional cases of conversion can be found, which are not registered by dictionaries and which occur momentarily, through the immediate need of the situation. «If anybody oranges me again tonight, I’ll knock his face off, says the annoyed hero of a story by O’Henry when a shop-assistant offers him oranges (for the tenth time in one night) instead of peaches for which he is looking («Lit. tie Speck in Garnered Fruit»). One is not likely to find the verb to orange in any dictionary, but in this situation it answers the need for brevity, expressiveness and humour.

The very first example, which opens the section on conversion in this chapter (the book is a splendid read), though taken from a book-review, is a nonce-word, which may be used by reviewers now and then or in informal verbal communication, but has not yet found its way into the universally acknowledged English vocabulary.

Such examples as these show that conversion is a vital and developing process that penetrates contemporary speech as well. Subconsciously every English speaker realizes the immense potentiality of making a word into another part of speech when the need arises.

* * *

One should guard against thinking that every case of noun and verb (verb and adjective, adjective and noun, etc.) with the same morphemic shape results from conversion. There are numerous pairs of words (e. g. love, n. — to love, v.; work, n. — to work, v.; drink, n. — to drink, v., etc.) which did, not occur due to conversion but coincided as a result of certain historical processes (dropping of endings, simplification of stems) when before that they had different forms (e. g. O. E. lufu, n. — lufian, v.). On the other hand, it is quite true that the first cases of conversion (which were registered in the 14th c.) imitated such pairs of words as love, n. — to love, v. for they were numerous to the vocabulary and were subconsciously accepted by native speakers as one of the typical language patterns.

* * *

The two categories of parts of speech especially affected by conversion are nouns and verbs. Verbs made from nouns are the most numerous amongst the words produced by conversion: e. g. to hand, to back, to face, to eye, to mouth, to nose, to dog, to wolf, to monkey, to can, to coal, to stage, to screen, to room, to floor, to ^lack-mail, to blacklist, to honeymoon, and very many ethers.

Nouns are frequently made from verbs: do (e. g. This ifs the queerest do I’ve ever come across. Do — event, incident), go (e. g. He has still plenty of go at his age. Go — energy), make, run, find, catch, cut, walk, worry, show, move, etc.

Verbs can also be made from adjectives: to pale, to yellow, to cool, to grey, to rough (e. g. We decided sq rough it in the tents as the weather was warm), etc.

Other parts of speech are not entirely unsusceptible to conversion as the following examples show: to down, to out (as in a newspaper heading Diplomatist Outed from Budapest), the ups and downs, the ins and outs, like, n. (as in the like of me and the like of you).

* * *

It was mentioned at the beginning of this section that a word made by conversion has a different meaning from that of the word from which it was made though the two meanings can be associated. There are Certain regularities in these associations which can be roughly classified. For instance, in the group of verbs made from nouns some of the regular semantic associations are as indicated in the following list:

I. The noun is the name of a tool or implement, the verb denotes an action performed by the tool: to hammer, to nail, to pin, to brush, to comb, to pencil.

II. The noun is the name of an animal, the verb denotes an action or aspect of behaviour considered typical of this animal: to dog, to wolf, to monkey, to ape, to fox, to rat. Yet, to fish does not mean «to behave like a fish» but «to try to catch fish». The same meaning of hunting activities is conveyed by the verb to whale and one of the meanings of to rat; the other is «to turn informer, squeal» (sl.).

III. The name of a part of the human body — an action performed by it: to hand, to leg (sl.), to eye, to elbow, to shoulder, to nose, to mouth. However, to face does not imply doing something by or even with one’s face but turning it in a certain direction. To back means either «to move backwards» or, in the figurative sense, «to support somebody or something».

IV. The name of a profession or occupation — an activity typical of it: to nurse, to cook, to maid, to groom.

V. The name of a place — the process of occupying» the place or of putting smth./smb. in it (to room, to house, to place, to table, to cage).

VI. The name of a container — the act of putting smth. within the container (to can, to bottle, to pocket).

VII. The name of a meal — the process of taking it (to lunch, to supper).

The suggested groups do not include all the great variety of verbs made from nouns by conversion. They just represent the most obvious cases and illustrate, convincingly enough, the great variety of semantic interrelations within so-called converted pairs and the complex nature of the logical associations which specify them.

In actual fact, these associations are not only complex but sometimes perplexing. It would seem that if you know that the verb formed from the name of an animal denotes behaviour typical of the animal, it would easy for you to guess the meaning of such a verb provided that you know the meaning of the noun. Yet, it is not always easy. Of course, the meaning of to fox is rather obvious being derived from the associated reputation of that animal for cunning: to fox means «to act cunningly or craftily». But what about to wolf? How is one to know which of the characteristics of the animal was picked by the speaker’s subconscious when this verb was produced? Ferocity? Loud and unpleasant fowling? The inclination to live in packs? Yet, as the Hollowing example shows, to wolf means «to eat greedily, voraciously»: Charlie went on wolfing the chocolate. (R. Dahl)

In the same way, from numerous characteristics of | be dog, only one was chosen for the verb to dog which is well illustrated by the following example:

And what of Charles? I pity any detective who would have to dog him through those twenty months.

(From The French Lieutenant’s Woman by J. Fowles)

(To dog — to follow or track like a dog, especially with hostile intent.)

The two verbs to ape and to monkey, which might be expected to mean more or less the same, have shared between themselves certain typical features of the same animal:

to ape — to imitate, mimic (e. g. He had always aped the gentleman in his clothes and manners. — J. Fowles);

to monkey — to fool, to act or play idly and foolishly. To monkey can also be used in the meaning «to imitate», but much rarer than to ape.

The following anecdote shows that the intricacies ex semantic associations in words made by conversion may prove somewhat bewildering even for some native-speakers, especially for children.

«Mother», said Johnny, «is it correct to say you ‘water a horse’ when he’s thirsty?»

«Yes, quite correct.»

«Then», (picking up a saucer) «I’m going to milk the cat.»

The joke is based on the child’s mistaken association of two apparently similar patterns: water, п. — to water, v.; milk, n. — to milk, v. But it turns out that the meanings of the two verbs arose from different associations: to water a horse means «to give him water», but to milk implies getting milk from an animal (e. g, to milk a cow).

Exercises

I. Consider your answers to the following.

1. What are the main ways of enriching the English vocabulary?

2. What are the principal productive ways of word-building in English?

3. What do we mean by derivation?

4. What is the difference between frequency and productivity of affixes? Why can’t one consider the noun-forming suffix -age, that is commonly met in many words (cabbage, village, marriage, etc.), a productive one?

5. Give examples of your own to show that affixes have meanings.

6. Look through Chapter 3 and say what languages served as the main sources of borrowed affixes. Illustrate your answer by examples.

7. Prove that the words a finger and to finger («to touch or handle with .the fingers») are two words and not the one word finger used either as a noun or as a verb.

8. What features of Modern English have produced the high productivity of conversion? и

9. Which categories of parts of speech are especially affected by conversion?

10. Prove that the pair of words love, n. and love, v. do not present a case of conversion.

II. The italicized words in the following jokes and extracts are formed by derivation. Write them out in two columns:

A. Those formed with the help of productive affixes.

B. Those formed with the help of non-productive affixes. Explain the etymology of each borrowed affix.

1. Willie was invited to a party, where refreshments were bountifully served.

«Won’t you have something more, Willie?» the hostess said.

«No, thank you,» replied Willie, with an expression of great satisfaction. «I’m full.»

«Well, then,» smiled the hostess, «put some delicious fruit and cakes in your pocket to eat on the way home.»

«No, thank you,» came the rather startling response of Willie, «they’re full too.»

2. The scene was a tiny wayside railway platform and the sun was going down behind the distant hills. It was a glorious sight. An intending passenger was chatting with one of the porters.

«Fine sight, the sun tipping the hills with gold,» said the poetic passenger.

«Yes,» reported the porter; «and to think that there was a time when I was often as lucky as them ‘ills.»

3. A lady who was a very uncertain driver stopped her car at traffic signals which were against her. As the green flashed on, her engine stalled, and when she restarted it the colour was again red. This flurried her so much that when green returned she again stalled her engine and the cars behind began to hoot. While she was waiting for the green the third time the constable on duty stepped across and with a smile said: «Those are the only colours, showing today, ma’am.»

4. «You have an admirable cook, yet you are always growling about her to your friends.»

«Do you suppose I want her lured away?»

5. Patient: Do you extract teeth painlessly?

Dentist: Not always — the other day I nearly dislocated my wrist.

6. The inspector was paying a hurried visit to a slightly overcrowded school.

«Any abnormal children in your class?» he inquired of one harassed-looking teacher.

«Yes,» she replied, with knitted brow, «two of them have good manners.»

7. «I’d like you to come right over,» a man phoned an undertaker, «and supervise the burial of my poor, departed wife.»

«Your wife!» gasped the undertaker. «Didn’t I bury her two years ago?»

«You don’t understand,» said the man. «You see I married again.»

«Oh,» said the undertaker. «Congratulations.»

8. Dear Daddy-Long-Legs.

Please forget about that dreadful letter I sent you last week — I was feeling terribly lonely and miserable and sore-throaty the night I wrote. I didn’t know it, but I was just coming down with tonsillitis and grippe …I’m |b the infirmary now, and have been for six days. The Head nurse is very bossy. She is tall and thinnish with a Hark face and the funniest smile. This is the first time they would let me sit up and have a pen or a pencil. please forgive me for being impertinent and ungrateful.

Yours with love.

Judy Abbott

(From Daddy-Long-Legs by J. Webster)1

9. The residence of Mr. Peter Pett, the well-known financier, on Riverside Drive, New York, is one of the leading eyesores of that breezy and expensive boulevard …Through the rich interior of this mansion Mr. Pett, its nominal proprietor, was wandering like a lost spirit. There was a look of exasperation on his usually patient face. He was afflicted by a sense of the pathos of his position. It was not as if he demanded much from life. At that moment all that he wanted was a quiet spot where he might read his Sunday paper in solitary peace and he could not find one. Intruders lurked behind every door. The place was congested. This sort of thing had been growing worse and worse ever since his marriage two years previously. Marriage had certainly complicated life for Mr. Pett, as it does for the man who waits fifty years before trying it. There was a strong literary virus in Mrs. Pett’s system. She not only wrote voluminously herself — but aimed at maintaining a salon… She gave shelter beneath her terra-cotta roof to no fewer than six young unrecognized geniuses. Six brilliant youths, mostly novelists who had not yet started…

(From Piccadilly Jim by P. G. Wodehouse. Abridged)

III. Write out from any five pages of the book you are reading examples which illustrate borrowed and native affixes in the tables in Ch. 3 and 5. Comment on their productivity.

IV. Explain the etymology and productivity of the affixes given below. Say what parts of speech can be formed with their help.

-ness, -ous, -ly, -y, -dom, -ish, -tion, -ed, -en, -ess, -or, -er, -hood, -less, -ate, -ing, -al, -ful, un-, re-, im (in)-, dis-, over-, ab 

V. Write out from the book yon are reading all the words with the adjective-forming suffix -ly and not less than 20 words with the homonymous adverb-forming suffix. Say what these suffixes have in common and in what way they are differentiated.

VI. Deduce the meanings of the following derivatives from the meanings of their constituents. Explain your deduction. What are the meanings of the affixes in the words under examination?

Reddish, ad].; overwrite, v.; irregular, adj.; illegals adj.; retype, v.; old-womanish, adj.; disrespectable, adj.; inexpensive, adj.; unladylike, adj.; disorganize, v.; renew, u.; eatable, adj.; overdress, u.; disinfection, п.; snobbish, adj.; handful, п.; tallish, adj.; sandy, adj.; breakable, adj.; underfed, adj.

VII. In the following examples the italicized words are formed from the same root by means of different affixes. Translate these derivatives into Russian and explain the Difference in meaning.

1. a) Sallie is the most amusing person in the world — and Julia Pendleton the least so. b) Ann was wary, but amused. 2. a) He had a charming smile, almost womanish in sweetness, b) I have kept up with you through Miss Pittypat but she gave me no information that you had developed womanly sweetness. 3. a) I have been having a delightful and entertaining conversation with my old chum, Lord Wisbeach. b) Thanks for your invitation. I’d be delighted to come. 4. a) Sally thinks everything is funny — even flunking — and Julia is bored at everything. She never makes the slightest effort to be pleasant, b) — Why are you going to America? — To make my fortune, I hope. — How pleased your father will be if you do. 5. a) Long before |he reached the brownstone house… the first fine careless rapture of his mad outbreak had passed from Jerry Mitchell, leaving nervous apprehension in its place. b) If your nephew has really succeeded in his experiments you should be awfully careful. 6. a) The trouble with college is that you are expected to know such a lot of things you’ve never learned. It’s very confusing at times. b) That platform was a confused mass of travellers, porters, baggage, trucks, boys with magazines, friends, relatives. 7. a) At last I decided that even this rather mannish efficient woman could do with a little help. b) He was only a boy not a man yet, but he spoke in a manly way. 8. a) The boy’s respectful manner changed noticeably. b) It may be a respectable occupation, but it Sounds rather criminal to me. 9. a) «Who is leading in the pennant race?» said this strange butler in a feverish whisper, b) It was an idea peculiarly suited to her temperament, an idea that she might have suggested her. self if she had thought of it …this idea of his fevered imagination. 10. Dear Daddy-Long-Legs. You only wanted to hear from me once a month, didn’t you? And I’ve been peppering you with letters every few days! But I’ve been so excited about all these new adventures that I must talk to somebody… Speaking of classics, have you ever read Hamlet? If you haven’t, do it right off. It’s perfectly exciting. I’ve been hearing about Shakespeare all my life but I had no idea he really wrote so well, I always suspected him of going largerly on his reputation. (J. Webster)1

VIII. Explain the difference between the meanings of the following words produced from the same root by means of different affixes. Translate the words into Russian.

Watery — waterish, embarrassed — embarrassing. manly — mannish, colourful — coloured, distressed — distressing, respected — respectful — respectable, exhaustive — exhausting — exhausted, bored — boring, touchy — touched — touching.

IX. Find eases of conversion in the following sentences.

1. The clerk was eyeing him expectantly. 2. Under the cover of that protective din he was able to toy with a steaming dish which his waiter had brought. 3. An aggressive man battled his way to Stout’s side. 4. Just a few yards from the front door of the bar there was an elderly woman comfortably seated on a chair, holding a hose linked to a tap and watering the pavement. 5. — What are you doing here? — I’m tidying your room. 6. My seat was in the middle of a row. I could not leave without inconveniencing a great many people, so I remained. 7. How on earth do you remember to milk the cows and give pigs their dinner? 8. In a few minutes Papa stalked off, correctly booted and well mufflered. 9. «Then it’s practically impossible to steal any diamonds?» asked Mrs. Blair with as keen an air of disappointment as though she had been journeying there for the express purpose. 10. Ten minutes later I was Speeding along in the direction of Cape Town. 11. Restaurants in all large cities have their ups and 33owns. 12. The upshot seemed to be that I was left to Пасе life with the sum of £ 87 17s 4d. 13. «A man could Hie very happy in a house like this if he didn’t have to poison his days with work,» said Jimmy. 14. I often heard that fellows after some great shock or loss have a habit, after they’ve been on the floor for a while wondering what hit them, of picking themselves up and piecing themselves together.

X. One of the italicized words in the following examples |!was made from the other by conversion. What semantic correlations exist between them?

1. a) «You’ve got a funny nose,» he added, b) He began to nose about. He pulled out drawer after drawer, pottering round like an old bloodhound. 2. a) I’d seen so many cases of fellows who had become perfect slaves |of their valets, b) I supposed that while he had been valeting old Worplesdon Florence must have trodden on this toes in some way. 3. a) It so happened that the night before I had been present at a rather cheery little supper. b) So the next night I took him along to supper with me. 4. a) Buck seized Thorton’s hand in his teeth. |Ь) The desk clerk handed me the key. 5. a) A small hairy object sprang from a basket and stood yapping in ;the middle of the room. b) There are advantages, you see, about rooming with Julia. 6. a) «I’m engaged for lunch, but I’ve plenty of time.» b) There was a time when he and I had been lads about town together, lunching and dining together practically every day. 7. a) Mr. Biffen rang up on the telephone while you were in your bath. b) I found Muriel singer there, sitting by herself at a table near the door. Corky, I took it, was out telephoning. 8. Use small nails and nail the picture on the wall. 9. a) I could just see that he was waving a letter or something equally foul in my face. b) When the bell stopped. Crane turned around and faced the students seated in rows before him. 10. a) Lizzie is a good cook. b) She cooks the meals in Mr. Priestley’s house. 11. a) The wolf was suspicious and afraid, b) Fortunately, however, the second course consisted of a chicken fricassee of such outstanding excellence that the old boy, after wolfing a plateful, handed up his dinner-pail for a second installment and became almost genial. 12. Use the big hammer for those nails and hammer them in well. 13. a) «Put a ribbon round your hair and be Alice-in-Wonderland,» said Maxim. «You look like it now with your finger in your mouth.» b) The coach fingered the papers on his desk and squinted through his bifocals. 14. a) The room was airy but small. There were, however, a few vacant spots, and in these had been placed a washstand, a chest of drawers and a midget rocker-chair, b) «Well, when I got to New York it looked a decent sort of place to me …» 15. a) These men wanted dog’s, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles… and furry coats to protect them from the frost. b) «Jeeves,» I said, «I have begun to feel absolutely haunted. This woman dog’s me.»

XI. Explain the semantic correlations within the following pairs of words.

Shelter — to shelter, park — to park, groom — to groom, elbow — to elbow, breakfast — to breakfast, pin — to pin, trap — to trap, fish — to fish, head — to head, nurse — to nurse.

XII. Which of the two words in the following pairs is made by conversion? Deduce the meanings and use them in constructing sentences of your own.

star, n. — to star, v. picture, n. — to picture, v. colour, n. — to colour, v. blush, n. — to blush, v. key, n. — to key, v. fool, n. — to fool, v. breakfast, n. — to breakfast, v. house, n. — to house, v. monkey, n. — to monkey, v. fork, n. — to fork, v. slice, n. — to slice, v.

age, n. — to age, v. touch, n. — to touch, v. make, n. — to make, v. finger, n. — to finger, v. empty, adj. — to empty, v. poor, adj. — the poor, n. pale, adj. — to pale, v. dry, adj. — to dry, v. nurse, n. — to nurse, v. dress, n. — to dress, v. floor, n. — to floor, v.

XIII. Read the following joke, explain the type of word-building in the italicized words and say everything you can about the way they were made.

A successful old lawyer tells the following story about the beginning of his professional life:

«I had just installed myself in my office, had put in a phone, when, through the glass of my door I saw a shadow. It was doubtless my first client to see me. Picture me, then, grabbing the nice, shiny receiver of my new phone and plunging into an imaginary conversation. It ran something like this:

‘Yes, Mr. S!’ I was saying as the stranger entered the office. ‘I’ll attend to that corporation matter for you. Mr. J. had me on the phone this morning and wanted me to settle a damage suit, but I had to put him off, as I was too busy with other cases. But I’ll manage to sandwich your case in between the others somehow. Yes. Yes. All right. Goodbye.’

Being sure, then, that I had duly impressed my prospective client, I hung up the receiver and turned to him.

‘Excuse me, sir,’ the man said, ‘but I’m from the telephone company. I’ve come to connect your instrument.'»

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  Word-building in Modern English

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  By word-building are understood processes of producing new words from the resources of this particular language. Together with borrowing, word-building provides for enlarging and enriching the vocabulary of the language.

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  Morpheme is the smallest recurrent unit of language directly related to meaning

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  All morphemes are subdivided into two large classes: roots (or radicals) and affixes. The latter, in their turn, fall into prefixes which precede the root in the structure of the word (as in re-read, mispronounce, unwell) and suffixes which follow the root (as in teach-er, cur-able, diet-ate).

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  We can distinguish words due to a morphological structure

  Words which consist of a root are called root words:
  house, room, book, work, port, street, table, etc.

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  We can distinguish words due to a morphological structure

  Words which consist of a root and an affix (or several affixes) are called derived words or derivatives and are produced by the process of word-building known as affixation (or derivation):
  re-read, mis-pronounce, un-well, teach-er.

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  We can distinguish words due to a morphological structure

  A compound word is made when two words are joined to form a new word:
  dining-room, bluebell (колокольчик), mother-in-law, good-for-nothing(бездельник)

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  We can distinguish words due to a morphological structure
  Сompound-derivatives are words in which the structural integrity of the two free stems is ensured by a suffix referring to the combination as a whole, not to one of its elements:
  kind-hearted, old-timer, schoolboyishness, teenager.

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  There are the following ways of word-building:
  Affixation
  Composition
  Conversion
  Shortening (Contraction)
  Non-productive types of word-building:
  A) Sound-Imitation
  B) Reduplication
  C) Back-Formation (Reversion)

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  Affixation

  The process of affixation consists in coining a new word by adding an affix or several affixes to some root morpheme.

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  The role of the affix in this procedure is very important and therefore it is necessary to consider certain facts about the main types of affixes. From the etymological point of view affixes are classified into the same two large groups as words: native and borrowed.

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  An affix of foreign origin can be regarded as borrowed only after it has begun an independent and active life in the recipient language and it is taking part in the word-making processes of that language. This can only occur when the total of words with this affix is so great in the recipient language as to affect the native speakers’ subconscious to the extent that they no longer realize its foreign flavour and accept it as their own.

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  By productive affixes we mean the ones, which take part in deriving new words in this particular period of language development. The best way to identify productive affixes is to look for them among neologisms and so-called nonce-words.
  The adjectives thinnish (жидковатый) and baldish (лысоватый) bring to mind dozens of other adjectives made with the same suffix: oldish (староватый), youngish (моложавый), mannish (мужеподобная), girlish (женоподобный), longish (длинноватый), yellowish (желтоватый), etc.

  The same is well illustrated by the following popular statement: «/ don’t like Sunday evenings: I feel so Mondayish». (Чу́вствующий лень по́сле воскре́сного о́тдыха)

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  One should not confuse the productivity of affixes with their frequency of occurrence. There are quite a number of high-frequency affixes which, nevertheless, are no longer used in word-derivation

  e. g. the adjective-forming native suffixes -ful, -ly; the adjective-forming suffixes of Latin origin -ant, -ent, -al which are quite frequent

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  Some Non-Productive Affixes

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  Composition

  Composition is a type of word-building, in which new words are produced by combining two or more stems

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  Compounds are not homogeneous in structure. Traditionally three types are distinguished:
  neutral
  morphological
  syntactic

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  Neutral

  In neutral compounds the process of compounding is realised without any linking elements, by a mere juxtaposition of two stems, as in
  blackbird(дрозд)
  shopwindow(витрина) sunflower(подсолнух) bedroom(спальня) etc.

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  There are three subtypes of neutral compounds depending on the structure of the constituent stems.

  The examples: shopwindow(витрина), sunflower(подсолнух), bedroom(спальня) represent the subtype which may be described as simple neutral compounds: they consist of simple affixless stems.

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  Compounds which have affixes in their structure are called derived or derivational compounds.

  E.g. blue-eyed(голубоглазый),
  broad-shouldered(широкоплечий)

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  The third subtype of neutral compounds is called contracted compounds. These words have a shortened (contracted) stem in their structure:
  V-day (день победы) (Victory day), G-man (агент ФБР) (Government man «FBI agent»), H-bag (сумочка) (handbag), T-shirt(футболка), etc.

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  Morphological

  Morphological compounds are few in number. This type is non-productive. It is represented by words in which two compounding stems are combined by a linking vowel or consonant:
  e. g. Anglo-Saxon, Franko-Prussian, handiwork(изделие ручной работы), statesman (политический деятель/политик)

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  Syntactic

  These words are formed from segments of speech, preserving in their structure numerous traces of syntagmatic relations typical of speech: articles, prepositions, adverbs.
  e.g. father-in-law, mother-in-law etc.

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  Conversion

  Conversion consists in making a new word from some existing word by changing the category of a part of speech, the morphemic shape of the original word remaining unchanged.

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  It has also a new paradigm peculiar to its new category as a part of speech. Conversion is a convenient and «easy» way of enriching the vocabulary with new words. The two categories of parts of speech especially affected by conversion are nouns and verbs.

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  Verbs made from nouns are the most numerous amongst the words produced by conversion:
  e. g. to hand(передавать)
  to back(поддерживать)
  to face(стоять лицом к кому-либо)
  to eye(рассматривать)
  to nose(разнюхивать)
  to dog(выслеживать)

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  Nouns are frequently made from verbs:
  e.g. make(марка)
  run(бег)
  find(находка)
  walk(прогулка)
  worry(тревога)
  show(демонстрация)
  move(движение)

• 

  32 слайд

  Verbs can also be made from adjectives:
  e. g. to pale(побледнеть)
  to yellow(желтеть)
  to cool(охлаждать)

  Other parts of speech are not entirely unsusceptible to conversion.

• 

  33 слайд

  Shortening (Contraction)

  This comparatively new way of word-building has achieved a high degree of productivity nowadays, especially in American English.
  Shortenings (or contracted words) are produced in two different ways.

• 

  34 слайд

  The first way
  The first is to make a new word from a syllable (rarer, two) of the original word.
  The latter may lose its beginning (as in phone made from telephone, fence from defence), its ending (as in hols from holidays, vac from vacation, props from properties, ad from advertisement) or both the beginning and ending (as in flu from influenza, fridge from refrigerator)

• 

  35 слайд

  The second way
  The second way of shortening is to make a new word from the initial letters of a word group:
  U.N.O. from the United Nations Organisation, B.B.C. from the British Broadcasting Corporation, M.P. from Member of Parliament. This type is called initial shortenings.

• 

  36 слайд

  Both types of shortenings are characteristic of informal speech in general and of uncultivated speech particularly:
  E. g. Movie (from moving-picture), gent (from gentleman), specs (from spectacles), circs (from circumstances, e. g. under the circs), I. O. Y. (from I owe you), lib (from liberty), cert (from certainty), exhibish (from exhibition), posish (from position)

• 

  37 слайд

  Non-productive types of word-building
  Sound-Imitation
  Words coined by this interesting type of word-building are made by imitating different kinds of sounds that may be produced by
  human beings: to whisper (шептать), to whistle (свистеть), to sneeze (чихать), to giggle (хихикать);

• 

  38 слайд

  animals, birds, insects: to hiss (шипеть), to buzz (жужжать), to bark (лаять), to moo (мычать);
  inanimate objects: to boom (гудеть), to ding-dong (звенеть), to splash (брызгать);

• 

  39 слайд

  Reduplication
  In reduplication new words are made by doubling a stem, either without any phonetic changes as in bye-bye (coll, for good-bye)
  or with a variation of the root-vowel or consonant as in ping-pong, chit-chat (this second type is called gradational reduplication).

• 

  40 слайд

  This type of word-building is greatly facilitated in Modern English by the vast number of monosyllables. Stylistically speaking, most words made by reduplication represent informal groups: colloquialisms and slang. E. g. walkie-talkie («a portable radio»), riff-raff («the worthless or disreputable element of society»; «the dregs of society»), chi-chi (sl. for chic as in a chi-chi girl)

• 

  41 слайд

  In a modern novel an angry father accuses his teenager son of doing nothing but dilly-dallying all over the town. (dilly-dallying — wasting time, doing nothing)

• 

  42 слайд

  Another example of a word made by reduplication may be found in the following quotation from “The Importance of Being Earnest” by O. Wilde:
  Lady Bracknell: I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. (shilly-shallying — irresolution, indecision)

• 

  43 слайд

  Back-formation

  Forming the allegedly original stem from a supposed derivative on the analogy of the existing pairs, i. e. the singling-out of a stem from a word which is wrongly regarded as a derivative.

• 

  44 слайд

  The earliest examples of this type of word-building are the verb to beg (попрошайничать) that was made from the French borrowing beggar (нищий, бедняк), to burgle (незаконно проникать в помещение) from burglar (вор-домушник).
  In all these cases the verb was made from the noun by subtracting what was mistakenly associated with the English suffix -er.

• 

  45 слайд

  Later examples of back-formation are to blood-transfuse (делать переливание крови) from blood-transfuing, to force-land (совершать вынужденную посадку) from forced landing, to baby-sit (присматривать за ребенком) from baby-sitter.

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Taxonomic codification of letters[edit | edit source]

The consonants of root words are taken from a conceptual ontology matrix. For example, all root words beginning with the consonant t have something to do with human beings. Root words containing the consonant j relate somehow to time.

For example, the following words all contain the consonant p, which indicates motion:

zíp travel

jap precedence

tóáp step

zòp regression

pán jump

teap visit

mamp flight

Similarly, the following words all end in the consonant l, which indicates liquid:

mil water

vafil wine

mal gasoline

meil mud

vozil paint

teabil tear

Again, the following words all end in the consonant m, which indicates place, space, location, or position.:

tom residence

cem table

dénam library

tilam bar

epem parking lot

mem country

Semantic codification of vowels[edit | edit source]

The vowels in root words have various qualitative and quantitative values based on the following scales:

Scale	o	a	e	i	u
Cardinal	0	1	2	3	4
Ordinal/hierarchical	zeroth	first	second	third	fourth
Qualitative	negative 1	positive 1	neutral	positive 2	negative 2
Vectorial	down	up	middle	left	right
Natural	underground	sky	land	water	space

The opposite of a word can often be produced by simply changing a vowel to the «opposing» vowel.

• The vowels «a» and «o» are opposites in the «series 1».
• The vowels «i» and «u» are opposites in the «series 2.»

positive	negative
ab on	ob off
man light	mon shade
aga big	oga little
án together	ón apart
iga fast	uga slow
íga hard	úga soft

Throughout the Mirad word construction scheme, the vowel e always has a neutral or medial value:

medial
éb between
éz inside
eza moderate
ge equal
zem middle
gé rather
ev if
je during
eb at
ve maybe

In hierarchical codification, the vowel o indicates the zeroth or toplevel element of an organization. In a qualitative codification, it has a negative slant. As a prefix, this vowel can also «nullify» a concept as in the following examples:

absolute	nullified
tel food	otel hunger
gela same	ogela different
tadca married	otadca unmarried
es function	oes malfunction

Hierarchical codification with ordinal vowels[edit | edit source]

Root words related hierarchically or organizationally differ only in their ordinal vowels. By ordinal vowels is meant that the vowels have inherent numerical values (o 0, a 1, e 2, etc.). The zeroth element of any hierarchy always contains the ordinal vowel o. For example, the words for royalty differ only by an enumerative vowel which determines the rank:

ordinal value	royal rank
1	adeb emperor
2	edeb king
3	ideb prince
4	udeb marquis
5	ádeb count
6	édeb duke
7	ódeb lord

For further illustration, we can look at how the concept human being is hierarchically codified using ordinal vowels, where the larger the numeric value of the ordinal vowel, the lower the element is in the semantic hierarchy:

human being
tob human
tab body
teb head
tib trunk
tub arm
tób leg

Scalability With Contrasting Vowels[edit | edit source]

Words can be semantically constructed along the qualitative scale of «postive», ‘»neutral», and «negative» through the use of vowels imbued with these values. In Mirad, there are two qualitative vowel series:

number	positive	neutral	negative
1	a	e	o
2	i	e	u

As implied in the above table, root words with a contrast as semantically opposite with those with o and roots words with i contrast with those with u. Words with e are in the middle between the two extremes. The second series does sometimes lack a middle value. For example:

series	positive	neutral	negative
1	va yes	ve maybe	vo no
1	vay certainly	vey possibly	voy not
1	aza strong	eza moderate	oza weak
2	zi right	ze middle	zu left
2	fia good	fea neither good nor bad	fua bad
2	iga fast	ega moderate	uga slow

Vectorial codification[edit | edit source]

On the vectorial (or: directional, geo-spatial) scale, the vowels have the following general values (see later for a more detailed explanation):

positive	neutral	negative
a		o
up/north/ahead		down/south/back
	e
	in/middle
i		u
right/east/straight		left/west/crooked

Some examples:

positive	neutral	negative
áb up	éb between	ób down
ab on	eb at	ob off
zi right	ze in the middle	zu left
áber to raise	éber to contain	óber to lower

In the following examples, the vowels i/u and e take on directional values with respect to the doer of the action:

bier to take	nier to consume	dier to ask	pier to leave	iper to go away	iber to receive
beer to keep	neer to conserve	der to say	peer to stay	eper to stop	eber to stop
buer to give	nuer to supply	duer to suggest	puer to arrive	uper to come	uber to send

Natural (geological) codification[edit | edit source]

On the natural scale, the vowels have the following values:

vowel	value	examples
a	sky/air	mampar aircraft, map wind (current)
e	land/soil	mempar car, mep road
i	sea/water	mimpar ship, mip river
o	underground	mompar subway, mop tunnel
u	outer space	mumpar spaceship, mup galaxy

Semantic nuancing[edit | edit source]

Semantic nuances and gradations of quality of words are reflected through the «lengthening», that is, addition of a harmonic subordinal vowel to the ordinal vowel, yodification (adding y) of the ordinal vowel, or the addition of one in a series of intensifying (l, r) or distinguishing (c, s, v, f, etc.) consonants, or any of the above techniques in combination. In this scheme, pre-yodification signals a semantic intensification, while post-yodification indicates a weakening or mitigation of sense. A doubling of the vowel usually indicates another kind of lessened strength of the corresponding single-vowel word. Here are some examples:

Post-yodification deintensifies the semantic value of the base word in much the same way as the suffix -ish sometimes mitigates the value of an English adjective.

normal	deintensified
ama hot	àma warm
oma cold	òma cool
ima wet	ìma humid
at vage I want	at vàge I’d like
at ége I must	at yège I should
moza black	mòza blackish
e two	è half
gla very	glà somewhat
mar sun	màr star
ifer to love	ìfer to like
bók pain	bôk ache
tom residence	tòm home
dom city	dòm town
din story	dìn tale
pener to seize	pèner to catch
pon rest	pòn pause

Pre-yodification is sometimes used to intensify the semantic value of the base word:

normal	intensified
om cold	óm ice
am heat	ám fire
ga more	gá most
pener to seize	péner to strike
pot animal	pót wild animal
vaa affirmative	váa true
ab on	yab above
ze in the middle of	zé through
ib away	íb far
bok illness	bók pain
paner to move	páner to jump

The consonant extenders «l» and «r» are sometimes used to intensify the semantic value of the base word.

normal	strong	stronger
bók pain	blók agony	brók torture
vag desire	vlag yearning	vrag craving
éga necessary	égla urgent	égra critical
péner to hit	pénler to beat	pénrer to smash
fúder to offend	flúder to insult	frúder to outrage
dier to request	diler to beg	direr to demand

The ordinal vowel can be extended with a homorganic subordinal vowel in order to add an element of «lengthening» or some other nuance to the meaning of the base word:

normal	lengthened
bok illness	book fatigue
vager to want	vaager to desire
dob state	doob nation
dab government	daab administration
tob body	toob gender
din story	diin recitation
béler to retain	béeler to conserve
mil water	miil dew

Here are some examples where all these techniques are employed:

derived word	method of derivation
bok illness	normal
bòk ailment	post-yodification (mitigation)
book fatigue	lengthening
boòk lassitude	post-yodification (mitigation)
bók pain	pre-yodification (intensification)
bôk ache	post-yodification (mitigation)
bóok suffering	lengthening
blók agony	L-intensification (1st order)
brók torture	R-intensification (2nd order)

derived word	method of derivation
vager to want	normal
vlager to yearn for	L-intensification (1st order)
vrager to crave	R-intensification (2nd order)
vaager to desire	lengthening
vàger to wish for	post-yodification (mitigation)
vaàger to aspire to	lengthening

The consonants l, r, and c are used to differentiate nuances of words, usually in a positive degree of strength. Other consonants can also be used for derivation.

derived word
va yes
vaa positive
vala sure
vàla certain
vaala safe
vara evident
vàra manifest
valda certified
vàca secure
váa true
váya genuine
váca correct
vâca right
vába regular
vâba statutory
váva exact
válva perfect
váfa precise
váta fair
váma real
váama virtual
vâma actual
váda frank
vála authentic

Mnemonic and analogic association[edit | edit source]

Mnemonics is used to the fullest to associate root words and concepts. For example, the words «neigh», «hehaw», «bark», and «meow» in Unilingua all contain a hint of the animal name with which these are associated. For example:

animal	sound verb
épet dog	épeder to bark
apet horse	apeder to neigh
ápet pig	ápeder to squeal
ípet cat	ípeder to meow
apat cock	apader to crow
pat bird	pader to tweet
epèt cow	epèder to moo

Two or more words are often joined into a single compound, producing a new concept, where the separate elements are suggestive of the meaning of the resulting compound. In some cases, words overlap much like portmanteau words in English (breakfast + lunch = brunch). (Note, for euphony, if the final consonant of the first root word is the same as the initial consonant of the second root word, one of the consonants is dropped.)

first concept	second concept	compound
il liquid	pan motion	ilpan wave
teac- to see	per to go	teaper to visit
dom city	mep way	domep street (not dommep)
kum side	mep way	kumep sidewalk
zè across	mep way	zèmep bridge
zé through	mep way	zémep thoroughfare
elám iron	mep way	elámep railroad
mag fire	meb mountain	magmeb volcano
tóáb foot	per to go	tóáper to walk
mic window	nof cloth	micof curtain
mac floor	nof cloth	macof carpet
bik care	nof cloth	bikof bandage
teb head	nof cloth	tef hat
új- to close	nof cloth	újof fold
tom home	nof cloth	tomof tent
nun merchandise	par vehicle	nunpar truck
pat bird	ij beginning	patij egg
án together	iv joy	ániv festival
oj future	nac money	ojnac credit
ej present	nac money	ejnac cash
vé relative	naz value	vénaz coefficient
ke- to seek	bier to take	kebier to choose
job time	bier to take	jobier to borrow
dop military	bier to take	dopbier to conquer
nuc payment	bier to take	nucbier to purchase
ko- to hide	bier to take	kobier to steal
tel food	tam house	telam restaurant
mag fire	il liquid	magil oil
mam sky	mil water	mamil rain
mir planet	nod point	mirnod pole
mam sky	nid line	mamnid horizon
mar light	nid line	marnid ray
nof cloth	yazser to flatten	nofyazser to iron
taob flesh	tel food	taol meat
taob flesh	fab tree	faob wood
faob wood	cyeb container	faocyeb barrel
ápet pig	tel meat	ápel pork

The following example of compounding with the root word mep (way, route, road) shows the efficiency of Unilingua compounding:

first concept	combined concept
kum side	kumep sidewalk
tóáb walk	tóámep walkway
dom city	domep boulevard
dom city	domèp avenue
dom city	domeap street
éb between	ébdomeap alley
zè across	zèmep bridge
zé through	zémep thoroughfare
óg- short	ógmep shortcut
oiz indirect	oizmep byway
yoz out	yozmep exit
éz in	ézmep entrance
íz beyond	ízmep detour
úz around	úzmep beltway
ig- fast	igmep expressway
ouj- no-end	oujmep cul-de-sac
nùc fee	nùcmep toll road, turnpike
agal- main	agalmep main road
anog- primary	anogmep highway
ogal- minor	ogalmep back road
vó- wrong	vómep blind alley
áb high	ábmep raised highway
mom underground	momep subway
elám iron	elámep railroad
tóáp- to walk	tóámep walkway
par vehicle	parmep driveway
-et little	mepet path, lane
iz- direct	izmep straightaway
-án collective	mepán network

Root words[edit | edit source]

Root words are divided into two groups:

• 1st group: nouns.
• 2nd group: prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and verbs, that is, all other words.

Root words of the 1st group (nouns)[edit | edit source]

All noun root words are composed of three letters:

• The first, a consonant, called the classifier
• The second, a vowel, called the ordinal
• The third, a consonant, called the generic

Examples:

classifier	ordinal	generic	meaning
t	o	b	man
t	a	b	body
d	o	t	society
d	o	m	city
t	a	m	house

Table of consonant semantic values[edit | edit source]

consonant	classifier (1st group)	generic (1st group)	classifier (2nd group)
b	organ, illness, body	organism	gesture, manner
p	animal, vehicle	travel	movement
c	thing, furniture	form	making, c hundred
s	action	action	doing, action, thing
d	society	person	saying, writing
t	human being	person	knowing
f	vegetation	textiles, materials	quality
v	plant, color	cloth, linen	quality, truth
g			quantity, size, speed
k			weight, volume
j	time	time	time
z		jewels, precious, art, color	direction
l		element, liquid, food	l ten
m	cosmos, nature	place, building, metal	ml million
n	merchandise, containers	abstraction	counting
r		machine, instrument	mr billion

The letter w does not have semantic value, only grammatical value as the sign of the passive voice. The letter h also has no semantic value; it merely forms the correlative deictics or determinants.

Table of vowel numeric values[edit | edit source]

vowel	numeric value
o	0
a	1
e	2
i	3
u	4
ó	5
á	6
é	7
í	8
ú	9

Table of vowel geo-positional values[edit | edit source]

vowel	value
a	above, superior, north
e	center, middle, equator
o	below, inferior, south
u	left, west
i	right, east

Table of vowel vectorial values[edit | edit source]

vowel	free movement	contact movement	position	examples
a	on	onto	up/north	ab (on), aper (mount), aber (apply)
á	up	onto		áb (up), áper (climb), páer (rise)
o	under, off	underneath	down/south	ob (under), ober (remove), boer (support)
ó	down	down to		óper (descend), póer (fall)
u	near	to	left/west	uper (come), puer (arrive)
ú	toward	until		úb (near), úper (approach), púer (reach)
i	away	from	right/east	iper (go away), pier (leave)
í	far off	off		íb (away), íber (take away), píer (originate)
e	between	at	center/middle	eb (at), eper (stop), peer (remain)
é	in	into		éz (in), éber (contain), béer (detain)

Table of vowel geo-specific values[edit | edit source]

vowel	value	-p	-m	-l
a	sky	map wind	mam sky	mal air
e	land	mep road	mem earth	mel soil
i	water	mip river	mim sea	mil water
o	underground	mop tunnel	mom mine	mol mineral
u	nature	mup galaxy	mum space	mul matter

Table of vowel temporal values (for verbs)[edit | edit source]

vowel	value	example
a	past	pa went, paa had gone, pao will have gone, pae has gone
e	present	pe goes, pee is going, pea has been going, peo will be going
o	future	po will go, poa would go, poe is about to go
u	untensed	pu go!, that (one) go

Root words of the 2nd group (non-nouns)[edit | edit source]

All words of the 2nd group, which are word roots other than noun roots, are composed of two letters, either a consonant-vowel combination like za or a vowel-consonant combination like az, not counting grammatical endings like the adjectival suffix -a or the verbal infinitive suffix -er.

Vowel oppositions in 2nd group root words[edit | edit source]

Root words with i ⇒ u opposition :

positive	negative
fia good	fua bad
via beautiful	vua ugly
fía brave	fúa afraid
vía clean	vúa dirty
ifa lovable	ufa hateful
iva happy	uva sad
ífa modest	úfa proud
íva free	úva dependent
iga fast	uga slow
íga hard	úga soft
gia sharp	gua dull
gía difficult	gúa easy
ika full	uka empty
kia oblique	kua lateral
kíaheavy	kúa light
íka solid	úka fragile
íba far	úba near
bí since	bú up to
iza straight	uza crooked
zia right	zua left
íz beyond	úz around
zí all over	zúa round

Root words with ternary vowel opposition a ⇒ e ⇒ o and i ⇒ e ⇒ u:

positive	neutral	negative
aza strong	eza medium	oza weak
áza flat	éza concave	óza convex
áz along	éz in	óz out
za front	ze middle	zo behind
zà ahead	zè across	zò back
záa wide	zé through	zóa narrow
aga big	eg- repeat	oga small
ága long	ég- must	óga short
va yes	ve maybe	vo no
và and, both	vè or, either	vò nor, neither
vager to want	veger may, can	voger to renounce
av for	ev if	ov against
váa true	véa relative	vóa false
áva innocent	év- to judge	óva guilty
ga more	ge equal	go less
gà also	gè as	gò but, except
gáa fat	géa moderate	góa thin
gla very	gle rather	glo slightly
gra too	gre just	gro insufficiently
gá most	gé average	gó least
kaer find	keer seek	koer hide
kyaer change	kéer fluctuate	kóer stay fixed
aker win	eker play	oker lose
áker to expect	éker to try	óker to be surprised
ja before	je during	jo after
aj past	ej present	oj future
já early	jé on time	jó late
-a past tense	-e present tense	-o future tense
ab on	eb at	ob off
áb above	éb between	ób below
ijer to begin	ejer to last	ujer to end
tijer to be born	tejer to live	tujer to die

2nd Group Root Word Matrix[edit | edit source]

Two-way i/u opposition[edit | edit source]

In 2nd group root words, the vowel i signals a positive value, while the contrasting vowel u indicates the negative or opposite value:

positive	negative	positive	negative
fia good	fua bad	via beautiful	vua ugly
ifa dear	ufa hateful	iva happy	uva sad
fía brave	fúa afraid	vía clean	vúa dirty
ífa modest	úfa proud	íva free	úva bound
gia sharp	gua dull	kia oblique	kua lateral
gía difficult	gúa easy	kía heavy	kúa light
iga fast	uga slow	ika full	uka empty
zia right	zua left	iza straight	uza curved
zí- all around	zú- round	íz- beyond	úz- around
ij- begin	uj- end	íj- open	új- close
ib from	ub to	íb far	úb near
ib- receive	ub- send	íb- take away	úb- bring
bi- take	bu- give	bí away	bú toward
bin- pull	bun- push	bín- …	bún- touch
ip- go (away)	up- come	íp- escape	úp- approach
pi- depart	pu- arrive	pí- originate	pú- reach
pin- grab	pun- throw	pín- seize	pún- assault

Three-way a/e/o opposition[edit | edit source]

Some 2nd group root words exhibit a three-way contrast where a is the base or positive value, e the middle or in-between value, and o the negative or opposite value:

positive	intermediate	negative
va yes	ve maybe	vo no
váa true	véa relative	vóa false
av for	ev if	ov against
áva innocent	év- judge	óva guilty
ga more	ge equal	go less
gla many	gle several	glo few
gra too many	gre just enough	gro too few
gá most	gé enough	gó least
gáa fat	géa moderate	góa thin
aga big	eg again	oga small
ága long	ég- must	óga short
ka- find	ke- search	ko- hide
ká- change	ké- waver	kó- stay
ak- win	ek- play	ok- lose
ák- expect	ék- try	ók- be surprised
za front	ze middle	zo back
záa wide	yzé through	zóa narrow
aza strong	eza average	oza weak
áza flat	éza concave	óza convex
áz along	éz in	óz out
ja before	je during	jo after
já early	jé on time	jó late
aj past	ej present	oj future
ab on	eb at	ob off
ab- apply	eb- keep	ob remove
áb above	éb between	ób lower
áb- lift	éb- contain	ób- lower
ba- lean on	be- carry	bo- hold up
bar- press	bel- keep	bol- support
bá- erect	bé- lay	bó- hang
ban- shake	ben- hold	bon- calm
ap- get on	ep- stay	op- get off
áp- ascend	ép- intervene	óp- descend
pan- move	pen- seize	pon- rest
pá- jump	pé- stand	pó- fall
pán- surge	pén- attack	pón- dive

The following table shows how some of the 2nd group root words can be expanded on through various word-building techniques:

positive	negative	positive	negative
fia good fi well fian goodness fila delicious fira excellent fìla exquisite fieca happy firsa perfect fiser to improve fider to congratulate fiader to praise flider to eulogize frider to brag fiàsener to favor fibéna polite gafia better gafi better (adv.) gafif moreso gafira famous gafifer to prefer ísfira useful fiíser to utilize	fua bad fura cruel fula malignant fùra ferocious fueca unhappy flua wicked fluica sinister frueca furious fuvára jeolous fu ill gafua worse gafu worse (adv.) fuser to spoil fuscer to bother fuder to curse furser to pollute fùser to debase fuáser to deteriorate fulser to damage fuecer to get angry fluecer to get irritated fruicer to grow furious fun fault fùn vice fuùn sin dofùna immoral	via beautiful viá pretty vila magnificent vira marvelous vria luxurious viaga somptuous vifa elegant vìfa chic vifia charming videréna eloquent vikaeá admirable viser to adorn viber to garnish viaber to decorate viaser to embellish viraser to dazzle	vua ugly vuá vile
ifa lovable, beloved, dear ifbier to enjoy ifbuer to please ifiber to derive pleasure from ifca pleasant ifcla charming ìfa dear ìfciona gracious ifcra delightful ifra adorable ifla tender ìfala cute ifta nice ifla nice ifrana passionate ìfsrea seductive ifer to love ìfer to like ifcer to be pleased ifcler to be charmed ifcrer to be delighted ifser to please ifsler to charm ifsrer to delight iifper to stroll ifi thanks ifider to thank ifcaler to enjoy	ufa hateful ufla disagreeable ufcea unpleasant ufta mean ufer to hate ùfer to dislike ufuer to despise ufcer to be displeased ovufer to avenge	iva gay ìva joyous ivla glad ìvla content ivra excited ivalsa amused ivca funny ivcla comical ivaser to rejoice ivraser to excite ìvler to satisfy ivalser to amuse ivàlser to entertain ivader to joke ivlaser to content	uva sad ùva melancholy uvla lugubrious uvca dramatic uvcra tragic uvder to complain uvdlier to lament uvceuzer to sigh uvteucer to whine vónùvuser to regret ébuvader to pity uvbaner to move ébuvlacer to have compassion uvalser to bore uvuser to chagrin ùvuser to punish uvluser to afflict

Ordinal vowel codification of hierarchical nouns[edit | edit source]

Nouns that are related to one another in a hierarchy or organization can be codified using the ordinal feature of vowels. The o vowel (zero value) is used for the topmost element.

job time jab year jeb season jib month jub day jób hour jáb minute jéb second

tob human tab body teb head tib trunk tub arm tób leg

mor universe mar sun mer planet mir earth mur moon

Individual elements can be further subdivided into a secondary classification by the addition of an ordinal vowel to the right of the first vowel:

tub arm tuab shoulder tueb upper arm tuib elbow tuub forearm tuób wrist tuáb hand tuéb fist tuíb palm tuúb finger tuób finger nail

tób leg tóab hip tóeb thigh tóib knee tóub tibia tóób ankle tóáb foot tóéb talon tóíb heel tóúb toe tóób toe nail

A further, tertiary subdivision can be achieved by prefixing an ordinal vowel to the base:

tuúb	finger
atuúb	thumb
etuúb	index
ituúb	middle finger
utuúb	ring finger
ótuúb	little finger

A convenient classification is possible by prefixing an ordinal vowel to the base without any primary or secondary enumeration:

dob	state
adob	empire
edob	kingdom
idob	principality
udob	marquisate
ódob	earldom
ádob	barony
édob	duchy
ídob	dominion
údob	tribe

Forming concepts by compounding («portmanteau»)[edit | edit source]

New concepts can be formed by compounding simple words. If the generic (final) consonant of the first word matches the classifier (initial) consonant of the following word or his consonantally homorganic with it, the latter is suppressed for convenience and ease of pronunciation:

concept 1	concept 2	compound
dom city	mep road	domep boulevard
pat bird	tub arm	patub wing
teb head	bók pain	tebók headache
tep mind	book fatigue	tebook boredom

In cases where two ordinated nouns with the same classifier and generic consonants are combined, the vowels are combined:

concept 1	concept 2	compound
mil water	mal gas	mial vapor
mel soil	mil water	meil mud

When you wish to form a word composed of words of the same consonantal classification, and the ordinal vowel is o, the o is replaced with the ordinal vowel of the determinant:

concept 1	concept 2	compound
edob kingdom	deb leader	edeb king
udob principality	deb leader	udeb prince

Two singleton words often join by replacing the generic (final) consonant of the first word with the generic consonant of the second word, producing a melded concept somewhat like portmanteau words in English («breakfast» + «lunch» «brunch»).

concept 1	concept 2	compound
tob man	nof cloth	tof clothes
tóáb foot	nov tissue	tóáv sock
teb head	nof cloth	tef hat
tib trunk	nof cloth)	tif vest
tób leg	nof cloth	tóf pants
tuób hand	nof cloth	tuóf glove
teib nose	nov tissue	teiv handkerchief

Making nouns and pronouns «feminine»[edit | edit source]

The «feminine» counterpart of a noun or pronoun is obtained by post-yodifying the ordinal vowel (i.e. adding a y glide):

masculine	feminine
taf suit	tàf dress/outfit
tóáv sock	tóâv stocking
tef pants	tèf skirt
néf carrying case	nêf purse
it he	ìt she
tob man	tòb woman
apet horse	apèt mare
tad husband	tèd wife

Codifying nuances of words[edit | edit source]

There are several ways of deriving related words with slightly different nuances from the original word:

The l extender is used for a comparatively stronger sense, while the r extender is used for an even stronger (strongest) sense:

absolute	comparative	excessive
ga more	gla very much	gra too much
úzbaer squeeze	úzbaler pinch	úzbarer crush
buer give	buler grant	burer bestow
ika full	ikla packed	ikra overflowing
aker win	akler vanquish	akrer triumph
dier ask	diler beseech	direr demand

The post-yodifying y extender is used for what usually amounts to a diminutive connotation:

normal	mitigated
vager want	vàger wish
fuf pipe	fùf tube
nas price	nàs cost
tep mind	tèp spirit
din story	dìn tale
cin image	cìn mark
ciun sign	ciùn signal
sen action	sèn act

Pre-yodification of a root vowel often imparts an intensified sense to the word. In any even, the normal and pre-yodified forms are usually related semantically. Compare:

normal	intensified
bok malady	bók pain
pan motion	pán jump
beer to remain	béer to detain
aper to get on	áper to get up
pet animal	pét reptile
otata unholy	ótata diabolical
vua ugly	vúa dirty
go less	gó least
ga more	gá most
ze in the middle	zé though
ijer to begin	íjer to open

Noun-forming derivational suffixes[edit | edit source]

Summary[edit | edit source]

Here is a list of suffixes that are added to word bases to form derived nouns:

suffix	meaning	base	derived noun
et	subdordinative	ted father	tedet son
an	deadjectival nominalizer (-itude, -ity, -hood, -ness)	iva happy	ivan happiness
en	deverbal nominalizer (-ing, -tion, -ance)	azvader to confirm	azvaden confirmation
on	general abstract nominalizer	c- to be	con thing
un	nominalizer of result	nú- to produce	núun product
at	person (-er)	óga young	ógat youngster
ut	agent (-ist)	ces- to build	cesut builder
tut	expert (-ologist)	mem earth	memtut geologist
tun	science (-ology)	mil water	miltun hydrology
in	doctrine (-ism)	tot god	totin theism
ar	instrument	p- to go	par vehicle
ir	machine	vís- to clean	vísir vacuum cleaner
ur	aparatus	magc- to burn	magcur stove
am	building	tel- to eat	telam restaurant
em	space	vab grass	vabem prairie
im	room	magél- to cook	magélim kitchen
án	collection	nac money	nacán fund
a	genetive/ablative case (of/from)	at I	ata my
u	dative/locative case (in/at/on/to)	tam house	tamu at home
i	pluralizer	dén book	déni books
ag	augmentative	tam house	tamag palace
àg	augmentative affective	tam house	tamàg nice big house
ág	augmentative pejorative	tam house	tamág big ugly house
og	diminutive	tam house	tamog hut
òg	diminutive affective	tam house	tamòg cottage
óg	diminutive pejorative	tam house	tamóg shack
ob	infantile	tob human being	tobob child

Details[edit | edit source]

Following is a detailed description of the nominalizing derivations suffixes:

The -et suffix[edit | edit source]

The -et suffix is used to form nouns of the same nature, lineage, or composition of a lesser importance:

ted father	tedet son
fab tree	fabet bush
nac money	nacet change
fub branch	fubet shoot
táb grandfather	tábet grandson

The -an suffix[edit | edit source]

The -an suffix is used to form a noun of quality or state from an adjective or noun:

ama hot	aman heat
iva beautiful	ivan beauty
fia good	fian goodness
ted father	tedan fatherhood
dat friend	datan friendship
odat enemy	odatan enmity

The -at suffix[edit | edit source]

The -at suffix is used to form the word for a person described by the adjective base.

iktila drunk	iktilat a drunkard
iva happy	ivat a happy person
ofísa hypocritical	ofísat hypocrite
tuja dead	tujat dead person

The -ut suffix[edit | edit source]

The -ut suffix is used to form the agent for the action described by the verb base «one who does x» or the fabricator of something described by the noun base «one who makes x»:

kobier to steal	kobiut thief
tóáfser to make shoes	tóáfsut shoemaker
teaper to visit	teaput visitor
deuzer sing	deuzut singer

The -tut suffix[edit | edit source]

The -tut suffix is used to form the specialist -ologist or student of something:

tun science	tut scientist
memtun geology	memtut geography
dad language	dadtut linguist

The -ob suffix[edit | edit source]

The -ob suffix is used to form the child or younger version of something:

tob man	tobob child
apet horse	apetob pony
rapat lion	rapatob lion cub
tot god	totob son of god

The -ar suffix[edit | edit source]

The -ar, ir, or -ur suffix on a verb base is used for an instrument/tool, machine, or apparatus, respectively.

álber to lift	álbur elevator
álber to lift	álbar lever
álbir to lift	álbir fork lift
víarer to sweep	víarar sweeper
ilújer to plug	ilújar faucet
kácanerto transform	kácanur transformer
drecer to write	drecar pencil

The -en suffix[edit | edit source]

The -en suffix is used on a verb base for the verbal noun -ing, -ence, -ment, -tion:

ecer to exist	ecen existence
iber to receive	iben reception
béer to detain	béen detention
otamser to demolish	otamsen demolition

The -un suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -un is used on a verb base for the concrete result of an action:

vyarer to sweep	vyarun sweepings
gorfer to tear	gorfun a tear, a rip
teacer to see	teacun view
zéfser to make glass jewelry	zéfsun glass jewelry

The -án suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -án is used on a noun base for collections or groupings:

fab tree	fabán forest
cir machine	cirán machinery
meb mountain	mebán mountain range
tolar food dish	tolarán dishes
mep road	mepán network
aco hundred	acoán century
dún word	dúnán glossary
tam house	tamán block (of houses)
màr star	màrán constellation

The -ag suffix[edit | edit source]

The -ag suffix is used on a noun base for augmentatives «big …»:

tom residence	tomag palace
mapil storm	mapilag tempest
mep road	mepag highway

The -àg suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -àg is used on a noun base for affectionate augmentatives «big old…»:

tam house	tamàg big old house
cim chair	cimàg big old chair

The -ág suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -ág is used on a noun base for pejorative augmentatives «big ugly…»:

apet horse	apetág nag
pem car	pemág jalopy
teb head	tebág blockhead
tob man	tobág brute
pot animal	potág beast
tòb woman	tòbág hag

The -og suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -og is used on a noun base for diminutives «little…»:

tam house	tamog cottage
dén book	dénog booklet

The -òg suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -òg is used on a noun base for affectionate diminutives «sweet little…»:

épet dog	épetòg doggie, pooch
tòb lady	tòbòg little old lady
tèbos kiss	tèbosòg peck

The -óg suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -óg on a noun base for pejorative diminutives «dirty little…»

tebzan face	tebzanóg mug
tob man	tobóg wretched fellow

The -in suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix -in is used on a word base for a philosophy or doctrine -ism:

òtota godless	òtotin atheism
adoba republican	adobin republicanism
fob vegetable	fobin vegetarianism
ísfrana utilitarian	ísfranin utilitarianism

Adjective-forming derivational suffixes[edit | edit source]

Summary[edit | edit source]

suffix	meaning	base	derivative
-a	relating to	moj night	moja nocturnal
-aa	past participle	tuj- to die	tujaa dead (also: tuja)
-ea	present participle	abdab- to dominate	abdabea dominant
-èna	like	tobob child	tobobèna childish
-èa	tending to	da- to talk	daèa talkative
-oa	future participle	tuj- to die	tujoa moribund
-wua	-able, -ible	tel- to eat	telwua edible
-àa	-ous, -y, -ful, having	maf cloud	mafàa cloudy
-òa	-less	maf cloud	mafòa cloudless
-ika	-ful, full of	nac money	nacika rich
-uka	-less, devoid of	nac money	nacuka poor

Note: -àa/-òa is synonymous with -ika/-uka. The latter is a new addition to Unilingua author Agapoff’s original grammar.

Details[edit | edit source]

The -a suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -a is used to mean having to do with, in the state of. This is the most common way to form an adjective from a noun:

noun	adjective
tej life	teja vital
tuj death	tuja mortal, dead
moj night	moja nocturnal
tob man	toba human
yab up	yaba upper

In Agapoff’s original work on Unlingua, the termination a was also used to form the past passive participle of verbs (ota = unknown). In this work, the proposed termination for past passive participle is waa or more simply, wa (ex: otwa = unknown). See #Verbs for more on this.

active infinitive	passive past participle	example
ter to know	twa known	Ca twa ad meir ce yaza. It was known that the earth is flat.
fiser to improve	fiswa improved	Fiswa nyun improved product
ifer to love	ifwa loved, beloved, dear	Ifwa ted… Dear Father…

The -éna suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -éna on nouns is used to give the idea of like, having the nature of:

tobob child	tobobéna childish, infantile
ted father	tedéna paternal, fatherly
bilíg cheese	bilígéna cheesy

The -éa suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -éa is used on verb bases to mean tending to:

tuser persuade	tuséa persuasive
oceser destroy	oceséa destructive
abdaber dominate	abdabéa dominating
daer talk	daéa talkative

The -ea suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -ea is used on verb bases to form the present participle ‘-ing, -ant’:

tejer live	tejea living, alive
tujer die	tujea dying
abdaber dominate	abdabea dominant

The -wua suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -wua is used on verb bases to mean able to be …ed ‘-able’:

teler eat	telwua edible
teacer see	teacwua visible
tiler drink	tilwua potable

The -àa suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -àa is used on noun bases to mean full of, having, carrying… ‘-ous, -y’. This comes from -à, meaning with. It is synonymous with -ika ‘full’, presented further on.

meg rock	megàa rocky
miek sand	miekàa sandy
meb mountain	mebàa mountainous

The -òa suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -òa is used on noun bases to mean devoid of, without, un-…ed. This comes from -ò, meaning without. It is synonymous with -uka ‘empty’, presented further on.

taéb hair	taébòa hairless, bald
tec meaning	tecòa meaningless
toc feeling	tocòa numb

The -ika suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -ika full is used on noun bases to mean full of ‘-ful, -ous, -y’. This suffix is synonymous with -àa.

ilpaan wave	ilpaanika wavy
nas money	nasika rich
mil water	milika watery, aqueous
voz color	vozika colorful

The -uka suffix[edit | edit source]

The ending -uka empty is used on noun bases to mean the devoid of ‘-less’. This suffix is synonymous with -òa and the opposite of -ika and -àa.

nas money	nasuka poor
voz color	vozuka colorless, bland
teuc taste	teucuka tasteless, insipid
nánut population	nánutuka unpopulated, deserted

Adverb-forming derivational suffixes[edit | edit source]

The -à suffix[edit | edit source]

Change the adjectival ending -a to -à to form an adverb:

yufa proud	yufà proudly
teacèa visible	teacèà visibly
uva sad	uvà sadly

• • Use -à on noun bases to form an adverbial postpositional phrase mean with…:

ìfcion grace	ìfcionà with grace
at me	atà with me
úf pride	úfà with pride

The -ò suffix[edit | edit source]

Use -ò on a noun to mean without…:

nas cost	nasò cost-free
seuc noise	seucò noiselessly
et you	etò without you

The -è suffix[edit | edit source]

Use -è on a noun to mean by, by way of, through, via…:

pam plane	pamè by plane
ìt her	ìtè by her
ésag hard work	ésagè through hard work
Paris Paris	Parisè via Paris

Verb-forming derivational suffixes[edit | edit source]

Summary[edit | edit source]

ending	meaning
er	infinitive
cer	intransitive stative verb infinitive («to be/become»)
ser	transitive dynamic verb infinitive («to do/make»)
per	intransitive verb of motion infinitive («to go»)
ber	transitive verb of gesture infinitive («to put»)

Details[edit | edit source]

The -er suffix[edit | edit source]

The suffix er is used on noun bases to form a verb infinitive.

noun	verb
tej life	tejer to live
tuj death	tujer to die
túj sleep	tújer to sleep
ij beginning	ijer to begin
íj opening	íjer to open
tíj wakening	tíjer to waken
új closing	újer to close
tém residence	témer to reside
drén print	dréner to print

The -cer and -ser suffixes[edit | edit source]

The ending -cer be/become is used to create intransitive verbs from nouns and adjectives where the intransitive form contrasts significantly with the transitive form. If the adjective is a base, the -a ending is dropped unless 1) the resulting consonant combination would be difficult; or 2) the meaning is literal as opposed to metaphorical, in which case the dropped -a version is taken as metaphorical. For example, aga big becomes either agacer, meaning literally to become big, or agcer, meaning metaphorically to grow, as in Vab agce ga igà adjobu mamile. The grass grows faster when it rains.

The ending -ser do/make/act/cause is employed to form transitive verbs. In a few cases like teacer/teaser, the opposition of -cer vs. -ser is semantic in nature. In these cases, -ser imparts a more dynamic meaning. In a few other cases, -ser is used to form the causative form of a verb, meaning to make/have/cause/let someone do something.

adjective	intransitive verb	transitive verb
aga big	agacer to get big	agaser to magnify
aga big	agcer to grow	agser to grow
ígza sour	ígzacer to grow sour	ígzaser to make sour
íva free	ívcer to go free	ívser to liberate
teab eye	teacer to see	teaser to look
man light	mancer to shine	manser to illuminate
ábta vertical, upright	ábtacer to stand up	ábtaser to erect
ázta incumbant, reclined	áztacer to lie down	áztaser to lay down
óbta sitting, settled	óbtacer to sit down, settle	óbtaser to set down

The -per and -per suffixes[edit | edit source]

• The ending -per is used for intransitive verbs of motion (going).
• The ending -ber is used for transitive verbs of gesture (putting):

base	intransitive verb	transitive verb
áb up	áper to rise	áber to raise
ón apart	ónper to go apart	ónber to separate
ob off	oper to get off	ober to take off
eb at	eper to stop	eber to stop
ika full	ikper to fill up	ikber to fill up

Forming numbers[edit | edit source]

Cardinal numeric adjectives[edit | edit source]

The cardinal numeric adjectives 0-9 are formed from the ordinal vowels. The tens are formed with the extension consonant l, the hundreds with the consonant c, the thousands with r, the millions with ml, and the billions with mr.

Numbers composed with aro (1,000), amlo (1,000,0000), and amro (1,000,000,000) retain the o and are spelled separately from the rest of the numbers with a space.

number	numeral adjective
0	o zero
1	a one
2	e two
3	i three
4	u four
5	ó five
6	á six
7	é seven
8	í eight
9	ú nine
10	alo ten
11	ala eleven
12	ale twelve
13	ali thirteen
14	alu fourteen
15	aló fifteen
20	elo twenty
21	ela twenty-one
22	ele twenty-two
30	ilo thirty
31	ila thirty-one
100	aco one hundred
101	aca one hundred one
123	aceli one hundred twenty-three
200	eco two hundred
1000	aro one thousand
1089	aro ílú
2348	ero iculí
10000	aloro ten thousand
12487	aleru ílé
1000000	amlo one million
6000000	ámlo
6058720	ámlo ólíro écelo

Ordinal numeric adjectives[edit | edit source]

The ordinal numeric adjectives are formed by adding -a to the cardinal number:

cardinal	ordinal
a 1	aa first
e 2	ea second
i 3	ia third
alo 10	aloa tenth
aci 103	acia one hundred third (pron: a-CI-a)

Ordinal numeric substantives[edit | edit source]

When ordinal numbers are used substantively, the letter t is appended for persons and the letter c for things:

English	Mirad
The first shall be last.	Aati co ujnati.
The second in the series.	Eec anána.

Collective numeric substantives[edit | edit source]

Collective (or: multiplicative) substantives of the cardinal numbers are formed by adding on.

cardinal	collective
a one	aon single/whole/unit/solo
e two	eon double/couple/pair/duo/twosome
i three	ion triple/trio/threesome
u four	uon quadruple/foursome/quartet
ó five	óon quintuple
é seven	éon sevenfold
é seven	jubéon week
alo ten	alon tenfold
alo ten	jabalon decade
ale twelve	aleon dozen
aco hundred	acon hundredfold
aco hundred	aconè percent
aco hundred	jabacon century
aro thousand	aron thousandfold
aro thousand	aroni thousands

Collective numeric prefixes[edit | edit source]

Prefixes having a collective (or: multiplicative) numeric meaning are expressed as:

cardinal	collective	example
a one	an- single, mono-, uni	anzúc unicycle
e two	en- double, bi-, di-, duo-	enzúc bicycle
i three	in- triple, tri-	inzúc tricycle
u four	un- quadruple, quad-, tetra-	unkum tetrahedron
ó five	ón- quintuple, penta-	óngun pentagon
alo ten	alon- tenfold, deca-	alonjab decade
aco hundred	acon- hundredfold, hecato-, cent-	aconjab century
aro thousand	aron- thousandfold, kilo-	aronkín kiloliter

Fractional numeric substantives[edit | edit source]

Fractional numeric substantives are formed by adding on to the corresponding fractional numeral. The on is dropped in prefixed forms of the fractions:

cardinal	fraction	prefix	example
a one	àon unit, whole	à- holo-	àcin hologram
e two	èon half	è- semi-, demi-	ètot demigod
i three	ìon third	ì- terci-	ìgana terciform
u four	ùon quarter	ù- quatri-	ùser to quarter
alo ten	alòon tenth	alò- deci-	alòser to decimate
aco hundred	acòon hundredth	acò- centi-	acònog centrigrade
aro thousand	aròon thousandth	arò- milli-	aròkík milligram

Frequentative numeric adverbs[edit | edit source]

Adverbs of frequency are formed with the root jig, meaning frequency, rate:

cardinal	frequency
o zero	ojigu never
a one	ajigu once
e two	ejigu twice
i three	ijigu thrice, three times
co hundred	acojigu a hundred times
od what	odjigu? how often, at what rate?
ge same	gejigu at the same rate, as often
ga more	gajigu more often
go less	gojigu less often
ud this	udjigu this often
id that	idjigu that often
gla much	glajigu very often
glo little	glojigu infrequently
glà rather	glàjigu rather often

Numeric adjectives of order or rank[edit | edit source]

nap order, rank

cardinal	order
o zero	onapa zeroth
a one	anapa primary, first, original
e two	enapa secondary, second-ranking
i three	inapa tertiary, third-ranking
u four	unapa quaternary, fourth-ranking’
za front	zanapa front-ranking, ahead
zo back	zonapa behind, trailing
ja before	janapa former, foregoing
jo after	jonapa next, following
ij beginning	ijnapa first, original
uj end	ujnapa last, final
lo un-	lonapa random, unordered

Numeric adjectives of degree[edit | edit source]

nog degree, grade, stage

cardinal	degree
a one	anoga primary
e two	enoga secondary
i three	inoga tertiary
u four	unoga quaternary

Numeric adjectives of base or bit[edit | edit source]

Add -na:

cardinal	base	grouping
o zero	ona zero-based	onet zero, null
a one	ana unary, only	anet unit
e two	ena binary	enet bit
i three	ina ternary
u four	una quaternary
ú eight	úna octal	únet octet, byte
alo ten	alona decimal
alé sixteen	aléna hexadecimal	alénet 16-bit byte

Numeric prefixes[edit | edit source]

If cardinal numeric morphemes are used as prefixes, -n is added, unless the base to which it is being attached already begins with that letter:

root	numeric adjective
kunid edge	enkunida double-edged
nid line	anida single-lined
nag dimension	enaga two-dimenesional
nég space	enéga double-spaced
tep mind	antepa single-minded
neg level	enega split-level
mep way	anmepa one-way
voz color	anvoza monochrome
can form	ancana uniform
tooc sex	entoocifa bisexual
tot god	antotina monotheistic
izan direction	enizana bidirectional

Numeric Expressions[edit | edit source]

Distance/size measurements (zák = meter)[edit | edit source]

(zág is width, ág is length, ag is size, íban is distance, ábag is height, óbag is depth, gán is girth):

measurement	example
zák meter	It ca á záki íb. He was 5 meters away.
arozák kilometer	Ce eli arozáki bú dom. It is 23 km. to (until) the city.
aroyzák millimeter	Cizo alo aroyzáka nid. Draw a ten mm. line.
acozák centimeter	Odgan acoyzáki ága ce? How many cm. long is it?

Weight measurements (kík = gram)[edit | edit source]

(kín is weight, kíncer is to weigh):

measurement	example
kík gram	Odgan kíki id kínce? How many grams does that weigh?
arokík kilogram	At vage u arokíki vâba. I want five kg. of grain.
aròkík milligram	Mez kínce e aròkíki. The crystal weighs two milligrams.

Volume measurements (nék = liter)[edit | edit source]

(néd is volume):

measurement	example
nék liter	Odganu néki it ébe? How many liters does it hold?
aronék kiloliter	At vage u aronéki vâba. I want five kilos of grain.
arònék milliliter	Ézbo e arònéki mila. Insert two ml. of water.

Math expressions[edit | edit source]

(gaber to add, gober to substract, garer to multiply, gorer to divide, gecer to equal):

Mirad	English
A gab a gece e.	One plus one equals two.
U gob a gece i.	Four minus 1 equals three.
E gar u gece ó.	Two times four equals eight.
Alo gor e gece á.	Ten divided by two equals five.
E veg e gece u.	Two to the second power equals four.
E nod u.	Two point five (2.5)
U gab a èon or u a èonà	5 1/2

Clock time expressions ( jób = hour)[edit | edit source]

The international 24-hour clock is used.

Mirad	English
Odjób ce?	What time is it? (lit: Which hour is [it]?)
Ce a jób.	It’s one o’clock.
Ce ali jób alá.	It’s 1:15 PM.
Ce i jób ilo.	It’s 3:30 AM.
Ce á jób gob alo.	It’s ten ’til five. (lit: five hours minus ten)

Calendar expressions[edit | edit source]

Unilingua	English
Od ce uda jud?	What’s today’s date?’
Udjub ce alá jiub aroúcúli.	Today is 16 April 1993.
Ted puo jo i jubi.	Father will arrive in two days.
Nunam íjwe yada juebu.	The store opens on Mondays.
Nunam íjwo zoa juebu.	The store opens on Monday (next).
Zajibu mamila gá ádjoba.	Last month it rained the most ever.
Ju zajub!	Until tomorrow!
Gla dropeki swa je jabi aroúco.	There were many wars during the 1900s.
Zoyejubánu juebu at so ivsej.	On monday of next week I will give a party.

Age expressions (jag = age)[edit | edit source]

Mirad	English
Odjaga et ce?	How old are you?
At ce ele jaga.	I am 22 years old.
At upta úlo jaga tob.	I met a 90-year-old man.

Forming chemical element names[edit | edit source]

To form words for chemical elements, use the following method: The first letter is the ordinal vowel for the number of electrons. The next letters are:

• m for metals
• mc for nonmetals
• al for gases
• il for liquids

electron count	type	Mirad English
47	metal	ulém silver
13	metal	alim aluminum
26	metal	elám iron
15	nonmetal	elómc phosphorus
6	nonmetal	ámc carbon
1	nonmetal gas	amc hydrogen
7	nonmetal gas	émcal azote
8	nonmetal gas	ímcal oxygen
80	metal liquid	ílomil mercury

Codifyng new words based on mnemonics and analogy[edit | edit source]

Sometimes a word or group of words can have a connection with the meaning of a derived word. Such words are formed from this derived word by changing the generic final root consonant or sometimes other consonants of this word:

teub mouth	< teb head
teud utterance	d say
teuz voice	z precious/art,etc.
deuz song	d speak/write

taéb hair	tab human body
faéb leaf	fab tree
vocaéb petal	voc flower
potaéb mane	pot animal
pataéb feather	pat bird
petaéb fur	pet land animal
upetaéb fleece	upet sheep
pitaéb fin	pit fish

taób skin	tab human body
taóf leather	nof cloth
faób bark	fab tree
fáób rind	fáb fruit
pitaób scales	pit fish
petaób hide, pelt	pet animal

cim chair	bimer to sit
cum bed	bumer to lie
cem table	bemer to sit down at the table

teacer to see

ceacer to appear beacer to keep watch neacer to target teaper to visit izeacer to show váleacer to check óneater to discern ágeacer to contemplate izeader to indicate abeacer to survey ijeacer to notice teader to witness

Forming new words with prefixation[edit | edit source]

Prefixed elements (sometimes more than one) can be used to form new concepts related to the root word.

Here are examples where morphemes are joined to der to say:

prefixed morpheme	derived concept
ja before	jader to predict
já early	jáder to warn
ja ve before maybe	javeder to guess
jo after	joder to reply
eg again	egder to repeat
oz weak	ozder to whisper/hint
az strong	azder to insist
óz out	ózder to express
zí all around	zíder to broadcast
uj end	ujder to conclude
ka- find	kader to reveal/admit/confess
ko- hide	koder to keep secret/deny
fi well	fider to eulogize/bless
fu poorly	fuder to curse/damn
fia good	fiader to praise
fua bad	fuader to malign
via beautiful	viader to compliment
vua ugly	vuader to malign
fri wonderful	frider to flatter
fru terrible	fruder to insult
evfia whether good	evfiader to critique
av for	avder to favor
ov against	ovder to object/oppose
ava favorable	avader to side with
ova opposed	ovader to contradict
av od for what	avoder to question
va veg yes can	vavegder to permit
vo veg no can	vovegder to prohibit
vo va no yes	vovader to contest
az ov strong against	azovder to protest
va yes	vader to affirm/decide
ve maybe	veder to speculate
vo no	voder to deny
fiva good yes	fivader to approve
o fi va not good yes	ofivader to disapprove
fu va bad yes	fuvader to condemn
az va strong yes	fivader to confirm
val certainty	valder to certify
vac assurance	vacder to assure
vag want	vagder to mean/express desire
ván truth	váder to swear
vón falsehood	vóder to lie
áva innocent	ávader to vindicate
óva guilty	óvader to indict
áva innocent	ávder to thank
óva guilty	óvder to blame
íva free	ívader to acquit
íva free	ívder to forgive
év judgement	évder to judge
éb between	ébder to discuss
ók surprise	ókder to improvisate
ág long	ágder to ramble
óg short	ógder to summarize
iva happy	ivader to thank
iva happy	ivder to congratulate
uva sad	uvder to complain
uva sad	uvader to apologize
jo uva after sad	jouvder to regret/mourn
ivcan merriment’	ivcder to joke
fu iva bad happy	fuivader to mock
ók surprise	ókder to improvisate
aj past	ajder to evoke
oj future	ojder to promise
naz value	nazder to evaluate
ók surprise	ókder to improvisate
dún name	dúnder to nominate
kua lateral	kuder to remark (aside)
kia sloped	kider to hint
dún name	dúnder to nominate
gra too much	grader to exaggerate
gro too little	groder to underplay
gan quantity	gander to quantify
teab eye	teader to testify
cin picture	cinder to describe
kóa fixed	kóder to insist
o not	oder to keep silent
kebi choice	kebider to vote
tata holy	tatader to bless/sanctify
fún fear	fúnder to express fear
vates belief	vatesder to affirm
vetes doubt	vetesder to question/doubt
vika admiration	vikader to express admiration
fíl courage	fílder to encourage
ofíl not courage	ofílder to discourage
ga more	gader to say more/go on
ge equal	geder to agree
oge not same	ogeder to disagree
ék risk	ékder to dare say
ég obligation	égder to be obliged to say
ek play	ekder to pretend
iz straight	izder to say frankly
uz crooked	uzder to beat around the bushes/equivocate

Forming new adjectival concepts with compounding[edit | edit source]

New adjectival concepts can be readily formed by compounding a noun or other rootword with an existing root adjective:

tep intellect	aza strong	tepaza smart
tep intellect	oza weak	tepoza dumb
vag will	aza strong	vagaza strong-willed
vag will	oza weak	vagoza weak-willed
vag will	ána together	vagána consensual
vag will	óna apart	vagóna non-consensual
veg possibility	aza strong	vegaza likely
veg possibility	oza weak	vegoza unlikely
tep intellect	kía heavy	tepkía serious
tep intellect	kúa light	tepkúa light-hearted
tep intellect	káa variable	tepkáa scatter-brained
tep intellect	kóa fixed	tepkóa attentive
tep intellect	záa wide	tepzáa fair-minded
tep intellect	zóa narrow	tepzóa narrow-minded
tep intellect	íja open	tepíja open-minded
tep intellect	úja closed	tepúja close-minded
tep intellect	iga fast	tepiga quick-witted
tep intellect	uga slow	tepuga retarded
tep intellect	ána together	tepána like-minded
tep intellect	óna apart	tepóna dissenting
top spirit	íga hard	topíga cruel
top spirit	úga soft	topúga leninent
top spirit	vaa positive	topvaa optimistic
top spirit	voa negative	topvoa pessimistic
top spirit	ába high	topába up-beat
top spirit	óba low	topóba down-beat
top spirit	iva happy	topiva jolly
top spirit	uva sad	topuva melancholy
nac money	ika full	nasika rich
nac money	uka empty	nasuka poor
áb up	ága long	ábága tall
ób down	ága long	óbága deep
áb up	óga short	ábóga short (vertically)
ób down	óga short	óbóga shallow
job time	ága long	jobága long (duration)
job time	óga short	jobóga short (duration)
mep way	iza straight	mepiza direct
mep way	uza crooked	mepuza convoluted
váb rule	aza strong	vábaza strict
váb rule	oza weak	váboza lax
dab government	ava for	dabava pro-government
dab government	ova against	dabova anti-government

Word Classifiers[edit | edit source]

The following are common combinatory morphemes used to distinguish or classify entities. Many of them are abbreviated forms. If you were to produce a list of word rhyming with any of these morphemes, you would have a list of words that all fit within a similar taxonomic category. For example, all Unilingua words ending in pyot refer to wild animals. All those ending in il are liquids.

classifier	meaning
am	building
em	place
im	room
ém	container
ut	agent
j	time
jig	rate
nog	degree
bén	manner
caun	kind
can	shape
gan	quantity
pat	bird
pet	land animal
pót	wild animal
pét	reptile
pelt	insect
peit	amphibian
piit	crustacean
pit	fish
fab	tree
fáb	fruit
vob	plant
vab	grass
vol	vegetable
voc	flower
voz	color
ar	instrument
par	vehicle
ir	machine
ur	motor
er	verb
ez	gem
tun	science
tut	scientist
il	liquid
el	food
él	semi-solid
ol	solid
of	material
uf	cylinder
án	collective
ber	put
per	go
cer	be
ser	do
un	result
en	process
an	state
on	abstract thing
in	doctrine
ub	apendage
eb	head
euz	sound
dren	document

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