AFFIXES

In the previous lesson, we examined blending as one of the ways we form words. Today, we will talk about affixes. Affixes help to develop vocabulary when you know the different kinds; usage, and how to identify them. 

What are Affixes?

Affixes are usually a few letters added to a root word to

change its meaning or grammatical properties. There are different types of affixes 

For instance, adding the affix mal– before administration = maladministration, which means “bad” or “inefficient ” or “mismanagement”

They can also be used in grammar, such as adding ‘ed’ at the end of a verb to create the simple past tense of adding an ‘s’ to the end of a noun to make it plural.

The root word appear means to “become seen,” but the affix dis–

negates the meaning of the word it is attached to, so disappear means “become hidden.” 

The affix –ance turns verbs into nouns, so the final meaning

of disappearance becomes “the

act of becoming hidden.”

The different types of affixes are Prefixes, Suffixes, Clippings and Acronyms

How do you identify affixes?

Affixes cannot be used alone but must be attached to a root word. If you used -ance on its own without a root word, it would be

incorrect and make no sense. 

Affixes are used to make communication faster and

more efficient. Instead of saying “He does not depend on anyone,” you can simply add the affixes in– and –ent to the root word depend and make the word independent. Saying “He is independent” is much faster and clearer than “He does not depend on anyone.”

Prefixes

Prefixes are affixes that come at the beginning of a

word, before a root word. Sometimes they are added to a word to change its meaning, such as legal and illegal. Other times, they combine with other affixes to create new words, such as adding the prefix

 bio– to the affix –ology to create biology.

Unlike other affixes, prefixes sometimes use a hyphen.

Specifically, the prefixes all-, self-, and ex– (when used to mean former)

always use hyphens.

The following are prefixes that negate the root words:

dis- (not) engage disengage

il – (not) illogical illogical

ir- (no) regular irrregular

imm- (not) possible impossible

Non- (not) profit non-profit

mal- (bad) administration maladministration

Mis- (wrong) management mismanagement

contra-(against) diction contradiction

anti- (against) rust anti-rust

Apart from negative prefixes, the English language is rich in other prefixes like the ones listed below

 PREFIX                     ROOT          NEWWORD  

Ante                            before           antenatal

Anthro                         man              anthropology

 Amphi                        round            amphitheatre

aqua                             water             aquarium

audio                           hear               audiometer    

auto                             self                automatic

idios                            own               idiosyncrasy                  

macro                          large              macroeconomics

micro                           small             microorganism

peri                              around           periscope

Tele                             far                   teleguide

tri                                 three               tricycle

Suffixes

Suffixes are affixes that come at the end of a word, after the root word. Unlike prefixes, which mostly change a word’s meaning, suffixes are used for grammar purposes:

Verb conjugation (play = played)

Plurality (box = boxes)

Possession (Bimpe = Bimpe’s)

Reflexive pronouns (him = himself)

Comparatives and superlatives (wide = wider, widest)

Changing word class (swim = swimmer)

Clipping 

Clipping or shortening deletes part of a word: 

Although most clippings delete the end of the word, in some, the beginning is removed.

omnibus = bus,

Veteran, veterinarian =vet;

Laboratory, Labrador =lab.

Microphone=mic

Airplane = plane, 

Cooperative= coop

In a few, only the middle remains, such as flu = influenza

ACRONYMS

Acronyms are formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word. 

Many acronyms are created so that they form an existing word with a relevant meaning:

CAPTCHA: (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart),

AIDS: (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), 

BOGO: buy one, get one (free)

SCUBA: (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus),

PIN: (personal identification number),

RAM: (random access memory),

NOUN: (National Open University of Nigeria),

BASIC: (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)

SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome),

Clipping and acronyms are productive and efficient because they reduce long phrases and words.