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Отрицательные приставки в английском языке (на материале рассказа О.Уайльда «Кентервильское приведение»

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Халиков А.Р. 1

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1МАОУ СОШ №7 г. Туймазы

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1МАОУ СОШ № 7 г. Туймазы

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Introduction

Our work is devoted to the study of negative prefixes in the English language.

Students often complain that there are too many words in English that are impossible to memorize. There are a lot of words in any language, but everyone can make the task much easier by using word formation. If a student does not know a word, but has an idea of the rules of English word formation , then knowing the same root word, he can form the necessary part of speech from it or add the necessary shade of meaning. One of the main semantic shades that you need to learn to convey is, of course, negation.

In English, there are a huge number of prefixes that create the reverse, negative form of the word. If in Russian we can usually do with the universal prefix не - (мытый - немытый, большой - небольшой), then in English, we have to choose between a large number of options. Moreover, you cannot shuffle words and prefixes "randomly", each word corresponds to only one of its own: happy - unhappy, agree - disagree, etc.

The main aim of our work is to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of English word formation with negative prefixes.

To achieve this aim, we need to solve the following objectives: find out which prefixes are negative, their meaning and use; find examples of words with negative prefixes in Oscar Wilde's story "The Canterville Ghost" and make a list; determine which words have negative prefixes and which false negative prefixes; distribute the selected words by parts of speech; find out with which prefix the word is formed; find out which of these words can be paired with the opposite meaning.

To study this topic we used the following methods: continuous sampling method, analytical, partial search, comparison method, quantitative and qualitative analysis.

The object of study is prefix word formation, the subject of study is the word formation with a negative prefix. Hypothesis: it is assumed that word formation using negative prefixes is productive.

The theoretical value of the study is to confirm or refute the hypothesis.

The practical significance of the research lies in the application of the acquired knowledge in English lessons, it can help to do homework, Olympiad and competitive tasks in English.

Nowadays there are works devoted to this topic. However, we decided to study this topic based on the story "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde and this is the novelty of our work.

Part I. Prefix way of English word formation

I.1. Origin of prefixes

The formation of new words using prefixes is called the prefixation [5, c.115]. Prefixes appear at the beginning of a word. Prefixes - Prefix - (French prefix - from Latin praefixus - attached in front) - a prefix, a part of a word (affix), standing in front of the root and changing its lexical or grammatical meaning. Negative prefixes are a series of negative prefixes in English. With these prefixes, you can form nouns, adjectives or verbs. Negative prefixes, as in Russian, can completely change the meaning of a word without changing the part of speech. Most often, prefixes are used in English: in-, un-, im-, il-, ir-, non-, de-, dis-, mis-, anti-. The origin of the prefixes is not the same. In English, there are prefixes of Germanic origin and prefixes borrowed at different times from other languages, mainly from Romance languages ​​(Latin and French), and from Greek, for example - anti.

Germanic prefixes include un-, mis-, a-. The prefix a- is used to form negations in various branches of science, mainly in biology, chemistry, medicine, and less often in the social sciences. For example: achromatic, colourless. Germanic prefixes are widely used. They belong to both the formal and the colloquial style of speech. Many prefixes are found in the main vocabulary of modern English.

The prefixes of Romanesque and Greek origin most often belong to the formal language. The prefix -anti is of Greek origin. Romanesque prefixes include dis-, de-, in-, im-, il-, ir- [1, c.131-134].

I.2. Negative prefixes of English adjectives

The prefix with a negative meaning in- is used mainly before the combination of letters ac: active – inactive, accurate - inaccurate; before the consonant c: complete - incomplete, capable - incapable. Exceptions are: indefinite, inevitable, infinite, inflexible, informal, insecure, insignificant, invalid, invariable, invisible, involuntary.

The prefix un- forms words with a meaning opposite to the stem: known - unknown, friendly - unfriendly.

The prefix ir- is used only before the consonant r: rational - irrational, relevant – irrelevant.

The il- prefix is used only before the consonant l: limitable – illimitable, literate - illiterate. The exception is: disloyal.

The prefix im- is used before the consonants p and m: possible - impossible, memorial - immemorial.

The prefix non- comes from the particle no, it can replace some prefixes (for example, un-) and means absence or negation: essential - nonessential professional - unprofessional – nonprofessional.

The cases of using the prefix dis- with adjectives must be memorized: agreeable - disagreeable, loyal – disloyal [2, c.100-114].

I.3. Negative prefixes of English verbs

Verbs with the prefix un- have the opposite meaning to their original form, they are used in the meaning of remove: dress - undress (to dress - to undress), unfriend - to remove from friends, unsubscribe - to unsubscribe, uncover - to open, unbend - to unbend, unshoe - to take off, unscrew , unbutton , unroll - unfold.

The negative prefix de-, which often remains in Russian (дe-) or is translated as “раз-”. The prefix de- usually means to deprive what is indicated by the base, to delete, to remove what is indicated by the base: form - deform , decontaminate - to disinfect, derail-, decode, deactivate, decompose, deconstruct, decrease .

The negative prefix dis- is often translated as “не” or “дез-”. The prefix dis- usually expresses opposite action or negation. Sometimes he conveys the meaning to remove, deprive, get rid of what is indicated by the basis: disagree, appear - disappear, disagree , disfigure , disinfect , disinherit , disintegrate , displease - to dislike, distrust - not to trust.

The prefix mis- in verbs is used in the meaning of "incorrect": misunderstand, misinterpret, misdiagnose, misinform, mislead, misplace , misspell - do spelling mistakes, mistake - make mistakes, misspeak - speak with mistakes [2,c.133-143].

I.4. Negative prefixes of English nouns

The prefix de- has nouns formed from verbs with the same prefix: decompose - decomposition, deactivate - deactivation, deflation - deflation, decontamination - disinfection, deformity - disfigurement, deformation - distortion, decampment - lifting the camp.

The prefix dis- have nouns formed from verbs and adjectives, with the appropriate prefix: displeasure - displeasure, disintegrate - disintegration, disability - helplessness, disagreement, disbelief, disinfection, disloyalty , distaste - to feel dislike, distrust, disrespect, dislike - antipathy.

The prefix in- (il-, im-, ir-) is used with nouns formed from adjectives, with appropriate prefixes: invisible - invisibility , inaccurate – inaccuracy, illiteracy , immaturity, imperfection, impossibility, inaccessibility, inappropriateness , incapability, incompatibility, inconsistency, infinity , inflexibility , insecurity insufficiency , invalidity, irregularity, irresponsibility.

The prefix anti- corresponds to the Russian anti-: anti-terrorism - the fight against terrorism.

The prefix non- is typical for single nouns: nonexistence (non-existence), nonintervention (non-interference), nonconformist / nonconformity, nonconductor - non-conductor, nonpayment - non-payment, nonentity.

The prefix mis- have nouns formed from verbs with this prefix: misdiagnose - misdiagnosise (make a mistake in the diagnosis - a mistake in the diagnosis), misspell - misspelling (make spelling mistakes - wrong spelling), misconduct - bad behavior, misinformation – wrong information, misinterpretation – wrong interpretation, mistake - error, mistrust - distrust, misunderstanding , misusage - misuse, misfortune.

The negative prefix un- has nouns formed from adjectives with the prefix un-: rest - unrest, unpleasant - unpleasantness, unawareness, uncertainty, unpredictability, unfairness , unemployment, unavailability, unreality .

Conclusions to part I

Thus, negative prefixes occupy an essential place in the word formation system of the modern English language, since they are all productive word formation particles and give the formation of new words. Negative prefixes generally give verbs the opposite meaning of the motivating stem, and the un- prefix is ​​currently the most productive one. But all of them are an active method in word formation in modern English. However, not every adjective can be prefixed and automatically get its opposite. Some prefixes change the meaning of an adjective, but do not reverse it. Not every word with a negative prefix is ​​negative in meaning. There are many words that start with in-, but are not negative prefixes. These morphemes are interesting not only in terms of the role they play in the formation of words, but also because they represent a system of affixes that combine negative semantics and the ability to participate in the creation of affix opposites. Also, we learned that the set of prefixes includes prefixes of different origins.

Part II. The system of using negative prefixes

II.1. Negative prefixes as a way of word formation

As part of the practical part of the study, we identified the following stages:

1. Search for words with negative prefixes in Oscar Wilde's story "The Canterville Ghost" and making a list;

2. Determine which words have negative prefixes, and which false negative prefixes;

3. Distribute the selected words by parts of speech;

4. Group words by the prefix with which they are formed;

5. Find out which of these words can be formed pairs with the opposite meaning.

The story by the famous English writer Oscar Wilde "The Canterville Ghost" served as the material for the study of this topic. The first step in our research is to search for words from the given story in order to make a list that we will analyze. For this, we used the method of continuous sampling. In the course of reading, the following words were written out in which the negative prefixes we are studying are present: discuss, impresario, importance, insult, injury, indeed, unfortunate, alighted, despair, unconscious, disappear, discover, nonsense, invoke, immense, distinctly, indignation, uninterrupted, unbearable, impossible, undisturbed, unexplained, distressed, discharged, indigestion, unable, disturbed, uncomfortable, incapable, unmolested, insolent, declare, induce, impersonation, invalid, disinherit, depression, dishonest, dishonesty, improve, unhappy, mistake, disappearance, immediately, unearthly, imbedded, disclose, immortal, misguide, involuntary, unlucky, indebted, unknown, unmarried [7].From the story by the English writer Oscar Wilde "The Canterville Ghost" we have selected 54 words. From the obtained data, the following conclusion can be drawn: negative prefixes are an active way of word formation in modern written English.

II.2. Analysis of the words composition

The next stage of our research is the analysis of the word composition. The purpose of this study is to determine whether we have selected the right words, whether these words contain negative prefixes or false negative prefixes. We used an analytical research method. To do this, we divided the selected words into two groups. The first group consisted of words with a negative prefix. And in the second group, we included words in which the prefixes are part of the root. To do this, we used a dictionary to pinpoint the prefix. The first group included the following words: unfortunate, unconscious, disappear, discover, nonsense, indignation, uninterrupted, unbearable, impossible, undisturbed, unexplained, discharged, indigestion, unable, uncomfortable, incapable, unmolested, impersonation, invalid, disinherit, dishonest, dishonesty, unhappy, mistake, disappearance, immediately, unearthly, disclose, immortal, misguide, involuntary, unlucky, unknown, unmarried.Of the 54selected words, 34 ones have a negative prefix. The second group included words with false negative prefixes, i.e. they are not prefixes, but part of the root of the word. We included the following words here: discuss, impresario, importance, insult, injury, indeed, alighted, despair, invoke, immense, imbedded, distinctly, distressed, disturbed, insolent, declare, induce, depression, indebted, improve. This list contains 20 words (Appendix I). Thus, negative prefixes are not always prefixes, but can be part of the root of a word. In some cases, we are not talking about opposition. There are words in English that begin with these letters, but at the same time have a neutral meaning.

II.3. Grouping by parts of speech

The next stage of our research is to distribute words with a negative prefix to parts of speech, i.e. which of these words are adjectives, which are verbs, and which nouns. The purpose of this study: what part of speech is most often used with negative prefixes. For this we used the analytical method. We have divided these words into three groups (Appendix II). The first group consisted of adjectives: unfortunate, unconscious, uninterrupted, unbearable, impossible, undisturbed, unexplained, discharged, unable, uncomfortable, incapable, unmolested, invalid, dishonest, unhappy, immediately, unearthly, immortal, involuntary, unlucky, unknown, unmarried. There are 22 words in total. The second group consisted of the following verbs: disappear, discover, disinherit, mistake, disclose, misguide.There are 6 verbs in total. The third group includes the following nouns: nonsense, indignation, indigestion, impersonation, disappearance, dishonesty.There are 6 nouns in total. From the obtained data , the following conclusion can be drawn: the largest group is the group of adjectives, therefore, adjectives form most often new words using negative prefixes.

II.4. The most productive negative prefixes

The fourth stage of our work is to group words according to the prefix with which they are formed. The purpose of this study is to find out which negative prefix is most often used to form new words.

Prefix un-: unfortunate, unconscious, uninterrupted, unbearable, undisturbed, unexplained, unable, uncomfortable, unmolested, unhappy, unearthly, unlucky, unknown, unmarried. There are 14 words in total.

Prefix dis-: disappear, discover, discharged, disinherit, dishonest, dishonesty, disappearance disclose, there are eight words in total.

Prefix mis-: mistake, misguide. There are two words in total.

Prefix in-: indignation, indigestion, incapable, invalid, involuntary. There are five words in total.

Prefix im-: impossible, impersonation, immediately, immortal. There are four words in total.

Prefix non-: nonsense. There is one word (Appendix III).

From this study, the following conclusion can be drawn: the most commonly used prefix is un-. 41% of the selected words are formed with this prefix. More than 23% of words are formed with dis-. About 15% of words are formed with the prefix in-. More than 11% of words are formed with im-. 5.8% of words are formed with mis-. 2.9% of words using non-.

II.5. Prefix opposites

The last stage of our research is to make pairs with the opposite meaning. The purpose of this study: to find out which of these words can be paired with the opposite meaning. We got the following pairs:

Disappear - appear, discover - cover, nonsense - sense, indigestion- digestion, disinherit- inherit, dishonesty- honesty, disappearance -appearance, disclose- close, misguide - guide, unfortunate - fortunate, unconscious- conscious, uninterrupted - interrupted, unbearable - bearable, impossible - possible, undisturbed - disturbed, unexplained - explained, discharged - charged, unable - able, uncomfortable - comfortable, incapable - capable, invalid - valid, dishonest - honest, unhappy - happy, immediately- mediately, unearthly- earthly, immortal - mortal, involuntary - voluntary, unlucky – lucky , unknown – known , unmarried - married.

It is impossible to pair with the following words with the opposite meaning, since the negative prefix does not make the meaning of the word negative, but changes the meaning. For instance, unmolested (беспрепятственно)- molested (приставал), impersonation (олицетворение) – personation (персонификация), mistake (ошибка), indignation (возмущение) – dignation (достоинство), imbedded (встроенный) – bedded (местный), indebted (обязанный) .

Thus, prefix antonyms are always unambiguous and clear, they express opposition. Not all negative prefixed words can be paired with the opposite meaning. In exceptional cases, the prefix does not form opposite words, but changes the meaning of the given word.

Conclusions to the part II

Summing up the results of the part II, it should be emphasized that negative prefixes are an active way of word formation in modern written English; negative prefixes are not always prefixes, a similar letter combination can be part of the word root; adjectives most often form new words using negative prefixes; the most derivative and frequently used prefixes un-, dis-; less used prefix non-; prefix antonyms are always unambiguous and clear, they express opposition. Not all negative prefixed words can be paired with the opposite meaning. In exceptional cases, the prefix does not form opposite words, but changes the meaning of the given word.

Summary

Our work is devoted to the study of negative prefixes in the English language.

The main aim of our work, we have identified the acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of English word formation with negative prefixes.

To achieve this aim, we set ourselves the following objectives: find out which prefixes are negative, their origin, meaning and use; find examples of words with negative prefixes in Oscar Wilde's story "The Canterville Ghost" and make a list; determine which words have negative prefixes and which false negative prefixes; distribute the selected words by parts of speech; find out with which prefix the word is formed; find out which of these words can be paired with the opposite meaning.

In the course of the work carried out, one of the methods of English word formation using negative prefixes was investigated and analyzed on the material of the story "The Canterville Ghost" by the English writer Oscar Wilde.

Based on our research, the following conclusions can be drawn:

Negative prefixes in English are in-, un-, im-, il-, ir-, non-, de-, dis-, mis-, anti-, a-. Germanic prefixes include un-, mis-, a-. The prefix anti- is of Greek origin. Romanesque prefixes include dis-, de-, in-, im-, il-, ir-. The prefixes in-, un-, ir-, il-, im-, non-, dis- have a negative meaning. Un- also has the meaning to remove, de- to deprive of what is indicated by the base, dis- to remove, to deprive, get rid of, mis- do something wrong.

Negative prefixes are an active way of word formation in modern written English; negative prefixes are not always prefixes, a similar letter combination can be part of the word root; adjectives most often form new words using negative prefixes; the most derivative and frequently used prefixes are un-, dis-; less used prefix is non-; prefix antonyms are always unambiguous and clear, they express opposition. Not all negative prefixed words can be paired with the opposite meaning. In exceptional cases, the prefix does not form opposite words, but changes the meaning of the given word.

After studying the origin of prefixes, considering the use of prefixes and their meaning, conducting our research on the productivity of prefixes, preparing the memo "Secrets of the formation of English words with negative prefixes" and analyzing the results of the study, we achieved the aim of our research work, namely, we received theoretical and practical knowledge in English word formation using negative prefixes. We hope that this knowledge will help us and other students in the future to cope with word formation tasks, as well as simply enrich their vocabulary and speak English beautifully.

Literature

1. Арнольд И.В . Лексикология современного английского языка. М.: «Флинта», «Наука»,2012, 376с.
2. Каращук П.М. Аффиксальное словообразование. М.: Высшая Школа, 1965, 173c.

3. Каращук П.М. Словообразование английского языка. М.: Высшая школа, 1977, 124с.

4. Леонтьева С.Ф. Отрицательные аффиксы в современном английском языке. Москва.: Высшая школа, 1974, 101с.

5. Хидекель С.С., Гинзбург Р.З. Английская лексикология в выдержках и изречениях. М.: Просвещение, 2010.

6. Oscar Wilde. The Canterville Ghost. https://www.wilde-online.info/the-canterville-ghost.html

Thesaurus

Adjective –words that describe or modify other words, making your writing and speaking much more specific, and a whole lot more interesting. 

Derivative –a form of something, such as a word, made or developed from another form.

Morpheme –the smallest syntactical and meaningful linguistic unit that contains a word, or an element of the word such as the use of –s whereas this unit is not divisible further into smaller syntactical parts.

Negative prefix – a syllable you add before a word to change its meaning negative.

Noun –word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.

Opposite –completely different

Prefix antonym – opposites formed with help of prefixes.

Prefixation –the formation of words with the help of prefixes.

Semantics –the study of meaning.

Verb –a word (part of speech) that in syntax conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand). 

Word formation –the creation of a new word.

Appendix I

Analysis of the words composition

Appendix II

Grouping by parts of speech

Appendix III

The most productive negative prefixes