THE STUDY OF ADJECTIVES WITH PREFIX
IN-WITHOUT NEGATING THE STEM
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DAUD NIANJAYA WIBAWA
Student Number: 034214110
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
WITHOUT NEGATING THE STEM
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DAUD NIANJAYA WIBAWA
Student Number: 034214110
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
2008
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my mentor Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M. Pd, M.A and Adventina Putranti S.S, M. Hum who have spared their time to give me some advice and guidance so that I can finish my thesis. I am
deeply thankful to Jesus Christ who has always accompanied me in hard times during my study in this University.
I would also like to thank my family for their love and spirit. I give thanks to all my friends, the students of 2003 English Letters Department Demus, Abit, Rian, Tio, Ginting, Muji, and others that have spent their time to help me
during my confusing and boring hours. Thanks also to Gibran’s boarding house family Bagong, Bayu, Andre, Abit, Hendi, Nisar, and others who have spared
their time to encourage and entertain me. I will always miss our WE moment. Special thanks to Tyas Intani, who has been my friend, my support, and my motivation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
B. Review of Related Theories………... 8
C. Theoretical Framework ……….. 24
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ………... 26
A. Object of the Study ……… 26
B. Approach of the Study ……….. 27
C. Method of the Study ………. 27
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. Adjectives Attached to Prefix in- with Positive Meaning and their Morphophonemic processes ... 29
B. The Most Common Characteristics ……….. 38
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ………... 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……….. 50
APPENDICES ………... 51
ABSTRACT
Daud Nianjaya Wibawa. 2003. The Study of Adjectives with Prefix in-without Negating the Stem. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters. Faculty of Letters. Sanata Dharma University.
The objectives of this study is to find out the adjectives which are attached to the prefix in- without negating the stem, their common characteristics and also their morphophonemic changes. There are two problems that will be discussed in this thesis. The first problem is what adjectives attached to the prefix in- without negating he stem and what morphophonemic processes occur after the attachment of the prefix in- are. The second problem is what their common characteristics are.
To accomplish this research, the writer has done the library research. It means that all of the writer’s data were taken from the book. The writer used dictionary as the primary source of the data. Due to the different dictionary entries, the writer used two dictionaries for this research. The dictionaries that the writer used here are The Oxford Dictionary of Etymology a n d Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English. The writer will also use the Merriem
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition as the additional information
about their etymology.
The data of this research are adjectives that are attached to prefix in- without negating the stem. The writer can find nine adjectives as the data for this research. There are some similarities that can be found from the words that can be put in this category. The first similarity is the meaning characteristics of the adjectives itself. The attachment of prefix in- does not negate the meaning of the stem. The second similarity is the combination from the affixes. Some of the data use the combination between negative prefix in- and suffix –able. Among the nine adjectives, there are four adjectives that use this combination of affixes.
In the morphophonemic processes, the writer found there are three processes that occur in the data. They are assimilation process, stress shift, and vowel change. However, the most common morphophonemic process that occurs in the data is the assimilation process.
ABSTRAK
Daud Nianjaya Wibawa. 2003. The Study of Adjectives with Prefix in- without Negating the Stem. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris. Fakultas
Sastra. Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Tujuan dari riset ini adalah untuk mengetahui kata sifat yang bisa dilekatkan dengan awalan in- dalam bahasa inggris tanpa menegasi kata dasarnya karakter mereka pada umumnya, dan juga perubahan morphophonemik yang terjadi pada kata- kata tersebut. Ada dua pertanyaan yang akan dibahas dalam riset ini. Pertanyaan pertama adalah kata sifat apa yang diawali dangan awalan in- yang tidak menegasi kata dasarnya dan perubahan morphophonemik apa yang ada di dalam data setelah data mendapat awalan in-. Pertanyaan yang kedua adalah apakah persamaan yang ada di dalam data.
Untuk menyelesaikan riset ini, penulis menggunakan riset pustaka. Artinya data-data yang digunakan oleh penulis diambil dari buku. Penulis menggunakan kamus sebagai sumber utama. Karena adanya perbedaan pembendaharaan kata dalam tiap kamus, penulis menggunakan dua buah kamus. Kamus-kamus yang digunakan penulis adalah The Oxford Dictionary of
Etymology d a n Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Penulis juga
menggunakan Merriem Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition sebagai informasi tambahan dari segi sejarah dari tiap kata..
Data dari fiset ini adalah kata sifat yang diawali dengan awalan in- yang tidak menegasi kata dasarnya. Penulis berhasil menemukan sembilan kata sifat yang dapat digunakan sebagai data. Ada beberapa kemiripan dalam kata- kata sifat yang dapat dimasukan dalam kategori ini. Pertama, kemiripan karakteristik arti dari kata-kata tersebut. Walaupun kata-kata tersebut diberi sebuah awalan in-akan tetapi tidak terjadi negasi dalam kata-kata tersebut. Persamaan yang kedua adalah kombinasi dari imbuhan. Beberapa dari kata-kata yang ada menggunakan kombinasi dari awalan in- dan akhiran –able. Dari sembilan kata, terdapat empat kata yang menggunakan kombinasi imbuhan ini.
Dari morphophonemik proses, penulis menemukan tiga proses perubahan yang terjadi dalam data. Ketiga perubahan tersebut adalah proses asimilasi, pergeseran tekanan, dan perubahan huruf vokal. Akan tetapi, proses yang paling sering muncul di dalam data adalah proses asimilasi
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Morphology is the study of words formation. It means that in
morphology we learn how to arrange words in a correct formation. Words in English can be divided into two major categories. The two categories are content
words and function words. Content words also known as the open class category. The examples of this category are nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Function words also known as the close class category. The examples of this category are
pronouns, prepositions, etc. The benefit of studying morphology is that it can help us to encounter words which we never heard before.
According to Saphir (Dinnen, 1967:234) every word, grammatical element, location, sound, and accent is a slowly changing configuration. It means that language change gradually as time goes by. It is very important for us to
consider phonetic, phonological, morphological, lexical, and syntactic patterning in order to study language.
Basically, what we study in morphology is morpheme. According to Katamba, morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of a language, because it cannot be broken into smaller unit without destroying its meaning. We can see the
example of a morpheme in the word butterfly.
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The meaning of butterfly is any of numerous slender-bodied diurnal
insects with broad often colored wings (Webster, 1993: 155). We cannot divide the word butterfly into butter and fly, because it will change the meaning of the word butterfly. A word may consist of one or more than one morphemes.
In English, there are two kinds of morphemes. The two morphemes are free morphemes and bound morphemes. A free morpheme is a morpheme which
can occur by itself in a large language unit because it is meaningful. A free morpheme occurs as a word and as an element of a phrase; such as noun, verb, adjective, adverb and pronoun. While, a bound morpheme is a morpheme which
cannot stand by itself, because bound morpheme has to be attached to a free morpheme in order to be meaningful. The example of bound morphemes can be
seen in affixes, such as: prefix, suffix, and infix.
In this research, the writer will focus the discussion on the prefix especially prefix in-. In English, there are two kinds of prefix in-. The first prefix
is prefix in- that means in, toward, or near to. This prefix is used to indicate a place (just like what we have in the word inland). The second prefix is the one
that means not. This second prefix also known as the negative prefix. This prefix can be attached to adjectives (as seen in impossible and imbalance) and nouns (as seen in inaction and inability).As the focus of the discussion, the writer will talk
B. Problem Formulation
As it stated above, the writer will discuss the adjectives which are attached to prefix in- without negating the stem. Here are some problems which will be discussed in the thesis.
1. What adjectives are attached to the prefix in- without negating the stem and what morphophonemic processes occur after the attachment of the
prefix in-?
2. What are their common characteristics?
C. Objectives of the Study
The focus of the discussion in this research is the adjectives that are
attached to prefix in- but without negating to the stem. Based on the problems that mentioned, this research has two objectives.
First, the writer will find the data for this research. The data for this
research is the adjectives that are attached to prefix in- without negating the stem. Most people think that the attachment of prefix in- to an adjective always results a
meaning that negates the meaning from the stem. In other words, it can be said that prefix in- means “not” whenever it is attached to an adjectives. However, in this research the writer will show that there are also some exceptions. After that,
the writer will analyze the morphophonemic processes that occur in the data. For the next step, the writer will analyze the most common characteristics from the
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D. Definition of Terms
Katamba said morpheme as the smallest meaningful unit of a language. A morpheme can not be decomposed into smaller units that are either meaningful by themselves or mark a grammatical function like singular or plural number in a
noun. (Katamba, 1993:20)
Before we talk about prefix we have to talk about the affix, because
prefix is one of the examples of affix. According to Katamba, an affix is a morpheme which only occurs when it is attached to some other morpheme or morphemes. According Szymanek (1989:62), affixation is probably the most
frequent and widespread of producing morphologically complex words in human language. Therefore, a lot of English words are derived by using this process.
Based on its definition, we can simply conclude that affix is one of the examples from bound morphemes. Based on their position, there are three kinds of affixes. The three affixes are:
a. Prefixes: an affix which is attached before a root, as in improper, undone, nonstop, etc.
b. Suffixes: an affix which is attached after a root, as in beautiful, greater, endless, etc.
c. Infix: an affix which is inserted into the root itself. We only have one infix
in English, namely -o-, as in speedometer, thermometer, etc.
Based on the function, affixes can be classified into inflectional affixes
to modify a word form and indicate the grammatical subclass to which it belongs
without changing the grammatical category. The derivational affixes are the affixes that function to form the new words and it change the grammatical category and meaning (O’Grady, 1996:161).
According to Quirk, et al. (1972: 982-992), major prefixes can be classified according to the meaning. According to the meaning, there are ten kinds
of prefixes. Since the focus of the discussion is the negative prefixes, the writer will just give definition from the negative prefixes only. Negative prefixes are prefixes which mean are “the opposite of”, “not”, “lacking in”, and “lack of”.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
There are three items that will be discussed in this chapter. The writer will discuss the review of related studies, review of related theories, and the theoretical
framework from this research.
A. Review of Related Studies
Barly Bram conduct a study about the forms, function, and meanings of
the Latin prefixes com-, in-, and sub-. The data from his study is the vocabulary items that are attached to prefix com-, in-, and sub-. He focused his discussion on
the forms, functions, and the meaning of the prefixes.
However, he does not give the absolute meaning from his data because the data in his research do not have a clear context. It means that they stand alone as a
word. The prefix com- may mean together, with intensification. He defines the prefix in- itself as a negative prefix means not. While, the prefix sub- itself means
under, below, less than, secondary repetition, or subordinate. Since this research is about prefix in- the writer will discuss the prefix in- only.
According to Barly Bram, there are two kinds of prefix in- in English.
Both of the prefixes are taken from Latin. One is used with the meaning of in,
into, within, on, and toward. The other prefix in- is used with the meaning of no,
not, without, and non.
The discussion about the prefix in- signifying in or into is excluded. He has three reasons to do this action. The first reason is because the productivity.
The fist prefix in- is less productive than the second prefix in-. The second reason is because of the similarity in terms of assimilated forms. The first prefix in- has
the same assimilated form with the second prefix in-.The third reason is because of the attachment of the first prefix in-. The first prefix in- is combined with verbs, whereas verbs, mostly infinitives, have been discussed in the prefix com- and
sub-According to him, the second prefix in-, meaning not, does not change the word class category. The second prefix in- is attached to English adjectives like
correct and perfect to form new words like incorrect and imperfect. The second
prefix is functioned to negate the meaning of the stem where the prefix is attached. The attachment of this prefix results a new words that meaning is the
opposite from the stem where the prefix is attached.
The writer does not agree with the statement that the attachment of prefix
in- to adjective will negate the meaning of the stem where the prefix is attached. In this thesis, the writer will show that there are exceptions for certain words. Through this research, the writer will prove that the attachment of prefix in- to an
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B. Review of Related Theories 1. Affixation
An affix is a morpheme that only occurs when it is attached to some other morpheme or morphemes (Katamba 1993: 44). Based on the definition, we can conclude that affixes are bound morphemes. Affix can be inflectional and
derivational. The explanation about inflectional and derivational affix will be discussed in the next part. There are three kinds of affixes that is prefixes, suffixes
and infixes (Katamba, 1993: 44 - 45)
a. Prefixes as in : remake, reread, unkind, untidy, indecent, etc. b. Suffixes as in : kindly, quickly, waiter, player, books, mats, etc.
c. Infixes According to Bauer, we only have one infix in English that is /-n / (Katamba, 1993: 45). This infix undergoes of articulation assimilation,
example: succumb, incumbent, and decumbent.
According to Szymanex, affixation is probably the most frequent and widespread method of producing morphologically complex words in human
language. Affixation occurs as the result of combination between bound morphemes with a stem. A bound morpheme is a dependent morpheme. It means
that a bound morpheme cannot stand by it self because it has to be attached with a free morpheme.
There are two kinds of affixations that is simple affixation and multiple
affixations. The examples of the simple affixation can be simply seen in the word
inaccurate and unkind. The process of simple affixation only happen in one round
output that is created by one round of affixation serving as the input for the next round. The example of the multiple affixations can be seen in the word
contradictoriness (Katamba, 1993: 52-53). In the word contradictoriness, the
affixation process not happens in one round only. In the word contradictoriness, there are three rounds of affixation process.
The first process is the attachment of the prefix contra- to the root that is suffix –dict. This affixation process creates a new word, contradict, that is
categorized into verb. The second affixation process is the attachment of the suffix –ory to the word contradict. This affixation process creates a new word,
contradictory, that is categorized into adjective. The second affixation process is
the attachment of the suffix –ness to the word contradictory. This affixation process creates a new word, contradictoriness, that is categorized into noun.
Quirk also added some information about prefixation and suffixation in English. The writer will focus on the prefixation only in order to limit the discussion.
He said that a productive prefixes generally have a light stress on their first syllable while the main stress of the word is placed on the base (for example
is the word, pre’fabricated) He classified nine kinds of prefixes in English. (Quirk 1973: 431). The nine prefixes are:
a Negative prefixes.
b. Reservative or privative prefixes. c. Pejorative prefixes.
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e. Prefixes of attitude. f. Locative prefixes.
g. Prefixes of time and order. h. Number prefixes.
i. Conversion prefixes.
The writer will focus the discussion on the negative prefixes only. Nevertheless due to their similiarity, the writer will also give some additional
information about the reservative or privative prefixes. Reservative or privative prefix has similarity with the negative prefix because both of the prefix is used to negate the meaning of the stem. There are three kinds of reservative prefixes
(Quirk 1973: 432). The three prefixes can always be attached to verbs. The three prefixes are un-, de-, and dis-.
The first prefix is un-. This prefix is attached to verbs (as seen is untie,
unhorse). The meaning of this prefix is to reverse an action or to take something
away. The second prefix is de-. This prefix can be attached to verbs (as seen in
defrost) and abstract nouns (as seen in deforestation). The meaning of this prefix
is to reverse an action. The third prefix is dis-. The meaning of this prefix is
similar with the meaning of prefix un-. This prefix can be attached to a verbs (as seen i n disconnect and discolured) and to a participles nouns (as seen in
2. Negative Prefixes
According to Quirk, five negative prefixes can be attached to an
adjective. (Quirk 1973: 431). The five prefixes are:
a. un-, as in unfair, unexpected, unable, etc.
b. non-, as in nondescript, nonplussed, nonchalant, etc.
c. in-, as in informal, impossible, infinite, etc. d. dis-, as in disloyal, dislike, discourteous, etc.
e. a-, as seen in amoral and asymmetry, etc.
Those five prefixes have their own characteristics and can also be combined with the other word classes such as; verb and noun to form a unit of negative meaning.
Each of the prefix function to give the negative meaning to a word. Since this research discuss about prefix in-, the writer will focus on the characteristics of
prefix in-. Nevertheless, the writer will also discuss the other negative prefixes as the additional information.
According to Katamba, prefix in- is the prefixes meaning “not” which
can be attached to adjectives and verbs (Katamba 1993: 26). Moreover, he also added that prefix in– can transforms to several forms, such as:
a. Іl- if it is placed before the liquid stop consonant sounds.
b. Іm- if it is placed before the labial consonants sounds.
c. Іr- if it is placed before the liquid fricative consonant sounds.
d. Іη- if it is placed before the velar consonants sounds.
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Prefix in- is one of the examples of Latin prefix that is functioned as a negative prefix. It is similar with prefix un- that is also used to indicate a negation
in Latin. Since the meaning of the prefix in- is negative, the attachment of prefix in- can give negative meaning to the stem where the prefix is attached. This prefix is used to indicate a negative or the absence of something. For example, the word
accurate that means correct and true in every detail. When it is attached to prefix
in-, it changes into inaccurate means not completely correct. The attachment
prefix in- can create a new words that simply become the negation for the stem where the prefix is attached.
Prefix dis- can be said to have a confusing development. This prefix
commonly used with verbs and abstract noun. Some linguists (Koziol and Marchand) believe that this prefix originate from the Old French prefix
des-which in turn came from the Latin prefix dis- (for example disease: des- + aese). Jespersen believed that this prefix has a purely negative meaning and generally implying contradictory rather than contradictory opposition. This prefix also has a
various meaning like apart, in different direction as in dispel (push in different
directions) and discursive (tending to turn in different directions). (B. Dzuganova.
Negative Affixes in Medical English <http: www.bmj.sk/2006/10708-13.pdf>
(Monday 17 September 2007)).
The prefix non- means not, came from the Latin non. It can be attached
to nouns and adjectives. This prefix cannot be attached to verbs. This prefix commonly used in Roman law terms that were adopted into Old French before it
with non used in English (for example power, payment, claim, non-resident, etc).
In the seventeenth century, the use of non was getting higher. The use of this prefix spread to words belonging to philosophy, religion, and political history (for example, non-graduated, non-proficiency, non-necessity). In the nineteenth
century, the use of this prefix has became more frequent. Nowadays, this prefix can be attached to almost all of the adjectives in English (for example
non-interrupted, non-breakable, non-active, etc). However, this prefix is less frequent
appear in the deverbal and personal nouns (for example admission,
non-conviction, non-believer, non-heritor, etc). (B. Dzuganova. Negative Affixes in
Medical English <http: www.bmj.sk/2006/10708-13.pdf> (Monday 17 September
2007)).
Prefix un- is the native English prefix used to indicate a negation but it can also be combined with non-native roots bas well. This prefix is the most productive negative prefix although it is not frequently used in word that is related
with the medical terms. This prefix originates from Old English. There are two kinds of negative prefix un- in Old English. The first prefix is the negative prefix
means “not” as we seen in the word unhappy. The first prefix has the same Indo- European root with Old Greek a- / an-, Latin prefix in-, and German prefix un-. It is normally attached to adjectives (for example unclean, uneven, unwise, etc).
During Old English era, this prefix was very productive and produced many adjectives (about 1250 words) unfortunately most of them disappeared in the end
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Dzuganova. Negative Affixes in Medical English <http:
www.bmj.sk/2006/10708-13.pdf> (Monday 17 September 2007)).
The second prefix is the reversative un- prefix. Although they have the
same origin, the second prefix un- is not related with the first one. This prefix is
much closer to the Old Greek anti- and Latin prefix ante- meaning “the opposite”. This prefix originates from Old English and, ond- that tended to lose its d before a
consonant. It is related etymologically with to a German prefix ent-. Normally the second prefix is attached to verbs and functioned to indicate a reversal process.
Many verbs produced with this prefix in Old English era but only few of them
survive in the present English vocabulary (for example unbind, undo, untie, etc). ( B . D z u g a n o v a . Negative Affixes in Medical E n g l i s h <http:
www.bmj.sk/2006/10708-13.pdf> (Monday 17 September 2007)).
3. Derivational Affixes
Based on the function, affixes can be classified into inflectional and derivational affixes. Inflectional affixes are the group of affixes that function to
modify a word form and indicate the grammatical subclass to which it belongs without changing the grammatical category.
The derivational affixes are the affixes that function to form the new
words. We can see the example from the comparison between the words happy
and unhappy. The attachment of prefix un- change the meaning of the word happy
(O’Grady, 1996:61). See the table below for further explanation about
It can change the category or meaning of the word.
It can be placed in the initial as a prefix and final position as a suffix. It is more creative.
It is less productive.
It deals with grammar only.
It cannot change the category or meaning of the word.
It can only be placed in the final position as a suffix.
It is less creative It is more productive.
4. Word Formation.
A form where a rule of word formation is applied is known as a base (Quirk 1973: 430). According to Quirk, there are three types of word formation process in English:
a. Affixation is the process of adding either prefix or suffix to the base, with or without changing the word class (for example author› c o-author and drive›
driver).
b. Conversion is assigning the base to a different word class without changing its form (for example the zero affixation as seen in drive (v) and
drive (n)).
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We can also have more than one process in a word. The example can be
seen in the word colour-blindness. In the word colour-blindness, we have two processes. The first process is compounding process from the word colour and
blind that results the word colour-blind. The second process is the affixation
process from the word colour-blind and the suffix –ness that results the word
colour-blindness. Beside the three major processes mentioned above, there are
also others word formation processes such as reduplication, clipping, blending, and acronym as means to form new words by using the old words as its base. (Quirk 1973: 431).
5. Tree Diagram
According to Andrew Carstairs, tree diagram is a way to represent information about affixation since there are many derived words contain more than one affix. Node is a part of a tree diagram from which branches sprout. Here
is the explanation about the word unhelpfulness for further information. The word
unhelpfulness means not helping in a situation or makes the situation worse. This
word belongs to noun category. In order to find the stem, we separate the last attached affix that is suffix –ness. This action changes the word unhelpfulness into
unhelpful that belongs to adjective category. After that, we take prefix un-. This
action changes the word unhelpful into helpful that belongs to adjective. Finally, we take suffix -full from the word helpful and change the word helpful into help
N
The nodes in the tree diagram above are all labeled. A is used to label
adjectives. N is used to label nouns. V is used to label verbs. Adv is used to label adverbial (Carstairs, 2002: 73-74).
The information about a tree diagram can also be conveyed by using labelled bracketing. In labeled bracketing, one pair of bracket corresponds to each node in the tree (Carstairs, 2002: 74). See the example from the word helplessness
below:
[[[helpV]N –less]A –ness]N.
The word help can be classified into verbs and nouns category. In order to be attached with suffix –less, the word help is classified into nouns category because suffix –less can be attached to nouns and cannot be attached to verbs.
After the attachment from the word help and suffix –less, the word help changes into helpless which is categorized into adjectives. After that, the second affixation
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attached to suffix –ness and changes into helplessness that is categorized into
nouns.
6. Allomorphs
According to Francis Katamba, if there are different morphemes that represent the same morphemes they are called allomorphs (Katamba 1993:26).
For example /ıd/, /d/, and /t/ are grouped together as allomorphs of the past tense in English. The allomorphs above are the examples taken from the English past tense suffix. The relation between morphemes, allomorphs, and morphs can be
seen in the picture below (Katamba 1993: 26). morpheme
According to Katamba, prefix in- has some allomorphs, in this case, he mentions
three examples of allomorphs for prefix in-. The three allomorphs are im- [ ım-],
in- [ ın-], and in- [ ıη-]. The nasal consonants in the allomorphs of prefix in- are pronounced in three different ways. The pronunciations itself depend on the
a. Prefix in- will be pronounced [ım-] if it is placed before the bilabial consonants.
b. Prefix in- will be pronounced [ıη-] if it is placed before the velar consonants.
c. Prefix in- will be pronounced [ın-] if it is elsewhere.
The three allomorphs above are in the complementary distribution. It means that selecting one precludes selecting the others. It is very impossible for
the three of them to occur in the identical environments. If a morpheme has several allomorphs the choice of allomorphs used in the given context is normally phonologically conditioned. It means that the allomorphs selected to represent the
morpheme in a certain context is the one that phonological properties are similar to those of sounds found in the closest allomorphs of some other morphemes. The
phonological resemblance between the nasal found in the prefix and the first consonant representing the previous morpheme is done for the assimilation process.
Based on the discussion about allomorph, Katamba concludes that spelling is a very poor guide for to pronunciation in English and many other
languages (Katamba 1993: 26). There are some criteria to determine whether a morpheme is the allomorph of the other morpheme. Here are some steps to decide whether a morpheme is an allomorph or not.
a. Decide whether the morpheme have the same meaning or not. b. Decide whether the morpheme is phonologically similar.
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7. Relation between Meaning and Form
Many people always think that words can be divided into parts. This can
happen because of the traditional concept that we have in morphology that always concern on the morphemes’ identification. However, we have to realize that not all words can be divided into smaller parts. According to Joan L Bybee,
sometimes there are zero morphs (semantics unit that seem to have no expression in a word) and empty morphs (parts of the word that do not associate with any
semantics units) or some cases where it is impossible for us to find boundaries between morphemes in the word (Bybee, 1985: 3).
In his Morphology: A Study of Relation between Meaning and Form,
Bybee (1985) concerns with two major problems. The first problem is about morphological fusion that focused on the combination between morphology and
phonology. The second problem is about allomorphy that deals with the disturbance in the one to one association of sound and meaning. In this research, the writer will focus on the first problem that is morphological fusion.
Bybee developed and tested a hypothesis that the degree of morpho-phonological fusion is related with the degree of semantic relevance of the affix to
the stem. This hypothesis can be used to arrange inflectional categories on a scale where various predications can be made.
8. Word Meaning
Many linguists have tried to fine the perfect way to define the meaning
meaning of the word in the dictionary. However, there are some elements that
need to be considered in defining the meaning of a word. Here are the four elements:Connotation is the set of associations and elements of meaning that can be evoked by a word, but not the entire meaning of the word.
a. Denotation is the set of entities to which the word refers (also known as referent.).
b. Extension is the entity which a word or expression picks out in the world.
c. Intension is the concepts a word evokes.
(Dozier, Evan Marie. Semantics on Words
<http://www.angelfire.com/tn/semantics/words.html> (30 August 2007))
According to John Lyons in Linguistics Semantics (1995), the referential theory of meaning is perfectly satisfactory to define the meaning of a
word by identifying what they stand for (Lyons 1995:75). However, according to Lyons we have to distinguish denotation from reference so that we are able to identify or define what a word stands for. Denotation is connected with reference.
Many authors think that denotation and reference are the same. However, Lyons said that they are two different things.
The difference between denotation and reference is that the denotation is invariant and utterance independent. Denotation is the relation between expression and physical entities in the external world. Denotation is part of the meaning that
22
of animal whereas the word “my dog” or “the dog” will refer to different member
of the class on different occasions of utterance.
Another important thing that needs to be considered is sense. Sense and denotation is related to one another. The larger the denotation, the smaller the
sense is and vice versa. For example, the denotation of “animal” is larger than “dog”, but the sense of “animal” is less specific than “dog”.
Lyons also added that denotation has two complementary aspects. They are extension and intension. Extension is the class of entities that it defines and the intention is the defining property of the class. Usually, the attachment of the
negative prefix in- always denote the negative meaning. However, in this research, the writer will prove that there are also some cases where the attachment
of the negative prefix in- does not give negative meaning to the resulting word.
9. Componential Analysis
We can describe and analyze a word from the semantics components. In other words, we can say that we are able to analyze a word based on their
From the example above, we know that a man is different from a boy.
Although both male and boy have the same semantics feature, they are different because a man is a mature male while a boy is not a mature male.
According to Lyons, we can formalize or making precise the sense of
relations that hold between lexemes by using componential analysis (Lyons 1995: 107). As the example, he took the semantic features from the words “boy”,
“girl”, “man”, and “woman” that denote to human being. He said that we could
see their differences by looking at their sense component. “Man” and “woman” have the sense component adult while “boy” and “girl” have the sense lack of
adult. The sense from four examples can be seen as: a. “man” = “human” x “male” x “adult”
b. “woman” = “human” x “female” x “adult” c. “boy” = “human” x “male” x “non-adult” d. “girl” = “human” x “female” x “non-adult”
Instead of saying that a man is the product from “human”, “male”, and “adult”, he preferred to say that a man is the product from HUMAN, MALE, and
ADULT because small capital refers the allegedly universal sense components where the senses of expression of in a particular languages are constructed.. Then, he developed the formalization a little further by using the negation operator (~) in
order to distinguish a positive and a negative value of the two-valued variable
+/-ADULT. In order to make clear the difference between the absence of a
24
“&” (Lyons 1995: 110). Since the symbol changed, the representations from the
examples are also changed into:
In the theoretical framework, the writer will discuss how the problems
(which already stated in the problem formulation) will be answered by using the theories (which are stated in the review of related theories). In other words, the
writer will explain how the problems can be answered theoretically. The data that will be used in this research is the adjective that is attached to the prefix in-without negating their stem.
The theories on the affixation and relation between meaning and form will be used to answer the first problem (What adjectives a r e with prefix in-
without negating the stem?) The reason why the writer uses this two theories are
because, as we know, that there are words that are having in as the two initial letters but they do not have the characteristics of the prefixes (such as incline,
incisor, incident, etc). The possible answer for this phenomenon is word origin
because English as a language has developed and borrowed many words from
For the next problem (What morphological processes occur after the
attachment of the prefix in-?) will be answered by using the theories of
allomorphs by Katamba (1993). By using this theory, we can check the allomorph of the prefix in-. Since the most common morphological process in the prefix
in-is the assimilation process, it in-is very important for us to know the allomorphs of the prefix in- and their characteristics.
In order to answer the last question (What are their common
characteristics?), the writer will use the theory of the tree diagram from Carstairs.
The reason why the writer uses this theory is because of the characteristics of the
theory itself. By using this theory, we can see the attachment process of the affixation in each word. We can decide the common syntactic characteristics from
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
The research that will be conducted in this thesis is the identifying one. In this research, the writer will try to identify which adjectives are attached to the
prefix in- without negating the stem. After that, the writer will identify the morphophonemic change that occurs after the attachment of the prefix. Then, the
writer will try to identify their common characteristics.
A. Object of the Study.
The population of this research is the adjectives which are attached to the prefixes in- without negating the stem. Due to the difference of dictionary entries,
the data will be taken from two different dictionaries. The two dictionaries are The
Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology a n d Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English. Moreover, the writer will also use the definition from
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition.
In order to obtain the data, the writer will make a convenient sampling
to the adjectives which are attached to prefix in- without negating the stem.
B.
Approach of the StudyMorphology is the study of internal structure of words (Katamba,
1993:3). In morphology, we learn how to arrange words into correct formation.
Phonology is different from morphology. Phonologists are interested in the sound patterns of a particular language (McMahon, 2002: 2). In this research, the writer
will combine morphology and phonology. In other words, the writer will use the morphophonology approach to analyze the data. The writer will analyze the sound
and the word formation of the adjectives.
C. Method of the Study 1. Types of Research
The research will be a library research. It means that the writer will try to
find the data based on the finding in the books or dictionary. The writer will use
the dictionary as the main source to find the data. Since the writer having difficulties to find the some information to validate the answers toward the
problem formulation in the library, the writer will use the information from the internet as the secondary sources, so that the answer in the analysis will be much
better and clearer.
2. Data Collection
The data from this research are adjectives that are attached to the prefix
in- with positive meaning in The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology and
28
adjectives that have these special characteristics. In order to collect the data, there
were some steps taken to make an analysis in this research. The first step of this research was listing the adjectives which are attached to prefix in- but having positive meaning from The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology and Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English.
The second step from this research is check the meaning of the whether
the resulted meaning is negates the meaning of the stem. Usually, the resulted meaning negates the meaning of the stem. However, the data that will be taken is the adjectives that are attached to prefix in- without producing negative meaning.
After that, the writer will use the theory of allomorph from Francis Katamba to analyze the morphophonemic process that occurs after the attachment
of prefix in-. Normally, there is only assimilation process that occurs in the attachment of the prefix in-. However, the writer will try to find the other morphophonemic process from the data.
As the fourth step, the writer will use the tree diagram to check the most common characteristics that can be found in the data. Moreover, the writer will
use componential analysis in order to analyze the semantic features from the data. Then, the writer will explain the reason why the resulted meaning from the adjectives is not negating the meaning of the stem. The writer will combine
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS RESULT
In this chapter, the writer will answer the problems that have been stated in the problem formulation. The writer has formulated three problems in the
problem formulation. The writer will use the theory given in the review of the related theories to solve the problem formulation.
A. Adjectives with P r e f i x in- without Negating the Stem and their Morphophonemic Changes.
During the research, the writer found nine words that have these special characteristics. In order to obtain the data, the writer uses two dictionaries. From
the two dictionaries, the writer can find nine words. The nine words are illuminated, impassioned, incandescent, incomparable, infamous, inflammable,
ingenious, innumerable, and invaluable.
The further explanation about the nine words can be seen in the further explanation. The writer decided to unite the data from both of the dictionary.
Although the writer used two dictionaries as the data source, the writer found out that there are five same entries from both dictionaries that can be used as the data. They are illuminated, invaluable, ingenious and infamous. Due to the same
entries, the data will be discussed once only.
30
1. Adjectives Attached to Prefix in- without Negating their Stem and their Meaning.
a. Illuminated
The word illuminated means to supply or brighten with lights (Webster,
1993:577). This word was taken from Latin inluminatus in eighteenth century (Webster, 1993:577). The stem from this word is luminated. Luminated i s an
adjective means full of light. See the example below:
An illuminated sign flashed on and off
Usually, this word is used together with words related with sign and light. In the
Middle Ages, there was an expression, an illuminated manuscript or an
illuminated book. It means that a kind of handmade book or manuscript in the
Middle Ages, whose pages are decorated with gold paint and other bright colors. b. Incandescent
The word incandescent means white, glowing or luminous with intense
heat (Webster, 1993:586). This word is taken from Latin incandescere in 1794 The stem from this word is candescent. Candescent is an adjective means glowing
or dazzling as if from great heat (Webster, 1993:165). (Webster, 1993:586). See the example below:
The incandescent lamp helps people to see in the darkness.
This word usually used together with words related with light. The meaning of an incandescent lamp is an electric lamp in which a filament gives off light when
c. Infamous
The meaning from infamous is having reputation of the worst kind
(Webster, 1993:597). This word is taken from Latin infamis in the fourteenth century (Webster, 1993:597). The stem from this word is famous. Famous is an adjective means widely known. See the expression below:
an infamous killer
Usually, this word is used to say that someone is famous because of his or her bad
habit. In other words, we can say that someone who is infamous is famous in the negative way. Therefore, this word is used together with words that have negative meaning, while the word famous is used together with the words that have
positive meaning.
d. Inflammable
This words means easily to be inflamed, excited, or anger. The word inflammable is taken from the Latin word inflammare in 1605 (Webster,
1993:598). The stem from this word is flammable. Flammable is an adjective means to flame, can be set on fire, or can be easily ignited and of burning quickly.
(Webster, 1993:442). See the following example: Petrol is highly inflammable.
The meaning from the sentence above is that petrol is something that can be burn
32
e. Ingenious
This word means showing or calling for intelligence, aptitude, or
discernment. This word is synonymous with the word clever. The word ingenious taken from Middle English ingenyous in the fifteenth century (Webster, 1993:600). The stem from this word is genius. Genius is a noun, means a very
high level of intelligence, mental skill, or ability, which only a few people have (Longman, 2003: 671). See the expression below:
an ingenious device
The meaning from the phrase above is that the device works well and the result of clever thinking and new ideas. Moreover, this word usually used together with the
words related with a method or ways.
f. Invaluable
The meaning from invaluable is valuable beyond estimation. This word is originated from Latin invalor in 1576 (Webster, 1993:615). The stem from this
word is valuable. Valuable is an adjective means having monetary value or worth a good price (Webster, 1993:1305). See the expression below:
An invaluable Monalisa painting
g. Impassioned
The word impassioned means filled with passion or zeal, showing great warmth or intensity of feeling. This word is originated from Latin impassionarre in sixteenth century (Webster, 1993:581). The stem from this word is passioned.
Passioned is an adjective means emotion (Webster, 1993:849). See the example
below:
She appeared on television to make an impassioned plea for help
The meaning from the sentence above is that the woman asks a help with a strong emotion. Usually, this word collocate with words related with strong emotion and
feeling.
h. Incomparable
The meaning from this word extremely good, beautiful and much better than others (Longman, 2003: 823). This word originated from Latin
incomparabilis in the fifteenth century (Webster, 1993:588). The stem from this
word is comparable. Comparable is an adjective means being equally important,
good, badetc (Longman, 2003: 309). See the example below:
an incomparable view of San Marco
The meaning from the sentence above is that the San Marco view is very
34
i. Innumerable
The meaning from the word innumerable is very many or too many to be counted (Longman, 2003: 838). The stem from this word is numerable.
Numerable is means capable of being counted (Webster, 1993:797). This word is
taken from Latin innumerabilis in the fourteenth century. See the following example:
She has served on innumerable committees.
The meaning from the sentence above is that the lady has served many committees before. This adjective usually related with numbers. Moreover, this
word has similar characteristics with incalculable.
2. The Morphophonological Processes
In this section, the writer will answer the second problem formulation. In order to answer the problem, the writer will describe all of the phonetic
transcriptions from the data, so that it will be much easier for both writer and reader to notice the morphophonological processes that happen in the data. Each
of the data will analyze once only. It means that the writer will not analyze the same data twice though it is taken from different dictionaries.
b. incandescent = in- +candescent [,Inkæn’des n t ] = [In] + [kæn’des nt]
c. infamous = in- + famous [’Inf m s] = [In] + [’fe1m s]
d. inflammable = in- + flammable
[In’flam b l] = [In] + [’flam b l]
e. ingenious = in- + genius
[In’dЗi:ni s ] = [In] + [’dЗi:ni s ]
f. invaluable = in- + valuable [In’vælju b l] = [In] + [’vælju b l]
g. impassioned = in- + passioned [Im’pæ nd] = [In]+ [’pæ n]
h. incomparable = in- + comparable [In’k mp r b l] = [In] + [’k mp r b l]
i. innumerable = in- + numerable
36
From the explanation above, we know that the most common
morphophonological process that occurs in the data is the assimilation process. An assimilation process is a phonological process where a phone becomes similar with the nearby phone. The purpose from this process is to ease a speaker in
pronouncing a word. This is the most common phonological process that can be found in all human languages. The assimilation process that occurs in the data is
categorized into regressive assimilation. It is called regressive assimilation because it assimilation process goes backward. See the following example:
illuminated = in- + luminated [I’lu:mIneIt d ] = [In] + [’lu:mIneIt d ]
In the example above, the nasal sound [n] is assimilated into a liquid
stop sound [l]. There are two important aspects in the regressive assimilation process that is assimilated sound and conditioning sound. The assimilated sound is
the sound that changes due to the assimilation process, while the conditioning
sound is the sound the causes the assimilation process. In the word illuminated, the nasal sound [n] becomes the assimilated sound and the liquid stop sound [l]
becomes the conditioning sound.
However besides the regressive assimilation, we can also find other
processes, such as vowel change and stress shift that occur in infamous. See the
infamous = in- + famous [’Inf m s] = [In] + [’fe1m s]
In the word infamous the stress is shifting from the penultimate position into anti – penultimate position. Moreover, the front middle tense vowel [ei] is change into the centre middle lax vowel [ ]. From this finding, it is proven that
the attachment from the prefix in- not always result in assimilation process because we can also have other processes such as vowel change and stress shift.
B. The Common Characteristics of the Data
In this section, the writer will analyze the characteristics from the data of
the research. The writer will try to analyze the positive meaning that happens in the attachment of the prefix in- by using their similarity.
Normally, the attachment of a negative prefix in- to an adjective will cause a negation. However, in this research, the writer found ten words that are
different from the others. The attachment of the prefix in- does not negate the
meaning from the stem.
If we see from their affixation processes, most of the data use the
combination between prefix in- and suffix –able. From the nine words, there are four words that use the combination of prefix in- and suffix -able. The four words
are inflammable, invaluable, incomparable, and innumerable. Some of them are
38
invaluable (adj)
in- valuable (adj)
value (noun) -able
The prefix in- is the firstly taken from the word invaluable. This separation does not change the class from the word. The word valuable is also categorized into adjective. After that, the suffix –able is the next affix to be taken. This separation changes the class from the word valuable that is categorized into adjective into
value that is categorized into noun category. The meaning of the word value is the
monetary worth of something (Webster, 1993:1305).
The affixation processes in the word illuminated are more complex than the others because we can use two different tree diagrams to represent the
meaning from this word. See the picture of the tree diagram below: illuminated (adj)
illuminate(verb) -ed
illumine(verb) -ate
in- lumen (noun)
into verb. After that, the suffix –ate is the next affix to be taken. Since the word
illumine is a verb, this process does not change the word class. For the last
process, prefix in- is the last affix to be taken. This process changes the class of word because the word lumen is a noun. Lumen is taken from New Latin word,
lumen in 1873. It means light (Webster, 1993:1305). However, we can also have a
different tree diagram in order to represent the affixation processes in the word
illuminated. See the picture from the tree diagram below.
illuminated (adj)
in- luminated (verb)
luminate (verb) -ed
lumen (noun) -ate
In the tree diagram above, the first affix to be taken is prefix in-. This process changes the word class because the word luminated is a verb. After that,
the next affix to be taken is the suffix –ed. This process does not change the word class because the word luminate is a verb. The last process is separating the last affix that is suffix –ate. This process changes the word class because the word
lumen is a noun.
If we compare the first and the second tree diagram we will know that
40
illuminated. According to the second tree diagram, the meaning of the word
illuminated is not supplied or brightens with light. The first tree diagram
represents illuminated means supplied or brightens with light.
A similar phenomenon happens in the word inflammable. See the picture of the tree diagram below:
inflammable (adj)
in- flammable (adj)
flame (verb) -able
For the first tree diagram, prefix in- is the first affix that is taken from the word inflammable. This separation does not change the class from the word. The word flammable is also categorized into adjective. After that, the suffix –able
is the next affix to be taken. This separation changes the class from the word
flammable that is categorized into adjective into flame that is categorized into verb
category.
In the second tree diagram, suffix -able is the first affix that is taken from the word inflammable. This separation changes the class from the word. The
word inflame is categorized into verb. the meaning of the word inflame is to burst
inflammable (adj)
inflame (adj) -able
in- flame (noun)
If we see the meaning from the word inflammable, the second tree
diagram is the most suitable tree diagram to describe the meaning of the word.
The first tree diagram represents the meaning that the meaning of the word
inflammable is something that can not be burn or something that is
non-combustible. The second tree diagram represents the meaning that the meaning of the word inflammable is something that is very easy to be burn. If we look at their
etymology, we will notice that actually they are two different words. Inflammable
was taken from Medieval Latin, inflammabilis, in 1605. Flammable is taken from Latin, flammare, in 1813. Both of the words were taken from different time and different word. From the explanation, we can conclude that the word inflammable is not the result from the affixation process between negative prefix in- and the
word flammable because the word inflammable is much older than the word
flammable. The word inflammable is the result from the attachment of suffix –
42
Next discussion is about the word impassioned. The affixation process in the word infamous is similar with the second tree diagram from the word
inflammable. See the picture of the tree diagram below:
impassioned (adj)
impassion (adj) -ed
in- passion (noun)
In the tree diagram above, the first affix to be separated is suffix –ed. This process does not changes the word class because the word impassion is an adjectives. The next affix to be taken is prefix in-. This process changes the word class because the word passion is categorized into noun.
Similar affixation process also happens in the word infamous. See the
tree diagram below:
infamous (adj)
in- famous (adj)
fame (noun) -ous
categorized into adjective. After that, the word famous can be broken again into smaller element. It can be broken into the combination between the free
morpheme fame that can be categorized into noun category and the bound morpheme –ous. The meaning from the word fame i s popular acclaim or renowned (Webster, 1993:419).
The Latin word formation in the word infamous can be seen from the meaning shift. The way the negative prefix in- negate the meaning of the stem is a
bit different than the others. If we use the negative English formation, the meaning from the word infamous should be not popular. However, the meaning of the word infamous is similar with the word famous. The different is that people that is
infamous is popular because of their bad habit, while people that is famous is
popular because of their good habit.
Based on their base we can classify the tree diagram into three types. The three tree diagrams are tree diagram with adjective as their base, tree diagram with verb as their base, tree diagram with noun as their base. See the following
example of the three tree diagrams:
1. diagram with verb as their bases incalculable (adj)
in- calculable (adj)
44
2. diagram with adjective as their base incandescent
in- candescent (adjective)
3. diagram with noun as their base infamous (adj)
in- famous (adj)
fame (noun) -ous
The most common tree diagram is the third tree diagram. There are six words that use the tree diagram with noun as their base. The six words are
illuminated, impassioned, infamous, inflammable, innumerable, and invaluable.
The next thing to be analyzed is their semantic properties. The writer will use componential analysis in order to analyze their common semantic
properties. See the following componential analysis from the data: 1. illuminated = +bright, -animate.
2. incandescent = +bright, +animate, -animate.
3. infamous = + popular, +animate, +bad.
4. inflammable = +combustible, +animate, +inanimate.
5. ingenious = +new, +smart, +animate, +inanimate.
7. impassioned = +human, +strong, +animate.
8. innumerable = +many, +animate.
9. incomparable = -animate, +good.
If we see from their semantic properties, the most common semantic characteristics from the data are +animate. There are 6 words that have +animate
as their characteristics. The six words are incandescent, infamous, inflammable, ingenious, impassioned, and innumerable.
Nevertheless, the cause that makes them to have positive meaning is still confusing. For the next step, the writer will give a brief explanation about the positive meaning in the data.
The next thing to be discussed is their positive meaning. Word like
innnumerable makes perfect sense. If something is very many and is beyond our
means to count, then it is innumerable. It also happens with invaluable. The meaning from both of the words changes into very numerous or very valuable. We are able to count something that is innumerable if we want to. However, we will
need a very long time to be able to know the amount from the thing that we count. The phenomenon in the word invaluable also happens in the word priceless. This
word has exactly the same meaning with the word invaluable. It seems that the function of prefix in- will be different if it is attached to a word with certain meaning, especially with words that are related with calculation, light, or heat.
The case that happens in the word infamous is another different problem. The problem happened because of the influence of Latin. Probably, this word is
46
meaning shift in the word infamous. The meaning is shifting from famous of
being good into famous for being bad.
From the explanation above, we know that it is important for us to know the history of a word before we analyze their affixation process. It is very
important because although both of the words are similar it is possible that both of them were taken from different time and different words. If the two words were
taken from different time and different words it means that they are two different words. We can see the example of this problem in the word inflammable.
Some people considered that inflammable is the antonym from
flammable. This is a mistake. Both of the words have the same meaning. Although
having the same meaning, they are two different words. The word inflammable
usually refers to the very combustible material while the word flammable refer to the combustible material. The antonym for the inflammable i s non-flammable.
CONCLUSION
After presenting the analysis in the previous chapter, the writer will give the conclusion in order to answer the problems of this research. The first problem is the adjectives that are attached to prefix in- with positive meaning although the
meaning of its stem is positive. There are at least nine adjectives which are attached to the prefix in- without negating the meaning of the stem. The nine
adjectives are illuminated, impassioned, incandescent, incomparable, infamous, inflammable, ingenious, innumerable and invaluable.
Most of them have the same characteristics. If we see from the
morphological point of view, they are all of free morphemes and bound morphemes. Most of them use the combination of the prefix in- and the suffix –
able. Among the nine words, there are six words that use noun as their base the six words are illuminated, impassioned, infamous, inflammable, innumerable, and invaluable.
From their semantic properties, we can also find a similarity. Most of them have the same semantic property that is +animate. They are incandescent,
infamous, ingenious, impassioned, and innumerable.
The most common morphophonemic process that can be found in this phenomenon is the regressive assimilation process, as in the word illuminated,
impassioned, and innumerable.
48
illuminated = in- + luminated [I’lu:mIneIt d ] = [In] + [’lu:mIneIt d ]
impassioned = in- + passioned [Im’pæ nd] = [In] + [’pæ n ]
Besides the regressive assimilation process, there are also others
morphophonemic processes, such as stress shift and vowel change. The example of these two morphophonemic processes can be seen in the word infamous.
infamous = in- + famous
[’Inf m s ] = [In] + [’feIm s ]
It is very possible that the cause of this phenomenon is the word origin, because as we know English has borrowed a lot foreign words into their dictionary, such as French, Latin, German, and others foreign languages.
Therefore, it is important for us to find the etymology from a word, because from the etymology we can see their development as an English word. The
development of English as a language gives considerable influences to the occurrence of this phenomenon. One of the examples can be seen in the word
infamous the meaning of this word is almost the same as the word famous. A
person who is infamous is still popular. They are popular for being bad or evil while a person that is famous is popular because of their good reputation. The
We have to be very careful when we try to define the meaning of a word.
Normally, the attachment of prefix in- to adjectives can negate the meaning of its stem. However, we have to be careful because we can also find exception for some words. In this research, the writer found ten words that are attached to prefix
