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A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE NOMINALIZATION
USING THE SUFFIX {-AGE} AND {-MENT}
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
R. S. KRISTIAN GUNTUR PRASETYA Student Number: 064214046
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
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Dedicated to:
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to say my deepest thanks to Jesus Christ because without His blessing and His help, I would not be able to finish this writing of undergraduate thesis.
I also would like to say my gratitude to Dr. Fr. Borgias Alip, M,Pd., M.A. for being the advisor who has guided this writing very patiently and also for his free time for the discussion with me in order to solve the problems during the writing process. I also would like to thank Dra. B. Ria Lestari, M.S for being co-advisor of this writing who has read and given a lot of correction and suggestion so this thesis was well improved.
I also would like to thank Anna Fitriati, S.Pd., M.Hum. as my academic advisor who has guided me as the student patiently and also for Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum who continue for being my academic advisor.
I thank to my lovely parents, Velesiaa Mulyastari and Petrus Caelestinus Sriyanto, who have given the biggest support in my study, starting from the very beginning I decided to be in this English Letters Department until I finally finished my study for this bachelor degree. I also thank to my lovely sister, Elizabeth Dewi who has given a lot of support for me until I finish my study. I also would like to thank my little sister, Elizabeth Tiffany T, for the cheerful moment during my writing.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……….. i
APPROVAL PAGE ……… ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ……….. iii
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PUBLIKASI ….………... iv
MOTTO PAGE ………... v
1. Theory of Lexical Categories ………... 10
2. Theory of Morpheme ……….. 12
3. Theory of Word-Formation ………. 14
4. Theory of Derivational Process ……….. 15
5. Theory of Noun Categories ………. 15
6. Theory of Verb Categories ……….. 16
7. Theory of Word Meaning ……… 18
8. Theory of Phonetic Features ……… 19
9. Theory of Borrowing Word ……… 23
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C. The Differences of the Suffix {-age} and {ment}……… 73
1. The Differences based on Stem’s Characteristics……… 73
2. The Differences based on Function and Meaning……… 77
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION……….. 83
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……… 85
APPENDICES A. Data Collection of the Suffix {-age} ……….. 87
xi ABSTRACT
R. S. KRISTIAN GUNTUR PRASETYA (2012). A Morphological Study of the Nominalization Using the Suffix {-age} and {-ment}. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
English, as a universal language, has complex linguistic systems. Morphology is a kind of branch in English linguistic system that has important contribution in word-formation. Mainly, morphology is a study about the structure of words. There are many language processes in morphology, and the most common used is affixation.
This study will focus on the suffixation by using the suffix {-age} and {-ment}. These two suffixes are commonly used as nominalizer tool for the word-formation. To limit the scope, this study has three main problems for this topic as followed: 1. What are the characteristics of stem words that can be attached by the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment}? 2. What are the meanings of the suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment}? 3. How the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} are different one from the other?
The data of this study are morpheme and suffix. The data of this study was taken from Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary (year 2008) as the primary data source. All the complex words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or {-ment} from this dictionary are collected to be analyzed in order to answer the problems on this study.
xii ABSTRAK
R. S. KRISTIAN GUNTUR PRASETYA (2012). A Morphological Study of the Nominalization Using the Suffix {-age} and {-ment}. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa internasional memiliki sistem tata bahasa yang kompleks. Morfologi adalah salah satu cabang ilmu dalam Bahasa Ingris yang memiliki peran penting dalam pembentukan sebuah kata. Secara umum, morfologi adalah kajian yang mempelajari struktur dalam sebuah kata. Dalam morfologi terdapat banyak proses ketatabahasaan dan yang paling sering digunakan adalah penggunaan imbuhan.
Obyek utama dalam penelitian ini adalah akhiran {-age} dan akhiran {-ment}. Kedua akhiran tersebut biasanya digunakan untuk membentuk kata benda dalam proses pembetukan kata. Dalam penelitian ini ada tiga rumusan masalah yang digunakan untuk pembahasan supaya lebih fokus, yaitu: 1. Apa saja karakteristik dari kata dasar dari akhiran {-age} dan akhiran {-ment}? 2. Apa saja arti dari akhiran {-age} dan akhiran {-ment}? 3. Apa perbedaan dari akhiran {-age} dan akhiran {-ment}?
Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah morfem dan akhiran. Data dalam penelitian ini diambil dari kamus Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary terbitan tahun 2008 yang sekaligus merupakan sumber data primer. Semua kata yang berakhiran {-age} dan yang berakhiran {-ment} dari kamus tersebut dikumpulkan untuk dianalisis guna menjawab rumusan masalah adalah penelitian ini.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
English, as a universal language, has complex linguistic systems. Phonetic, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and stylistics are the examples of the English linguistic systems. Just like in most languages, each of the linguistic systems has their own role toward the use of language itself.
Morphology is a kind of branch in English linguistic system that has important contribution in word-formation. Mainly, morphology is a study about the structure of words. In a linguistic system, lexical category is one of the most fundamental units in the linguistic system (Akmajian, 2001: 11). Just like in the other linguistic systems, morphology also has many word formation processes, especially in the structure of word. For example, there is a compounding, reduplication, incorporation, clipping, blending, acronymization, affixation, and there are still many other morphological processes in morphology.
Affixation is a morphological process which combines two kinds of morpheme (free morpheme and bound morpheme) in order to produce the new word. Bodgan Szymanek writes:
Mainly, there are three kinds of affixes in English. These are prefixes, suffixes, and infixes. This study focuses on the study of suffix. More specific, this study only discusses about the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment}. As we know, the suffix is a bound morpheme which is attached in front of stem in order to produce new word. The process of suffixation can be seen in the use of language in our daily life whether written or spoken language. In word achievement for example, we have a suffixation process stem {achieve} + bound morpheme {-ment} = achievement.
Suffix {-ment} here has the function as an abstract noun former. The other example is the word coverage. In the word coverage, we can also see about the suffixation process of the stem {cover} + bound morpheme {-age} = coverage. The suffix {-age} here has the function as an abstract noun former. The suffix {-age} here change the part of speech verb from the stem word into the noun in the new form.
in term of part of the speech can also impact the use of word itself in the other linguistic system just like in syntax.
The other reason why a suffix needs to be observed more because there is still some misunderstanding in use or attachment of the suffix, especially for the suffix { -age} and {-ment}. People may think why there is a word coverage (cover + age), but we cannot have word *walkage (walk + age)? Why there is word establishment
(establish + ment), but we cannot have word *walkment (walk + ment)? This question can be a problem especially for a linguistic study in order to get true understanding in application of the suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment}.
In other words, this study would try to analyze deeper about the use of the suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment} in English language. The analysis here has the purpose to dig more information about the characteristics, the morphological process, and the functions of the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} in the terms of linguistic study.
B. Problem Formulation
1. What are the characteristics of stem words that can be attached by the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment}?
2. What are the meanings of the suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment}?
3. How the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} are different one from the other?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulation in this study, there are also three objectives that need to be achieved in this study. The first objective is to analyze the characteristics of the words that can be attached by the suffix {-age} and the suffix { -ment}. It is important to distinguish why this word can be a stem for the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment}, while the other words cannot. For example, the word cover
can be attached by the suffix {-age} to be coverage, while word walk cannot be attached by the suffix {-age} (cannot be *walkage)
The third or last objective of this study is to compare and examine how the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} are different one from the other. From this objective we can see that even though both of them are the nominalizer suffix, they still have their own differences.
D. Definition of Terms
This study also has a definition of terms in order to avoid the different perception about the concepts and terminologies which is used in this study. The definition of terms in this study are:
1. Definition of Morpheme
A morpheme is a smallest unit of language that carries an information and meaning. The word “smallest” here means that morpheme cannot be separated further. (O’ Graddy, 2010: 117).
2. Definition of Stem
3. Definition of Lexical Categories or Part of Speech
In every language, almost all of lexical items or words are divided into the small classes. Lexical categories or part of speech is the word classes which has particular characteristics in the term of grammatical usage (Radford, 1999: 147)
4. Definition of Morphophonemic Process
A morphophonemic process is “the describable morphological and phonological changes of the stem and root under certain condition” (O’Grady et al., 2005:116). From this statement, we can say that morphophonemic process shows us the process of phonological changing in the stem when it is attached by any affixes.
5. Definition of Derivational Suffix
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review on Related Study
This part contains some explanation, discussion, and analysis from the previous study which have relevancy and similar topic. The review on the related study provides several studies that have been conducted by the students or the expert.
1. Review of The Suffixes Study
Suffix is a bound morpheme that can create a word with a meaning and/ or category distinct from the base of word (stem). (O’Graddy, 2010: 122). Suffix is one type of affixes. In the study entitled “Are Affixes Signs? The semantic relationships of English derivational affixes”, Adrienne Lehrer states that affixes just like an ordinary lexemes but they are bound (Lehrer, 2000: 143). We can know that affix is a bound or cannot stand independently. It means that as a kind of affixes, suffix also will have dependence toward the free morpheme in order to create meaningful complex word.
productive rather than other method of word-formation in the term of morphological process.
Generally, there are two major types of suffixation processes. The two major types here are inflectional suffix and derivational suffix. This study mainly discuss about the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment}. The suffix {-age} and the suffix
{-ment} are the kinds of derivational suffixes. Derivational suffixes productively create a derived lexical category of the new word after be attached by the suffix itself.
The difference of this study with those two studies above (Lehrer and Sapir) is laid on the particularity of the suffix itself. This study will only discuss on the nominalization by using the certain suffixes. More specific, this study will focus on the nominalization using the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} as the tools of the word formation,
2. Review of The Meaning of the Suffix Studies
In the study about suffix {-age}, Rochelle Lieber states that suffix {-age} is a kind of affixes which makes a specific semantic contribution to the stem. The suffix {-age} has several sense of the word created such as collectiveness, behavior characteristic, and place noun (Lieber, 2004: 148). The examples of these senses which are produced by attaching the suffix {-age} are:
Collectiveness baggage, wreckage, plumage, poundage, spillage
Behavior characteristic brigandage
Place noun orphanage, parsonage, hermitage, anchorage
In simple words, the suffix {-age} derives nouns that express an activity (or its result), and nouns denoting a collective entity or quantity. The meaning can be extended to include locations, as in orphanage (Plag, 2003: 87)
The suffix {-ment} is also a derivational suffix. Ingo Plag in his book entitled “Cambridge Textbook in Linguistics: Word-Formation in English” stated that suffix {-ment} derives action nouns denoting processes or results from (mainly) verbs, with a strong preference for monosyllables or disyllabic base words with stress on the last syllable (Plag, 2003: 92)
attached to the certain stem. In order to support the analysis, this study employs a certain dictionary which is used as the primary data source for analysis process. This study chooses Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary as the object of the study.
B. Review on Related Theory
This part contains several theories which are useful to analyze the main problems in this study. The review on this related theories are only the theories which are relevant to the topic of this study.
1. Theory of Lexical Categories
A word is the most fundamental element of language. Akmajian in his book entitled “Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication” states that:
“Words play an integral role in the human ability to use language creatively. Far from being a static repository of memorized information, a human vocabulary is a dynamic system. We can add word at will” ( 2001: 11)
From the quotes above, we can see that word has important contribution of the use in language. The development of word can be formed by adding another component towards the word itself.
explained that the lexical categories here are categorized based on their own function in the use of language itself. In English there are five kinds of word classes, these are:
noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and preposition.
The first word class is a noun. A noun often refers to types of concentrates object in the world (e.g. book, tree, stone, river, etc). Noun also will often be found preceded by definite article (the) and indefinite article (a/an). This is kind of the distinctive feature between the lexical categories noun and other lexical categories verb. When we have lexical categories verb, we cannot add article in front (*the applauds/ *the applauded). Each of lexical categories, especially in English, has their own function in the sentence development (Radford, 1999: 147-149).
The second word class category is a verb. A verb usually refers to activities (e.g. run, walk, study, build, snore, etc). Verb as a word class also has a large number of forms (Radford, 1999: 147). The variation forms of verb here depend on the action that held in the sentence itself. For example, the verb see will have variation form
saw, seen. The variation here is caused by the differences of the tense that is used. The other example is the word walk and walks. The variation forms on the word walk
here depend on the subject on the sentence itself.
nice are the examples of adjective which have the function as the modifier properties of the noun. Like noun and verbs, adjective as a word class also has variation form. The variation of adjective occurs when adjective is used to show degree of comparative and superlative (Radford, 1999: 148). For example, the word fast will have variation faster (degree of comparative) and fastest (degree of superlative).
The next category is an adverb. Just like an adjective, an adverb also typically modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. An adverb is usually used to indicate how, when, or why something happened (Radford, 1999: 148). In sentence He make very big house, the word very modifies the word house as an adjective and explains how the size of the house. While in sentence Johnny will play football tomorrow, the word tomorrow is used as an adverb to indicate when the action happens. An adverb can also be formed by adding suffix {-ly} on the adjective. The examples of adverbs that are formed by adding the suffix {-ly} are happily, loudly, quickly, etc (Radford, 1999: 149).
The last word class category is a preposition. A preposition typically serves to relate objects, people, or events in space or time, though often the relationship is more abstract. The examples of preposition are under, above, on, in, about, at, and so on.
2. Theory of Morpheme
“smallest” here means that morpheme cannot be separated further. (O’ Graddy, 2010: 117).
In English, there are two kinds of morpheme, these are: free morpheme and
bound morpheme. Free morpheme is defined as a morpheme that can stand alone and has certain lexical meaning. For example in words: tree, door, book, and glass. While
bound morpheme is defined as a morpheme which cannot occur in an isolation (cannot stand independently) and must be attached to certain free morpheme in order to create lexical meaning (1989: 14). The examples of bound morpheme are affixes
(prefixes, suffixes, and infixes). When we have word trees, the word trees consist of free morpheme (tree) + bound morpheme (-s). The function of bound morpheme -s in the word trees is a plural former of noun tree. The detail about morpheme can be seen in the diagram of morpheme’s classification below:
MORPHEME
FREE BOUND
INDEPENDENT AFFIXES BOUND CONTRACTED
BASES BASES FORMS
PREFIXES SUFFIXES
3. Theory of Word-Formation
A word formation is a morphological process of creating a new word. There are several kinds of word formation in terms of morphology. Some linguists also call this term as word-manufacturing. Bodgan Szymanek explains about several kinds of word formation. Compounding, affixation, reduplication, clipping, blending, and acronymization are kinds of word formation.
A compound is combining two or more free morphemes such as blackboard
from black + board. The new word usually has different meaning from its component; blackboard has different meaning from black and board. Affixation is the process of combination between bound morpheme (inflectional and derivational) and free morpheme (root or stem). The process of affixation is divided into three main kinds, these are: prefixation, suffixation, and infixation. Reduplication is kind of morphological process in which it involves reiteration of the whole base elements or just a part of it. This process is also called as repetition. Clipping is a morphological process whereby the polysyllabic is shortened. The example, when we have words
acronymization. An acronymization is a morphological process of creating a new word from the initial or part of several words such as NASA and radar.
4. Theory of Derivational Process
Derivation process in English can be defined as creating the major lexical categories (noun, verb, adjective) from any other (Spencer: 41). Suffix, as a kind of affixes, also has two major types. The types of suffixes are inflectional and derivational. Inflectional suffix is a bound morpheme which is attached to the free morpheme and does not change the lexical category and meaning of thee stem. The derivational may change the lexical category and meaning of the stem.
Suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment} are the example of derivational suffix. Derivational suffix is a bound morpheme that can create a word with a meaning and/ or category distinct from the base of word or stem (O’Graddy, 2010: 122). Besides that, derivational suffix also may change the lexical category of the stem and the new word after attached by the derivational suffix. When we have word establishment, there is a change of the lexical category. The stem of the word establishment is
establish which is as verb. After the word establish is attached with suffix {-ment}, the new word created would be establishment (noun).
5. Theory of Noun Categories
broadly tangible, while abstract noun is a noun which broadly immaterial (Quirk et al., 1980: 60).
There are other two noun categories; these are countable noun and uncountable noun. The main difference between countable and uncountable noun can be seen in term of using quantifier. There are several quantifiers in English word such as little, some, many, each, and so on. In a book entitled Understanding and Using English Grammar, Azar explains deeply about uncountable and countable nouns. For example, quantifiers a little and much can only be used for uncountable noun while
many, each, and several can only be used for countable noun. Azar also gives more examples about common nouns which are usually used for uncountable noun such as solids (stone, wood, brick), fluids (oil, water, syrup), gases (oxygen, helium, nitrogen), languages (French, English, Dutch), general activities (studying, lecture, discussion),
6. Theory of Verb Categories
crying here is an example of intransitive/intensive verb because the verb does not need any object. While in the sentence They have many idea on that problem, the word have here is a transitive/extensive verb because need an object following the verb itself.
Quirk et al also state that there are two other categories on verb. The first category is finite while the second one is non-finite. Randolph Quirk writes:
“A finite verb is a verb that shows the tense, mood, aspect, and voice, while nonfinite verb is a verb which does not show the tense, mood, aspect, and voice” (Quirk et al., 1980: 17)
Based on statement above, we can see that the significant differences between a finite verb and non-finite verb lay on the tenses, mood, aspect, and voice. Tenses here means the verb is influenced by the action on the sentence itself, so the sentence should pay the attention based on the right tenses (i.e.: verb-ing, verb-ed, verb-s, or perfect verb). Finite verb is also influenced by the mood or related the condition on the sentence itself such as necessity or possibility. In this term, the use of modal (will, shall, may, can, etc) also belong to finite verb.
7. Theory of Word Meaning
A word, as a basic unit of the language, plays important role toward the development of any linguistic field. Rochelle Lieber defined a word as a sequence of one or more morphemes that can stand alone in a language (Lieber, 2009: 12). Meaning to say, a word is a fundamental element in the term of the use of language.
In the book entitled An Introduction to English Morphology Words and Their Structure, Carstairs states that:
”a word is not just a building-block of sentences: it is a building-block with a meaning that is unpredictable or at least sufficiently unpredictable that learners of English, and even sometimes native speakers, may need to consult a dictionary in order to discover it.” (Carstairs: 2002: 5)
From the statement above, we can see that the word always has its own meaning when it is used in certain sentence or any linguistic term.
Consulting the dictionary can be a way to find out the meaning of the certain words but we just can find the meaning of a word as a single unit. Actually, there are three main types of the word’s meaning. The three types of the word’s meaning are:
8. Theory of Phonetic Features
Victoria Fromkin et. al. defines a phoneme as the smallest unit of language that distinct the meaning of words. A phoneme may create the different words and also will produce the different meaning. For example in words bill and pill, they have different meaning because they consist of different phonemes. The word bill consists of phonemes /b/, /I/, /l/. While in the word pill consists of phonemes /p/, /I/, /l/. From the example above we can see that phoneme /b/ and /p/ are the distinctive sounds or phonemes that distinct between the word bill and pill.
Traditionally, the sound in languages is divided into two general classes. The first class is a consonant while the second category is a vowel.
Consonant is still divided into two sub-classes based on places of articulation and manner of articulation. Places of articulation is a category of consonant based on where the vocal tract the airflow restrictions occurs. The features that include based on the places of articulation are bilabial, labiodental, interdental, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal. Bilabial is a feature when we articulate by bringing both lips together (e. g: /p/, /b/, /m/). Labiodental is a feature when we articulate the sound by touching the bottom lip to the upper teeth (e. g: /f/, /v/). Interdental is a feature when we articulate the sound by inserting the tongue between the upper and lower teeth (e.
g: /ɵ/, /ð/). Alveolar is a feature when we articulate the sound by raising the front part
feature when we articulate the sound by raising the front part of the tongue to the
point on the hard palate behind the alveolar ridge (e. g: /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/). Velar is a
feature when we articulate the sound by raising the back of the tongue to the soft
palate or velum (e. g: /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/). Glottal is a feature when we articulate the sound
with the airstream passes through the open glottis (e. g: /h/). These are the consonant features which are included in the places of articulation. While for manner of articulation, there are nine features of consonant: voiced and voiceless, nasals and
orals, stops, fricatives, affricates, laterals, and glides. A voiced is a feature when we articulate a sound the vocal cords are together and let the air force its way through so it causes to vibrate (e. g: /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/). While a voiceless is a feature when we articulate a sound the vocal cords are apart and the airstream is pushed from lung so it passes freely (e. g: /p/, /t/, /k/, /s/). Nasal sound is a feature when we articulate a sound the air escapes from mouth and nose because the velum is down (e. g: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/). An oral sound is a feature when we articulate a sound the air escapes only from mouth because the velum is up (e. g: /p/, /t/). A stop sound is a feature when we articulate a sound, the sound is stopped completely in the oral cavity for a brief period
(e. g: /p/, /m/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/). A fricative is when the passage in the mouth
through which the air must pass is very narrow so it causes a friction or turbulence (e.
g: /s/, /z/, /f/, /v/, /ɵ/, /ð/,/ʃ/, /ʒ/). While an affricative is a feature when the sounds are
produced by a stop closure followed immediately by a slow release of the closure
articulate a sound the front part of the tongue makes contact with the alveolar ridge, but the sides of the tongue are down, permitting the air to escape laterally over the sides of the tongue (e. g: /l/). A glide is sometimes called a semivowel because the blade of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate in a position almost identical to that in pronouncing the vowel sounds. The examples of glide are /j/, /w/, /r/, and /h/ (Fromkin et al., 2003: 244 – 250).
For the clearer categorization of the English consonant features, Fromkin et. al. also provide the table of phonetic features below:
Bilabial Labio- dental
Inter- dental
Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal Stop
Table 1. Phonetic Features for Consonants
The second general class of sound is a vowel. Vowel also has six features which are based on the position of the tongue. The six features of the vowel are high, mid, low, front, central, back, rounded, and tense vowels. A high vowel is produced by raising the body of the tongue from its normal position. A mid vowel is produced by raising the tongue to a position midway between the high and low vowels. A low vowel is produced by lowering the body of the tongue below its neutral position. Front vowels are produced by raising the front (but not the tip) of the tongue. A central vowel is produced when the tongue is neither strictly high nor low, front nor back. A back vowel is produced by retracting the body of the tongue below its neutral position. A rounded vowel is produced when the lips are rounded. A tense vowels is produced by with considerable tongue muscular effort such as long vowels and diphthongs, which is a sequence of two vowels (Fromkin et al.,2003: 252 - 254).
The categorization of vowel features could be seen in the figure of phonetic features for vowel below:
/i:/ /ɪ/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /ɑ:/ /ɑ/ /ɒ/ /ɔ:/ /ʊ/ /u:/ /e/ /ʒ:/ /ə/
High + + - - - + + - - -
Mid - - - + - - + + - - + + -
Low - - + - + + - - - -
Back - - - - + + + + + + - - -
Central - - - + - - - +
Rounded - - - + + + + - - -
Tenses + - - - + - - + - + - + -
Table 2. Phonetic Features for Vowel
9. Theory of Borrowed Words
Borrowing words is a group of English word which originally does not from English language itself. Many of English words are borrowed from other languages such as French, Greek, Latin, and also Germanic. The reason why English borrow words from other languages is because people need to develop words for new concepts, new technology, new plants or animal (Radford, 1999: 255). For example, the word pizza comes from Italian. English borrows the word pizza because pizza is original food from Italy and it has been introduced to general country. As the result, English adopt the new word pizza in order to explain about the new food from other country (Italy).
Another reason of borrowing words from other languages is because the people want to high the prestige on the languages itself. If certain cultures are associated with particular prestigious activities, it is common for the words associated with that activity to come from the language of that culture (Radford, 1999: 255). It means that sometimes the importance of borrowing words from other languages has the purpose to build the prestigious words related with certain prestigious activity too.
C. Theoretical Framework
word-formation, theory of derivational process, theory of noun categories, theory of verb categories, theory of word meaning, theory of phonetic features, theory of borrowed words.
Each of the theories above has their own function in this study. The theory of morpheme is the basic theory to find out the form of the stem each complex word in the data, so we can know the basic form before the word is attached by the suffix
{-age} or the suffix {-ment}. The theory of lexical categories can be very useful because by using this theory, we can decide the lexical category from the complex words in the data. This study uses the theory of noun categories and theory of verb categories to analyze deeper about the characteristic of the stem from the complex words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment}. And then, the theory of phonetic features are very useful to dig out the characteristic of the stem from the phonological point of view. This theory also will be very useful to know the changing of the phonological term before and after the suffixation..
While the theory of word-formation, theory derivational processes, theory of word meaning, and theory of borrowed words will have their important contribution to examine the meaning of the complex words which are attached by the suffix
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study are the stem words and complex words attached by suffixes {-age} or {-ment} as a bound morpheme. The data are collected from the certain source in order to limit the scope of analysis. This study use Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary as a primary data source. The reason of choosing it as a source is because Merriam-Webster Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary is reliable dictionary for academic purposes, especially for linguistic needs. In addition, hopefully the readers will be more familiar with data that are used in this study because this dictionary contains thousands of English words.
B. Method of the Study
1. Data Collection
In the section of data collection, this study started with the choice of a certain dictionary as the main source of the primary data. As we know, this study used
Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary as a main source of the data. The next step was collecting all words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or words are attached by the suffix {-ment} that can be found in Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. The data collection on this study used random sampling method because not all alphabet initial in Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary have the words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or {-ment}. Random sampling method here means that in taking of sample as the data of the study, the qualification is just based on the suffixation of the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment}. It means that although not all alphabetical order in
Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary have the words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment}, the result of the words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or by the suffix {-ment} would be the sample in analysis. Later, all the words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment} will be called as the primary data on this study.
2. Data Analysis
Basically, the data analysis on this thesis was divided into three main sections. Each section also consists of several steps in order to analyze deeply. This thesis will analyze the data systematically and based on the sections order in order to prove the analysis clearly.
In the first section, the first step is collecting the complex words which are attached by suffix {–age} and words which are attached by suffix {-ment}. The collection of the words attached by those two suffixes here covered all the words included in the object of the study. The next step is categorizing all the words collected based on the group of lexical categories such as: noun, verb, adjective and adverb. The purpose of classification based on the lexical categories here is to make easier in the observation of the data based on the certain characteristic.
was used to examine the special characteristics of the stem words which can be attached by the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment}. The last step on this section is searching of etymology from the stem. The analysis of the stem words’ etymology will also be needed to see about the characteristics of the words that can be attached by the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} in term of words’ origin.
In order to answer problem formulation number one, this study will focus on the two sections above especially in the second section. It is very useful because we can dig out about the characteristic the word that can be attached by the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment}. The characteristic here could be seen based on the phonetic transcription, parts of speech of the word, and also from the etymology of the stem words.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter will provide the result of the data collection and the analysis in
order to answer the problems which are formulated in the sub-chapter problem
formulation in the chapter one. At the end of the data collection, we have about
fifty-five words which are attached by the suffix {-age} and ninety-five words which are
attached by the suffix {-ment}. All those word are collected from the
Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary as the main data source of the
object of the study. Totally, there are one hundred and fifty words are collected as
shown on the table below:
No Suffix Stem Occurrences Percentage
1. {-age} Noun 28 18,67 %
Verb 25 16,67 %
Adjective 0 0 %
Adverb 2 1,33 %
2. {-ment} Noun 0 0%
Verb 95 63,33 %
Adjective 0 0%
Adverb 0 0%
Total 150 100 %
As we know, the data collection uses random sampling method. It means that
on the taking of data sample, we do not use any specific proportion in term of
quantity such as in each lexical category. The data collection here is just collecting all
the words which are attached by the suffix {-age} or by the suffix {-ment} from the
whole content of Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. Then,
we found the lexical categories of the stem which does not have any words which are
attached by the suffix {-age} or the suffix {-ment}. For example, we have just verb as
the stem words of the complex words attached by the suffix {-ment} while the other
categories (noun, adjective, adverb) are null. The other example is the stem words on
the suffix {-age}. Only adjective as the lexical category which does not have any
words stem of the complex words that is attached by the suffix {-age}.
At first step, the important point is deciding the stem words from each
complex words attached by the suffix {-age} or by the suffix {-ment} and the
categorizing the lexical category of each stem. But in the result of data collection,
there are some stem words which have more than one lexical category. But this study
will only employ one lexical category from each stem words. For example in the
word orphanage we have orphan as the stem. After consulting to the same dictionary,
the word orphan here has two lexical categories as a noun and as a verb. The word
orphan as the noun here means ‘a child whose parents are dead’ while the word
orphan as a verb means ‘to cause a child to become an orphan’. There are several
the word orphanage. The first consideration is applying the function of the suffix {
-age} here with the meaning of the stem word and complex word. Suffix {-age} can
give the new meaning as a place of action result. It will strange when we used the
word orphan as a verb to be the stem of the word orphanage because the meaning
will be ‘a place to make a child to be an orphan’. So, the word orphan as a noun is
more suitable because the meaning will be ‘a place for children whose the parents are
died’.
The second consideration to determine the lexical category of the stem which
has more than one lexical category is deciding which one more commonly occurs for
the suffix. For example when we have the word employment, the stem word will have
a noun and a verb as a lexical category. Considering that almost the stem words of
suffix {-ment} which is commonly used is a verb, so the most suitable stem for suffix
{-ment} is a verb because the main function of suffix {-ment} is a noun former.
In addition, there are other consideration to include which word that should be
included in the data or not, even though they also have {-age} or {-ment} in the final
position of the word. For example, the word message is not included as the data
because the word message is not the result of word-formation in term of suffixation.
Actually in English we have word mess, but the word mess is not the stem of the
word message because there is not similar concept in meaning between the word mess
{-age} but it has been borrowed in form of complex word. The other examples which
are out of the data are appendage, barrage, envisage, environment, and document.
Generally, this chapter will be divided into three main sub-chapters because
this study also has three main problems that need to be achieved. The first
sub-chapter is about the analysis of stem word from the complex words which are
attached by the suffix {-age} or the complex words attached by the suffix {-ment}.
The aim of the first sub-chapter is to dig out about the characteristics of the stem
words from each suffix (suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment}). While the second
sub-chapter is the function of the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} when they are
attached to certain word as a stem. The functions here could be grammatically and
semantically. And for the last sub-chapter is the analysis about the differences
between suffix {-age} and suffix {-ment}. This part basically will compare the
differences in terms of characteristic, function, and meaning.
A. Lexical Category of the Stem Attach to the Suffixes.
1. The Stem attached by the Suffix {-age}
From the whole content of Merriam-Webster Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
as the main object of the study, there are fifty five complex words which are attached
by the suffix {-age}. All those fifty five words would be the primary data of this
Stem Occurrences Percentage
Noun 28 50,91 %
Verb 25 45, 45 %
Adjective 0 0 %
Adverb 2 3,64 %
TOTAL 55 100 %
Table 4. Stem of the Suffix {-age}
From the table above, we can see that the use of suffix {-age} is quite less
productive. Szymanek on his book entitled Introduction to Morphological Analysis
states that suffix {-age} is a derivational suffix that is very weakly productive
(Szymanek, 1989: 151). For the sake of deeper analysis and discussion about the
characteristic of the stem which are attached by the suffix {-age}, here we are going
to analyze based on the certain lexical category of the stem.
a. Noun Stem of the Suffix {-age}
There are twenty eight occurrences of the noun stem of the suffix {-age} in
this study. The first discussion about the noun stem will focus on the etymology of
the stem. When we discuss about etymology, we will relate the word with the origin
of the word itself.
Most of the noun stem derived from Latin words. There are twenty one words
Acre Acreage Lever Leverage
Coin Coinage Mile Mileage
Front Frontage Parent Parentage
There are other origin of the noun stems which are attached by the suffix
{-age}. The other borrowed stem comes from Greek language such as cord
cordage, hermit hermitage, orphan orphanage. Based on the primary data on
this study, there are only those three stem words which are derived from Greek. On
this study it is found that there are also two native nouns derived from Old English
that can be a stem for the suffix {-age} such as in the word band bandage and
foot footage. At last, there is also one noun stem word which is derived from Old
Norway language like on the word bag baggage. In addition, there is the noun
stem of the suffix {-age} which is taken from the name of the people who invented
the word itself. The example is in the word volt voltage. The word volt here is
taken from the name Alessandro Volta who invented the measuring unit of electric
force. From the etymological point of view, we can see that most of the noun stem for
the suffix {-age} are the borrowing from other language because there are only two
words stem which are native English language.
The next discussion about the noun stem of the suffix {-age} concern about
the noun classification. From the theoretical review, there are two main classes of
noun. Those two classes are concrete noun and abstract noun (Quirk et al., 1980: 60).
the noun stem words. For the concrete noun, we have sixteen (16) stem, such as bag
baggage, band bandage, coin coinage, foot footage, orphan
orphanage, person personage, and vicar vicarage. Those are the examples of
the complex words which have the concrete nouns as the stem. Concrete here has the
meaning that the noun is tangible or able to be seen, felt, or touched. While for the
second class of noun, here we also have the stem word which is abstract noun. The
examples of the complex words which have an abstract noun as the stem are
ampere amperage, acre acreage, hermit hermitage, mile mileage, percent
percentage, volt voltage, watt wattage, and yard yardage. Abstract noun
here means that the nouns broadly immaterial or cannot be seen and touched.
The other noun categories are countable and non-countable noun. From the
data of the complex words which are attached by suffix {-age}, this study found that
all the noun stems are countable noun. The determinations of the countable or
non-countable noun are based on conducting the same dictionary as the data sources
(Merriam-Webster Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). Some examples of the countable
nouns which are attached by suffix {-age} are acre, bag, coin, foot, line, orphan,
parent, person, vicar, and yard. From the analysis about the quantity above, we can
conclude that all the noun stem of the complex words which are attached by the suffix
{-age} is countable noun.
In addition, there are also some noun stem of the complex word which is the
something. The examples of the noun stem which can be used as the measuring units
are ampere, acre, foot, volt, watt, yard, and pound. The words ampere, volt, and watt
are usually used as electricity measuring unit. While the words foot and yard are
usually used as metric measuring unit.
b. Verb Stem of the Suffix {-age}
Based on the data result of this study, there are twenty five (25) occurrences
of the verb stem from the complex words which are attached by the suffix {-age}.
The first discussion is an analysisof the etymology of the stem. There are eleven (11)
words of the verb stem which are originally borrowed from Latin. Those examples of
the verb stem comes from Latin are:
Assemble Assemblage Lug Luggage Post Postage
Break Breakage Marry Marriage Store Storage
Carry Carriage Misuse Misusage Use Usage
Cover Coverage Miscarry Miscarriage Waste Wastage
Besides, there are also some stem words which are borrowed from Greek
language such as anchor anchorage, cleave cleavage, slip slippage, spill
spillage, stop stoppage, and stow stowage. While for the native language, there
are three stem words originally from Old English such as leak leakage, wreck
In addition, there are also some words that are borrowed from other
languages. such as on the word block blockage, pack package, shrink
shrinkage (from Middle Dutch language), broker brokerage (from French), link
linkage (from Norway), From the data about etymological analysis above, we can
conclude that most of verbs of the suffix {-age} are originally borrowed from Latin.
It is also supported by Szymanek statement that the suffix {-age} itself originally
comes from Latin, so the frequency of Latinate stem words will occur more than
native language (Szymanek, 1989: 151).
The next analysis on verb stem of the suffix {-age} will be discussed from the
phonological point of view. The data collections on this study also cover on the
phonetic transcription both of the complex words and the stem words of the suffix
{-age}. Not only the phonetic transcription, but this study will also try to analyze the
stress shift between the stem words and the complex words of the suffix {-age}. The
aim of this phonological analysis is to examine whether there is some phonological
change before and after the stem words attached by the suffix {-age}.
Generally, the form of phonetic transcription on the final position of the
complex words is in the same form. The phonetic transcription from the suffix {-age}
is / ɪdʒ /. This study found that there is a phonological change between the stem
words and the complex words. The phonological change here concerns with the
vowel change before and after the addition of the suffix {-age}. This study notices
the / ɪ /. Based on English phonology, a vowel / i / has its features [+High] [+Front]
[+Tense], while a vowel / ɪ / has its feature [+High] [+Front] [-Tense]. It can be
concluded that there is a changing of the [+Tense] to be [-Tense] when it occurs in
the final position of the stem words of the suffix {-age}. The examples of this
phonological phenomenon in this study are carry carriage , marry marriage,
and miscarry miscarriage. The stem words carry, marry, and miscarry have a
vowel / i / in final position of the phonetic transcription. The vowel / i / will change
into / ɪ / after the suffix {-age} is attached to the stem.
Table 5. The vowel change in the suffixation {-age}
The other phonological analysis on the stem words of the suffix {-age} is
about the stress shift. A stress shift is a phonological process when the stress pattern
change or has different position after the word is added by the inflectional or
derivational suffixes. In English phonetic transcription, stress pattern is symbolized
with an apostrophe ( ‘ ) before the stressed syllable of the word.
Based on the analysis of the data of the suffix {-age}, this study does not find
-age}. This phenomenon can be examined by analyzing the phonetic transcription of
the stem words and the complex words. For example when we have the word block
blockage ( / ‘blɑ:k / / ‘blɑ:kɪdʒ/ ), the stress position has no change. The other
example is when we have the word anchor anchorage ( / ‘æŋkə(r) / /
‘æŋkərɪdʒ / ). From the second example, we can see that even though the stem has
more than one syllable (poly-syllabic), the stress pattern of the complex word also has
no changing. We can conclude that in the suffixation {-age}, there is not any stress
shift process even the stem is mono-syllabic or poly-syllabic.
After we have analyzed the verb stem of the suffix {-age}, the next step is an
analysis on the verb stem from the verb categories point of view. As Quirk et. al.
states on his book entitled A University Grammar of English, there are two verb
categories. Those two categories are transitive and intransitive verb. From the twenty
six verb stem words on the data, most of the verbs are transitive verb. There are
twenty three (23) stem verbs which need any object in their usage on the sentence
application. Some examples of the complex words of the suffix {-age} that have the
transitive verb stems are:
Assemble Assemblage Marry Marriage shrink Shrinkage
Break Breakage Post Postage Store Storage
From the examples above, we can see that most of the verb stems are
transitive verb. In addition, the characteristic of the transitive verb that can be a stem
for the suffix {-age} derived from Latin, Greek, and French. For example, when we
have word eat, it cannot be attached by the suffix age because the word eat is derived
from Germanic language. It can be seen that the stem from Germanic language
cannot be attached by the suffix from Latin.
However, based on the data analysis about verb stem of the complex word
which is attached by the suffix {-age} found in Merriam-Webster Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary, there are also exceptions in the use of intransitive verb as the
stem. There are three (3) complex words which have intransitive verb as their stem.
Those three complex words are leak leakage, miscarry miscarriage, and slip
slippage. This exception is okay as far the meaning of the suffix {-age} refers to ‘the
act of X-ing’.
From the discussion about the analysis of verb stem based on the verb
category, we can see that most of the verb stem of the suffix {-age} are transitive
verb. However, sometimes intransitive verb also can be a stem of the suffix {-age} as
far they can produce new meaning ‘the act of X-ing’. The other characteristic is that
sometimes transitive can also be a stem for the suffix {-age} as far the stem is not
c. Adverb Stem of the Suffix {-age}
Based on the data collection, this study only has two stem words which are
categorized as an adverb. Those two examples of the complex words that have an
adverb as the stem are out outage and over overage. From the phenomenon
above, we can see that sometimes suffix {-age} can be attached to the adverb as far
they refer to another meaning of the suffix {-age} ‘ a situation of X’. We can see on
the word overage. The word overage has the stem over which is an adverb. The
lexical meaning of the word over as an adverb is ‘more than expected or stated
amount or number’, while the lexical meaning of overage is ‘an amount by which
something is too much’. We can see the change of the meaning between the adverb
stem and complex word which is attached by the suffix {-age}. The new meaning of
the complex word will refer to the ‘situation or condition of X’. In addition, when we
see based on etymological point of view, those two data of the adverb stem are
originally borrowed from Greek language.
2. The Stem attached by the Suffix {-ment}
At the end of the data collection, there are ninety five words which are
attached by the suffix {-ment} found in Merriam-Webster Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary. The first analysis about the characteristics of the stem attached by the
data occurrences of the stem attached by the suffix {-ment} can be seen on the table
below:
Stem Occurrences Percentage
Noun 0 0 %
Verb 95 100 %
Adjective 0 0 %
Adverb 0 0 %
TOTAL 95 100 %
Table 6. Stem of the Suffix {-ment}
From the table above, we can see that the data of the complex words which
are attached by the suffix {-ment} is more than the occurrences of the complex words
which are attached by the suffix {-age}. It can be seen on the proportion or
percentage of the occurrences based on each lexical category. If in the data
occurrences of suffix {-age} we can find three occurrences categories based on the
lexical categories, the data occurrences of suffix {-ment} has only one lexical
category. All the stem of the complex words which are attached by the suffix {-ment}
is a verb. Meaning to say, 100 % stem of suffix {-ment} which occurs in
Merriam-Webster Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is a verb.
a. Verb Stem of the Suffix {-ment}
The first discussion about the verb stem of the suffix {-ment] is the analysis
of the stems are borrowed from Latin. There are about fifty two (52) complex words
which the stems are from Latin. Some examples of the complex words which the
stems are derived from Latin are:
Achieve Achievement Defer Deferment Judge Judgement
Agree Agreement Employ Employment Pay Payment
Bombard Bombardment Improve Improvement Treat Treatment
There are also some words which are borrowed from French. This study
found twenty nine stems which are borrowed from French such as in the words advise
advisement, arrange arrangement, detach detachment, equip equipment,
and refresh refreshment. There are nine stems of the suffix {-ment} derived from
native Old English also occurs in this study such as ail ailment, amaze
amazement, endear endearment, fulfill fulfillment, and settle settlement.
While for Greek, there are only four stems which are originally borrowed from this
language. Those four words are govern government, measure measurement,
place placement, and replace replacement. From the etymological
determination above, we can see that most of the stems are derived from Latin
because the suffix {-ment) itself also originally derived from Latin from word –
mentum which means action result / product (Partridge, 1966: 3943)
The next analysis on the verb stem of the suffix {-ment} is about the verb
category. Based on the data of the verb stem, most of the verb stems are transitive
object. From ninety five verb stems of the suffix {-ment} found in
Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary, there are ninety one verb stem
which are transitive verb. It is about 95,7 % from all the data covered of the verb stem
for the suffix {-ment}. Some examples the transitive verb stems are:
Adjust Adjustment Discern Discernment Install Installment
Announce Announcement Employ Employment Pay Payment
Attach Attachment Enhance Enhancement Settle Settlement
Confine Confinement Judge Judgment Treat Treatment
From the example above, the word adjust, announce, attach, confine, discern,
employ, enhance, judge, install, pay, settle, and treat are transitive verb. The process
of determination in order to know whether they are transitive or intransitive verb was
done by conducting on the same dictionary (Merriam- Webster Advanced Learner’s
English Dictionary). While for intransitive verb, there are only four words such as in
the word agree agreement, argue argument, disagree disagreement, and
retire retirement. The word agree, argue, disagree, and retire are intransitive verb
but they can be stem for the suffix {-ment} as long as the result of the complex word
will have the meaning “result of act X, process of action X, or condition of X’.
From the discussion about the verb class above, we can conclude that most of
the verb stem for the suffix {-ment} are transitive verb which means that when the
stem stands alone without any suffix in a sentence, it needs any object to give the
B. The Analysis of the Meaning of the Suffix {-age} and the Suffix {-ment}
This part is the next discussion about the meaning of the suffix {-age} and the
suffix {-ment}. The aim of this part is to examine the function of those two suffixes
related to the meaning when those suffixes are attached to the certain word. The
analysis on the meaning of the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} is very important
in order to answer the second problem formulation about the meaning of the suffix
{-age} and the suffix {-ment}.
Probably, we will find more than one meaning from each suffix because the
lexical category of the stem will also influence the meaning. However, this study will
analyze the meaning of the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment} step by step based on
the lexical category of the stem. In addition, as O’Graddy states in his book entitled
Contemporary Linguistic: An Introduction, the suffix {-age} and the suffix {-ment}
are derivational suffix. It means that when they are attached to certain word, they will
create both the new meaning and or the lexical category (O’Graddy, 2010: 122).
Besides, there is also another possibility of the problem we will find
concerning the data about the meaning both on the complex word’s meaning and the
stem’s meaning. As the data result, this study found that there are several complex
words (which are attached by the suffix {-age} or by the suffix {-ment}) that have
more than one meaning. For example, in the word hermitage we have two meaning.
house/place that is away from other houses’ (Webster, 2008: 773). From this case,
this study will only take the first meaning of the word hermitage. The word hermit
itself as the stem has the meaning “aperson who lives in a simple way usually apart
from others for religious reason”. By considering the relationship of the concept in
the lexical meaning, we can see that the first meaning of hermitage is the most
suitable to be analyzed in concerning the development of the meaning. So, this study
will only take the meaning which has the similar concept of meaning to the stem.
This case will also applicable when we have the stem which has more than one
meaning while the complex word only has one meaning. The consideration will be
the same with the case on the word hermitage. The most suitable on the stem’s
meaning will be chosen as the base meaning before the stem attached by the suffix.
1. The Meaning of the Suffix {-age}
a. Meaning of the Suffix {-age} found in the Literary Theory
As the derivational affixes, the suffix {-age} also has the certain function
related to the meaning development. Based on the previous theories from the linguist,
the suffix {-age} has several general meaning. Eric Partridge in his book entitled
Origin: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, states that the suffix
{-age} has the general meaning as ‘a place of action or abode’ and ‘act or process’.
The other linguist, Rochelle Lieber, in the book Morphology and Lexical
and ‘condition of being’. If we compare between Lieber’s theory and Partridge’s
theory about the meaning of the suffix {-age}, we can see that Lieber add one general
meaning ‘condition of being’ (Lieber, 2004: 148).
From the appendices of the Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English
Dictionary, this dictionary also states that the meaning of the suffix {-age} are
‘action’, ‘condition’, and ‘place of’ (Merriam-Webster, 2008: 1959).
Actually, there are other theories from the linguists about the meaning for the
suffix {-age}. But overall, the general meanings found are: 1). Action or process, 2).
A place, 3). Collectives, and 4). Condition of being. The next discussion is the
analysis on meaning found in the data source (Merriam-Webster’s Advanced
Learner’s English Dictionary). The purpose of this analysis is to examine whether the
literary meanings of the suffix {-age} are similar with the findings in this study or
not, or maybe there is some objection or addition in term of meaning development.
b. Meaning Found in the Data (taken from Merriam-Webster’s Advanced
Learner’s English Dictionary)
At the end of the data result about the meaning of the suffix {-age} which is
found in the Merriam Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary, this study
found that there are several meanings which can be produced by attaching the suffix
order to make the analysis easier. The review on the variations of the meaning suffix
{-age} found in the primary source can be seen on the table below:
Meaning Freq. % Examples
1). A place of / an abode of X, 5 8,92% orphanage, hermitage
2). A total measure unit of X 9 16,08% amperage, voltage
3). A system of X / a system which
use X
4 7,14% sewerage, signage
4). The collective form of 10 17,85% baggage, luggage
5). The act of X-ing 12 21,44% coverage, shrinkage
6). The state of being X / the condition
of being X,
9 16,08% blockage, stopage
7). The cost or charge of the specific
action X
2 3,57% carriage, postage
8). Something that X 5 8,92% reportage, linkage
Total 56 100%
Table 7. The Meaning of the Suffix {-age}
The table above shows us about the review of the meaning found in the
Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner Dictionary as the primary source of the data in
