Noun Derivation: definition and types

Bolanle Elizabeth Arokoyo

Morphology Lecture Series IX

We continue our discussion on Derivational Morphemes by looking at the derivation of nouns in this lecture.

Noun derivation is a process whereby nouns are derived from nouns or from another part of speech.

This process is also known as nominalization.

A noun is a lexical category that can serve as the head of the noun phrase; it is one of the categories that can be created using derivational affixes.

Nouns could be created from verbs, adjectives, and from other nouns.

This means that nouns that are created fall into the group of deverbal nouns, deadjectival nouns or denominal nouns. These will be examined now.

1. Deverbal Nouns

Deverbal nouns are nouns derived from verbs.

These derived nouns have different meaning components which include agent noun (a noun that refers to the instigator of the action), patient noun (a noun derived from a verb that refers to the recipient of the action), action noun (a noun that refers to the action itself), instrumental noun (a noun that refers to the instrument by which an action is carried out), etc.

In Yoruba for example, nouns are derived from verbs as illustrated in the patient noun derived from verbs in (1):

1. Verb Noun

a.   fẹ́ ‘to love’ i-fẹ̀ ‘love’

b. gọ̀ ‘foolish’ a-gọ̀ ‘fool’

c. kú ‘to die’ i-kú ‘death’

d. sẹ ‘to sin’ ẹ-sẹ ‘sin’

In Yoruba language, all oral vowels except /u/ can combine with appropriate verbs to form nouns.

In Hausa, nouns can also be derived from verbs, adjectives and also from other nouns. For example the prefix má- is affixed to verbs as illustrated in (2) to derive agent nouns:

2. Verb Noun

a. dùbí ‘look’ má-dùbí ‘mirror’

b. kàràntá ‘read’ má-kàràntá ‘school’

c. hàrbé ‘shoot’ má-hàrbé ‘hunter’

d. káryá ‘lie’ má-káryá ‘liar’

 The suffix –er in English derives agent nouns from verbs. Consider the following examples.

 3. Verb Noun

a.   sing sing-er

b.   paint paint-er

c.   drive driv-er

d.  smoke smok-er

The suffix –er, also derives instrumental nouns from verbs as indicated in (4).

 4. Verb Noun

a. cook cook-er

b. page pag-er

c. draw draw-er

d. grate grat-er

e. dig digg-er

 In Igbo, instrumental nouns are also derived from verbs, the prefix m- along with its allomorphs is attached to verbs.

The same process applies to Katu (Vietnam) where the infix -an- derives nouns from verbs. These are exemplified in (5 & 6).

 Igbo

5. Verb Noun

a. kpà ‘press’ m̀-kpa ‘scissors’

b. vọ́ ‘scratch’ m̀-vọ́ ‘comb’

c. kwò ‘grate’ m̀-kpa ‘grater’

d. ché ‘preserve’ ǹ-che ‘preservative’

e. gwú ‘dig’ ǹ-gwú ‘digger’

Iloene (2010 p190, 193)

Katu (Vietnam)

6.Verb Noun

a. gap ‘to cut’ ganap ‘scissors

b. juut ‘to rub’ januut ‘cloth’

c. piih ‘to sweep’ paniih ‘broom’

Merrifield et. al. (2003)

The suffix –wa is affixed to verbs to derive action nouns in Hausa. For example:

7.Verb Noun

a. zó ‘come’ zúwà ‘coming’

b. zúbár ‘throw’ zúbár-wá ‘throwing’

c. búdè ‘open’ búdè-wá ‘opening’

d. míikè ‘stretch’ míike-wá ‘stretching’

In Modern Hebrew, action nouns are also formed from verbs with a modification of the vowel in the second syllable of the base.

8. Verb Noun

a. diber ‘speak’ dibur ‘talk’

b. kibec ‘gather’ kibuc ‘gathering’

c. liked ‘unite’ likud    ‘union’

d. tixnet ‘program’ tixnut         ‘programming’

Haspelmath & Sims (2010, p. 120)

The modification at the base shows the internal change of the front vowel [e] to the back vowel [u]. It is a case of ablaut.

The suffixes –simo and –ma in Modern Greek derives action nouns from verbs.

9. Verb Noun

a. đjavázo ‘I read’ đjávasma ‘reading’

b. kóvo ‘I cut’ kópsimo ‘cutting’

c. lúzo ‘I bathe’ lúsimo ‘bathing’

d. mangóno ‘I squeeze’ mángoma ‘squeezing’

e. pjáno ‘I seize’ pjásimo ‘seizing’

f. skodáfto ‘I stumble’ skóndama ‘stumbling’

g. tinázo ‘I shake’ tínaɣma ‘shaking’

h. tréxo ‘I run’ tréksimo ‘running’

Haspelmath & Sims (2010, p. 133)

 

In the derivation of nouns from verbs in the data above, some morphophonological rules have applied, hence the alternations in the stem.

The suffixes-age, ion, -ance, -ure, etc. when affixed to verbs will derive different types of nouns in English.

10.Verb Noun

a. marry marri-age

b. carry carri-age

c. connect connect-ion

d. collect collect-ion

e. accept accept-ance

f. assist assist-ance

i. fail fail-ure

j. please pleas-ure

 

2. Deadjectival Nouns

Deadjectival nouns are derived from adjectives with the use of derivational affixes.

Quality nouns and person nouns are some types of deadjectival nouns attested in languages.

A quality noun refers to an abstract noun for a value while a person noun refers to a noun that refers to persons only.

Quality nouns are illustrated in English and Russian in (11) and (12). The addition of the suffixes –ness, -cy, -ty, -dom, -ity, etc. derives quality nouns. For example:

11. Adjective Noun

a.   kind kind-ness

b. good good-ness

c. accurate accura-cy

d. private priva-cy

e. safe safe-ty

f. royal royal-ty

g. wise wis-dom

h. free free-dom

i.   able abil-ity

j.   active activ-ity

In Russian the suffix –stvo combines with adjectives to form nouns as indicated in the examples in (12) taken from Švedova (1980, p. 179):

12. Adjective Noun

a.   bogatyj ‘rich’ bogat-stvo ‘richness’

b. znakomyj ‘acquainted’ znakom-stvo ‘acquaintance’

c. udaloj ‘bold’ udal’-stvo ‘boldness’

d. lukavyj ‘wily’ lukav-stvo ‘cunning’

The data in (13) taken from Sridhar (1990, p. 270, 276) also indicate the derivation of quality nouns in Kannada.

13. Adjective Noun

a. khacita ‘certain’ khacitate ‘certainty’

b. bhadra ‘safe’ bhadrate ‘safety’

c. ghana ‘weighty’ ghanate ‘dignity’

The suffix –te is the quality noun suffix that is attached to the adjectives to derive nouns. Russian derives person nouns from adjectives.

For example umn-ik ‘clever guy’ is derived from umn-yj ‘smart, clever’. In most languages, the noun is highly opened to being derived from adjectives.

3. Denominal Nouns

Denominal nouns are nouns that are derived from other nouns through the use of denominal affixes.

The different types of nouns include diminutive noun (a noun indicating decrease in relation to the base noun), augmentative noun (a noun that indicates increase in relation to the base noun), status noun (a noun that indicates the status or state of being), inhabitant noun (a noun indicating places of habitation), female noun (feminine nouns derived from other nouns), etc.

In forming diminutive nouns in Spanish, diminutive suffixes like –illo or –illa or –ita are added to the noun.

14. Noun Noun

a. mesa ‘table’ mesilla ‘little table’

b. grupo ‘group’ grupillo ‘little group’

English forms dimunitive nouns with the addition of suffixes –let and –lock, -ing, -ette, etc. to some nouns.

15. Noun Noun

a. pig pig-let

b. play play-let

c. leaf leaf-let

d. hill hill-ock

e. goose gosling

f. duck duckling

g. sac sachet

h. cigar cigarette

i. lock locket

The prefixes micro- and mini- also form dimunitive nouns providing words like micro-biology, micro-economics, mini-campus, mini-cab, etc. Kujamaat Jóola, an Atlantic language, forms dimunitive nouns with the prefix class marker ji- (class 10) for singular nouns and mu- (class 11) for plural nouns. The mu- class marker is also used to mark mass nouns with ji- as the dimunitive marker.

16. Noun Noun

a. -sɛk ‘woman’ ji–sɛk ‘small woman’

b. -bə:r ‘wood’ ji- bə:r ‘small tree’

c. -ko ‘head’ ji-ko ‘small head’

d. -ɲil ‘child’ ji-ɲil ‘small child’

17. Noun Noun

a. mu-mɛl ‘water’ ji-mɛl ‘a little bit of water’

b. mi:l ‘milk’ ji-mi:l ‘a little bit of milk’

c. mu-sis ‘salt’ ji-sis ‘a little bit of salt’

d. mu-sana(y) ‘news’ ji-sanay ‘a little bit of news’

Kujamaat Jóola also has diminutive collective which refers to ‘a little collection of’ or ‘a little bunch of’.

The dimunitive collective prefix ba- (class 13) in the language can attach to virtually all nouns in the language.

18. Noun Noun

a. ɛkikit ‘seed’ ba-kikit       ‘small bunch of seeds’

b. fujaŋata ‘peanut’ ba- jaŋata    ‘small bunch of peanuts’

Augmentative nouns are formed in Kujamaat Jóola with the affixation of either fu- (class 5) that forms the singular augmentative or ku- (class 6) forming argmentative plurals.

The addition of these prefixes to other nouns will derive augmentative nouns.

19. Noun Noun

a. -ɲil ‘child’ fu-ɲil ‘large child’

b. -ko ‘head’ fu-ko ‘large head’

c. -mang ‘mango’ fu-mang ‘large mango’

d. -burə ‘duck’ fu-burə ‘large duck’

20. Noun Noun

a. -ɲil ‘child’ ku-ɲil ‘large children’

b. -ko ‘head’ ku-ko ‘large heads’

c. -mang ‘mango’ ku-mang ‘large mangoes’

d. -burə ‘duck’ ku-burə ‘large ducks’

The Kujamaat Jóola examples are taken from Aronoff and Fudeman (2011, p. 61-65). English also makes very good use of prefixes in the derivation of nouns too.

Most English prefixes derive new words but do not change the class of the word to which they are attached.

They are attached to either verbs or verb phrases to derive nouns. anti-, ex, ante-, inter-, pre-, tri, semi-, bi-, di-, poly-, a-, non-, re-, con-, etc. are some prefixes attested in English used in the derivation of nouns.

Each of these prefixes has particular type of bases to which they can be attached. The prefix anti- is attached to nouns to derive nouns. For example:

21. Noun Noun

a. establishment anti-establishment

b. depressant anti-depressant

c. social anti-social

d. body anti-body

The prefix ex- – is another prefix in English that is attached to nouns to also derive status nouns. For example:

22. Noun Noun

a. president ex-president

b. wife ex-wife

c. governor ex-governor

d. lecturer ex-lecturer

The prefixes ba- and mai- in Hausa are attached to nouns to further derive status nouns as illustrated in (23).

23. Noun Noun

a. túrè ‘foreign land’ bà-túrè ‘foreigner’

b. fádà ‘court’ bà-fádà ‘courtier’

c. dòyá ‘yam’ mai-dòyá ‘yam seller’

d. rúwà ‘water’ mai-rúwà ‘water seller’

Suprafixes also help in noun derivation in many languages. Depending on the type that is attested in the language, when used they can derive nouns.

Female nouns are derived from deverbal agentive nouns in Russian with the addition of the suffix –ja. The data in (24) is taken from Svedova (1980, p. 203).

24. Noun Noun

a. govorun govorun-ja ‘talker’

b. begun begun-ja ‘runner’

c. pljasun pljasun-ja ‘dancer’

d. igun igun-ja ‘liars’

 German also has a female noun suffix –in that combines with nouns to derive female nouns as exemplified in (25).

 25. Noun Noun

a. könig ‘king’ könig-in ‘queen’

b. löw ‘lion’ löw-in ‘lioness’

c. käfer ‘beetle’ käfer-in ‘female beetle’

d. würm ‘worm’ würm-in ‘female worm’

 In Yoruba, the following segment igba could be realized as about five different nouns depending on the tone on each segment.

 26.

a. igbá ‘calabash’

b. igba ‘two hundred’

c. ìgbá ‘garden egg’

d. ìgbà ‘time’

e. igbà ‘season’

 The different nouns are derived as a result of the different tonal realizations. Consider this data from Ebira, a Kwa language spoken in Nigeria.

27.

a. òhì ‘answer’

b. òhí ‘leader’

c. ohí ‘whistle’

d. ohi ‘broom’

The distinctions in the tonal realizations of the words also led to the derivation of different words in Ebira.

There are very many other derivational meanings of nouns in different languages that are not explained here.

There are languages that have affixes for deriving cognate nouns, vendor nouns, kinds of meat, kinds of chemicals, kinds of diseases, etc.

Exercises

1. Describe how nouns are derived.

2. Discuss the derivational functions of affixes.

3. Consider the following data from Kannada. Determine the meaning of the suffixes.

khacita ‘certain’ khacitate ‘certainty’

bhadra ‘safe’ bhadrate ‘safety’

ghana ‘weighty’ ghanate ‘dignity’

(Sridhar 1990, p270, 278)

NB

a. Most of the examples which are supposed to be on the same line have broken due to the margin configuration of the website. I hope to be able to find a way around this problem sooner than later.

b. In the next lecture, we will examine Verb Derivation.

c. Excerpts are taken from Arokoyo (2013 2017 & 2018).

References

Arokoyo, Bolanle Elizabeth. (2013). Owé Linguistics: an Introduction. Ilorin: Chridamel Publishing House. https://bit.ly/36uYAFw

Arokoyo, Bolanle Elizabeth. (2017). Unlocking morphology. Ilorin: Chridamel Publishing House.

Arokoyo, Bolanle Elizabeth. (2018). Owé Linguistics: an Introduction (2nd Ed.) Aba: NINLAN.

Aronoff, Mark and Kirsten Fudeman. (2011). What is morphology? Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.

Haspelmath, Martins and Andrew Sims (2010). Understanding morphology. London: Hodder Education.

Iloene, Modesta. (2010). Igbo Morphology. In Yusuf, Ore (ed.). Basic linguistics for Nigerian languages. Ijebu-Ode: Shebiotimo Publications. 188-201.

Merrield, R. William, Naish, Constance M., Rensch Calvin R. & Gillian Story. (2003) (7th Edition).  Laboratory manual for morphology and syntax. SIL International: Dallas, Texas.

Sridhar, S. N.  (1990). Kannada. (Descriptive grammars series). London: Routledge.

Švedova, N. Ju. (ed.) (1980). Russkaja grammatika. Tom 1. Moscow: Nauka.