"AFFIXATION – THE NATIVE AFFIXES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; THE USE OF PRODUCTIVE AND NON-PRODUCTIVE AFFIXES."

Affixation is a central process in English word formation, involving the attachment of prefixes, suffixes, and infixes to root words to create new lexical items. This study focuses on the native (i.e., historically English) affixes, examining their role in vocabulary expansion and grammatical derivation. Particular attention is given to the distinction between productive and non-productive affixes. Productive affixes, such as -ness and un-, remain widely used in contemporary English, enabling speakers and writers to coin new words freely. In contrast, non-productive affixes, like -th in length or -hood in priesthood, appear primarily in established words and rarely generate new forms. Through analysis of historical and contemporary corpora, the research highlights patterns of usage, frequency, and semantic contribution of native affixes. Findings suggest that understanding the productivity of affixes is crucial for linguistic competence, vocabulary acquisition, and effective communication in English. The study also discusses pedagogical implications, emphasizing the importance of teaching productive affixes to enhance learners’ ability to recognize, interpret, and create complex words.