A WORDS AND ITS STRUCTURE
7.1 Meaning and structure
 As explained in chapter 2, words may have
predictable meaning according to their
components and how the structure of complex
word forms.
 Words are listed as lexical item have meaning
that is entirely different from one might expect.
 This chapter will elaborate about how ---- and
about circumtances under which meaning and
structure appear to diverge.
 In some words, structure is straightforward.
For example, HELPFUL (derived from the
noun base help by means of the adjective-
forming suffix -ful).
 Help + ful
(N) (Adj. Forming Suffix)
 Helpful is actual form of Helpful and *-ful-
help is ill form. The distinction of the both
form will be discussed in section 7.2.
 In section 7.3 and 7.4 we will discuss about
affixed words and compounds that have more
than two components, such as unhelpfulness
and car insurance premium.
 The last section, section 7.5 will discuss about
compund word that has two interpretation like
French history teacher ('French teacher of
history' and 'teacher of Freach History)
7.2 Affixes as heads
 Chapter 5 showed how suffixes heavily
outnumber prefixes and in Chapter 6 we saw
that most compunds are headed, with the head
on the right (right-headed). Superficially these
two facts are unconnected
 'Greenhouse' (n) means house for plants. The
head of the word is 'house' (n) determines the
compound's syntactic status (as noun).
 'Teacher' (n) means someone who teachs. The
head of the word is '-er' (n). '-er' is the derived
word teacher: it determines that teacher is
someone who Xs.
 In helpful, the affix -ful is what determines
that the whole word is an adjective, and so
counts as it head.
 In *-ful-help violates English expectation not
just because the affix is on the wrong side, but
also because the rightmost element is not the
head.
 We may expect that prefixed words should be
as rare in English as left-headed compounds
(such as attorney general)
 Although prefix fewer than suffix, prefix
include some that are very common occurance,
such as un- (not) and re- (again).
 The relationship between helpful and
unhelpful:
helpful Help + ful (suffix -ful changes
noun Help into adjective 
Helpful
unhelpful Un + helpful (prefix un- doesn't
change adjective helpful, it just
changes the meaning  unhelpful
(not helpful)
 Un- is not restricted to adjectives. Un- also
pefixed remain verbs and adjective.
Verbs Un+ tie  untie
Un + fasten  unfasten
Un + dasp  undasp
Nouns Un + ease  unease
Un+rest  unrest
 Un- is not the head of these words. The head
of these words is the base to which un- is
attached and which is the righthand element.
 Similiar arguments apply to re- : rearrange,
repaint, and re-educate. (verbs). It is also right-
headed.
 The only prefixes that are unequiovocally
heads are those that change wordclass, such as
de- in delouse (deriving verbs from noun) and
en- in enfeeble and enslave (deriving noun
from adjective)
 It is not numerous left-headed derived words
and left-headed compunds.
7.3 More elaborate word forms: multiple affixation
 Many derived word contain more than one
affix. Examples are unhelpfulness and
helplessness.
 It is entirely flat when they each consist of
merely a string of affixes plus a root, no
portions of the string being grouped together
as a substring or smaller constituent within the
word.
 The consequence of that analysis is that it
would complicate considerably what needs to
be said about behaviour of suffixess -ful dan -
less. However, if the nouns unhelpfulness and
helplessness are flat structured, we mus also
allow -ful dan -less to appear in such a string,
because (for example) the imaginary nouns
*sadlessness and *meanlessningness, though
they contain -less are nevertheless not words,
and (one feels) could never be words.
 The flat-structure approach misses a crucial
observation: Unhelpfulness with suffix -ful
only by virtue of the fact that it containts the
adjective helpful. Likewise helplessness with -
less by virtue of the fact that it containts
helpless.
 -ful and -less need to have special provision
when they appear inside of complex word
rahter than as their rightmost element.
 Unhelpfulness and Helplessness can be seen as
built up from the root help:
a. Successive Processes of Affixation
1) helpN + -ful  helpfulN
un- + helpful  unhelpfulN
 unhelpful + -ness 
unhelpfulnessN
2) helpN + -less  helplessA  Some complex words contain elements about
helpless + -ness  helplessnessN which one may reasonably argue whether they
b. Tree Diagram are complex or not. In reflection is clearly
3) divisible into a base reflect and a suffix-ion.
N Then it's confusing, is it reflect consist of one
or two morpheme.
A
 Any complex word form consisting of free
A root and affixes turns out to be readily
analysable in the simple fashion illustarted
N here, with binary brancing and with either the
affix as a head.
V  Another salient point is that more than one
4) node in a tree diagram may carry the same
un help ful ness wordclass labe. It has considerable
N
implications for the size of the class of all
apossible words in English. Any candidate for
longest sentence status can be lengthened by
A embedding it in a context such as Sharon says
that ___.
N  Given that we can find noun inside nouns,
verbs inside verbs, and so on, it is hardly
V surprising that the vocabulary of english, or of
N-A-V are nodes to indicate the any individual speaker, is not a closed, finite
help
wordclass of the string. less ness list.
c. Labbeled Bracketing
[[un-[[helpv]N-ful]A]A-ness]N
[[[helpV]N - less]A-ness]N

 Every node has no more than two branches

sprouting downwards. This reflect the fact that,
in English, derivational processes operate by
adding no more than one affix to a base.
 In some languages, where material may be
added simultaneously at both ends,
constructing what is sometimes called
circumfix.
 Circumfix in English may be a plaussible
candidate is the en-...-en combination that
forms enliven and embolden from live and
bold, but also en- and -en each appears on its
own two; enfeeble and redden.
 An alternative analysis as a combination of
prefix and suffix seems preferable.
 The single branch connecting V to N in help. It
is conversion with no affix.
 Another tree diagram incorporating adverbial
(Adv) node and also ilustrating noth affixial
and non-affixial head, each italicied element
being the head of the constituent dominated by
the node immediately above it.
Adv V
A V

A V
V N
un assert ive ly re de class ify