Leiden University Student Repository

Kersten, Karianne (2024)

Between -ity and -ness: A Diachronic Study of Suffix Competition in Late Modern English

Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

This thesis examines the competition between the nominal suffixes -ity and -ness in Late Modern English (LModE) from 1710 to 1920. By replicating the methodology of Rodríguez-Puente et al. (2022), the study measures the diachronic productivity of both suffixes across different registers using corpus linguistic methods. The study utilises the Corpus of Late Modern English Texts (CLMET) and the Old Bailey Corpus (OBC) to calculate the proportion of -ity types out of all -ity and -ness types. The results indicate a stabilisation of -ity type proportions during the LModE period and show significant register effects on the diversity of suffix use. The findings suggest that the situational and linguistic contexts of different registers play a crucial role in shaping the competition and productivity of suffixes. This study further highlights the dynamic interplay of linguistic and sociolinguistic factors.

suffix competition

Late Modern English

-ity

-ness

morphological productivity

register variation

statistical analysis

Author

Kersten, Karianne

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Philology

Supervisors

Gordon, M.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en