The Suffix -ation in English

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of the suffix -ation in English, based on data from the OED. The suffix forms deverbal nouns. Its origin can be traced back to Latin, but French had an important part in it, too. For the analysis, nouns in -ation and their corresponding verbs were retrieved from the OED. The purpose of the analysis was to characterize the position of -ation in the mental lexicon of current speakers of English and to assess the role of the word formation rule in the history of the formation of nouns in -ation. For the analysis, Marchand’s classification of nouns in -ation is used, which distinguishes nouns with verbs ending in -ify, -ize, -ate, and other verbs. This classification is combined with the information about first attestation dates provided by the OED. Cases where more than one verb can underlie a particular noun are studied in detail. Particular attention is paid to the issue of backformation, i.e. cases where the noun has been attested earlier than the verb. In the interpretation of these cases, the perspective of individual speakers is highlighted.