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2009-02-20T12:54:22Z

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'''Productivity''' is a term which mainly applies to [[word formation]] processes. If a process is fully regular and actively used in the creation of new words, one regards this process as being productive. Productive word formation is opposed to unproductive word formation.

===Examples===
The English suffix -''ness'' can be attached to any adjective even if there is a more conventionally acceptable alternative (''sterileness'' next to ''sterility''). We say that -''ness'' is a productive suffix. We can contrast this with the suffix -''th'' which performs the same role, but only for a handful of words (sometimes accompanied by other idiosyncratic changes): ''warmth, strength, health''. The suffix -''th'' is unproductive. Linguists differ in the way productivity is treated. Many linguists (e.g. Aronoff 1976) take the position that linguistic theory must account for differences in productivity, while others (e.g. DiSciullo & Williams 1987) assume that productivity is a matter of performance, and must be explained elsewhere.

=== Links ===

[http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Productivity&lemmacode=442 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]

=== References ===

* Aronoff, M. 1976. ''Word Formation in Generative Grammar,'' MIT-press, Cambridge, Mass.
* Di Sciullo, A. M. and E. Williams 1987. ''On the Definition of Word,'' MIT-press, Cambridge, Mass.
* Schultink, H. 1962. ''De morfologische valentie van het ongelede adjectief,'' proefschrift Leiden; ongewijzigde herdruk uitgegeven door HES Publishers, Utrecht 1980.
* Schultink, H. 1961. ''Produktiviteit als morfologisch fenomeen,'' Forum der Letteren 2, pp. 110-125
* Spencer, A. 1991. ''Morphological Theory,'' Blackwell, Oxford.

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[[Category:Morphology]]

Productivity - Revision history

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