Word-formation and the registers of language

Abstract

This article examines the stylistic value of derivational suffixes forming nouns denoting agents of actions, processes, and states. The study is based on the assumption that if a certain type of texts shows a preference for a given suffix while another clearly avoids it, this can be used to draw conclusions about the suffix’s stylistic value. To this end, all nouns belonging to this class of derivatives attested in the National Corpus of Polish were collected, and the text types (as defined by the corpus designers) in which they occurred were identified. The data were then subjected to correspondence analysis, which made it possible to identify both similarities and differences between styles in terms of their preferences for particular suffixes. In Dimension 1, which explains 57% of the variance, press texts are contrasted with academic and so-called miscellaneous written texts. The suffixes -owicz, -owiec, and -acz are particularly characteristic of press texts, while -ent, -or, -ator, -ik, -nik, and -owy are located at the opposite pole. The second dimension contrasts fiction with non-fiction. The former is characterized by -ątko, -uła, -isko, -uch, -uś, -ieniec, -arz, -aniec, and -ca. Finally, the third dimension contrasts colloquial language, represented by suffixes such as -alski, -ała, -aka, and -el, with written texts.