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    -ling
    quickinfo

    -(e)ling [(ə)lɪŋ] is a Germanic, stress-neutral, unproductive, non-cohering suffix that creates nouns of common gender denoting persons or things from bases of various categories. Being of common gender, -(e)ling derivations take the definite article de. Plural is usually in -en.

    Schema:
    [[X](e)ling](N)

    Meaning:
    • person or thing somehow related to the base

    Table 1
    derivation in (e)ling base
    dorpeling villager < dorp .N village
    zuigeling infant < zuigen .V to suck
    fanatiekeling fanatic < fanatiek .A fanatic
    Bruggeling someone from Bruges < Brugge (Geographical name) Bruges
    krakeling type of cookie, cracknel < kraken .V to crack
    tweeling twin < twee (cardinal number) two
    Note that there is also a suffix -eling found in a few relational adjectives such as mondeling oral (< mond mouth).

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    [+]Morphosyntactic properties

    The Germanic suffix -(e)ling [(ə)lɪŋ] is found in nouns of common gender (taking the definite singular article de) that denote persons, animals, plants or things, derived from either nouns (hoveling courtier < hof court, nesteling nestling, hunting bird taken from the nest < nest nest), verbs (vluchteling refugee < vluchten to flee, krakeling type of cookie, cracknel < kraken to crack) or adjectives (stommeling nincompoop< stom stupid, dumb, vroegeling animal born in spring < vroeg early). The base can be simplex or complex (e.g. vertrouweling confidant < ver-trouwen to trust, mislukkeling loser < mis-lukken to fail, schipbreukeling shipwrecked person < schipbreuk ship fracture shipwreck); the only complex bases that are derived by means of suffixation are adjectival, e.g. naïeveling naive < naïef naive. There are also -ling derivations on the basis of cardinal numbers, e.g. drieling triplets.

    extra

    There are two -eling formations on the basis of place names, to wit Bruggeling someone from Bruges (< Brugge Bruges) and Ieperling someone from Ypres (< Ieper Ypres).

    Formations with -(e)ling should not be confused with -ing derivations of verbs in l such as mededeling announcement (< mededelen to announce), cf. verwarming heating, heater (< verwarmen to heat).

    Two types of derived adjectival stems are quite common in -eling derivations, viz. those in -ief (e.g. naïeveling naive < naïef naive) and -iek (e.g. fanatiekeling fanatic < fanatiek fanatic).

    Booij (2002:169) mentions -ling as one of a number of affixes that "derive historically from lexemes". Etymologiebank, however, notes that -ling is generally assumed to be related historically to the suffix -ing, either by reanalysis of -ing derivations of stems ending in /l/, or as a combination of the (nowadays all but obsolete) diminutivesuffix -el and -ing.

    There is also a suffix -eling found in a few relational adjectives such as mondeling oral (< mond mouth) that originates as an adverbInstituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie (1995). Most parallel derivations have acquired an adverbial -s, e.g. ruggelings backward(s) (also used as an adjective) and tappelings flowing.

    [+]Semantic properties

    The meaning of -ling formations is diverse, but usually relational having to do with base word. Important subcategories are:

    • '(male) inhabitant of stem noun', e.g. dorpeling villager, hoveling courtier < hof court, Bruggeling someone from Bruges.
    • '(male) person having, affecting or affected by the meaning of the input noun', e.g. vernufteling engineer < vernuft ingenuity, opstandeling rebel < opstand revolution and schipbreukeling castaway < schipbreuk shipwreck, respectively.
    • 'agent noun, subject of base verb', e.g. leerling pupil, beginneling starter, vluchteling refugee.
    • 'patient noun, someone affected by the base verb', e.g. banneling exile, huurling mercenary, verschoppeling outcast
    • 'someone possessing the property denoted by the base adjective', e.g. fanatiekeling fanatic, nieuweling novicevreemdeling stranger.
    • a few object names: krakeling type of cookie, cracknel, mengeling mixture, zilverling type of coin, type of fish
    • names of plants and animals, such as takkeling young bird < tak branch, hokkeling one year calf < hok shed, rapeling fallen fruit picked up < rapen to pick up, aangroeieling small potato < aangroeien to grow, vroegeling young animal born in spring < vroeg early.
    • forms such as tweeling twin < twee 2 and drieling triplet < drie 3 denoting multiple births.

    extra

    Note eenling singleton, maverick, loner. Pippeling pippin, apple and teerling die, cube may look like -ling derivations, but they are not (cf. Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie (1995)).

    In Belgium one finds pluralia tantum of deverbal -ing formations with a Result reading such as schavelingen shavings and zagelingen saw dust.

    [+]Phonological properties

    The suffix -(e)ling /(ə)lɪŋ/ is a non-cohering suffix (Booij 2002: 169): it is a prosodic word and it allows for gapping: twee- en drielingen twins and triplets(Booij 2002: 171); it does not change the stress pattern of the stem it attaches to. The stem of the base may not end in a vowel (*judo-eling (< judo judo) or in the sequence full vowel plus /l/(De Haas and Trommelen 1993: 183-187). Being a prosodic word, -(e)ling carries secondary stress (Booij 2002:31).

    extra

    In a number of -(e)ling derivations we find stem allomorphy, e.g. stedeling townsman < stad city, schepeling sailor < schip ship, vondeling foundling < vinden to find, drenkeling drowning person < verdrinken to drown. Stem reduction in balling exile < banneling exile < (ver)bannen to ban, to put in exile. Ouderling elder < oud old may be a case of stem allomorphy, or an exceptional comparative base (cf. English elder).

    A possible argument against the non-cohering character of the suffix is that syllabification apparently does not respect the morphological boundary: vondeling vond-eling [von-də-lɪŋ] foundling; if, however, e is taken as a linking morpheme, this argument disappears. Note that halfling [hɑlf.lɪŋ] hobbit (a coinage by the translator or a calque) shows devoicing, so the syllabification is /hɑlv.lɪŋ/ underlyingly and not /*hɑl.vlɪŋ/ as one would expect with a cohering suffix, given the Maximal Onset Principle.

    Gapping is not acceptable for all speaker if the base is not a cardinal (*vlucht- en fanatiekelingen refugees and fanatics, but the unacceptability may be pragmatic in nature), but dorpe- en stedelingen village- and townspeople) is not uncommon.

    The word wel'lusteling lecher (< 'wellust lust) is the only case of an -(e)ling derivation with a stress pattern that is different from that of its base (Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie 1995).

    [+]Inflectional properties

    Plurals of -ling formations are in –en, e.g. dorpelingen villagers, zuigelingen infantsBruggelingen people from Bruges, tweelingen twins, drenkelingen drowning people.

    [+]Morphological potential

    It is easy to form diminutive forms of -ling formations, the suffix takes the form -etje or -kje depending on the prosodic structure of the word: nakomelingetje descendant-DIM, ballinkje exile-DIM.

    extra

    De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 281) note that derivations with the short variant -ling often take the diminutive suffix -etje rather than the expected -kje (leerlingetje pupil-DIMhuurlingetje mercenary-DIMtweeling twin-DIM.

    -ling formations can also be input to abstract noun formation with -schap (e.g. nakomelingschap offspring < nakomeling descendant, ballingschap banishment < balling exile). For -ling formations denoting persons, the female form can be construed by means of the suffix -e (e.g. vreemdelinge female stranger, zendelinge female missionaryleerlinge female pupil); De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 232) note that de-adjectival -ling formations accept this -e less easily than denominal and deverbal ones.

    References
    • Booij, Geert2002The morphology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
    • Booij, Geert2002The morphology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
    • Booij, Geert2002The morphology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
    • Booij, Geert2002The morphology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie1995Het Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (WNT)
    • Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie1995Het Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (WNT)
    • Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie1995Het Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (WNT)
    About this article
    Author(s): Ton van der Wouden
    Category: Dutch Morphology
    Keywords: derivationnounsuffixation
    Version: 1.0, December 2015
    Version history:
    version editor(s) date remarks
    1.0 Ton van der Wouden December 2015
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