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    -iteit
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    -iteit ( /itɛɪt/) is a cohering stress-bearing non-native suffix found in nouns of common gender derived from non-native adjectives (absurditeit absurdity < absurd absurd) or roots (capaciteit capacity) and occasionally from native adjectives (e.g. flauwi'teit silliness (< flauw faint, silly, weak)). Many -iteit derivations correspond with French formations with the suffix -(i)té. The semantics is usually rather abstract: the property of A. There is also a small, closed, class of nouns in -iteit with a more concrete meaning administrative area (e.g. admiraliteit admirality). The plural form, if applicable, is in -en (capaciteiten capacities, admiraliteiten admiralities).

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    -iteit ( /itɛɪt/) is a non-native suffix found in nouns of common gender, selecting the singular definite article de, often with a counterpart in French.

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    Van der Sijs (2010) observes that French words in -té are usually realized in Dutch with the analogous suffix -iteit. The oldest loans, however, such as faculteit faculty, have a different form (without i) that suggests a route via a Northern-French dialect; majesteitmajesty and sociëteitsociety, club may have yet other histories. Puberteitpuberty is a recent loan from French in which -té corresponds with -teit rather than -iteit (< Fr. puberté < Lat. pubertas).

    De Haas and Trommelen (1993:261-62) distinguish two types of -iteit derivations, the productive one based on non-native adjectives yielding abstract nouns, and an unproductive one yielding nouns denoting some kind of adminstrative area like admiraliteit admirality.
    • The suffix combines productively with non-Germanic simplex or complex adjectives: absurditeit absurdity, frivoliteit frivolity, enormiteit enormity, conformiteit conformity, continuïteit continuity, studentikoziteit (< studentikoos studenty). There is quite some allomorphy, etc. (De Haas and Trommelen 1993:261-62) which can often be explained from analogy with French:
      • if -iteit is attached to a stem ending in /k/, /k/ changes into /s/ (written as c): artisticiteit artisticity < artistiek artistic, excentriciteit excentricity < excentriek excentric. The only exception is antiquiteit /ɑntiki'tɛɪt, ɑntikwi'tɛɪt/ antiquity with an unexpected spelling and a pronounciation variant that is probably a case of spelling pronounciation.
      • the suffixes -air and -ain change into -aar and -aan, respectively, when -iteit is attached (a case of learned vowel backing): solidariteit solidaritity < solidair solidary, mondaniteit sophistication < mondain mundane; correspondingly, the suffix -eel becomes -aal before -iteit: criminaliteit criminalitity < crimineel criminal. The only exception is fideliteit fidelity < fideel jolly where *fidaliteit would have been expected. The same learned vowel backing occurs if -iteit is attached to derivations in -eus or -eur: these change into -os and -or, respectively: curiositeit curiosity < curieus curious, superioriteit superioritity < superieur superior; exceptional are pompeuziteit pomposity and nerveuziteit nervosity (next to nervositeit nervosity).
      • if an adjective ends in -ier, this will change into -aar when -iteit is attached: particulariteit particularity < particulier private.
      • in adjectives with the suffixes -abel and -ibel, schwa becomes /i:/: variabiliteit variability < variabel variable, plausibiliteit plausibility < plausibel plausible.
      • prevocalic schwa-deletion occurs when the base adjective ends in schwa: rigiditeit rigidity < rigide rigid, and also in integriteit integrity < integer of integrity.
      There are a few -iteit formations on the basis of simplex Germanic adjectives: stommiteit stupidity, flauwiteit silliness. Booij (2002: 95) notes that such coinings can also be used to create a jocular or a pejorative effect. rivaliteit rivalry (rivaal rival) is the only clear case of a nominal basis, but that might be a loan from French (rivalité) as well.
      extra

      De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 262) call it noteworthy that -iteit rarely combines with native stems, but it fits the generalization (cf. (Booij 2002: 95)) that native affixes easily combine with native and non-native bases, whereas non-native affixes usually are restricted to non-native bases.

      Festiviteit festivity has no corresponding adjective. If it is derived from the noun feest then there is change of vowel quality ( /e:/ > /ɛ/) and (analogical?) insertion of -iv; according to Van der Sijs (2010) it is a loan from French (festivitéfestivity) going backt to Latin festivitasfestivity, revelry.

      De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 262) mention gemeniteit meanness, shabby trick as the only case of a prefixed adjective as base (gemeen common, mean), but that word is rarely found outside dictionaries.

      rariteit curiosity is an old loan (Fr. raritérarity) that may have undergone a semantic development parallel to, and in analogy with, the cognate adjective raar strange.

      Booij (2002: 100-1) notes that when a complex word contains both non-native and native suffixes, the order of these suffixes is always such that the non-native suffix precedes the native suffix, as non-native suffixes only attach to non-native stems. In general, it is the suffix that determines the subcategory to which a word belongs. Hence, if the last suffix of a complex word is [-native], the whole word will be [-native]. It will assumed therefore that this feature is percolated from the suffix to the dominating node of the complex word. When the last suffix is [+native], the whole word will then be [+native], and hence will not be available for non-native suffixation. The important theoretical implication of this account is that we do not need the mechanism of level ordering (with the level of non-native affixation ordered before that of native affixation) for morphological purposes.

      This account can also handle so-called morphological bracketing paradoxes. For instance, the noun ongrammaticaliteit ungrammaticality has been derived from the adjective ongrammaticaal ungrammatical, and this adjective in turn has been derived from grammaticaal grammatical. That is, native affixation has preceded non-native affixation in this case. This is a problem in a theory of level ordering in which all non-native morphology is ordered before all native morphology. In the feature percolation approach outlined above, however, there is no problem: the adjective ongrammaticaal remains [-native] because the prefix on- is not category-determining, and hence does not make the word ongrammaticaal a native word. Therefore, it is still possible to attach the [-native] suffix -iteit to this complex adjective.

    • There are a few nouns in -iteit that denote some kind of administrative area, e.g. admiraliteit navy office. The process is unproductive.

    The suffix -iteit bears stress (Smessaert 2013: 164): integriteit [ɪn.te.γri.'tɛɪt] integrity (< integer [ɪn.'te.γər] integer). As the transcription shows, syllabification does not respect the morphological structure, that is, the suffix is cohering. The plural form of -iteit formations, if applicable, is in -en (capaciteiten capacities). -iteit formations easily enter into compound formation. The Dutch spoken Corpus (CGN) contains, among others, the following cases involving capaciteit: verbrandingscapaciteit incineration capacityziekenhuiscapaciteit hospital capacity, capaciteitentest ability test, capaciteitsopbouw capacity building. Note the linking morphemes (-en- and -s-, respectively) in the last examples.

    References
    • 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
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Sijs, Nicoline van der2010Etymologiebank, http://etymologiebank.nl/
    • Sijs, Nicoline van der2010Etymologiebank, http://etymologiebank.nl/
    • Smessaert, Hans2013Basisbegrippen morfologieBasisbegrippen taalkundeLeuven/Den HaagACCO
    About this article
    Author(s): Ton van der Wouden
    Category: Dutch Morphology
    Keywords: nounsuffixderivationnon-native
    Version: 1.0, December 2015
    Version history:
    version editor(s) date remarks
    1.0 Ton van der Wouden December 2015
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