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-isme

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-isme ( /ɪsmə/) is a stress-bearing non-native productive cohering suffix found in nouns of neuter gender based on words and bound forms of foreign origin. Most nouns in -isme typically denote names of ideologies, movements, etc., e.g. modernisme modernism and calvinism calvinism; usually there is a corresponding noun in -ist denoting supporter of the ideology, movement, etc.. There are smaller groups of derivations with -isme with a different type of semantics, such as being N, e.g. snobisme snobbism, being a snob, pathological condition, e.g. priapisme priapism, with a subgroup addiction, e.g. alcoholisme alcoholism, language peculiarity, e.g. archaïsme archaism, and construction, e.g. mechanism mechanism (cf. also Affixes.org). There is also an unproductive variant -asme that correlates with personal nouns or adjectives in -ast, and creates abstract nouns of neuter gender, e.g. enthousiasme enthusiasm, as well as a few names of rhetorical tropes such as pleonasme pleonasm. Various forms in -isme (and in -asme) are loans.

Semantics
Phonological properties
Morphological potential

[+]Semantics

De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 263-4) distinguish two groups of formations with -isme: the type movement, ideology and the type other (cf. also Affixes.org). This division can be further refined along the following lines:

the largest group of -isme formations refer to systems, principles, practices, doctrines, or ideological movements. Cases in point are modernisme modernism, calvinism calvinism, Boedhisme buddhism, pessimisme pessimism, purisme purism. As the translations of the examples show, most -isme formations have a cognate correspondent in English; many of these formations may be loans from English or another neighboring language.
the group other can be subdivided as follows:
- being a person: snobisme snobism, analfabetisme analphabetism, vandalisme vandalism. There usually is a corresponding noun, but it is not formed with -ist: snob snob, analfabeet illiterate, vandaal vandal.
  
  extra
  
  Analogical forms such as vandalist and snobist are attested; the first one is explicitly disapproved of by Taaluniversium, the second one is not in the dictionaries.
- a pathological condition, e.g. strabisme strabismus, heterotropia, cross-eyedness, botulisme botulism, botuline poisoning (cf. Wikipedia) and priapisme priapism. A subgroup involves the (excessive) use of, or addiction to, certain substances, e.g. alcoholisme alcoholism and morfinisme morphinism.
  
  extra
  
  Corresponding -ist formations are mostly restricted to the latter subgroup (although priapist is attested as well); these refer to addicts, such as alcoholist alcoholic and morfinist morphine addict.
- a peculiarity in language, e.g. syllogisme syllogism, vocalisme vocalism, syncretisme syncretism; an important subset denotes peculiarities of certain groups, e.g. germanisme Germanism, gallicisme gallicism and barbarisme barbarism.
  
  extra
  
  Sometimes there is a corresponding -ist derivation, but with an unrelated semantics, e.g. germanist student, scholar of German or Germanic languages; a vocalist is a singer.
- a few formations that refer to construction or built, such as mechanisme mechanism and organisme organism.
  
  extra
  
  parallelisme parallelism, is hard to classify.

All -isme derivations are of neuter gender, taking the definite singular article het.

extra

Paradigmatic relations play a crucial role in the analysis of the non-native lexicon of Dutch consisting parly of words borrowed (directly or indirectly) from Greek and Latin, the pan-European lexicon, and of words formed on the basis of the paradigmatic relations between such words (Booij 2002: 8). For example, Dutch has many triples of words ending in -isme, -ist and -istisch for which no lexical base exists:

Table 1


bolsjewisme bolshevism	bolsjewist bolshevist	bolsjewistisch bolshevist(ic)
communisme communism	communist communist	communistisch communist(ic)
pacifisme pacifism	pacifist pacifist	pacifistisch pacifist(ic)

The basic idea is that, once one of the three forms exists, the other two are also possible. As soon as we know the word pacifisme, we can also use the words pacifist and pacifistisch although there is no lexical base for these words. In formal terms this means these are cases of affix substitution(Sassen 1981). See -ist for an analysis in terms of Construction Morphology.

Unlike -ism in English (Affixes.org), formations with -isme on native bases are extremely rare, the only common one is the jocular coining arbeiderisme worker-ism proletarianism(Booij 2002: 1995).

There is also an unproductive variant -asme that correlates with personal nouns or adjectives in -ast, and creates abstract nouns of neuter gender, e.g. enthousiasme enthusiasm and sarcasme sarcasm, as well as a few names of rhetorical tropes such as pleonasme pleonasm and chiasme chiasm. There is also a subgroup of medical terminology, including words like spasme spasm and orgasme orgasm.

[+]Phonological properties

The suffixes -isme and -asme are stress-bearing: stress is on the first syllable of the suffix modernisme modern-isme /mo.dɛr.'nɪs.mə/ (< modern /mo.'dɛrn/). As the phonological representation shows, the suffix is cohering: syllabification does not respect the morphological structure.

[+]Morphological potential

Formations with -isme and -asme have no diminutive, prabably due to their semantics. When applicable, the plural form is formed with -en (anglicismen anglicisms, mechanismen mechanisms), occasionally also with -s (e.g. specialismen specialisms is attested next to specialismes specialisms, and orgasmen orgasms next to orgasmes orgasms)

extra

Booij (2002: 31-2) notes that for some speakers the phonologically based generalization that all nouns ending in schwa take the plural suffix -s is overridden by a more specific rule that derivations with -isme (and -asme, as we can see) take -en - just like in the case of the noun forming deadjectival -e.

Formations with -isme and -asme easily enter into nominal compound formation, both as left-hand and right-hand members, e.g. racismebestrijding fight against racism and controlemechanisme control mechanism.

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
Sassen, Albert1981Morfologische produktiviteit in het licht van niet-additieve woordafleidingForum der Letteren22126-42

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About this article

Author(s): Ton van der Wouden

Category: Dutch Morphology

Keywords: derivationnounnon-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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