- Dutch
- Frisian
- Afrikaans
| Formal category | Suffix |
| Functional category | Adjectiviser (ADJZ) |
| Orthographic form | -ies (e.g. metafor·ies metaphoric; film·ies cinematic) |
| Phonological form | /is/ |
| Phonological properties |
|
| Allomorphs | None. Note that -ies is changed to -s due to identical vowel deletion when -ies attaches to words ending in ie. |
| Semantic properties (meaning) |
|
| Input restrictions: categories |
|
| Input restrictions: stratum | Mostly with Classic roots; only with a few Germanic words |
| Output: categories | Adjectives (ADJ) that can often also function as adverbs (ADV) |
| Output: morphological potential |
|
| Schema(ta) | [[x](N|PR|root)[ies](ADJZ)](A) (e.g. film·ies cinematic; Kopt·ies Coptic; opt·ies optic) |
| Productivity |
|
| Etymology (stratum) | Classic |
| English equivalent | -ic; -(a)tic-ical |
| Dutch equivalent | -isch |
Afrikaans -ies behaves the same as Dutch -isch.
This description of -ies is based by and large on Kempen (1969) and De Haas and Trommelen (1993).
The suffix -ies is a cohering suffix and does not bear stress. It attracts the main stress of the base, which ends up in the syllable before the suffix: drama /ˈdra.ma/ drama > drama·t·ies /draˈma.tis/ dramatic.
With regard to the orthography of Afrikaans, AWS-11, rule 9.20 states that derivations with proper names as bases, using -is, -isme, -ist·iek and -ist·ies could be written with either an initial upper case or lower case letter (e.g. Angl·is·ist·ies or angl·is·ist·ies Anglicistic).
The meaning relation between the base and the resulting adjective is consistent: [quality related to SEM(X)] (e.g. simbol·ies [quality related to symbol] symbolic); or simply [related to SEM(X)] (e.g. osean·ies [related to ocean] oceanic).
When the semantics allows it, -ies adjectives can appear in the comparative and the superlative, e.g. hy is krit·ies·er as sy he is more critical than she.
The suffix -ies attaches to nouns (e.g. allotrop·ies [[allotroop](N)[ies](ADJZ)](A) allotropic), proper names (e.g. Nuwe Testament·ies [[Nuwe Testament](PR)[ies](ADJZ)](A) New Testamentical), or roots (e.g. opt·ies [[opt](root)[ies](ADJZ)](A) optic).
It rarely attaches to Germanic bases; the only examples are film·ies cinematic, wett·ies law-abiding, and the obsolete af·god·ies idolatrous.
The suffix -ies is an adjectiviser. Words ending in -ies can usually also function as adverbs.
Adjectives in -ies are not available for further derivation by means of suffixation. However, derived forms with negative prefixes occur regularly, such as on- (e.g. on·log·ies illogical; on·krit·ies uncritical); and nie- (e.g. nie·-·Asia·t·ies non-Asian). Similar forms with non-native prefixes, such as a- (e.g. a·simmetr·ies asymmetric) usually have been borrowed as a whole.
Nominalization by means of conversion does not occur for -ies adjectives, but there is a systematic correlation between adjectives in -ies and nouns in -iek:
| krit·ies critical | krit·iek criticism |
| trag·ies tragic | trag·iek tragedy |
| problem·at·ies problematic | problem·at·iek difficulty |
Prenominal attributive adjectives in -ies are always inflected with the attributive -e (e.g. outokrat·ies·e styl autocratic style).
-
[[x](N|PR|root)[ies](ADJZ)](A)
-ies combines with a noun (N), proper noun (PR), or root.
Example 1
alfabet·ies [[alfabet](N)[ies](ADJZ)](A) alphabetic [Other examples include: wett·ies law-abiding; film·ies cinematic; simbol·ies symbolic; osean·ies oceanic; eksemplar·ies exemplary] Example 2
Hetit·ies [[Hetiet](PR)[ies](ADJZ)](A) Hittete [Other examples include: achill·ies Achillean; And·ies Andean; hippokrat·ies Hippocratic; Frank·ies Franconian; Kopt·ies Coptic] Example 3
krit·ies [[krit](root)[ies](ADJZ)](A) critical [Other examples include: a·kinet·ies akinetic; choler·ies choleric; genet·ies genetic; kom·ies comic, funny] When combining with roots or nouns from Classical origin, various morphonological changes can be observed.
- When the base ends in schwa, the vowel is deleted before -ies: metode method > metod·ies methodical.
- The final vowel of the base is often lengthened: ikon /ˈi.kɔn/ icon > ikon·ies /iˈko.nis/ iconic; alfabet /ˈɑl.fɑ.bɛt/ alphabet > alfabet·ies /ɑl.fɑˈbe.tis/ alphabetic.
- In a few cases, the final schwa of the base is changed into a full vowel: apostel /ɑˈpɔ.stəl/ apostle > apostol·ies /ɑ.pɔˈsto.lis/ apostolic.
- We also observe
s-t alternation, a change of
stress and lengthening of the last vowel of the base in cases like
chaos
/ˈxa.ʔɔs/
chaos
> chaot·ies
/xaˈʔo.tis/
chaotic.
Other examples include erot·ies
erotic;
ellipt·ies
elliptic;
skept·ies
sceptic;
sintakt·ies
syntactic.
It is also noticable in words ending in the Classic confix -kras·ie
-crac·y: outo·kras·ie
/œu.tu.krɑˈsi/
autocracy
> outo·krat·ies
/œu.tuˈkra.tis/
autocracy;
aristo·kras·ie
/ɑ.rə.stu.krɑˈsi/
aristocracy
> aristo·krat·ies
/ɑ.rə.stuˈkra.tis/
aristocratic.
We can therefore postulate the following schema for words like aristo·krat·ies.
Example 4
aristo·kras·ie aristo·krat·ies [[x...krasie](N)[ies](ADJZ)](ADJ) [[x...krat](N)[ies](ADJZ)](ADJ) [hide extra information]xThere is only one word in Afrikaans ending in the Classic confix -sinkrasie -syncrasy (literally temperament, mixture of personal characteristics (Etymonline)), viz. idio·sinkrasie idiosyncrasy. When the affix -ies attaches to idio·sinkrasie it follows the same pattern as other words ending in -kras·ie, despite the fact that -sinkrasie and -kras·ie are semantically unrelated: idio·sinkrasie idiosyncrasy > idio·sinkrat·ies idiosyncratic.
- When a noun of Greek origin ends in the root -gnose, vowel shortening and t insertion occur; for example dia·gnose /di.ɑgˈno.sə/ diagnosis > dia·gnost·ies /di.ɑgˈnɔs.tis/ diagnostic, and pro·gnose /prɔxˈno.sə/ prognosis > pro·gnost·ies /prɔxˈnos.tis/ prognostic.
- When -ies attaches to nouns of Greek
origin ending in
se (irrespective of the
original root), it is replaced by
t; see
psig·ose
psychosis
> psig·ot·ies
psychoticbelow. Other examples include hipo·tet·ies
hypothetical;
genet·ies
genetic;
sim·bio·t·ies
symbiotic;
analit·ies
analytical.
Example 5
psig·ose psig·ot·ies [[x...se](N)[ies](ADJZ)](ADJ) [[x...t](N)[ies](ADJZ)](ADJ)
-
[[x...ie](N)[s](ADJZ)](A)
Due to identical vowel deletion, -ies is changed to -s when the base ends on ie, for example:
Example 6
akadem·ie /ɑ.kɑˈde.mi / academy > akadem·ie·s /ɑ.kɑˈde.mis / academic In most cases, stress is corrected (shifted) when -s is added, while a vowel change can also be observed in some cases, for example:
Example 7
ana·log·ie /ɑ.nɑ.luˈxi/ analogy > ana·log·ie·s /ɑ.nɑˈlo.xis/ analogical -
[[x](N|PR|root)[y](LK)[ies](ADJZ)](A)
- With N as base: alarm·ist·ies alarmist; drama·t·ies dramatic
- With PR as base: darwin·ist·ies Darwinian; drako·n·ies draconian
- With root as base: ekstrem·ist·ies extremist; bio·n·ies bionic
Base words and stems that combine with -ies exhibit various alternations typical of non-native stem allomorphy, of which the insertion of interfixes is the most prominent; witness the examples from here to here.
Example 8
fragment·ar·ies [[fragment](N)[ar](LK)[ies](ADJZ)](A) fragmented [Common nouns and roots can serve as bases before the interfix -ar-; with common noun: legend·ar·ies legendary < legende legend; eksempl·ar·ies exemplary < eksemplaar example; tabell·ar·ies tabular < tabel table; with root: agr·ar·ies agrarian; sekt·ar·ies sectarian; veget·ar·ies vegetarian] Example 9
problem·at·ies [[probleem](N)[at](LK)[ies](ADJZ)](A) problematic [Other examples include: diagramm·at·ies diagrammatic; programm·at·ies programmatic; emblem·at·ies emblematic; simptom·at·ies symptomatic; sistem·at·ies systematic] Example 10
drama·t·ies [[drama](N)[t](LK)[ies](ADJZ)](A) dramatic [When -ies attaches to nouns of Greek origin ending in ma, the interfix -t- is used; other examples include: aroma·t·ies aromatic; dogma·t·ies dogmatic; skema·t·ies schematic; tema·t·ies thematic.] Example 11
plato·n·ies [[Plato](PR)[n](LK)[ies](ADJZ)](A) platonic [Proper names, common nouns and roots can serve as bases before the interfix -n-; with proper name: drako·n·ies draconian (from the Greek statesman Drako); with common noun: bi·ëmbrio·n·ies bi-embryonic; with root: bio·n·ies bionic] Example 12
napoleon·t·ies [[Napoleon](PR)[t](LK)[ies](ADJZ)](A) Napoleonic [Proper names, common nouns and roots can serve as bases before the interfix -t-; with proper name: Asia·t·ies Asian; with common noun: kameleon·t·ies chameleonic; with root: ekso·t·ies exotic; fantas·t·ies fantastic] [One should not confuse examples like alchem·ist·ies alchemistic and gimn·ast·ies gymnastic with this category; the latter should rather be analysed as [[[gimn](root)[ast](NMLZ)](N)[ies](ADJZ)](ADJ], and where the final t of gimn·ast is normally deleted through general Afrikaans phonological processes.] In complex bases, the relation is often one of affix replacement rather than addition, compare krit·iek criticism > krit·ies critical. The direction of the derivation cannot always be ascertained. Yet other instances do not show any relation to other existing words; witness forms such as drasties drastic, or sporadies sporadic.
[hide extra information]xNote the following paradigms:
Table 3akoestiek acoustics akoestikus acoustician akoesties acoustical chemie chemistry chemikus chemist chemies chemical morfologie morphology morfoloog morphologist morfologies morphological altruïsme altruism altruïs altruist altruïsties altruistic Ø akrobaat acrobat akrobaties acrobatic antiek antique antikwaar antiquary antikwaries antiquarian biokinetika biokinetics biokintetikus biokineticist kineties biokinetic alkohol alcohol alkoholis alcoholic alkoholies alcoholic
Adjectivisation with the suffix -ies is a common process. However, its productivity is difficult to ascertain because it mostly occurs with bases or roots from Classic origin, which form a relatively closed, even if large, list. (See Kempen 1969:505-506.) Yet, we can state correspondences such as that -ies adjectives are systematically available for nouns ending in -is, e.g. out·is autist > out·ist·ies autistic, as well as for many nouns ending in -iek, e.g. atlet·iek athletics > atlet·ies athletic.
The suffix -ies often competes with -iek; compare the following examples from the AWS: alfa·numer·iek or alfa·numer·ies alphanumeric; artist·iek or artist·ies artistic; balsem·iek or balsam·ies balsamic; fanat·iek or fanat·ies fanatic; fis·iek or fis·ies physical; ident·iek or ident·ies identical; lakon·iek or lakon·ies laconic; log·ist·iek or log·ist·ies logistical; melan·chol·iek or melan·chol·ies melancholic; numer·iek or numer·ies numerical; polit·iek or polit·ies political.
Afrikaans -ies relates to Dutch -isch, English -ic, and French -ique, from Latin -icus, or cognate Greek -ikos in the manner of; pertaining to (Etymonline).
- 1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
- 1969Samestelling, afleiding en woordsoortelike meerfunksionaliteit in Afrikaans.Nasou
- 1969Samestelling, afleiding en woordsoortelike meerfunksionaliteit in Afrikaans.Nasou
- 2009Afrikaanse woordelys en spelreëls.Pharos
