Everything about Free Word-building In Interlingua totally explained
Words can be included in
Interlingua in either of two ways: by
establishing their internationality or by deriving them using Interlingua words and
affixes. The second of these methods is often called
free word-building.
Free derivation and compounding
While the national languages limit word-building by convention and usage, Interlingua has no such limits. Any derived word is admissible, as long as it's clear and useful.
Thus, in the
Interlingua-English Dictionary (IED),
Alexander Gode followed the principle that every word listed is accompanied by all of its clear compounds and derivatives, along with the word or words it's derived from. A reader skimming through the IED notices many entries followed by large groups of derived and compound words. A good example is the Interlingua word
nation, which is followed by
national, nationalismo, nationalista, nationalitate, nationalisar, international, internationalitate, and many other words.
Other words in the IED don't have derivatives listed. Gode saw these words as potential word families. Although all derived words in the IED are found in at least one control language, speakers may make free use of Interlingua roots and affixes. For example,
jada (jade) can be used to form
jadificar, (to jadify, make into jade, make look like jade),
jadification, and so on. These word forms would be impermissible in English but would be good Interlingua.
Word-building by analogy
Gode and
Hugh E. Blair explained in the that the
basic principle of practical word-building is analogical. If a pattern can be found in the existing international vocabulary, new words can be formed according to that pattern. A meaning of the suffix
-ista is
person who practices the art or science of…. This suffix allows the derivation of
biologista from
biologia, physicista from
physica, and so on. An Interlingua speaker can freely form
saxophonista from
saxophone and
radiographista from
radiographia by following the same pattern.
Usefulness and clarity
As noted above, the only limits to free word-building in Interlingua are
clarity and
usefulness. These concepts are touched upon here:
Any number of words could be formed by stringing roots and affixes together, but some would be more useful than others. For example, the English word
rainer means
a person who rains, but most people would be surprised that it's included in English dictionaries. The corresponding Interlingua word
pluviator is unlikely to appear in a dictionary because of its lack of utility. Interlingua, like any traditional language,
could build up large numbers of these words, but this would be undesirable.
Gode stressed the principle of
clarity in free word-building. As Gode noted, the noun
marinero (
mariner) can be formed from the adjective
marin, because its meaning is clear. The noun
marina meaning
navy can't be formed, because its meaning wouldn't be clear from the adjective and suffix that gave rise to it.
A developing language
As the world's languages change, Interlingua changes with them. Each new
Interlingua dictionary introduces words, and subsequent dictionaries include derivatives and compounds from those words. The developing vocabulary of Interlingua reflects its character as a living language, in practical use by a growing population of speakers.
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