VERB-FORMING SUFFIXES IN ICT TERMINOLOGY - A SEMANTIC APPROACH

Abstract

The present paper offers a study of the verb-forming suffixes -ate, -ify and -ize  in ICT (information and communication technologies) terminology in English, the focus of investigation being their semantics. The study relies on the current theoretical background in semantics, and was performed on the latest articles in this field as found in the most renowned journals in the ICT area of expertise. The reason for commencing this investigation was the authors’ finding that in ICT register suffixation is highly present as one of the primary characteristics and demands. The paper proposes novelties in semantic interpretation of the verb-forming suffixes by distinguishing among four semantic categories followed by the appropriate functions. We have explored the issue of suffixal polysemy and have shown the existence of the suffixes with the same range of meaning.