Stress shifting affix

Stress shifting affixes is a term which refers to one of the most characteristic properties of Class I affixes: the property of having effect on the stress pattern of the base.

Example

if we add the affix -ity to the word prodúctive, the suffix attracts stress to the syllable immediately preceding it (productívity). Stress shift to the last syllable of the base is a prone characteristic of this type of affixes. Stress shifting affixes are distinguished from stress neutral affixes.

Links

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

• Chomsky, N. and M. Halle 1968. The Sound Pattern of English, Harper and Row, New York.
• Siegel, D. 1974. Topics in English Morphology, PhD diss. MIT, Cambridge, Mass.