Affixes called libfixes are created by the backformation of the “bound” form of these linguistic components, such as the affix “-athon” that is derived from the term “walkathon.” For 10 points each:
[10e] Name these smallest grammatical units of a language to have meaning, in contrast to phonemes.
ANSWER: morphemes [accept bound morphemes]
[10m] In addition to backformation, libfixes are formed through this process from historical linguistics, in which a word is resegmented, such as the shift from “Hamburg + -er” to “ham + burger.”
ANSWER: rebracketing [accept metanalysis; accept reanalysis]
[10h] By definition, libfixation results in an affix with this property, meaning it can still derive new words. Unlike “-ness,” other nominalizing suffixes like “-tion” lack this property, despite being transparently analyzable, since they are no longer fruitful.
ANSWER: productivity [or productive; accept productive suffix]
<NS, Social Science>