The city for conlangs

The purpose of this page is to collect a fairly comprehensive list of derivational morphology methods (e.g., affixes) which can be used to derive more vocabulary from existing roots. Several existing conlangs have extensive derivational morphology methods (e.g., Volapük, Esperanto, Ithkuil, Ladekwa, and many others), but as far as we can tell there is no comprehensive list comparing all their affix inventories, those of natural languages, and other possible ways to derive more words from roots.

Gary Shannon has made a start at a list of derivation functions.

Good sources would include the Ithkuil site, the Ladekwa site, the gjâ-zym-byn site, a list of Esperanto affixes, & ditto for Volapük and Ido.

--Jim Henry 20:46, 21 Dec 2005 (UTC)

Derivation pattern	Example derivations	Conlang and Natlang parallels
Opposite (quality)	happy > sad clear > vague	Volapük "ne-", Esperanto "mal-", English "un-", French "des-", Swedish "o-"
Opposite (reverse action)	earn <==> spend stretch <==> squeeze borrow <==> repay	In Azjherben
Opposite (complementary action)	throw <==> catch lend <==> borrow	gjâ-zym-byn "byn-θaj"
Causative (derive VERB "causing PATIENT to become ADJ")	know > to teach healthy > to heal	Volapük "-ük", Esperanto "-ig"
Relationship > person which is in that relationship to someone else	fatherhood > father marriage > spouse	Volapük mat > matan
Tool used for doing VERB	to write > writing-implement	Esperanto "-il"