Contrastive Analysis of French and Yoruba Affix

Abstract

This study focuses on the affixation processes in French and Yoruba, aiming to identify similarities and differences in word formation between the two languages. Each language has its own methods of arranging words morphologically to form sentences. The goal of this article is to provide linguistic researchers, teachers, and language enthusiasts with a clearer understanding of the dynamic interaction between the morphology of French and Yoruba. This research is specifically limited to the contrastive analysis of affixation in French and Yoruba. It reveals that French uses both prefixes and suffixes in word formation, while Yoruba primarily employs prefixes and reduplication. It is generally accepted that affixation, composition, and reduplication are key morphological processes that generate a significant number of word forms in many languages. In this work, we use the lexeme-based morphology model to compare the rules for how new words are formed through affixation in French and Yoruba. Our findings demonstrate that both languages share some morphological similarities and differences.