Prefixes

["Hamilton, Susan" <shamilton -at- METASOLV -dot- COM>]

I've gotten into an interesting discussion with a coworker of mine about the
proper use of prefixes. Now I've gone and made a bet, and I have until the
end of the year to back up my claim! Anyway, I thought someone out there
might have either a factual source or an opinion to help solve the dispute.

The question is whether prefixes (such as a-, un-, and dis-) can be applied
to any word. The specific prefix and word we are having our healthy
discussion about is "amotivated".

One person says that a prefix is a prefix is a prefix. Certain standard
rules about vowels and consonants may apply (for example, you would not put
a- in front of a word that begins with "a"), but other than that anything
goes. The argument for this logic is that there aren't any grammar rules or
dictionary or style manual guidelines that prohibit such use--so it must be
ok.

The other person says that when guidelines are not already established,
language rules develop from conventional sources. So, even though the
dictionary or a grammar book neither prohibits not prescribes words such as
"amotivated", common language use says that it is not correct and that
"unmotivated" is the proper choice (also it is in the dictionary). If you
wanted to go around using amotivated and everyone started using it, it might
eventually become acceptable. However, when only one person thinks it is
acceptable, that means the editor or teacher or grammarian will correct you
every time.

If you have any ideas about this or if you might know of a source that back
up one claim or the other, I would really appreciate your input.

Thanks
Susan
Susan Hamilton
MetaSolv Software, Inc.
5560 Tennyson Pkwy
Plano, TX  75024
972-403-8452
 <http://www.metasolv.com> http://www.metasolv.com


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