Adjectival Suffixes Used in Taylor Swift’s Instagram Caption
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i2.12034Keywords:
Adjectival derivational suffixes, English morphology, Instagram, captions, Taylor Swift, word formationAbstract
This study investigates adjectival derivational suffixes in Taylor Swift’s Instagram captions from a morphological perspective. While previous studies have primarily examined derivational suffixes in literary works and conventional written media, the morphological patterns of adjective formation in contemporary social media discourse warrant further investigation. This study aims to identify the types of adjectival derivational suffixes, examine their base categories and category changes, and describe the morphological processes involved in adjective formation. Using a descriptive qualitative approach supported by quantitative frequency analysis, the study examines 141 English-language captions published on Taylor Swift’s official Instagram account between January 2023 and March 2026. The data were analyzed using the morphological frameworks proposed by Katamba (1993) and Yule (2010). The findings identify 63 lexical items representing 13 types of adjectival derivational suffixes. The suffix -al, including the forms -ial, -ical, and -ual, is the most frequent, accounting for 26.98% of the data. Furthermore, 58 items (92.06%) are formed from noun bases, while five items (7.94%) are derived from verb bases. The analysis also identifies morphophonemic adjustments in 15 items (23.81%), including e-deletion, y-to-i alternation, consonant doubling, and stem alternation, as well as double derivation in two items. These findings demonstrate how established English adjective-forming patterns are realized in Taylor Swift’s Instagram captions and provide empirical evidence of derivational morphology in contemporary social media discourse. The study contributes to morphological research by documenting suffix distribution, base-category patterns, and word-formation processes in a naturally occurring digital corpus.
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