Does adding the suffix "ality" to a noun change its meaning?

Question

I thought that -ality was used to turn an adjective into a noun : bestial to beastiality, final to finality.

But I see that some people add it onto the end of nouns : criminal to criminality, position to positionality.

What do you think?

Answer 1

There are three parts to the answer:

PART I
We are not adding '-ality', but '-ity'.
Bestial + -ity = Bestiality
Criminal + -ity = Criminality
Final + -ity = Finality
Positional + -ity = Positionality
Functional + -ity = Functionality

PART II
In each of these examples, we are adding -ity to an adjective and turning it into a noun. Criminal can be noun as well as an adjective. For example, "criminal offence", so can be positional, e.g. 'positional reference'.

So your original hypothesis is correct (with slight adjustment to the suffix). We add -ity to the adjectives ending into -al to form a noun.

PART III
As to your question about the change in meaning. The change is that now you are talking about the phoenomenon of the quality. Finality is a state or phenomenon of the quality 'being final'.

Answer 2

I believe that you would call -ity a nominalising suffix or noun suffix, which is one that converts other words into nouns.

There are many other such suffixes, for example -ing, -ism, and -ness.

Answer 3

To take one of the first examples, "criminality" is the behavior characteristic of a criminal. "Bestiality" is the behavior characteristic of a beast. "Finality" is characteristic (probably not a "behavior") of something that is final.

In general, the "-ality" suffix is used to extract, from some "thing", the characteristic nature of that "thing".

Answer 4

Think of the shortest word with the -ality suffix--i.e., reality. Perhaps this imparts a more basic understanding of the suffix's role at the end of words.

Think also about the following: physicality; sociality; spirituality. Each of these terms refers to a distinct domain of reality (the physical; social; and spirit, respectively). In one of my published works, I extend this line of thought in proposing new words: "chemicality"; "biologicality"; "psychologicality"; "culturality"; "religiality"; and "economicality". These should actually be, in order: chemality, bioality, psychality (already a word, though...sort of), cultality, religality, and econality.

The answers above all seem correct as they go, but just wanted to offer an alternative yet complementary viewpoint.