[…] a Derivational hypothesis, whereby complex nouns such as GOVERNANCE and GOVERNMENT are generated by rules for combining stems and affixes separately stored in the internal lexicon [...]. One hypothesis, consistent with linguistic models of the lexicon (see [Chomsky, Noam, 1970, Remarks on nominalization, in Jacobs, R. & Rosenbaum, P. (eds.), “Readings on transformational grammar”, Toronto, Ginn, 1970]), postulates phonological rules for producing such words. Under this Derivational Hypothesis (DH) we produce DECISION by adding an -ION suffix to a base form resembling DECIDE and by applying rules for vowel and consonant alteration. Information specifying the suffix (e.g., -ENCE, -MENT, or -ION) for nominalizing a particular stem could be stored in abstract rather than in phonetic form, thereby economizing on storage, but economic arguments favoring DH have always seemed implausible since DH complicates mechanism for learning, perceiving, and producing words.
- MacKay (2004), Pag. 71