ització

ització is a productive suffix in Catalan used to form nouns that express the action, process, or result of applying a verb or of a state related to an adjective. It is the Catalan analogue of the English -ization and is closely related to the Spanish -ización and the French -isation in meaning, though its pronunciation and spelling follow Catalan orthography.

Formation and examples. The suffix attaches to the stem of a verb (typically after removing the infinitive ending -ar, -er, or -ir, or after the corresponding stem form) to produce a noun of action or process. Common examples include modernització (modernization), digitalització or digitalització (digitalization), globalització (globalization), industrialització (industrialization), organització (organization), and autorització (authorization). The exact spelling may vary depending on the verb’s stem and stress, but the -ització form is widely productive in technical, administrative, and academic vocabularies.

Function and usage. -ització serves to nominalize verbs and express abstract concepts such as processes, developments, or results. It is frequently found in formal registers, policy language, science, and journalism, where precise naming of processes like digitalització or modernització is common. In Catalan, other noun-forming strategies exist (such as -ació or -ment), and -ització often carries a nuance of systematic or ongoing change.

Notes. The suffix is part of Catalan’s larger system of derivational morphology and interacts with phonology to preserve Catalan pronunciation and orthography. While many -ització nouns resemble their English counterparts, their spelling and gender follow Catalan rules and are integrated into standard Catalan dictionaries and style guides.