Names of Zero Suffixation in Russian Proverbs and Sayings

The problem statement is to study zero exponents' text-forming function in texts of different genres and styles. The object of the study is the usual names of zero suffixation in the Russian language and the features of their functioning in the works of small folklore genres – proverbs and sayings. The purpose of the paper is to identify the main word-formation types of names of zero suffixation presented in proverbs and sayings, to evaluate their role in organizing the literary space of utterances. Leading research methods are theoretical analysis of scientific and educational literature on the topic, method of continuous sampling, language, speech and text analysis, structural and semantic analysis of language material, comparative and statistical methods, and lesson observation. The article reveals the frequency of the use of certain word-formation types of names of zero suffixation (deverbal, denominal, adjective-based) in individual proverbs and sayings, points out the frequency of unprefixed names of zero suffixation, shows the features of compatibility of deverbatives, their place in the meaningful and rhythmic construction of proverbs and sayings. The figural and expressive properties of these formations are considered. The applied significance of the study and the possibility of using the results for linguodidactic purposes of teaching Russian as a native and as a foreign language are emphasized

Chapter The Role of Prefixation in Old Church Slavonic

In this paper, I analyse the role of prefixation in the Old Church Slavonic (OCS) verbal aspect system. For my analysis, I first need to establish how the aspect of OCS verbs can be determined. To that end, I use a combination of methods: morphological categorization, grammatical profiling and semantic analysis. My analysis shows that, although prefixation in most cases equals perfectivization in OCS, it does not create aspect pairs like suffixation does. This is mainly because of the fact that many simplex verbs in OCS are anaspectual, even when prefixed formations exist

Approximation in Morphology

This Special Issue "Approximation in Morphology" has been collated from peer-reviewed papers presented at the ApproxiMo 'discontinuous' workshop (2022), which was held online between December 2021 and May 2022, and organized by Francesca Masini (Bologna), Muriel Norde (Berlin) and Kristel Van Goethem (Louvain)

Diachrony and typology of Slavic aspect: What does morphology tell us?

In this article we consider the Slavic perfective/imperfective opposition, a well-known example of viewpoint aspect which establishes a classificatory grammatical category by means of stem derivation. Although Slavic languages are not unique in having developed a classificatory aspect system, a survey of such systems shows that the Slavic perfective/imperfective opposition is a particularly rare subcase of such systems, first of all because it combines prefixing with suffixing patterns of derivation. We therefore explore the morphology involved, tracing its development from Proto-Indo-European into Early Slavic. The emergence of Slavic aspect is atypical for grammatical categories, and it deviates considerably from mainstream instances of grammaticalization in many respects. We show that there is a strong tendency (i) towards abandonment of highly lexically conditioned and versatile suffix choices in Proto-Indo-European and in Common Slavic, which led to fewer and more transparent suffixes, and (ii) towards concatenation, away from originally non-concatenative (fusional) schemata. Furthermore, we compare Slavic with some other Indo-European languages and inquire as to why in Europe no other Indo-European group beyond Slavic went so far as to productively exploit newly developed prefixes (or verb particles) merely for use as aspectual modifiers of stems and to combine them with a (partially inherited, partially remodelled) stock of suffixes to yield a classificatory aspect system. The Slavic system, thus, appears quite unique not only from a typological point of view, but also in diachronic-genealogical terms. Based on this background, amplified by some inner-Slavic biases in the productivity of patterns of stem derivation, we pose the provocative question as to whether the rise and consolidation of the stem-derivational perfective/imperfective opposition in Slavic was favoured by direct and indirect contacts with Uralic (Finno-Ugric) and Altaic (Turkic) populations at different periods since at least the time of the Great Migrations

Semantics and Creation of Eponyms in the English-Speaking World

The relevance of the topic of the article is determined by the importance of researching derivational processes in the modern English-speaking world, in particular using the example of eponyms, with the aim of tracking the transition of proper names to common names, creating occasional vocabulary and its unification and codification at the national or international level. The purpose of the article is the structural-linguistic analysis of eponymous units with regard to the sphere of everyday life in different contexts (medical, political, social), the study of various derivational models functioning in the English-speaking environment. The main method is a comparative study of various productive word-forming classes on the example of the development of the English language system, a historical-typological study of the mechanisms of adding elements to its derivational composition. This article reveals the main word-formation models that are most characteristic for the formation of eponymous vocabulary (conversion, suffixation, composition, blending, acronymization), analyzes the metaphorical and metonymic features of figurative reinterpretation during the transition of a linguistic unit from the composition of its own vocabulary to general use, points out the grammatical nature of eponyms (noun, adjective, verb, adverb), highlights productive suffix morphemes, indicates the linguistic potential of various means of word formation, the main lexical-semantic transformations as a result of the implementation of derivational models, and special attention is paid to suffixation as the main way of forming new eponyms. The materials presented in this paper will further help in the study of various language systems in view of the derivational, lexical-grammatical, structural features of a separate national language, the study of global influences on the linguistic culture of creating occasional vocabulary and its standardization and codification in the national language space

A Lexical Description of English for Architecture: A Corpus-based Approach

Every knowledge community has a distinct type of discourse and a linguistic identity which brings together the ideas of that discipline. These are expressed through characteristic linguistic realizations which are of considerable interest in the study of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) from many different perspectives. Despite the fact that ESP is a recent area of linguistic research, there is already a varied literature on academic and professional languages: English for law, business, computer and technology, advertising, marketing and engineering, just to mention a few. According to Dudley-Evans (1998:19), the development of ESP arose as a result of general improvements in the world economy in the 1960’s, along with the expansion of science and technology. Other relevant factors were the growing use of English as the international language of science, technology and business, and the increasing flow of exchange students to and from the UK, US and Australia

Chapter Prefixation in the Rise of Slavic Aspect

This paper investigates the role that prefixes played in the development of the Slavic aspect category utilizing concepts from dynamic systems theory. It is argued that the bleaching of the prefix u- was crucial in the development of the perfectivizing function of Common Slavic prefixes, and that the semantic concept of change of state functioned as an attractor in the development of the network of prefixes and the aspect category as a whole

New Trends in Word-Formation Processes in English: an Analysis of the Latest OED Entries

[Abstract] It is widely accepted that language changes; this change goes simultaneously with the evolution of the world. Phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics or pragmatics have evolved and then been examined by linguistics. Word-formation processes have been a widely studied issue because of its complexity and interest; recently, the new tendencies in word-formation patterns have been a recurrent subject of study but have not been explored in great depth. This paper aims to analyse the 712 words included in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) during 2020 in order to obtain a pattern of the most dominant processes of formation of new words and the essential semantic fields. To this end, some previous knowledge of word-formation was essential, in addition to the need to refer to those few studies on the latest trends. Access to the OED was then required, and, by using the list with the words provided by the OED, an analysis of word-formation processes and semantic fields was carried out. But first, a selection of different sources was needed for the overview of the diverse word-formation processes. My findings show that word formation processes have changed but perhaps not as much as expected: traditionally, compounding and affixation were the most important processes, and this continues to be this way. Nevertheless, new processes are becoming more important –clipping, blending or conversion–; at the same time, some others appear to be quite unproductive –initialisms, acronyms, reduplication or back-formation–. Besides, borrowing has been fundamental in the production of new words and its importance will be mentioned in this study, although it is not really a word-formation process. As a result, language changes but very slowly, and the so-called minor word-formation processes are these days more important than, for instance, during the Old English period. Apparently, both word-formation processes and semantic fields continue to be quite traditional and not much modification has taken place. Ease is going to influence the selection of the processes of formation of new words; for instance, compounding is much easier and then more productive than blending. Moreover, many words come from specialized fields –linguistics, gastronomy, fashion, health–, whereas semantic fields –such as Internet and technologies–, which were expected to be more dominant, are not so essential. Further research could be carried out with the focus on words related to a particular semantic field, for instance, health. Studying words specifically related to the pandemic would also be valuable since Covid-19 has not finished yet. Other lines of study could also possibly delve into the patterns of formation of clippings or blendings or into the analysis of the many borrowings that were included during the referred year.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FIL). Inglés: estudios lingüísticos y literarios. Curso 2020/202

The causative infix in Spanish verbs

Estudios de Tipología Lingüística moderna reconocen al infijo, en lenguas muertas y vivas, como un elemento importante de derivación, especialmente aplicado a verbos. Sin embargo, el infijo ha sido morfológicamante ignorado en español, o cuando menos, confundido con el interfijo o sufijo. Contrariamente a esta corriente de opinión, generalizada en la bibliografía especializada moderna, en este estudio se exponen argumentos, que avalan la aceptación del infijo en español. La limitación de espacio recomienda concentrar la atención en el infijo español causativo -iz-, generalmente malinterpretado como sufijo. Dado que -iz- está colocado frecuentemente dentro de la base de un verbo original, entre la raíz y la vocal temática verbal, la naturaleza de ésta última determinará el valor morfológico perteneciente al afijo -iz-. Por consiguiente se impone un análisis en profundidad de esta vocal temática, para concluir la existencia de los infijos causativos en verbos españoles.In accordance with studies of modern Linguistics Typology regarding the infix, it has been recognized in many ancient and existing languages as an important derivation tool particularly applied to verbs. However, the Spanish infix has been morphologically ignored, if not mistaken with the interfix or the suffix. Against this general trend of thought, reflected in the existing literature, the author has developed arguments for the acceptance of the infix in Spanish. Space limitations recommend concentrating the efforts of the present study only on the -iz- Spanish causative infix, generally misinterpreted as suffix. Since -iz- is often placed inside the base of an original verb, between the root and the thematic vowel, its nature will be fundamental to determine the morphological value granted to the -iz- affix. Consequently a thorough analysis of the verbal thematic vowel is required within this paper to complete the theoretical analysis for the existence of the causative infixation in Spanish

Between typology and diachrony : some formal parallels in Hebrew and Maltese

Hebrew and Maltese are obliquely related members of the Semitic language family. Past comparative research inspired by Bible translation highlighted in atomistic fashion a number of common traits in these two languages. The present research probes aspects of selected phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical traits in Biblical and Israeli Hebrew from the comparative perspective of contemporary Maltese. Given the fact that the latter may well retain substratal elements inherited from Phoenician and Punic, the parallels tentatively indicated here, particularly in the lexical domain, may provide the basis for a reconstruction of the earliest diachronic stage of the Maltese word stock. If on the mark, it also seriously calls into question claims advanced in recent historical work on Maltese to the effect that the Arab invasion of the Maltese Islands in the 9th century entailed the complete annihilation of the indigenous population thereby breaking the continuity with the linguistic heritage of pre-Arabic ancient Malta.peer-reviewe