The semantics of verb-forming suffixes in Modern Greek

Based on a list of 2390 verbs extracted from Anastassiadis-Symeonidis (2002) Reverse Dictionary of Modern Greek, this paper examines the semantics of verb forming processes in Modern Greek (MG) comparing the meanings of verbs formed by the suffixes –ízo, –(i)ázo, –óno, –évo, –éno, –áro and the confix (semi-suffix) –pió. We claim that MG verb-forming suffixes and the confix –pió do not express the same range of related concepts but seem to share a common causative/resultative meaning. Additionally, we propose a unified analysis of the meanings of all verb forming suffixes (and –pió) and their derivatives in MG and show that not all semantic categories are equally possible and/or probable for all verb forming processes

Exploring the meaning and productivity of a polysemous prefix

This paper follows a corpus-based approach to the meaning and productivity of the Modern Greek prepositional prefix para-. A semantic categorization of the prefix is proposed and its productivity is measured across semantic categories, registers, text types and grammatical categories. Para- was found to be more productive in non-locational and evaluative meanings. Its most productive meaning is excess, while the locational meaning of proximity still remains strong. It is also more productive in written than spoken registers and the grammatical category of nouns. The findings of the study can have implications about the prefix’s ongoing grammaticalization and its affixal status

Intensification and deintensification in Modern Greek verbs

This paper aims at examining the morphological means of intensification and deintensification in Modern Greek deverbal verbs. First, it will be shown that in Modern Greek deverbal verbs the meaning of intensification (and deintensification) is almost always expressed by prepositional prefixes or prefixoids: e.g. para-cimáme ‘to oversleep’, iper-fortóno ‘to overload, scilo-varjéme ‘to be bored to death’ (scilo- ‘dog’+ varjéme ‘to be bored’), kutso-vlépo ‘to see poorly’ (kutso- ‘lame’+ vlépo ‘see’); see also Efthymiou (2017). Secondly, it will be demonstrated that in Modern Greek deverbal verbs the meaning of intensification is mostly expressed by prepositional prefixes, while the meaning of deintensification (attenuation) is almost always expressed by prefixoids. Thirdly, it will be shown that in Modern Greek, the system of intensifying and deintensifying morphemes has emerged via the processes of grammaticalisation (e.g. the prefixization of full lexical items like scilo- ‘dog’, kutso- ‘lame’, etc.) and refunctionalisation (e.g. the prepositional prefixes iper-, para-, which have developed evaluative meanings) or via borrowing (e.g. the MG colloquial intensive prefix kara- ‘very’, from the Turkish adjective kara ‘black’: kara-tsekáro ‘to check very thoroughly’). Finally, it will be suggested that a) the diversity of evaluative derivational processes (e.g. kutso-vlépo ‘to see poorly’, psilo-vlépo ‘to see a bit’) is largely determined by linguistic factors (e.g. selectional constraints, differences in meaning, etc.) and that b) each evaluative morpheme under investigation is rather potentiating within a certain domain (e.g. the learned prefix iper- expresses quantitative evaluation, the colloquial prefix kara- has an emotive/pragmatic meaning, etc.)

Le suffixe -iá en grec moderne (la manifestation d'un degré maximal d'anthropocentricité)

LILLE3-BU (590092101) / SudocSudocFranceF

The suffix -ιά in modern greek: the manifestation of a maximal degree of anthropocentricity

This thesis focuses on the semantics of the Modern Greek prefix -iá by exploring its polysemy within D. Corbin's (1987) semantic framework. The suffix -iá creates deverbal, deadjectival and denominal nouns which express various meanings such as ‘single instantiation of an action’, ‘blow’, ‘typical action of someone’, ‘familiarity towards the speaker’, ‘collectivity’, etc.: e.g. sproksçá ‘an instance of jostling’, babesçá ‘treachery, an instance of treachery’, angoɲá ‘blow with an elbow’, kafeδʝá ‘coffeeFAM’ zitçaɲá ‘beggarhood, typical behavior of a beggar’ . It is argued that the global semantics of these nouns can be reduced to the basic meaning of individuation: the suffix produces nouns, which express the speaker’s specific ‘point of view’ and denote cognitively salient entities viewed as [+bounded, -internal structure]. Furthermore, it is suggested that the suffix -iá interacts with the semantics of its bases and imposes its own (semantic) specification on them. In other words, according to this approach, the diverse meanings of -iá nouns (e.g. ‘single act’, ‘quantity’ ‘familiarity’, etc.) are viewed as by-products of the interaction between the suffix and the meanings of the bases.Η διατριβή εξετάζει το νεοελληνικό επίθημα -ιά με βάση το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο της D. Corbin (1987) εστιάζοντας την πολυσημία των παράγωγων λέξεων που κατασκευάζει. Βασικό χαρακτηριστικών των παράγωγων ουσιαστικών σε -ιά είναι ότι δηλώνουν πολλές σημασίες, π.χ. χτύπημα (μαχαιριά), σύνολο (αγροτιά), ιδιότητα (μπαμπεσιά), περιεχόμενο (κουταλιά), οικειότητα (καφεδιά), κτλ. Επιχειρείται η ενιαία σημασιολογική ανάλυση της φαινομενικής πολυσημίας του επιθήματος και υποστηρίζεται ότι κοινός παρονομαστής των παράγωγων λέξεων σε -ιά είναι η έννοια της εξατομίκευσης: Το επίθημα κατασκευάζει ουσιαστικά που εκφράζουν την οπτική του ομιλητή και δηλώνουν οντότητες που φέρουν τα χαρακτηριστικά [+οριοθετημένο, -εσωτερική δομή]. Επίσης υποστηρίζεται ότι οι ποικίλες σημασίες των παράγωγων λέξεων είναι εξειδικεύσεις (υποπροϊόντα) της βασικής αφηρημένης σημασίας του επιθήματος και προκύπτουν ύστερα από αλληλεπίδραση με τις βάσεις στις οποίες εφαρμόζεται το επίθημα.Τέλος, επιχειρείται η διδακτική αξιοποίηση των θεωρητικών ευρημάτων της διατριβής στη διδασκαλία των παράγωγων λέξεων

Labeling of Derogatory Words in Modern Greek Dictionaries

Abstract and full text of the articles are freely available on www.degruyter.com (De Gruyter Open)

ReCO2ST D8.4 - Resilience of renovation solutions: residential retrofit assessment platform and demonstrations for near zero energy and CO2 emissions with optimum cost, health, comfort and environmental quality

This report presents simulation results on the impact of climate change and urban environment on energy savings for the ReCO2ST demo buildings and installed technologies. It also presents an assessment of nature-based technologies regarding resulting environmental improvements and related costs. It was found that climate change/urban environment has a marked impact on materialised energy savings and resulting environmental conditions in naturally cooled buildings and should be considered in the design of retrofits. Nature based technologies can offer a holistic improvement of internal environment but costs are higher than conventional systems.Preprin