Heterogeneity in Word-formation Patterns
Author | : Susanne Muehleisen |
Publisher | : John Benjamins Publishing |
Total Pages | : 265 |
Release | : 2010 |
ISBN-10 | : 9789027205858 |
ISBN-13 | : 902720585X |
Rating | : 4/5 (58 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Postulated word-formation rules often exclude formations that can nevertheless be found in actual usage. This book presents an in-depth investigation of a highly heterogeneous word-formation pattern in English: the formation of nouns by suffixation with "-ee." Rather than relying on a single semantic or syntactic framework for analysis, the study combines diachronic, cognitive and language-contact perspectives in order to explain the diversity in the formation and establishment of "-ee" words. It also seeks to challenge previous measurements of productivity and proposes a new way to investigate the relationship between actual and possible words. By making use of the largest and most up-to-date electronic corpus the World Wide Web as a data source, this research adds substantially to the number of attested "-ee" words. It furthermore analyses this word-formation pattern in different varieties of English (British vs. American English; Australian English). Due to the multiplicity of approaches and analyses it offers, the study is suitable for courses in English word-formation, lexicology, corpus linguistics and historical linguistics."