Heterogeneity in Word-Formation Patterns

A corpus-based analysis of suffixation with -ee and its productivity in English
Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-90-272-0585-8
Verlag: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Buch, Englisch, Band 118, 245 Seiten, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 245 mm, Gewicht: 620 g

Reihe: Studies in Language Companion Series

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mühleisen, Susanne

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Grammatik, Syntax, Morphologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Computerlinguistik, Korpuslinguistik