34.2160, Books: The semantics of English -ment nominalizations: Kawaletz

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-2160. Mon Jul 10 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.2160, Books: The semantics of English -ment nominalizations: Kawaletz

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Date: 03-Jul-2023
From: Sebastian Nordhoff [sebastian.nordhoff at langsci-press.org]
Subject: The semantics of English -ment nominalizations: Kawaletz


Title: The semantics of English -ment nominalizations
Series Title: Empirically Oriented Theoretical Morphology and Syntax
Publication Year: 2023
Publisher: Language Science Press
                http://langsci-press.org
Book URL: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/349

author: Lea Kawaletz
Electronic: ISBN: 978-3-96110-412 Pages: 215 Price: Europe EURO 0
Abstract:

It is well-known that derivational affixes can be highly polysemous,
producing a range of different, often related, meanings. For example,
English deverbal nouns with the suffix -er can denote instruments
(opener), agents (writer), locations (diner), or patients (loaner). It
is commonly assumed that this polysemy arises through a compositional
process in which the affix interacts with the semantics of the base.
Yet, despite intensive research in recent years, a workable model for
this interaction is still under debate.

In order to study and model the semantic contributions of the base and
of the affix, a framework is needed in which meanings can be composed
and decomposed.
In this book, I formalize the semantic input and output of derivation
by means of frames, that is, recursive attribute-value structures that
serve to model mental representations of concepts. In my approach, the
input frame offers an array of semantic elements from which an affix
may select to construct the derivative's meaning.
The relationship between base and derivative is made explicit by
integrating their respective frame-semantic representations into
lexical rules and inheritance hierarchies.

I apply this approach to a qualitative corpus study of the productive
relationship between the English nominalizing suffix -ment and a
semantically delimited set of verbal bases. My data set consists of 40
neologisms with base verbs from two semantic classes, namely
change-of-state verbs and verbs of psychological state. I analyze 369
attestations which were elicited from various corpora with a
purposeful sampling approach, and which were hand-coded using common
semantic categories such as event, state, patient and stimulus.

My results show that -ment can target a systematically restricted set
of elements in the frame of a given base verb. It thereby produces a
range of possible readings in each derivative, which becomes
ultimately interpretable only within a specific context. The
derivational process is governed by an interaction of the semantic
elements provided by the base on the one hand, with properties of the
affix (e.g. -ment's aversion to [+animate] readings) on the other. For
instance, a shift from the verb annoy to a result-state reading in
annoyment is possible because the input frame of verbs of
psychological state offers a RESULT-STATE attribute, which, as is
fixed in the inheritance hierarchy, is compatible with -ment.
Meanwhile, a shift from annoy to an experiencer reading in annoyment
fails because the value range of the attribute EXPERIENER is fixed to
[+animate] entities, so that -ment's animacy constraint blocks the
inheritance mechanism.

Furthermore, a quantitative exploration of my data set reveals a
likely blocking effect for some -ment readings. Thus, while I have
found most expected combinations of nominalization and reading
attested, there are pronounced gaps for readings like instrument or
stimulus. Such readings are likely to be produced by standardly
subject-denoting suffixes such as -er or -ant, which may reduce the
probability for -ment derivation. The quantitative analysis
furthermore shows that, within the subset of attested combinations,
ambiguity is widespread, with 43% of all combinations of
nominalization and reading being only attested ambiguously.

This book shows how a derivational process acts on the semantics of a
given verbal base by reporting on an in-depth qualitative study of the
semantic contributions of both the base and the affix. Furthermore, it
demonstrates that an explicit semantic decomposition of the base is
essential for the analysis of the resulting derivative's semantics.

Linguistic Field(s): Morphology

Subject Language(s): English (eng)

Language Family(ies): English based

Written In: English (eng)

See this book announcement on our website:
http://old.linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=172253



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