27.3755, Calls: Morphology, Semantics, Typology/Switzerland

Thu Sep 22 18:59:52 UTC 2016

LINGUIST List: Vol-27-3755. Thu Sep 22 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.3755, Calls: Morphology, Semantics, Typology/Switzerland

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Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:59:32
From: Steve Pepper [pepper.steve at gmail.com]
Subject: When ''Noun'' Meets ''Noun'': A Cross-Linguistic Look at Complex Nominals

Full Title: When "Noun" Meets "Noun": A Cross-Linguistic Look at Complex Nominals 
Short Title: When "Noun" Meets "Noun" 

Date: 10-Sep-2017 - 13-Sep-2017
Location: Zurich, Switzerland 
Contact Person: Steve Pepper
Meeting Email: pepper.steve at gmail.com

Linguistic Field(s): Morphology; Semantics; Typology 

Call Deadline: 25-Oct-2016 

Meeting Description:

The workshop will investigate the strategies employed by the languages of the
world to create complex denotations by combining two nominal (or nominalizing)
elements.

In Germanic languages this is usually achieved through compounding (e.g. Ger.
Eisen.bahn [iron.track] ‘railway’), but other languages use other
constructions. Thus, Romance typically employs prepositional compounds (e.g.
Fr. chemin de fer [track PREP iron] ‘railway’), while Slavic favours
relational compounds (e.g. Rus. železnaja doroga [iron.ADJZ road] ‘railway’).
Turkish has an izafet construction (demir.yol.u [iron.road.IZ] ‘railway’) and
elsewhere possessives abound (e.g. Malagasy lala.m.by [road.PER.iron]
‘railway’). In all of these examples, the constituent meanings, the resultant
meaning, and presumably also the underlying cognitive processes, are
essentially identical, but the constructions are quite different. What they
have in common is that they serve to name a complex concept via the
combination of two “Thing-roots” (Haspelmath 2012), between which there is an
unstated (or underspecified) relation. They are all binominal naming
constructions (BNCs).

In terms of Štekauer’s model of onomasiological word-formation BNCs are Type 3
naming units, in which “the determined (actional) element is not
linguistically expressed” (Štekauer 1998). This perspective prompts two
further refinements to the concept of BNCs. The first is the exclusion of
complex nominals of Štekauer’s Type 1 and Type 2 that contain an
“Action-root”. As a consequence, synthetic compounds like truck-driver are
considered out of scope. The second is based on the recognition that
nominalizing affixes, like Eng.  er and Slovak  ica, and noun classifiers like
Bora -heju (‘hole-like object’), constitute the “base” in a Type 3 complex
nominal. As a consequence, adnominal nominalizations (e.g. Slovak želez.n.ica
[iron.ADJZ.NMLZ] ‘railway’), and noun classifier constructions (e.g. Bora
túú.heju [nose.CM(hole)] ‘nostril’), fulfil the basic criterion and are
considered very much in scope.

This approach to complex denotation cuts across traditional boundaries between
morphology and syntax, and between compounding and derivation: it “divides the
cake” in a new way that might reveal new insights into language and
conceptualization. The goal of this workshop is therefore to explore semantic
and morphosyntactic aspects of BNCs as defined here, along with frequency,
productivity, and competition between different strategies (cf. Rainer 2013),
across a broad range of languages. In particular, papers are sought that
investigate BNCs through:

- Studies of individual languages, especially lesser-studied and non-SAE
languages
- Contrastive studies of languages, in particular those closely related
genetically
- Typological and areal studies
- Studies that address cognitive aspects of complex nominals

References:

Haspelmath, Martin. 2012. How to compare major word-classes across the world’s
languages. UCLA Working Papers in Linguistics, Theories of Everything 17,
Article 16. 109–130.
Rainer, Franz. 2013. Can relational adjectives really express any relation? An
onomasiological perspective. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics 10(1).
Štekauer, Pavol. 1998. An onomasiological theory of English word-formation.
Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Call for Papers:

The workshop is planned as a part of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Societas
Linguistica Europea (SLE), which takes place in Zürich, 10-13 September 2017.
We invite submissions of abstracts of 300 words (excluding references)
outlining contributions to the workshop. Papers that highlight the
permeability of the boundaries between compounding and syntax, and between
compounding and derivation are especially welcome. These submissions should be
emailed to the workshop organisers (pepper.steve at iln.uio.no and
francesca.masini at unibo.it). After the organisers have decided which
submissions will be accepted to the workshop, they will submit a workshop
proposal with abstracts to the SLE organisers.

Important Dates:

25 October 2016: Deadline for submission of 300-word abstracts to the workshop
organisers (pepper.steve at iln.uio.no and francesca.masini at unibo.it)
25 November 2016: Notification of acceptance by the workshop organisers and
submission of the workshop proposal to SLE
25 December 2016: Notification of acceptance of workshop proposals from SLE
organisers to workshop organisers
15 January 2017: Submission of abstracts (taking into account any feedback
from the reviewing procedure) for review by SLE
Date to be announced: Notification of acceptance of individual workshop
contributions
10-13 September 2017: SLE conference

The full description of this workshop can be found at
http://folk.uio.no/stevepe/WSproposal_SLE2017.pdf.

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