Abstract
The following article discusses a word-formation model based on semantic, cognitive and functional principles (Ryder 1994; 1999) that will account for the extremely high productivity of the nominalizing -er suffix in Present-Day English. Such a model aims at enabling the speaker to interpret unknown -er nominals, especially when such formations are presented without a context, i.e. they do not depend on context for interpretation. The basic assumption of such a model relies on the fact that speakers can interpret unknown -er nominals by basing the meaning of the most plausible and retrievable schema, or cognitive knowledge structure, in which the referents of both the base and the derivative participate (Ryder 1994; 1999).
| Translated title of the contribution | [Autom. eng. transl.] Interpreting the formation processes of the English lexicon: the case of -er |
|---|---|
| Original language | Italian |
| Pages (from-to) | 225-235 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | RASSEGNA ITALIANA DI LINGUISTICA APPLICATA |
| Publication status | Published - 2003 |
Keywords
- Derivazione in -er
- Formazione delle parole in Inglese
- The nominalizing suffix -ER
- Word Formation in Present-Day English