The status of affixoids

It is sometimes unclear where we should draw a clear line between the two word-formation processes of derivation and compounding. There are existing cases, where it is not easy to define whether certain elements can exactly be associated with derivation or compounding - they rather find themselves in a midway position. Linguists are often in a dispute about the question, if it is necessary to postulate an intermediary category or if this would just appear to be confusing. Elements that build that third category are called "affixoids". They can be seen as elements that are on their way to becoming affixes through grammaticalization, but they still do not have all properties of affixes.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction: word-formation processes and the existence of affixoids.
• 2. Background on derivation and compounding.
• 3. Analysis: the comparison with affixoids.....
• 4. Conclusion
• 5. List of references….......

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This paper examines the concept of affixoids, which occupy a middle ground between derivation and compounding in word-formation processes. The objective is to shed light on the unique characteristics of affixoids, differentiating them from traditional affixes and compound elements.

• Word-formation processes: derivation and compounding
• Characteristics of affixes and compounds
• The nature of affixoids and their position between derivation and compounding
• Examples of affixoids and their grammaticalization
• Analysis of specific cases and their borderline status between derivation and compounding

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter 1: This chapter introduces the concept of word-formation processes, specifically focusing on derivation and compounding as the most productive patterns in creating new words. It presents a clear distinction between these two processes through examples and emphasizes the difficulty in classifying certain elements, leading to the introduction of affixoids.
• Chapter 2: Chapter 2 elaborates on the background of derivation and compounding, providing detailed characteristics of each process. It highlights the definition of affixes, their bound nature, and their specified position within a lexeme. The chapter further explores the concept of compounding, its free constituents, and the determination of the syntactic head in each language.
• Chapter 3: This chapter focuses on the analysis of affixoids, comparing them to derivation and compounding. It presents examples of suffixoids in the English language, demonstrating their semi-suffix nature and their position between full words and suffixes.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This paper explores the key concepts of word-formation processes, derivation, compounding, affixoids, suffixoids, grammaticalization, semi-suffixes, and the borderline status of affixoids between derivation and compounding.

Details

• College: University of Constance
• Grade: 1,0
• Author: Janina Pleli (Author)
• Publication Year: 2022
• Pages: 9
• Catalog Number: V1315966
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346791122
• Language: English