How many factors influence the meaning of denominal and deadjectival verbs? The case of Modern Greek verbs in -(ι)άζω
How many factors influence the meaning of denominal and deadjectival verbs? The case of Modern Greek verbs in -(ι)άζω
The aim of this paper is to examine the factors involved in verb forming processes. Our evidence comes from the Modern Greek suffix (ι)?ξω [(i)ázo], used to derive [– learned] verbs, which express a whole range of meanings such as resultative, inchoative, ornative, locative, etc. (e.g. komatjázo ‘brake/tear into pieces’, ritiδjázo ‘to wrinkle’, tsuvaljázo ‘to bundle into a sack’). Given that the most robust semantic pattern of (i)ázo derivatives is the meaning ‘be saturated by many unwanted x’ we address the following questions. 1. Is the evaluative meaning assigned by the base of the derivative or by the suffix? 2. What is the role of the word formation process in which (i)ázo participates in the creation of the meaning? 3. Is the phonological shape of the suffix related to its evaluative meaning? 4. Does the evaluative meaning of the suffix and the [– learned] register of its derivatives affect its productivity? Elaborating on these questions it is shown that the computation of the meaning of (i)ázo verbs is influenced by various factors, such as the semantic and structural properties of the base, the evaluative connotation of the suffix and its derivatives and the productivity of the word formation process.
Keywords: Modern Greek, verbal suffixes, evaluative connotation, meaning, productivity, phonetic shape
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