Neological -ance nominalizations of psych predicates
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Philippe Gréa
and
Florence Villoing
Abstract
Object experiencer psych verbs (OEPV) in French (fasciner ‘fascinate’) exhibit a surprising behavior in their derivational properties: most of them are related to adjectives in -ant (fascinant ‘fascinating’), but virtually none of them have a nominalization in -ance, with the sole exception of attirance ‘attraction’, although -ance can derive nouns from both adjectives (élégance ‘elegance’ from élégant ‘elegant’) and verbs (surveillance ‘monitoring’ from surveiller ‘monitor’). However, in a current research project on nominalizations based on a very large corpora, we have found a significant number of neological -ance nouns related to OEPVs, such as fascinance ‘lit. fascin-ance’. We argue that these neological N-ance are not properly verbal, but related to a morphological family containing an OEPV (fasciner ‘fascinate) and an adjective in -ant (fascinant ‘fascinating’). They can be constructed on the verb (in which case they denote states) but also, and more frequently, on the adjective (they then denote properties). This is completely impossible for standard derivatives, which explains the success of neological N-ance.
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Conflict of interest: We declare that we do not have any conflict of interest.
Appendix: List of the 57 OEPV-ance nouns sorted by frequencies in VerNom
| Rank | Neological noun in -ance | Frequency of the N-ance in VerNom |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | enivrance ‘intoxicat-ance’ | 18 |
| 2 | éblouissance ‘dazzl-ance’ | 14 |
| 3 | assouvissance ‘satisfy-ance’ | 13 |
| 4 | malmenance ‘mistreat-ance’ | 11 |
| 5 | désopilance ‘amuse-ance’ | 10 |
| 6 | décevance ‘disappoint-ance’ | 9 |
| 7 | charmance ‘charm-ance’ | 8 |
| 8 | dépressance ‘depress-ance’ | 5 |
| 9 | dérangeance ‘disturb-ance’ | 4 |
| 10 | désolance ‘desolate-ance’ | 4 |
| 11 | ennuyance ‘bore-ance’ | 4 |
| 12 | concernance ‘concern-ance’ | 3 |
| 13 | dénigrance ‘denigr-ance’ | 3 |
| 14 | émerveillance ‘marvel-ance’ | 3 |
| 15 | importunance ‘bother-ance’ | 3 |
| 16 | inquiétance ‘worry-ance’ | 3 |
| 17 | maternance ‘maternal-ance’ | 3 |
| 18 | motivance ‘motivate-ance’ | 3 |
| 19 | relaxance ‘relax-ance’ | 3 |
| 20 | reposance ‘rest-ance’ | 3 |
| 21 | vivifiance ‘vivify-ance’ | 3 |
| 22 | aveuglance ‘blind-ance’ | 2 |
| 23 | consternance ‘dismay-ance’ | 2 |
| 24 | contrariance ‘vex-ance’ | 2 |
| 25 | déchirance ‘tear-ance’ | 2 |
| 26 | dégoûtance ‘disgust-ance’ | 2 |
| 27 | discriminance ‘discriminate-ance’ | 2 |
| 28 | divertissance ‘entertain-ance’ | 2 |
| 29 | écoeurance ‘disgust-ance’ | 2 |
| 30 | épanouissance ‘blossom-ance’ | 2 |
| 31 | étonnance ‘astonish-ance’ | 2 |
| 32 | excitance ‘excite-ance’ | 2 |
| 33 | honorance ‘honor-ance’ | 2 |
| 34 | isolance ‘isolate-ance’ | 2 |
| 35 | pacifiance ‘pacify-ance’ | 2 |
| 36 | ravissance ‘delight-ance’ | 2 |
| 37 | satisfaisance ‘satisfy-ance’ | 2 |
| 38 | alléchance ‘tempt-ance’ | 1 |
| 39 | angoissance ‘anguish-ance’ | 1 |
| 40 | apaisance ‘soothe-ance’ | 1 |
| 41 | attrayance ‘attract-ance’ | 1 |
| 42 | choquance ‘shock-ance’ | 1 |
| 43 | débectance ‘revolt-ance’ | 1 |
| 44 | déconcertance ‘disconcert-ance’ | 1 |
| 45 | dépravance ‘deprave-ance’ | 1 |
| 46 | déshonorance ‘dishonor-ance’ | 1 |
| 47 | édifiance ‘edify-ance’ | 1 |
| 48 | époustouflance ‘astound-ance’ | 1 |
| 49 | fascinance ‘fascinate-ance’ | 1 |
| 50 | horripilance ‘irritate-ance’ | 1 |
| 51 | insultance ‘insult-ance’ | 1 |
| 52 | lénifiance ‘sooth-ance’ | 1 |
| 53 | piquance ‘sting-ance’ | 1 |
| 54 | rassasiance ‘sate-ance’ | 1 |
| 55 | régénérance ‘regenerate-ance’ | 1 |
| 56 | stupéfiance ‘stupefy-ance’ | 1 |
| 57 | surprenance ‘surprise-ance’ | 1 |
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