Roots, concepts, and word structure
-
Paolo Acquaviva
Abstract
This chapter examines the relation between the structure of words as linguistic objects and their conceptual content. It addresses two questions: what are the primitives of lexical semantic interpretation, and how they are expressed in the grammatical and morphological representation of a lexical item. The answer involves a characterization of roots as theoretical objects, followed by an argument to the effect that it is not roots, but larger structures of variable size which relate to lexical concepts. An in-depth discussion of nouns leads to the claim that the conceptual content of a lexical item does not reflect its grammatical structure, because a concept is not the meaning of a linguistically defined unit, but a language-external cognitive content, globally associated with the lexical word as a whole.
Abstract
This chapter examines the relation between the structure of words as linguistic objects and their conceptual content. It addresses two questions: what are the primitives of lexical semantic interpretation, and how they are expressed in the grammatical and morphological representation of a lexical item. The answer involves a characterization of roots as theoretical objects, followed by an argument to the effect that it is not roots, but larger structures of variable size which relate to lexical concepts. An in-depth discussion of nouns leads to the claim that the conceptual content of a lexical item does not reflect its grammatical structure, because a concept is not the meaning of a linguistically defined unit, but a language-external cognitive content, globally associated with the lexical word as a whole.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
-
Editors’ introduction
- Morphology and meaning 3
-
Plenary papers
- Roots, concepts, and word structure 49
- Between word formation and meaning change 71
- Indirect coding 97
-
Section papers
- Diachrony and the polysemy of derivational affixes 127
- Possessive compounds in Slavic and the Principle of Integrated Meronymy 141
- Relation diversity and ease of processing for opaque and transparent English compounds 153
- Inflection vs. derivation 163
- Discrepancy between form and meaning in word-formation 177
- Compounds vs. phrases 191
- Semantic transparency, compounding, and the nature of independent variables 205
- The layering of form and meaning in creole word-formation 223
- Semantic headedness and categorization of - cum - compounds 239
- German plural doublets with and without meaning differentiation 249
- On the form and meaning of double noun incorporation 259
- Tuning morphosemantic transparency by shortening 275
- Root transparency and the morphology-meaning interface 289
- Mimetic verbs and meaning 303
- Mismatch verbs 315
- The canonical function of the deponent verbs in modern Greek 331
- Language index 345
- Subject index 347
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
-
Editors’ introduction
- Morphology and meaning 3
-
Plenary papers
- Roots, concepts, and word structure 49
- Between word formation and meaning change 71
- Indirect coding 97
-
Section papers
- Diachrony and the polysemy of derivational affixes 127
- Possessive compounds in Slavic and the Principle of Integrated Meronymy 141
- Relation diversity and ease of processing for opaque and transparent English compounds 153
- Inflection vs. derivation 163
- Discrepancy between form and meaning in word-formation 177
- Compounds vs. phrases 191
- Semantic transparency, compounding, and the nature of independent variables 205
- The layering of form and meaning in creole word-formation 223
- Semantic headedness and categorization of - cum - compounds 239
- German plural doublets with and without meaning differentiation 249
- On the form and meaning of double noun incorporation 259
- Tuning morphosemantic transparency by shortening 275
- Root transparency and the morphology-meaning interface 289
- Mimetic verbs and meaning 303
- Mismatch verbs 315
- The canonical function of the deponent verbs in modern Greek 331
- Language index 345
- Subject index 347
