19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning
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Sally Rice
Abstract
The Indigenous languages of Native North America are largely morphologically complex, with the verb often taking on the lion’s share of morphological marking and meaning-making. The languages differ by family in terms of (i) the range of inflectional and derivational options on both nouns and verbs, (ii) the extensiveness, ordering, and transparency (if more agglutinating) or opacity (if more fusional) of morphological affixation, and (iii) the size of the root inventory available for word formation. Nevertheless, there are a number of commonalities across the continent in terms of lexicalization patterning that, broadly understood, could aid communities and linguists involved in language documentation, analysis, and pedagogical materials development for language revitalization. This chapter addresses aspects of lexicalization for both universal concepts as well as terms of acculturation (brought about by contact with neighboring Indigenous groups, with the first wave of settler-colonizers, and, ultimately, with modernity), semantic shift, and the role of figurativity (in the case of common metaphors and metonymies) in extending the lexicon.
Abstract
The Indigenous languages of Native North America are largely morphologically complex, with the verb often taking on the lion’s share of morphological marking and meaning-making. The languages differ by family in terms of (i) the range of inflectional and derivational options on both nouns and verbs, (ii) the extensiveness, ordering, and transparency (if more agglutinating) or opacity (if more fusional) of morphological affixation, and (iii) the size of the root inventory available for word formation. Nevertheless, there are a number of commonalities across the continent in terms of lexicalization patterning that, broadly understood, could aid communities and linguists involved in language documentation, analysis, and pedagogical materials development for language revitalization. This chapter addresses aspects of lexicalization for both universal concepts as well as terms of acculturation (brought about by contact with neighboring Indigenous groups, with the first wave of settler-colonizers, and, ultimately, with modernity), semantic shift, and the role of figurativity (in the case of common metaphors and metonymies) in extending the lexicon.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Table of contents VII
- List of North American families, languages, and dialects XIII
- Maps XLI
-
I Sounds and sound structure
- 1 Acoustic phonetics 1
- 2 Articulatory phonetics 39
- 3 Tone 63
- 4 Segmental phonology 89
- 5 Prosodic morphology 109
- 6 Word prosody 135
- 7 Prosody beyond the word 155
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II Words
- 8 What is a word? 183
- 9 Word classes 205
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III Sentences
- 10 Syntax within the clause 247
- 11 Negatives 267
- 12 Questions and requests in North American languages 283
- 13 Information structure 305
- 14 Clause-combining: Relative clauses 323
- 15 Clause combining: Syntax of subordination and complementation 345
- 16 Switch-reference and event cohesion 363
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IV Discourse
- 17 Verbal art 385
- 18 Conversation structure 421
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V Meaning
- 19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning 453
- 20 Lexicography 479
- 21 Evidentiality 497
- 22 Pluractionality and distributivity 511
- 23 Mass and count nouns 527
- 24 Sense of place: Space, landscape, and orientation 547
- 25 A sense of time and world 577
- 26 Pragmatics 599
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VI Languages over space and time
- 27 Languages as dynamic systems: How grammar can emerge 619
- 28 Language contact and linguistic areas 647
- 29 Language classification 669
- 30 Archival-based sociolinguistic variation 689
- 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation 701
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Table of contents VII
- List of North American families, languages, and dialects XIII
- Maps XLI
-
I Sounds and sound structure
- 1 Acoustic phonetics 1
- 2 Articulatory phonetics 39
- 3 Tone 63
- 4 Segmental phonology 89
- 5 Prosodic morphology 109
- 6 Word prosody 135
- 7 Prosody beyond the word 155
-
II Words
- 8 What is a word? 183
- 9 Word classes 205
-
III Sentences
- 10 Syntax within the clause 247
- 11 Negatives 267
- 12 Questions and requests in North American languages 283
- 13 Information structure 305
- 14 Clause-combining: Relative clauses 323
- 15 Clause combining: Syntax of subordination and complementation 345
- 16 Switch-reference and event cohesion 363
-
IV Discourse
- 17 Verbal art 385
- 18 Conversation structure 421
-
V Meaning
- 19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning 453
- 20 Lexicography 479
- 21 Evidentiality 497
- 22 Pluractionality and distributivity 511
- 23 Mass and count nouns 527
- 24 Sense of place: Space, landscape, and orientation 547
- 25 A sense of time and world 577
- 26 Pragmatics 599
-
VI Languages over space and time
- 27 Languages as dynamic systems: How grammar can emerge 619
- 28 Language contact and linguistic areas 647
- 29 Language classification 669
- 30 Archival-based sociolinguistic variation 689
- 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation 701
