Conversion in Albanian
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Rrahman Paçarizi
Abstract
Conversion is a unique way of forming new words, when derived word has the same shape as the original word. In traditional grammars, quite dominant is the definition that during conversions there is a change in the belonging of the part of speech or at least the change of the syntactic category of the word, without any change in the shape. The morpho-syntactic approach is based solely on changing the part of speech, while the lexical approach relies on the creation of the new lexical unit. This paper is an effort to expanded approach and perspective, because conversion in Albanian occurs also within the same parts of speech, or without changing it. While in English and German conversion is one of the most productive ways of word formation, in French, Spanish and Slavic languages it hardly exists. Italian applies conversion in a slightly different way. Albanian, on the other hand, is extremely advanced in this respect, since we have identified more than 500 cases of undoubted conversion as well as hundreds of cases of polysemy with a tendency of dissolution with high chances of differentiation of meaning, making those words new lexical units.
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Glossary
Conversion without a change of word class
Noun to noun
AJKË-A: 1. cream; 2. elite; 3. grease
AMË: a. mother; b. bee; c. uterus; d. wellspring
AN-I: a. womb; b. joint
ARGAT: a. peon, laborer; b. Piece of land that a man can work during one day; b. service
ATLETE: a. athlete; b. sneakers
BAJRAK: a. flag; b. Administrative unit
BANJË: a. bathroom; b. SPA; c. bath
BAR: a. grass; b. drug (medicine); c. weed (light drug)
BARK: a. stomach; b. diarrhesa; c. pregnancy; d. family tie
BARRË: a.load; b. pregnancy.
CULL: a. child; b. naked; c. stomach at children
ÇARK: a. pitfall ; b. flintlock
DADO: a. babysitter; b. screw
DARKË: a. dinner; b. evening
DERË: a. door; b. family
DOREZË: a. glove; b. handle
DORË: a. hand; b. class (in rankings)
DREDHË: a. curve; b. spiral; c. tornado; d. leather shoelace
ENË: a. dish; b. blood veins, blood vessel
ERË: a. wind; b. fragrance
FAQE: a. cheek; b. page; c. hillside (faqe mali)
FARË: a. seed; b. sperm; c. sort, type
FIJE: a. thread, fiber; b. trace
FLETË: a. leaf; b: wing; c. sheet
FUND: a. end, bottom, b. finish; c. skirt, short dress
GALË: a. dow; b. black sheep
GATOJCË: a. cooker; b. cooking book
GOJË: a. mouth; b. member of family
GUASKË: a. shell; b. toilet bowl
GJUHË: a. tongue; b. language
HIR: a. sake; b. grace
JUG: a. south; b. wind from the south
KURORË: a. crown of tree; b. crown of the King; c. wreath
LAK: a. lasso; b. hamstring; c. curve
LINDJE: a. east; b. birth
MBLEDHJE: a. collection; b. meeting; c: gathering; d. addition (arithmetic)
Verb to verb
AKORDOJ: a. to put in order; b. to grant
END: a. weave; b. walk around
FAL: a. forgive; b. to give for gratis
GODIT: a. hit; b. take deal; c. enchase
HEDH: a. throw; b. cast; c. cross ; e. dance, etc.
JETOJ: a. live; b. live
KËRCEJ; a. jump; b. dance
LAJ: a. wash; b. pay (a debt)
LUAJ: a. play; b. move; c. to go crazy
NDAJ: a. divide; b. cut in pieces; c. share (e feeling, a bed)
PAJTOJ: a. riconcile; b. agree; c. hire
QËLLOJ: a. strike; b. happen; c. to now by chance
SJELL: a. bring; b. turn; c. behave; d, hit
VEÇOJ: a. isolate; b. distinguish, differ
VRAS: a. kill; b. hurt
Adjective to adjective
HËNOR: a. lunar (cycle); b. lunar (arch)
Adverb to adverb
ESËLL: a. sober; b. not drunk
GJALLË: a. alive; b healthy
HOLLË: a. thin; b. in details
POSHTË: a. down; b. reject
SHPEJT: a. quickly; b. early
Conversion with a change of word class
Noun–adjective
BURRË: a. man; b. man
ÇIFT: a. couple; b. even
DJEGËS: a. burner, arsoner; b. hot, chilli, spicey
(E) DREJTË: a. right (the right decision); b. law (Roman Law)
EPIK-Ë: a. epic (long poem); b. epic (epic poem vs lyric poem)
FSHATAR; a. peasant, villager, countryman; b. rural, peasant, rustic
FTOHËS: a. coolant; b. cooler (cooler liquid)
KOMIK: a. comedian; b. comic
KRESHNIK: a. epic hero; b. epic (epic songs)
KRIJUES: a. creator; b. creative
LETRAR: a. writer (novelist, poet); b. literary (prose, critics)
LUFTËTAR: a. fighter; b. fighter, fighting
MBIKËQYRËS: a. supervisor; b. supervisory
ORIGJINAL: a. original (the original); b. original (original manuscript)
PADITËS: a. accuser; b. accusing side
PASUES: a. follower; b. following
PLAK: a. old man; b. old
PUNËTOR: a. worker; b. working
QYTETAR: a. citizen; b. citizen, civic
VEÇUES: a. isolator; b. isolating
Noun–adverb
CANGËL: a. clip; b. hanging
ÇIFT: a. couple, pair; b. parallel
KRYQ: a. cross; b. cross
QARK: a. circle; b. across
QIQËR: a. chickpeas; b. clear, sober, bright
Noun to preposition
BRI-NJË: a. rib; b. aside
BUZË: a. lip; b. edge, bank
MES: a. middle; b. between
RRETH; a. round, ring; b. around
Noun–verb
IK-Ë: n. run; v. run
KRIMB: n. worm; v. treat with worms, worming
KRIP-Ë: n. salt; v. to salt
MYK: n. mold; v. to mold
NDRYSHK: n. stain; v. to stain
PLAK: n. old man; v. to get old
QELB: n. pus; v. whiff
QULL: n. porridge, soft food; v. to get wet
SIT-Ë: n. sieve; v. sieve
VRUG: n. Smut; v. smut
Verb to noun
ÇART: v. to ruin, to botch; n. ruin
ÇEL: v. open; n. opening
ÇJERRË: v. claw, scratch; n. scar
FIK-Ë: v. extinguish; n. falimentation
JEHON-Ë: v. echoes; n. echo
KRIS-Ë: v. crack; n. crack
KULLOT-Ë: v.graze; n. pasture
RRIT-Ë: v. grow; n. growth
RRJEDH-Ë: v. flow; n. flow
RRUDH-Ë: v. wrinkle; n. wrinkle
SHTROJ-Ë: v. lay; n. blanket
THERR-Ë: v. stab; n. thorn
Noun/adverb
GRUMBULL: n. crowd; adv. to stay together unorganized
Adverb/verb
BARDH: adv. to look at someone or something with no emotions; v. to make something white
NGUL: v. thrust; adv. to stare
HUQ: v. to miss; adv. to go empty
PËRKRAH: v. support; adv. alongside
Adverb/preposition
DREJT: adv. in a right way, properly; prep. towards
GJATË: adv. long; prep. during
KARSHI: adv. in front of; prep. In front of, opposite
KUNDËR: adv. contra; prep. against
Adverb/conjunction
EDHE: con. and; adv. even
KUR: adv. when; con. when
Adverb/interjection
NGADALË: adv. slowly; int. slowly
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