A pioneering book establishing the foundations for research into word-formation typology and tendencies. It fills a gap in cross-linguistic research by being the first systematic survey of the word-formation of the world's languages. Drawing on over 1500 examples from fifty-five languages, it provides a wider global representation than any other volume. This data, from twenty-eight language families and forty-five language genera, reveals associations between word-formation processes in genetically and geographically distinct languages. Data presentation from two complementary perspectives, semasiological and onomasiological, shows both the basic functions of individual word-formation processes and the ways of expressing selected cognitive categories. Language data was gathered by way of detailed questionnaires completed by over eighty leading experts on the languages discussed. The book is aimed at academic researchers and graduate students in language typology, linguistic fieldwork and morphology.
• The first systematic survey of the word-formation of the world's languages • Relies on a sample of fifty-five languages of various genetic origins and geographical locations • Language data was gathered using detailed questionnaires completed by over eighty leading experts on the languages discussed
Contents
Introduction; Part I. The Field of Word-Formation: 1. The scope of word-formation; 2. Word-formation vs syntax; Part II. Cross-Linguistic Analysis: 3. Word-formation processes combining free morphemes; 4. Word-formation processes with bound morphemes; 5. Word-formation without addition of derivational material and subtractive word-formation; 6. An onomasiological description; 7. Results and discussion.
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