Chapter published in:
Perspectives on Abstract Concepts: Cognition, language and communication
Edited by Marianna Bolognesi and Gerard J. Steen
[Human Cognitive Processing 65] 2019
► pp. 185–214

Cognitive and linguistic aspects of composition in German particle verbs

Most German particle verbs (PVs) are composed of a prepositional particle (P) and a base verb (BV). For instance, anstrahlen is formed from the P an and the BV strahlen. The meaning of a PV results from often systematic interactions between the P and BV meanings. But many Ps and BVs are ambiguous and, moreover, a single P meaning and a single BV meaning can be combined in several ways. Finally, the interactions between P and BV meanings depend on the context.This chapter presents a case study of how two particles, auf and ab, interact with certain BVs and contextual factors, while focusing on the difference between abstract and concrete BV/PV concepts, and between abstract and concrete contexts.
Keywords: abstract/concrete concepts, complex verbs, meaning shifts, neologisms
Published online: 06 June 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.65.10spr
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