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Part of
Competition in Word-Formation
Edited by Alexandra Bagasheva, Akiko Nagano and Vincent Renner
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 284] 2024
► pp. 247–274

Chapter 8
A diachronic perspective on competition in denominal verb formation in Italian

ORCID logo | University of Salerno
ORCID logo | University of Salerno

Three derivational processes compete in the formation of Italian denominal verbs: suffixation, conversion and parasynthesis. The rivalry between these processes goes back to the early history of the Italian language. Based on the analysis of an original dataset, this chapter aims to offer a comprehensive overview of denominal verb formation in Italian from a diachronic perspective. The results of a macro-level analysis concern the availability of nouns to form verbs, the distribution of the competing verbalising processes over different diachronic stages, a comparative overview of the meanings encoded by each process, and the competition between synonymous verbs formed by means of different processes from a same noun. A micro-level analysis outlines the productivity of the specific derivational means expressing each process. The data suggest a higher differentiation of the processes over time, along with their enduring vitality, a decreased abundance of verbs derived from the same noun, and a recent growth in the employment of suffixation, which, however, does not coincide with a significant decline in the resort to either of the other two processes.

Keywords: denominal verbs, competition, word-formation, Italian, diachronic morphology
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Dataset
  • 3.How nouns surface as verbs in Italian
    • 3.1Denominal verbs: Derivational properties
    • 3.2Denominal verbs: Semantic properties
      • 3.2.1‘be (like a) n’
      • 3.2.2‘(make) become (like a) n’
      • 3.2.3‘make n’
        • 3.2.3.1‘make [put, cover oneself in, produce, develop, etc.] n’
        • 3.2.3.2‘make (undergo) [provoke, arouse, cause to acquire, etc.] n’
        • 3.2.3.3‘(cause to) become [bring together, arrange, etc.] a n’
        • 3.2.3.4‘(cause to) become [divide, break into, etc.] n’
      • 3.2.4‘to have [to be in, feel, show, etc.] n’
      • 3.2.5Spatial meanings
        • 3.3.5.1Locatum
        • 3.2.5.2Location
      • 3.2.6Instrumental meanings
      • 3.2.7Weather verbs
      • 3.2.8Mapping between derivational processes and semantic types
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Base nouns and verbal derivation: Quantitative aspects
    • 4.2Verb derivatives
      • 4.2.1Diachronic distribution and competition at a macro-level
      • 4.2.2Diachronic distribution and competition at a micro-level
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 May 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.284.08iac
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