Cover not available
Article published In:
Morphology and its interfaces: Syntax, semantics and the lexicon
Edited by Dany Amiot, Delphine Tribout, Natalia Grabar, Cédric Patin and Fayssal Tayalati
[Lingvisticæ Investigationes 37:2] 2014
► pp. 240–255

The system of intensifying prefixes in Modern Greek

| Democritus University of Thrace

Adverbs functioning as degree modifiers are not the only devices used for positive scaling; cross-linguistically, another very common means of intensification is the prefixation. This paper is concerned with data of nine intensifying prefixes of Modern Greek ( arxi‑ ‘archi’, θeο‑ ‘god’, kata‑ ‘over’, pan‑ ‘all’, olo‑ ‘whole’, para‑ ‘over’, pend(a)‑ ‘five’, xilio‑ ‘thousand’, iper‑ ‘hyper’) that constitute a representative sample of Greek intensifying prefixes. The purpose of this paper is to account for prefix-base combinations, taking into consideration the semantic typology of gradable predicates of Kennedy & McNally (2005) and more precisely focusing on the question of how the open or closed scale on which the bases map their arguments relates to intensifying prefix-base combinations. Our aim is to arrive at a general conceptual framework that can analyze all cases of intensifying prefixes. The paper also aims to account for the polysemy found in intensifying prefixes.

Keywords: intensification, evaluative morphology, degree words, open scales, scalar predicates, closed scales
Published online: 22 May 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/li.37.2.04gav
References (27)
Amiot, D
(2004) Haut degré et préfixation. In F. Lefeuvre, & M. Noailly (Eds.), Intensité, Comparaison, Degré, Travaux linguistiques du CERLICO 17 (pp. 91–104). Presses Universitaires de Rennes.Google Scholar
(2012) De la localisation à l’évaluation : des verbes préfixés évaluatifs au sens bien particulier. Corela ‑ Numéros thématiques | Langue, espace, cognition. Available at [URL].
Bolinger, D
(1972) Degree words. The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Delveroudi, R., & Vassilaki, S
(1999) Préfixes d’intensité en grec moderne : para‑, kata‑, poly‑, et olo-. In Les opérations de détermination-Quantification / Qualification (pp. 149–167). Paris: Ophrys.Google Scholar
Fischer, R
(1994) A hyperinflation of lexical mega-monsters? Eine korpusgestützte Analyse zum Gebrauch der Wortbildungselemente mega‑, ultra‑, super‑ und hyper‑ im heutigen Englisch. Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 191, 83–111.Google Scholar
Goutsos, D
(2010) The corpus of Greek texts: A reference corpus for Modern Greek. Corpora, 5(1), 29–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
.
Grandi, N
(2002) Morfologie in contatto. Le costruzioni valutative nelle lingue del Mediterraneo. Milano: Franco Angeli.Google Scholar
Guilbert, L., & Dubois, J
(1961) Formation du système préfixal intensif en français moderne et contemporain. Le français moderne, 291, 87–111.Google Scholar
Kastovsky, D
(1992) Semantics and vocabulary. In R. Hogg (Ed.), The Cambridge history of the English language, vol. 11 (pp. 290–408). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
.
Κennedy, C., & Mc Nally, L
(2005) Scale structure, degree modification, and the semantics of gradable predicates. Language, 811, 345–381. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
.
Kennedy, C., & Mc Nally, L
(2009) Color, context and compositionality. Synthese, 174(1), 79–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lenker, U
(2008) Booster prefixes in Old English – an alternative view of the roots of the ME forsooth. English Language and Linguistics, 12(2): 245–265. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marchand, H
(1969) The categories and types of present-day English word-formation. A synchronic-diachronic approach (2nd edn.). Munich: Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.Google Scholar
Martin-Garcia, J
(1998) Los prefijos intensivos de espanol: caracterizacion morfosemantica. E.L.U.A, 121, 103–116.Google Scholar
Montero-Curiel, M-L
(1998) Los prefijos ex‑ y extra‑ en espanol. Annuario de Estudios Filologicos, XXI1, 243–255.Google Scholar
Ralli, A
(2002) Prefixation vs. compounding: The case of Greek preverbs. In A.M. Di Sciullo (Ed.), Asymmetry in grammar, Vol. 2: Morphology (pp. 37–63). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
.
(2004) Stem-based versus word-based morphological configurations: The case of modern Greek preverbs. Lingue e Linguaggio, 21, 241–275.Google Scholar
Valetopoulos, F
(2004) L’intensité absolue des adjectifs en grec. In F. Lefeuvre, & M. Noailly (Eds.), Intensité, Comparaison, Degré, Travaux linguistiques du CERLICO 17 (pp. 105–116). Presses Universitaires de Rennes.Google Scholar
Αναστασιάδη-Συμεωνίδη, A
(1986) Η νεολογία στην κοινή νεοελληνική [Neology in modern Greek]. Θεσσαλονίκη: Α.Π.Θ.Google Scholar
(2008) Το μόρφημα θεο‑ στην Ελληνική [The morpheme theo‑ in Greek]. Στο Γλώσσης χάριν. Τόμος αφιερωμένος από τον Τομέα Γλωσσολογίας στον Καθηγητή Γεώργιο Μπαμπινιώτη (pp. 99–113). Αθήνα: Ελληνικά Γράμματα.Google Scholar
Γαβριηλίδου, Ζ
(2013) Όψεις Επίτασης στη Νέα Ελληνική [Aspects of Intensity in Modern Greek]. Θεσσαλονίκη: Κυριακίδης.Google Scholar
Γιαννουλοπούλου, Γ
(2003) Μορφήματα στα όρια ανάμεσα στην παραγωγή και τη σύνθεση. Η περίπτωση των θεο‑, ψιλο‑ και φέρνω [Morphemes at the interface of derivation and composition. The case of theo‑, psilo‑ and ferno]. Πρακτικά του 6ου Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου Ελληνικής Γλωσσολογίας. Ρέθυμνο. (διαθέσιμο στο [URL])
.
Ευθυμίου, Α
(2001) Το νεοελληνικό πρόθημα ξε-: οι έννοιες της απομάκρυνσης και της αλλαγής κατάστασης [The Modern Greek prefix kse-: the notions of separation and change of state]. Μελέτες για την Ελληνική Γλώσσα, 211, 202–213.Google Scholar
(2002) Προθήματα ή α΄ συνθετικά που δηλώνουν επίταση στη νέα ελληνική [Prefixes and parts of compounds denoting intensification]. Μελέτες για την Ελληνική Γλώσσα, 231, 519–528.Google Scholar
Σαββίδου, Π
(2012) Μετριασμός και επίταση με τη χρήση των μορφημάτων ψιλο‑ και θεό: ανάλυση σε σώματα κειμένων [Attenuation and Intensification with psilo‑ and theo-: analysis in corpora], In Z. Gavriilidou, A. Eftymiou, P. Kambaki, & E. Thomadaki (Eds.), Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference in Greek Linguistics, Komotini, Democritus University of Thrace. (διαθέσιμο στο [URL])
Συμεωνίδης, X
(1984) Συμβολή στην ερμηνεία των νεοελληνικών συνθέτων με πρώτο συνθετικό το θεο‑ [A contribution to the interpretation on Modern Greek compound with theo-]. Μελέτες για την Ελληνική Γλώσσα, 51, 111–119.Google Scholar
Φωτίου, Νίκος
1998 Προθηματική μεγέθυνση και επίταση στη νέα ελληνική [Magnification and Intensification with prefixes in Modern Greek]. Μεταπτυχιακή εργασία. Θεσσαλονίκη: Α.Π.Θ.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by 1 other publications

Koutsoukos, Nikos & Angeliki Efthymiou
2023. Derivational morphology in Modern Greek. Journal of Greek Linguistics 23:2 ► pp. 215 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.