Transitional Morphology: Combining Forms in Modern English

Combining Forms (CFs) are a significant morphological phenomenon in Modern English, yet they have received limited attention in morphological literature. This book is a pioneering study that provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing CFs, distinguishing them from neighboring categories like abbreviations and blending. It categorizes CFs into four types: neoclassical, abbreviated, secreted, and splinters and demonstrates that CFs span a wide spectrum of processes, from regular composition to abbreviation, blending, and analogy. The book adopts a corpus-based approach to analyze CFs in modern and emerging English, measuring their realized, expanding, and potential productivity. It is an essential resource for researchers and advanced students in morphology, English historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, and lexicography.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 08 December 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Combining Forms (CFs) are a significant morphological phenomenon in Modern English, yet despite their prevalence, no comprehensive study has been dedicated to this topic. This groundbreaking book fills that gap by presenting a framework that distinguishes CFs from their neighboring categories, such as abbreviations and blending. It categorizes CFs into four distinct types: neoclassical (e.g., bio-therapy, zoo-logy), abbreviated (e.g., e-reader, eco-politics), secreted (e.g., oil-gate, computer-holic), and splinters (e.g., docu- from documentary in docudrama). The book demonstrates that the concept of CF encompasses a wide range of processes, including regular composition, abbreviation, blending, and analogy, as well as schema. By employing a corpus-based approach, the book analyzes both modern and emerging English CFs, quantifying their realized, expanding, and potential productivity. Thorough yet accessible, this text is an essential resource for researchers and advanced students in morphology, English historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, and lexicography.

Weight: 524g
Dimension: 158 x 237 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009168281