Linguistik-Klassifikation
Refine
Document Type
- Article (3) (remove)
Language
- German (3) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- yes (3)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (3)
Keywords
- Ableitung <Linguistik> (3) (remove)
Based on the privative derivational suffix -los, we test statements found in the literature on word formation using a – at least in this field – novel empirical basis: a list of affective-emotional ratings of base nouns and associated -los derivations. In addition to a frequency analysis based on the German Reference Corpus, we show that, in general, emotional polarity (so-called valence, positive vs. negative emotions) is reversed by suffixation with -los. This change is stronger for more polarized base nouns. The perceived intensity of emotion (so-called arousal) is generally lower for -los derivations than for base nouns. Finally, to capture the results theoretically, we propose a prototypical -los construction in the framework of Construction Morphology.
German "-isch" and English "-ish" share a common Germanic origin, which is evidenced by striking similarities concerning the derivation of ethnic adjectives "(englisch/English)" or property-denoting adjectives "(kindisch/childish)". However, after an initial period of parallel characteristics, the two languages display drastic changes, with English developing an approximative sense when attached to adjectival bases (e.g. "greenish") and expanding to a wide range of other word categories, while German "-isch" develops multiple functions and also comes to firmly occupy a morphological niche with non-native bases. The paper sheds light on the evolving divergence between German and English by presenting results from two diachronic corpus-based studies. Additionally, explanations with respect to the typological parameter of 'Boundary Permeability' are provided.
Words ending with the suffix -ost are very common in Czech business language. In German the corresponding words are words derived using different suffixes, created by implicit derivation without suffixes, or formed as compounds. These particularly involve words indicating share, frequency or intensity. Moreover, the Czech negation ne- is expressed in various ways in the German equivalents. There exists a wide variety of equivalents to Czech words derived with the suffix -ost, so it is advisable to familiarize students of translation courses with this fact. Students tend to create these words mostly by using the suffixes -heit or -keit.