Article

Name: Phrasal affixation in derivation in the Evenki language

Authors: Rudnitskaya E. L.

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract:

The paper considers cases of derivation in Evenki from verbs to nouns and from nouns to adjectives when the derivative preserves syntactic properties of the base stem (particularly the information on syntactic dependents). The examples of such derivatives are deverbal nouns and denominal adjectives with certain derivation affixes. Nouns preserve the verbal property of subcategorization (they govern a direct accusative object), and adjectives preserve the nominal property of attaching an attributive word: a noun (an appositive), an adjective, a participle, a numeral. The syntactic analysis of such phrases differs from their derivation analysis. In terms of syntax, the base stem and its direct object (or attribute) form one constituent: [[NP/AP + N/VBASE] + NMLZ], reflecting subcategorial and combinatory features of the base stem. The derivation affix in the syntactic representation is attached to the whole constituent, suggesting the construction with a phrasal affix. Such analysis relies on the notion of group flection or phrasal affixation. The phrasal affixation in inflection has been investigated in detail in typologically diverse languages. However, much fewer works are devoted to phrasal affixation in word formation. Evenki language specialists either did not report this phenomenon or mentioned it without giving an explanatory account. The sources of our examples are different: oral stories, newspaper articles, archives, and examples from grammars and other studies in Evenki. These data illustrate the transition of constructions with a deverbal noun and an accusative object from the class of productive (mid-20th century) to the class of idiomatic ones (21st century).

Keywords: word formation, base stem, derivative, syntactic structure, phrasal affixation, constituent

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