The semantics of noun-to-verb zero-derivation in English and Spanish

Abstract: The semantics of zero-derivation/conversion has attracted renewed interest both as a subject of description and as a means towards refined descriptions of the process. This paper takes the latter stance and compares which semantic categories occur in zero-derivation/conversion and in overt affixation in two languages with a different morphological model: English and Spanish. For attestation and distribution of the semantic categories, the paper relies on a stratified sample of denominal verbs collected from two comparable corpora: the British National Corpus and the Corpus de Referencia del Español Actual. The sample consists in sets of ca. 50 denominal verb-forming resources, one per affixation process, namely affixation by -ate, -(i) fy, -ize/-ise, -en, en- in English, a-…-ar, en-…-ar, -ear, -ecer, -(i) ficar, -izar in Spanish, and zero-derivation/conversion in both languages. The results are contrasted within and across affixes/processes, within each language and across the two languages for the adequacy of a description as zero-derivation or as conversion. Statistical analysis shows that the process/affixes form a cline with overlaps and closer associations between specific affixes/processes and semantic categories, but no clear divide between zero-derivation/conversion and the rest of processes as far as the semantic categories are concerned.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: The semantics of noun-to-verb zero-derivation in English and Spanish ; volume:42 ; number:1 ; year:2023 ; pages:153-180 ; extent:28 ; Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft ; 42, Heft 1 (2023), 153-180 (gesamt 28)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Valera, Salvador

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/zfs-2022-2016
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2023060914104538579377
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 11:00 AM CEST