Grammaticalizing Affixes of Spatial Orientation in English

Authors:

Pages: 113-123
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/AGTS6140

Abstract:

The study dwells on aspects of the complexity of encoding space in language by focusing on affixes of spatial orientation in English. As a linguistic means of denoting space, prefixation is of higher productivity compared to suffixation in English. The affixes of spatial orientation in English are explored with reference to the process of grammaticalization in view of their origin in prepositions and spatial adverbs. The grammaticalization path of spatial affixes in English is outlined followed by a detailed study of their function with reference to derivation as a type of word formation. The lexical meanings of spatial affixes in English are also analysed, namely general lexical meanings of horizontal and vertical orientation and specific lexical meanings of degree, manner, direction, etc. The grammatical meanings of spatial affixes in English are also analysed mainly with reference to the category of aspectuality, drawing parallels with the aspectual function of adverbial particles of phrasal verbs.

Keywords:

space; affixation; grammaticalization; lexicalization; word formation; derivation; language change.

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