Between compounding and derivation: Elements of word-formation corresponding to prepositions
Abstract
In French, eight formatives (après "after", avant "before", contre "against", en "in", entre "between", sans "without", sous "under" and sur "over") can be used both as prepositions and as elements of word formation, but they are often considered to be identical, that is, the formatives are prepositions and the words in which they appear are compounds, whose structure is P+N. Some scholars have called into question this analysis, and have wondered whether these elements are really prepositions or whether they are prefixes. The aim of this article is to bring into question previous analysis. In order to analyze these elements of word formation, I will first list the main criteria often used to distinguish between elements of derivation (prefixes in this case) and elements of composition. This will lead me to conclude that all formatives that originate from prepositions do not have to be analyzed in the same way: There is a continuum between elements which have to be considered real prefixes and others that are still prepositions.
Domains
Linguistics
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)
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