A corpus-based view on the (aspectual-)semantics of Modern English nominalizations

Publication date: Available online 11 October 2018Source: Language SciencesAuthor(s): Lauren FonteynAbstractIn this response article, I will challenge some of the claims presented by Iordăchioaia & Werner by suggesting that English ing-nominals were not entirely prevented from completing the ‘cycle of categorial shift’, and questioning the actual impact of the competition with Romance derived nominals on the development of ing-nominals with event denotation (i.e. nominal gerunds). The response is based on a detailed corpus-based analysis of Penn corpora of Modern English (PPCEME & PPCMBE, time span: 1500–1920), and consists of three components: (i) a summary of a recent study by Fonteyn and Hartmann (2016), in which it is argued that many nominal ing-forms did complete the full nominalization cycle from eventive to concrete object meanings, (ii) a more fine-grained aspectual-semantic analysis of eventive ing-nominals (or nominal gerunds), and (iii) a detailed comparison between ing-nominals and Romance derived nominals in -age, -al, -ance, -ion, and -ment, mapping out the areas of overlap and the effect of competition on the semantic development of the different nominalization strategies. In the conclusion, it is argued that the intriguingly versatile usage profile of English ing-nominals in Modern English is shaped by a constant diachronic interaction with their neighbouring constructions.
Source: Language Sciences - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research