Spanish Word Formation and Lexical Creation ed. by José Luis Cifuentes Honrubia and Susana Rodríguez Rosique (review)

Spanish Word Formation and Lexical Creation examines mechanisms of lexical creation and neologism in Spanish with a focus on the semantic properties of verbalization. This volume brings together papers from the Conference on Word Formation and Lexical Creation (Alicante, March 2010), translated into English and divided into four parts. It contains both an author (479–81) and a subject index (483–85).

Part 1 is “Conflation,” defined as “a verbalization process which transforms a complete predicative schema into a new single verb” (vii). The resulting verb incorporates one of the arguments of the original predicate. Barrajón López (3–20) examines the semantic relationship between meteorological denominal verbs and their corresponding nominal bases (e.g., nieve>nevar), distinguishing several semantic classes that differ in their degree of impersonality. Bolaños Navalón (21–42) proposes a three-part classification of instrumental denominal verbs (e.g., trompeta>trompetear), based partly on the different ways the instrument participates in the localization process. Candalija Reina (43–63) examines the formation of denominal verbs with a prepositional object. There is a conflation of the analytical expression (e.g., hacer abuso de<abusar de), where the noun is recategorized into a verb (49). The analytical and synthetic constructions are not completely synonymous, but they require the same preposition, motivated by the Latin etymology or Romance origin. Cifuentes Honrubia (65–105) describes four main semantic patterns in the conflation of Spanish deadjectival verbs (e.g., barato>abaratar), but argues that, in spite of their diversity, all reflect the same kind of conflation, attributing a property, quality, or state to the base. Lavale Ortiz (107–43) focuses on the causative content of sensory-emotional denominal verbs (e.g., angustia>angustiar), which may also express a locative and possessive meaning. Lastly, Rodríguez Rosique (145–62) examines the difference between propositional negation and affixal negation conveyed by the prefix des- (for example, a verb like desagradar is not exactly equivalent to no agradar) (152), and argues that, due to pragmatic considerations, speakers interpret affixal negation with des- as stronger.

Part 2 is called “Formal Processes.” In this section, Martín García (165–83) discusses the morphological, syntactic, and semantic properties of -dura in deverbal Modern Spanish nouns (e.g., torcer>torcedura), types of nominalizations in -dura, and the constraints imposed by the suffix that determine the selection of senses of the verb. Martínez Linares analyzes sentences with protagonizar (e.g., El paisaje protagoniza el relato 186) to address the larger question of whether standard light verbs (e.g., hacer, dar) and semilight verbs (e.g., lanzar una acusación) are identifiable subclasses of verbs or simply elusive notions. While this article does not deal directly with word formation, it focuses on the semantic weight and argument structure of “emptied” light or semilight verbs, and the restrictions this places on participation in the nominalization process. Pena (217–31) shows that morphological irregularities in verb>deverbal noun derivational series within the framework of word families (e.g., agrupar-agrupamiento) can only be detected from a historical point of view due to gaps, new formations, and readjustments that may affect the deverbal noun with respect to the original Latin base verb. Rifón Sánchez (233–54) explores the morphological competition between conversion and suffixation with -miento and -ción in the formation of deverbal nouns from Latin verbs transferred into Spanish (e.g., repartir-reparto, repartición, repartimiento). Ongoing competition between deverbal nouns causes them to be differentiated semantically, diatopically or through the disappearance of one of them. Serrano-Dolader (255–81) examines the prefix des- (and dis- and s- in Italian, and dé- in French), to argue that despite the importance currently given to semantic restrictions on base-affix (in)compatibility, it remains necessary to bear in mind the categorial restrictions that seem to operate in the word formation process.

In part 3 “Neologisms...