Denominal Verbs in Algonquian: Verbs of Acquiring

This article proposes a lexical analysis of the derivation of denominal verbs of a type found widely in Algonquian languages: verbs of acquiring, which express the process by which the referent of the subject acquires tokens of items of the type named by the nominal on which the verb stem is based. Focusing on data from Ojibwe and Maliseet-Passamaquoddy, I argue against a proposed syntactic analysis of these verbs via noun incorporation, instead developing a lexical alternative; employing the mechanisms of Bochner's (1993) Lexical Relatedness Morphology this allows us to track connections among lexical formations that follow related but distinct derivational patterns.