Are there any principles governing the order and combination of affixes in Modern Greek parasynthetic verbs ?

1. Are there any principles governing the order and combination of affixes in Modern Greek parasynthetic verbs ? Angeliki EFTHYMIOU Assistant Professor Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

2. Introduction (1) • This paper discusses the principles governing the order and combination of affixes in Modern Greek parasynthetic verbs (MGPVs). • Parasynthetic derivation is generally described as a process of simultaneous affixation of a prefix and a suffix to a base (cf. Lieber 2010:202, Plag 2003: 40) • e.g. (MG) kse-floud-íz(o) ‘peel’ Cf. also (English) decaffeinate, (Italian) decaffeinare, etc.

3. Introduction (2) • MGPVs seem to be formed by an adjectival or nominal base and two derivational affixes (a prefix and a suffix),which are simultaneously added to the right and to the left of the base : • MG Pattern: Derivational PREF- N/A- derivational SUFF- (inflectional SUF): e.g. • kse-floud-íz(o) ‘peel’ : floúd(a) ‘hull, skin’, *floud-ízo, *kseflouda • kse-dond-jáz(o) ‘to take one’s teeth out’ : dond(i) ‘tooth’, *dondjazo, *ksedondi

4. Previous analyses for MGPVs • Following Scalise (1994), Ralli (2005) adopts a binary structure for MGPVs: 1. the noun/adjectival base is combined with the derivational suffix (-iz-, -iaz-, -on-, etc. ) in order to produce a possible but non-existing bound verbal stem. 2. the prefixis added to this stem. 3. the inflectional affix –o transforms the stem into an actual word. • Following Corbin’s (1987) model, Efthymiou (2002), and Anastassiadis-Symeonidis & Masoura (2009) characterize the segments –iaz(o), iz(o), -on(o) in such cases as class markers serving to indicate verbal category.

5. Data • Corpus : a list of 300 parasynthetic verbs in ‑ízo, –iázo and–óno extracted from Anastassiadis-Symeonidis (2002) Reverse Dictionary of Modern Greek • The investigation of MGPVs reveals that the distribution of prefixes and suffixes in these verbs is not arbitrary, but governed by some general principles.

6. MGPVs: preliminary remarks • All derivational prefixes and suffixes that participate in MGPVs also exist outside parasynthesis (or verb formation): e.g. aristotel-izo ‘imitate Aristotle’,ritid-jazo ‘to wrinkle, become wizened’, vutir-ono ‘to butter’, karf-ono ‘to nail’, kse-dheno ‘untie’, apo-vutir-ono ‘skim’, ek-fort-ono ‘unload’, etc.

7. The crucial role of the prefix • Prefixes seem to determine the argument structure and the meaning of the derived verb: - non parasynthetic –ízo verbs derived from [+human] bases 1. are intransitive and 2. denote similative meanings : amerikanízo ‘behave like an American’, ellinizo ‘imitate/behave like a Greek’ (cf. Efthymiou to appear) - parasynthetic –ízo verbs prefixed by ek(s)- are transitive and express causative meanings: ek-xristian-ízo ‘christianize’ vs. °xristian-ízo ‘behave like a christian’ (Xristianós ‘Christian’), cf. also eksellinizo ‘turn into Greek’ and the synonymous neologism ellinopió ‘turn into a Greek’

8. The crucial role of the prefix (2) • the majority of non-parasynthetic –iazo verbs: • are intransitive • their most representative meaning is ‘be provided with usually unwanted endogenous x or become x’: e.g. ritidjázo ‘to wrinkle, become wizened’ , laspjázo ‘become mash’ vs. • parasynthetic –iazo verbs prefixed by kse- are usually transitive and express privative meanings: kse-dond-jáz(o) ‘to take one’s teeth out’(cf. Efyhymiou 2010)

9. Correlation between transitivity and parasynthesis ? • MGPVs extracted for RDMG (300) • transitive 277 • intransitive 10 • transitive/intransitive 13 (Data from Tsakou 2010) e.g. kse-dond-jáz(o) ‘to take one’s teeth out’ (trans.), kse-port-izo [-learned’ ‘go out/away from home’ (intr.), kse-fludh-izo ‘peel, husk’ (+/-trans.) • Based on the fact that the vast majority of the parasynthetic verbs of our corpus are transitive we can assume that there is a strong correlation between transitivity and parasynthesis (in the verbal domain)

10. The crucial role of the prefix (3) • Prefixes determine the register of the derived verb: Parasynthetic verbs prefixed by ek(s)- and epi- are [+learned] : e.g. epi-nikel-ono (nickel), ek-dimokrat-izo ‘democatize’ whereas parasynthetic verbs prefixed by kse- are not learned: e.g. kse-parad-jazo ‘take all the money from someone’ (paras ‘money’[-learned])

11. The register of the prefix • The majority of [+learned] MGPVs prefixed byapo-, ek-, epi-, en- are used in formations of scientific sublanguages/ terms translated from French/ English (cf. also Efthymiou 2002). • e.g. apo-toxin-ono (detoxify), em-fial-ono ‘bottle’ (embouteiller), ek-viomixan-izo (industrialiser), eks-islam-izo (islamiser), ipo-vathm-izo (downgrade), ipo-gramm-izo (souligner/underline), en-idat-ono (hydrater), en-armon-izo (harmoniser), epi-nikel-ono (nickeler)

12. The role of the suffix • It seems that the combination of prefixes and suffixes is also influenced by the semantics and the selectional restrictions of the suffixes: e.g. both parasynthetic and non parasynthetic verbs in –iázo tend to exhibit ‘negative’ meanings (see Efthymiou 2010): ritidhjázo ‘to wrinkle, become wizened’, kse-dond-jáz(o) ‘to take one’s teeth out’ both parasynthetic and non parasynthetic verbs in –ono tend to prefer ‘ornative’ meanings (see Efthymiou to appear): vutirono ‘to butter’,ep-argir-óno ‘cover with silver’

13. The role of the suffix • Some meanings expressed by non-parasynthetic verbs in –izo, -iazo, -ono are not attested in MGPVs: • e.g. similative, instrumental meanings: aristotel-izo ‘imitate Aristotle’, karfono ‘to nail’,

14. MGPVs extracted from RDMG (300) Suffix -izo (144) Suffix -ono (116) Suffix -iazo (40) (Data from Tsakou 2010) Suffixed verbs extracted from RDMG (prefixed/compound verbs were eliminated) -izo (3507) 650 -ono (2106) 500 -iazo (2260) 313 (Data from Efthymiou to appear) The frequency of the suffix

15. combinatorial restrictions • The combination of prefixes and suffixes is restricted by register and semantic factors: • e.g. the [-learned] suffix –(i)ázo combines only with the [-learned] negative-privative prefix kse- ‘de’ : kse-koil-iazo ‘disembowel’ (koilia ‘belly’), kse-parad-jazo ‘take all the money from someone’ (paras ‘money’[-learned]) 2. e.g. the [+learned] prefix epi- ‘on(to)’ combines almost exclusively with the suffix ‑óno, e.g. ep-argir-óno ‘cover with silver’ (árgiros ‘silver’), epi-nikel-ono (nickel), which denotes mostly ornative meanings 3. Kse- seems to be the only prefix that combines freely with all three suffixes under investigation

16. Combinatorial preferences • Apo- seems to prefer combining with –ono: e.g. apo-kentr-ono ‘decentralize’, af-omi-ono ‘assimilate’, apo-ksen-ono ‘alienate’, apo-lith-ono ‘ossify’ But cf. also apo-kefal-izo ‘decapitate’ • Ek- combines preferably with –izo: ek-dimokrat-izo ‘democratize’, ek-xristian-ízo ‘christianize’ , but also eks-athli-ono ‘degrade, make extremely poor/miserable’’ (cf. also Efthymiou 2002)

17. Preference of certain semantic categories • There is a clear tendency of certain semantic categories of prefixes to appear in parasynthetic verbs: i.e. negative and locative prefixes (kse-, ek-, apo-, en-, epi-, etc.). • The vast majoriry of MGPVs is prefixed by kse- (110 verbs) • Of all MG prefixes kse- seems to be the most frequent, followed by ek(s)- (58 verbs),apo- (39 verbs), epi- (20 verbs), and en- (15 verbs)

18. Semantic categories • The vast majority of PGPVs prefixed by kse-, apo- and ek(s)- denote privative/ablative (and 2. causative/completive) meanings (cf. also Tsakou 2010): e.g. apo-kentr-ono ‘decentralize’, apo-kefal-izo ‘decapitate’, af-omi-ono ‘assimilate’, apo-ksen-ono ‘alienate’, apo-lith-ono ‘ossify’, kse-port-izo [-learned’ ‘go out/away from home’, ek-top-izo ‘dislocate, displace’, ek-stom-izo ‘utter’ • Correlation between privation and parasynthesis? • Very few MGPVs are prefixed by dia-, kata-, meta-, pros-, para-, peri-, syn-, yper-, ypo-, ana- : pros-edaf-izo ‘land’, kat-edaf-izo ‘demolish’

19. Absent semantic categories (?) • Temporal (pro-), quantitative (e.g. poly-), evaluative, etc. prefixes are almost absent from the MGPVs of our corpus. Exceptions : ana-ne-ono [+learned] ‘renew’

20. the register of the prefix • may influence the choice of the nominalizing suffix that attachesto verbal parasynthetic bases: e.g. apo-lep-ízo [+learned] ‘scale, peel’ - apo-lepi-si‘scaling, peeling’ vs. kse-lep-jazo [-learned] ‘scale’ - kse-lepjas-ma‘scaling’ apo-fli-óno ‘husk, peel’ [+learned]’ – apo-flio-si ‘husking’ vs. kse-fludh-izo ‘peel, husk’-kse-floudhis-ma ‘peeling’

21. conclusion • In this paper an attempt was made to show that 1. the distribution of the prefixes and suffixes in MGPVs is not arbitrary but governed by some general principles 2. the role of the first affix (i.e. the prefix) is more important than the role of the second (i.e. the suffix). THANK YOU !! ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΩ !!

22. Selected references • Anastassiadis-Symeonidis A. 2002. The Reverse Dictionary of Modern Greek.Thessaloniki: Institouto Neoellinikon Spoudon [in Greek]. • Anastassiadis-Symeonidis A. and Masoura E. 2009. ‘Ending-part and memory: A theoretical account’. In G. Giannakis, M. Baltazani, G. Xydopoulos and A. Tsangalidis (eds). Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Greek Linguistics, University of Ioannina, 30 August- 2 September 2007, Ioannina, 616-634 [in Greek]. • Efthymiou A. 2002. ‘Semantic considerations for the Modern Greek prefixes kse-, ek- and apo-’. Studies in Greek Linguistics 2001, 199-209 [in Greek]. • Efthymiou A. 2010. ‘How many factors influence the meaning of denominal verbs? The case of Modern Greek verbs in –(i)ázo.’ Talk presented at the Workshop ‘Meaning and Lexicalization’, 14th International Morphology Meeting, Budapest 13-16 May 2010. • Ralli A. 2005. Morphology. Patakis: Athens. [In Greek]. • Tsakou E. 2010. Derivative verbs of Modern Greek without correspondence between form and meaning. The case of prefixed verbs in –ízo, –iázo and –óno. Master Thesis, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece [In Greek].