Formative

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Formative is a term used in linguistics that describes the basic unit of grammar from which sentences are built, namely words or the parts of complex words. The term is used inconsistently in linguistics.

Meanings

What exactly is to be understood by the formative can be given in three partly overlapping meanings; the term is:

  • for the perceptible part of the morphemes , the smallest meaningful components of language, which are either simple words that cannot be further analyzed or parts of complex words; In this sense, formatives are the sequences of sounds (or sequences of letters) that make a morpheme audible or readable. The formative of the word "fast" would then be either the sound sequence [ʃnɛl] or the letter sequence <fast>. This concept of formative goes back to Leonard Bloomfield (1926). In this sense corresponds Formativ the terms signifier , signifier , signifier , character body .
  • in the early generative transformation grammar for abstract syntactic units that form the so-called “terminal string” when the sentences are generated by the rule system, into which grammatical (grammatical formatives) and lexical units (lexical formatives) are inserted through lexicon rules . For a sentence like “The sun shines often” the final chain would consist of the formative Det + N + V + Adv. The formative “Det” (= article) would be “possibly” as a grammatical formative, the others (N = noun, V = Verb, adv = adverb) to be classified as lexical formative.
  • in word formation for word formation morphemes, affixes and infixes . Accordingly, Fleischer & Barz speaks of formative structure when it comes to the structure of complex words.

In all three cases, it is about morphemes or lexemes , either as holistic signs (= linguistic unit, consisting of a perceptible sequence of sounds or letters or other perceptible units) and a meaning or even just that part of these signs that is perceptible .

species

There are several types of formatives:

grammatical formatives
lexical formatives
neoclassical formatives
These are word elements that cannot stand alone in German. As a rule, they are formed from Greek or Latin according to certain rules and are combined with other neoclassical formatives or words, which are mostly technical terms.

literature

  • Theodor Lewandowski: Linguistic Dictionary . 4th, revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1985, keyword: "Formative". ISBN 3-494-02050-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Leonard Bloomfield: A Set of Postulates for the Science of Language . in: Language 2, pp. 153-164 (reprinted in: Martin Joos (ed.), Readings in Linguistics I, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press 1957, pp. 26-31) 24. Definition: “Thus, book-s, ox-en have the construction of formative plus formative and the meaning 'object in number' ".
  2. That's how cautiously Chomsky puts it on p. 90
  3. Noam Chomsky : Aspects of Syntax Theory. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt / M. 1969, pp. 90f., Passim.
  4. ^ Walter Henzen : German word formation . 3. Edition. Tübingen 1965, p. 118, footnote.
  5. Wolfgang Fleischer, Irmhild Barz: Word formation of the German contemporary language. With the collaboration of Marianne Schröder. 2nd, revised and supplemented edition. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1995. ISBN 3-484-10682-4 .
  6. ^ Word formation from astronaut . Canoonet , accessed on September 27, 2019 : “Neoclassical formatives are word elements that cannot stand alone. They are usually of Latin or Greek origin. Together with other neoclassical formatives or words, they usually form technical expressions according to certain rules. "
  7. ^ Neoclassical word formation. Canoonet , accessed September 27, 2019 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Formative  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations