| Abstract |
Neoclassical formatives are elements that occur in neoclassical word formations such as ortho and paed(o) in orthopaedic. We can be sure that a separate system of neoclassical word formation is in place when we find words such as ơrthopaedic that use classical elements but cannot have been borrowed from a classical language, because the concept they refer to did not exist yet. However, it must be taken into account that such words can also have been borrowed from a modern language that has such a system. In the lexicographic treatment of neoclassical word formation, a central question is whether neoclassical formatives should be treated in separate entries. We investigated how different English and Russian dictionaries treat them. In order to arrive at an unbiased sample of formatives, we used a Catalan word formation dictionary.
The results of our investigation support the hypothesis that neoclassical word formation constitutes a separate system in English, but not in Russian. This means that in English neoclassical formatives should have entries. In electronic dictionaries they can usefully be connected to the full class of words they appear in. In Russian, neoclassical formations are borrowings from languages such as English or French and their internal structure belongs to the domain of etymology. |
| BibTex |
@InProceedings{ELX2014-082,
author={Pius ten Hacken and Renáta Panocová},
title={Neoclassical Formatives in Dictionaries},
pages={1059-1072},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 16th EURALEX International Congress},
year={2014},
month={jul},
date={15-19},
address={Bolzano, Italy},
editor={Abel, Andrea and Vettori, Chiara and Ralli, Natascia},
publisher={EURAC research},
isbn={978-88-88906-97-3},
} |
