Postulated word-formation rules often exclude formations that can nevertheless be found in actual usage. This book presents an in-depth investigation of a highly heterogeneous word-formation pattern in English: the formation of nouns by suffixation with "-ee." Rather than relying on a single semantic or syntactic framework for analysis, the study combines diachronic, cognitive and language-contact perspectives in order to explain the diversity in the formation and establishment of "-ee" words. It also seeks to challenge previous measurements of productivity and proposes a new way to investigate the relationship between actual and possible words.
Сунцова Н. Л., Такумбетова Л. М. Лексикология английского языка. This book is intended as a manual for English language students taking the course of English Lexicology along with other linguistic subjects which form part of the curriculum at Foreign Langilagcs departments of colleges and universities. Post-graduates, teachers of English and all those interested in the subject can also make use of it.
The study of word-formation offers a great many puzzles to the present-day student of language. Not the least of these is its status as a branch of linguistic study. If we are to make much progress in understanding such matters, the topic of 'word-formation' as it is here defined may have to be recognized as after all rather superficially conceived: our real business should be with meanings and how they are expressed and Combined. The volume makes a welcome contribution in a difficult and controversial field. As English has increasingly come into world-wide use, there has arisen an acute need for more information on the language and the ways in which it is used.
