Deriving verbs in English

Abstract

Phonological and semantic principles which underlie the derivation of verbs from nouns and adjectives in English are examined. There is intricate phonological conditioning for suffix - ize and for suffix - (i)fy; a third major process is zero derivation. These derivational processes cover more than a score of semantic relations (some with overlap between processes). It is shown that whether a noun or adjective forms a derived noun (and, if so, how) depends on a combination of (i) the meaning of the noun or adjective; (ii) its phonological forms; and (iii) its etymology, in particular whether it is of Romance or of Germanic origin. The generalizations arrived at are then applied to prediction of how new verbalizations may be created from proper names.