UNIVERBATION AS AN INTERLINGUAL PHENOMENON

Abstract

The article deals with definition of univerbation, which is universal phenomenon for different languages. Modern linguistics considers univerbation as the active way to form new words basing upon word combinations. But declaration of laws of univerbation does not involve such a semantic identity as word combination-univerb, motivation type, and other important features characterizing the phenomenon. Hypothesis of the study is in the fact that a word of any part of speech is only one of the speech modifications of an abstract (linguistic) nominative unit (being structural in its nature) which is called a nominatheme. On the one hand, it can be actualized in speech not only in the form of a word but also in polyverbal units; on the other hand, it can have any monoverbal nominative formation as the dominant of its language modification. Basing upon that fact, it can be assumed that univerbs are capable of representing two nominative types in language and speech area respectively. Object under analysis is univerbalizing processes in the context of their diversity. “Word combination – word” parallels of the type under analysis are forms of abstract lexical unit called nominatheme characterizing by a number of formal peculiarities and semantic ones typical for the lexical structures only. Nominative approach to the description of univerbs allows singling out polyverbal and verbal doublets of a basic linguistic unit. Verbal implementations of “verb combination + elliptical univerb” type nominathemes are subject to univerbalization, nominalization, and lexicalization forming three types depending on the complex of processes of their fixation in a language as well as on their linguistic functioning. The proposed consideration of univerbation is the specific example of the analysis performed on the basis of complex approach to the study of verbal and linguistic nominative units. In future it will be possible to model the nominative units in different languages.Key-words: derivation, motivation, nominatheme, nomination, word, word combination, univerb, univerbalization.