by swooshtika. The semantic side of the lexical blend can be captured by a three-space representation based on Fauconnier and Turner’s notion of conceptual blending (see section 2.2. above). Kemmer’s example for this semantic (or conceptual) de- scription is the blend glitterati (< glitter þ literati), an example which also enables her to show how low-level schemas can spark off higher-level schemas, as shown in figure 25.10. 10 Figure 25.10a illustrates a relatively low-level schema whose phonological pole is applicable to the blends glitterati, chatterati, and a few others. Apart from the four-syllable structure of the second source lexeme literati, this schema is charac- terized by an overlap of an initial consonant cluster, a vowel, and the phoneme /t/. In figure 25.10b, the /t/ is replaced by the more general consonant element which admits blends like botherati and luncherati, and thus raises the schema to a some- what higher level, while still maintaining the syllabic structure of schema (a). Fi- nally, in figure 25.10c, phonological overlap is no longer required (but still possible), and the syllable structure, though prototypically still consisting of four syllables, may be extended to more syllables, as in Britpoperati. Within Kemmer’s classifi- cation of blends, this marks a switch from overlap to substitution blends, and this is possible because in schema (a), the phonological string -erati already supports the fairly tangible meaning of ‘elite group’ (as indicated in the top section of the schema boxes). When the phonological overlap in the first element is dropped, as in schema (c), the second element may therefore assume the status of a derivational morpheme (traditionally called ‘‘semi-suffix’’), which can freely be combined with suitable lexical morphemes. This is a good illustration of what Kemmer (2003) means when she claims that it is ‘‘the phonological strings that trigger meanings’’ (77). This leads her to the important conclusion (modestly hidden away in a foot- note) that morphemes should be regarded as a special case of the association of sounds with meaning, ‘‘the case in which the connection of a sound string with a meaning is very well entrenched and the unit is recombinable’’ (note 7). Figure 25.10. -erati blends: The development from low-level to high-level schemas (excerpt from the schematic network for -erati blends in Kemmer 2003: 90, figure 3) 670 friedrich ungerer 4. Conclusion and Research Prospects As this survey has shown, current cognitive research in word-formation is still very much in its initial stages. While one can be fairly certain that word-formation can smoothly be accommodated within the framework of Cognitive Grammar, the application of most empirical methods has been too selective for a proper evaluation of their usefulness and should be supported by further studies. Thus, the radial category approach could be extended beyond -er derivation (and, of course, phrasal verbs and prepositional compounds) to other types of suffixations, for instance, to the area of de-nominal adjectival suffixes (-ic, -ical, -ous, etc.); the attribute listing and matching method could be tested in a more comprehensive examination of compounds, which can be expected to yield more differentiated results. An exciting avenue for further research would be to try to transfer Kemmer’s approach of ‘‘emergent schematic networks’’ from lexical blends to other domains of word-formation. The obvious candidates are acronyms, both alphabetic (UN, US) and orthoepic acronyms (ROM, SARS), including those supported by prop words (WASPS, see also section 2.3). It might also be interesting to provide a sche- matic analysis of the development from letter combinations to pseudo-simplicia, which is accomplished at an ever-increasing speed (compare the development of laser, AIDS, and SARS), as well as a schematic network solution for the yuppie, dinkie, taffie series of acronyms. These analyses would probably support Kemmer’s view that morphemes should be regarded as the special case of a well-entrenched and recombinable connection of a sound string with a meaning. 11 This view of word-formation would not only strengthen the position of the ‘‘ungrammatical’’ word-formation processes such as blending and acronyming, but would permit a refreshing glimpse at ‘‘morphemes in the making’’ and might well change the pic- ture we have of this central linguistic element. 12 Finally, a cognitive approach might fuel the discussion of the question (raised in Ungerer 2002) of what the specific conceptual and communicative function of word-formation might be vis-a ` -vis the potential of simplex lexemes and syntactic constructions. NOTES 1. This implies that root creations are very rare indeed in modern languages, where they are largely restricted to the creation of trade names such as kodak. 2. For a much wider application of the Figure/Ground contrast (and other cogni- tive principles) in the affix-stem morphology of incorporating languages like Nahuatl, see Tuggy (1992). 3. A still more differentiated explanation for compounds (and even more so, for idioms) is offered by Geeraerts (2002), whose ‘‘prismatic model’’ not only takes account word-formation 671 of the relationship between the composite meaning and the meaning of the constituents, but also of the metaphorical or metonymic relationship that holds between the literal and derived meanings of compounds and idioms, as in Dutch schapenkop (457) or English blockhead ‘stupid person’. Within this model, the bottom-up analysis is complemented by the (less frequent) top-down analysis underlying nontransparent ‘‘semantic back- formations’’, as in the idiom spekverkoper ‘boaster’ (450) or the proverbial fragments new broom and early bird. In the domain of compounds, one might consider paper ‘newspaper’, plane ‘airplane’, or car ‘motor car’ as suitable candidates, even though their compound background will probably receive low analyzability ratings by language users. 4. For an application of the blending approach to nominal compounds, see Coulson (2001: 128–33); for an analysis of adjective-noun combinations, see Sweetser (1999). The representation of the compound wheelchair in figure 25.5 makes use of a three-space arrangement of mental spaces (i.e., dropping the representation of the fourth generic space originally suggested by Fauconnier) and has been extended to accommodate background knowledge. The subsequent description neglects the aspects of cross-mappings between input spaces, underlying vital relations and their compression in the blended space, which are important for the understanding of more complex blends. 5. Another argument mentioned by Schmid to support his theory of contrast is that word-formation items whose prefixed character is still felt by the speaker receive secondary stress on the prefix while fully lexicalized items lose the profiled contrast and receive no secondary stress (cf. re-cover ‘cover again’ and recover ‘get better’). 6. The domain in figure 25.6b is not represented in Mettinger (1994). It has been deduced from Mettinger (1996: 24), where a similar treatment for contrastive adjective pairs such as male/female is suggested. 7. Another recent analysis (Heyvaert 2003) attempts to overcome the basic assump- tion of an underlying agentive argument structure for verb-derived -er nominalizations by approaching the structure through underlying middle constructions (e.g., This book sells best underlying bestseller). The main claim is that the local and force-dynamic qual- ities of middle constructions have made it possible for -er nominalizations to develop from profiling only agents to profiling subjects in their relationship to the finite (in Halliday’s terminology), complete with its interpersonal and grounding potential. Whether this ‘‘constructional approach’’ (which explicitly excludes nondeverbal -er no- minalizations) is superior to the cognitive ‘‘representational’’ descriptions Heyvaert wants to overcome remains to be seen. 8. The fact that noun-noun compounding has been selected for closer scrutiny does not mean that other problem areas of composition have not benefited from a cognitive reanalysis as well. Among them are the so-called scarecrow nouns (V þ O nouns whose subject is not expressed in the compound; e.g., ‘Someone who scares crows’),which Tuggy (1987) explains by positing a schematic network of possessive or bahuvrihi compounds (now understood as a combination of specifying compound and metonymy; Ungerer 2002: 551). 9. Kemmer’s (2003: 71) claim that she does not use a process model may be reflected in her refraining from using the input-output metaphor; however, it does not mean that she denies processual links between source and target concepts—actually, they come in au- tomatically as she relies to a considerable extent on the model of conceptual blending. As well, her position does not exclude that it may be worth looking at the processual aspect of lexical blending and its iconic properties (see section 2.3). 10. The assignment of examples to schemas (a)–(c) in figure 25.10 also differs slightly from the assignment indicated by Kemmer’s sanctioning arrows. 672 friedrich ungerer 11. These are lexical morphemes in the case of laser, radar, AIDS, and SARS and derivational morphemes in the case of yuppie, where the suffix -ie may be understood to express ‘belonging to a fashionable group’. 12. Perhaps the schematic approach could thus have a similar impact on word- formation analysis and lexicology as the study of Pidgin and Creole languages has had on sociolinguistics and linguistics in general. REFERENCES Bakema, Peter, Patricia Defour, and Dirk Geeraerts. 1993. De semantische structuur van het diminutief [The semantic structure of the diminutive]. Forum der Letteren 34: 121–37. Bauer, Laurie. 1983. English word-formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bauer, Laurie. 2001. Morphological productivity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Brugman, Claudia. 1981. Story of Over. 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In Max Na ¨ nny and Olga Fischer, eds., Form miming meaning 307–24. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Ungerer, Friedrich. 2002. The conceptual function of derivational word-formation in English. Anglia 120: 534–67. word-formation 675 chapter 26 NOMINAL CLASSIFICATION gunter senft 1. Introduction The problem of ‘‘classification’’ is a general problem of life. That classification abil- ities are necessary for the survival of every organism is an important insight of biology. Human beings classify consciously, unconsciously, and even subconsciously in all situations. When we confront a scientific problem, we try to solve it by first classifying the various parts of the problem. Therefore, the history of all branches of science is also a history of how these sciences have classified their research subject. ‘‘Classifi- cation’’ always implies ‘‘selection,’’ too, because, as Koestler (1983: 201)putsit,our minds would cease to function if we had to attend to each of the millions of stimuli which constantly bombard our receptor organs. The nervous system and the brain itself function as a multilevelled hierarchy of filtering and classifying devices, which eliminate a large proportion of the input as irrelevant ‘noise’, and assemble the relevant information into coherent patterns before it is represented to consciousness. If we want to communicate about this perceived, classified, and filtered input, we have to classify once more: we have to transform the input into classes and cate- gories provided by the systems that organize our communicative verbal and nonverbal faculties—thus, this second round of classification leads to categoriza- tion on the semantic level. With our systems of language and gesture, we again classify, filter, and categorize on various levels while communicating. Linguistics is the science that tries to analyze these processes of classification that are relevant for communication. Indeed, the languages of the world provide an enormous data pool for the analysis of the problem of categorization and classification—and humankind has developed a number of different linguistic techniques to appre- hend our world (see Senft 1996: ix–x; 2000b: 11). As Royen (1929: 1) points out, the philosophical discussion of nominal classi- fication can be traced back to the Greek sophistic philosopher Protagoras (485–414 BC). Obviously, discussing the problem of ‘‘category’’ and ‘‘categorization,’’ and especially the interdependences between category, categorization, and classification on the one hand, and naming, language, thought, perception, and culture on the other hand, has a long tradition, not only in philosophy (see, e.g., Foucault [1966] 1980; Rosch 1988; Vollmer 1988a, 1988b), but also in linguistics (see, e.g., Herder [1770] 1978; Humboldt [1836] 1968; Schleiermacher [1838] 1977; Whorf 1958). Even a brief glance over this literature and other literature that deals especially with nominal classification reveals that the basic problems continue to emerge in the discussion of this topic. 1 Cognitive Linguistics is particularly interested in these problems and has devoted much attention to nominal classification and categorization. Actually, the book that undoubtedly contributed much to finally establishing Cognitive Linguistics as a subdiscipline of its own—Lakoff’s (1987)influentialmonographWomen, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind—explicitly refers to categorization in its title and even mentions three (of many more) members that constitute a noun class in Dyirbal, an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in North Queensland (see Dixon 1972: 44–47, 307). This chapter summarizes some of these problems of nominal classification in language, presents and illustrates the various systems or techniques (see Seiler 1986) of nominal classification, and points out why nominal classification is one of the most interesting topics in Cognitive Linguistics. 2. Nominal Classification This section first discusses briefly the basic problem of how the perceived world is expressed and represented in language and how language refers to the perceived world. Then it presents and exemplifies the systems of nominal classification that can be found in the languages of the world, and finally it discusses some central problems of nominal classification. 2.1. From the World to Nouns and Systems of Nominal Classification One of the basic questions in the study of language is how the perceived world is expressed and represented in, and through, language, and how language refers to the perceived world, to its objects, things, and living beings. Not only do we nominal classification 677 perceive the world, but we also develop concepts about what we perceive and create linguistic expressions that refer to and represent these concepts. These expressions refer—among other things—to actions, temporary states, things and objects, and persons and other living beings. Many of these expressions are classified by linguists as ‘‘nouns’’—and in many languages these ‘‘nouns’’ (like verbs and adjectives) constitute an open word class. Moreover, if we keep in mind Greenberg’s (1978: 78) claim that as ‘‘soon as we wish to talk about an action as such, we nominalize it,’’ we become aware (again) of the important role nouns play in our languages (at least with respect to their frequency). As Talmy (1992: 131) points out, languages ‘‘generally subcategorize nouns grammatically along certain semantic parameters.’’ These subcategorizations are classifications, of course. The question why most of these classifying systems apply just to the noun phrase rather than other syntactic constituents was answered by Greenberg (1978: 78) in a very convincing way: It is the noun par excellence which gives rise to classificational systems of syn- tactic relevance. It is not so much that the noun designates persisting entities as against actions or temporary states. It is that nouns are continuing discourse subjects and are therefore in constant need of referential devices of identification. Classification is a help in narrowing the range of possible identification. Languages have been developing a rather broad variety of these nominal classification systems. After Royen’s (1929) pioneering research, it was Seiler and his coworkers who tried to integrate the various techniques of nominal classifi- cation into an overall framework (Seiler and Lehmann 1982; Seiler and Stachowiak 1982; Seiler 1986). Recently, Grinevald (2000) and Aikhenvald (2000a) proposed new typologies for these systems of nominal classification (see also Bisang 2002). Based on these proposals, the following subsection presents an overview of nominal classification systems found in the languages of the world. The presentation of these systems follows Royen’s (1929: 526) basic maxim which runs: ‘‘Von nominalen Klassen kann man erst dann reden, wenn die mentale Gruppierung der Nomina in der Sprache auf die eine oder andere Weise formal reflektiert wird’’ (We can speak of nominal classes only if the mental grouping of nouns is formally reflected within the language in one way or another; my translation). 2.2. Systems of Nominal Classification Grinevald (2000) presents a typology of techniques of nominal classification that postulates a lexical-grammatical continuum of systems. ‘‘ ‘Lexical’ here means (a) part of the lexicon and its word-building dynamics and (b) semantically compo- sitional, while ‘grammatical’ means part of the morphosyntax of a language’’ (55). On the lexical end of this continuum, we find measure terms and class terms, and on the grammatical end of the continuum, we find gender and noun class systems. The various classifier systems ‘‘can be placed at a mid-way point’’ (55) on this 678 gunter senft continuum. In what follows, I will present the systems of nominal classification mentioned in Grinevald’s and Aikhenvald’s typologies. Measure Terms and Class Terms In her typology, Grinevald (2000: 58) clearly differentiates between two systems of lexical nominal classification: ‘‘Measure terms are lexical in the sense that they are semantically compositional/analytic noun phrases, and class terms are lexical in the sense that they operate on derivational or compounding morphology at word level.’’ Measure terms express quantities; in English, for example, we find measure terms like a glass of whisky, a slice of bread, a group of children, and a school of dolphins. It should be noted here that distinguishing measure terms from numeral classifiers (see below) is a recurrent problem in numeral classifier languages, es- pecially in isolating ones (see Aikhenvald 2000a: 98–120). Grinevald (2000: 59) defines class terms as ‘‘classifying morphemes which participate in the lexicogenesis of a language’’ and differentiates three types of these terms. The plant world is probably the most common semantic domain of class terms. Thus, we find morphemes like -berry or tree that classify nouns like straw- berry, raspberry, palm tree , and oak tree. In English we also find derivational morphemes like -ist,-er, and -man to designate classes of ‘agents’, as in scientist, novelist, baker, writer, postman, and fireman. Again, it should be noted here that distinguishing class terms from noun classifiers (see below) is a problem in many languages, such as in Australian languages or Thai (see Aikhenvald 2000a: 81–97). Noun Class Systems and Gender In noun class systems of nominal classification, all nouns of a language are assigned to a number of classes. These systems are typical of languages of the Niger-Congo linguistic stock, especially Bantu. They ‘‘are characterized by agreement with con- stituents outside the NP by a higher degree of grammaticalization, evident in a closed system of a small number of classes; and by a lesser degree of semantic transparency’’ (Zubin 1992: 42). Noun classes in noun class systems form a ‘‘grammatical category’’ (Dixon 1986: 105). 2 Nineteen noun classes have been re- constructed for Proto-Bantu, for example, with the classes 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, and 9/10 as singular/plural markers. The noun class systems of modern Bantu languages consist of 12–20 morphological classes. Demuth (2000: 273) presents the following example for a noun class system in the Bantu language Sesotho: (1) Ba-sh aanyana b aa-ne b aa-f uum aan ee di-perekisi 2-boys 2-dem 2-subject agreement marker-found 10-peaches ts ee-mon aate. 10-good ‘Those boys found some tasty peaches.’ Here, the demonstrative modifying the class 2 subject noun ba-sh aanyana is the class 2 demonstrative b aa-ne. The subject marker on the verb then agrees with this nominal classification 679 . solve it by first classifying the various parts of the problem. Therefore, the history of all branches of science is also a history of how these sciences have classified their research subject. ‘‘Classifi- cation’’. Meeting of the Pacific Linguistics Conference 307–20. Eugene: Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon. Tuggy, David. 1992. The affix-stem distinction: A cognitive grammar analysis of data. account word-formation 671 of the relationship between the composite meaning and the meaning of the constituents, but also of the metaphorical or metonymic relationship that holds between the literal and derived