In this paper I would like to investigate a particular type of polynomial constructions appearing in colloquial current Italian. In such constructions, a base noun N is found – within the same syntactic and argumental slot – in (syndetic or asyndetic) coordination with an n number of accumulated ‘altered’ nominal forms (Nem) of N itself, obtained through evaluative affixation. Before delving into exemplification, I define evaluative affixes as morphological means, “borderline between derivation and inflection” (Scalise 1984: 132), used to express augmentation/diminution, attenuation/intensification, endearment/contempt (cf. Grandi & Körtvélyessy 2015). As shown by Grandi & Montermini (2005), Italian features both prefixal and suffixal evaluative affixes (with the latter being the most prototypical evaluative strategy), which can be divided into several groups: diminutives (e.g. mini-, micro-; -etto, -ino), augmentatives (e.g. maxi-, mega-, stra-; -one), hypocorisms (e.g. -ello, -uccio), pejoratives (e.g. -accio), intensifiers (e.g. iper-, super-, -issimo) and reducers/negators (e.g. anti-, contro-, pseudo-, -icchio) (cf. Grandi & Körtvélyessy 2015: 9-10). Examples (1) and (2) provide instances of the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] construction described above. Note that example (1) constitutes a specific subtype of the construction under discussion, featuring a binomial pattern where Nem is a potential antonym of N. (1) evaluative prefixation [I Romani si servivano di falci] utili nella guerra di macchine e contromacchine, invenzioni e controinvenzioni, che gli Antichi praticavano almeno dall'Ellenismo in poi […] ‘[The Romans used sickles]’ useful in the war of various machines, inventions and the like (lit. ‘machines and counter-machines, inventions and counter-inventions’), which Ancient people had been using at least from the Hellenistic period onwards […]’. (Pietro Ianni, Il mare degli antichi, p.302). (2) evaluative suffixation La paura fa l'unione... del centrodestra in Sicilia. Sapendo di essere a rischio di estinzione, tutti i pezzi, pezzettini e pezzettoni si sono trasformati in un composto dall'odore strano. ‘Fear results in… the union of center-right wing parties in Sicily. Aware of the risk of extinction, all of its bits and pieces (lit. ‘pieces, little pieces and big pieces’) have turned into a strange-smelling mixture)’. (https://livesicilia.it/2017/09/02/elezioni-regionali-sicilia-centrodestra-busalacchi-musumeci-armao-lagalla_884688/) What emerges from the two examples provided above is that the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] construction, rather than contributing to an evaluative specification of the semantics of the nouns macchine ‘machines’ and invenzioni ‘inventions’ in (1), and pezzi in (2) and seems to contribute to the identification of two extemporaneous categories – namely, CONTRAPTIONS NEEDED TO WIN A WAR for (1) and TRANSFORMIST POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICIANS for (2) – which are needed to clarify the subjects at stake. In this respect, the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] construction may well be treated as an example of list, defined by Masini et al. (2018: 50) as a “syntagmatic concatenation of two or more units of the same type (i.e. potentially paradigmatically connected) that are on a par with each other, thus filling one and the same slot within the larger construction they are part of”. Indeed, lists are claimed by the authors to convey a large array of functions (see also Bonvino et al. 2009), which include precisely categorization or hypernym-creation. A function that seems to be performed by the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] constructions in (1) and (2). As signalled by Masini et al. (2018: 68), the hypernymic category-creating function is closely related to the concept of ad hoc categories, defined by Barsalou (cf. 1991, 2010) as new, spontaneously constructed, categories aimed to achieve goals relevant to the communicative situation. Ad hoc categories are traditionally opposed to stable categories in that the former (i) are spontaneous and they do not reside in long-term memory; (ii) unlike stable categories, are not identified through specialized familiar words and are verbalized by complex expressions (cf. ANIMALS, FOOD vs. TOURIST ACTIVITIES TO PERFORM IN BEIJING); (iii) ad hoc categories are highly context-dependent and are created online as communication unfolds. In order for ad hoc categories to be perceived as such, their verbalization strategies need to be characterized by “the explicit mention of one or more exemplars, used as a starting point to infer some high-order entity” (Mauri et al. 2018: 4). Once the starting point is identified, additional implicit elements can be associated to the explicit element by virtue of a shared, contextually relevant property which turns both the explicit and the implicit elements into members of a single category showing that particular property. To these implicit and explicit elements, other implicit elements can be more or less approximately added if endowed with the categorical property. Thus, “the identity of the members of the category may be vague, but the category as such must be defined unambiguously, on the basis of the property P relevant to the specific context” (Mauri et al. 2018: 4; see also Mauri & Sansò 2018, Mauri & Sansò forth). Let us consider some more examples to see how the notion of ad hoc category applies to [N+Nem(+Nem)n] list constructions. (3) Inizio con il dirvi che la mia è stata una vacanza condita da pizze, pizzette, pizzettine e dolciumi (tantissimi!). ‘I’ll start telling you that my holiday has been full of pizza and many delicious things (lit. ‘pizzas, little pizzas, very little pizzas and (a lot of) sweets’)’. https://www.lotusflowerpcos.com/prendersi-cura-della-pelle-estate/ (4) Quando scendi dal treno in Cadorna, e ti avvii verso la metropolitana […], non puoi non notare coltelli, coltellini, coltellacci e katane e strumenti di "difesa" personale. ‘When you get off the train in Cadorna, and you head to the underground station […], you cannot avoid noticing knives, daggers, katanas (lit. ‘knives, little knives, bad knives and katanas’) and self-defence weapons ’ https://www.yelp.com/biz/fortuna-milano-2?hrid=Lgmb6jnXe6dQNjbikwJeng (5) Ho acquistato diversi libri sulla tintura e ho scoperto nuove ricette di mordenzatura per le fibre vegetali. Così tutti i giorni continuo a mettere su pentole, pentolini, pentoloni, vasi di vetro… ‘I have bought many books on dyeing and I have discovered new recipes for mordants of natural fibers. So, every day I keep uploading pots and hobs, glass vases (lit. ‘little pots, big pots’)…’ https://officinadelcolorenaturale.com/2014/07/24/pentole-e-colori/ In (3), (4), (5) we find the immediate identification of an explicit element – pizze ‘pizzas’ in (3), coltelli ‘knives’ in (4), pentole ‘pots’ in (5) – which immediately defines the property crucial for the online creation of an ad hoc category – TASTY FOOD TO EAT ON HOLIDAY in (3), WEAPONS FOR SELF-DEFENCE in (4), CONTAINERS FOR DYEING in (5). At this point, the activation of the inference chain that links other implicit elements to the property of the explicit one is favoured by the explicit mention of a Nem which, rather than adding a further property, re-launches the original one by reproducing the N base, also introducing the idea of ‘and the like’ thanks to the presence of evaluative morphology– which actually occurs in all the forms described above: diminutive in (3), (4) and (5),pejorative in (4), augmentative in (5). Differently from (1) and (2), examples (3), (4), (5) also suggest that a further nominal element (N2) can be added syndedically to the list to better specify the common property – e dolciumi ‘and sweet things’ in (3), katane ‘katanas’ in (4), vasi ‘vases’ in (5) – without necessarily having to show any evaluative marker or lexical similarity to the original N. At this point a number of questions arise: (i) are there any types of lexical restrictions in the use of evaluative morphology for the creation of hypernymic lists? (ii) is there a specific functional pattern that triggers the introduction of N2 in the list? (iii) are [N+Nem(+Nem)n] lists only bi- and tri-nomial or can other altered forms of N be accumulated in the list? In order to provide further insights on the four issues just mentioned, data analysis will be carried out on corpora of spoken Italian and web-based dataset.
Liste, listine e listarelle. Polynomial evaluative constructions as a device for ad hoc categorization in Italian
Buoniconto Alfonsina
2022-01-01
Abstract
In this paper I would like to investigate a particular type of polynomial constructions appearing in colloquial current Italian. In such constructions, a base noun N is found – within the same syntactic and argumental slot – in (syndetic or asyndetic) coordination with an n number of accumulated ‘altered’ nominal forms (Nem) of N itself, obtained through evaluative affixation. Before delving into exemplification, I define evaluative affixes as morphological means, “borderline between derivation and inflection” (Scalise 1984: 132), used to express augmentation/diminution, attenuation/intensification, endearment/contempt (cf. Grandi & Körtvélyessy 2015). As shown by Grandi & Montermini (2005), Italian features both prefixal and suffixal evaluative affixes (with the latter being the most prototypical evaluative strategy), which can be divided into several groups: diminutives (e.g. mini-, micro-; -etto, -ino), augmentatives (e.g. maxi-, mega-, stra-; -one), hypocorisms (e.g. -ello, -uccio), pejoratives (e.g. -accio), intensifiers (e.g. iper-, super-, -issimo) and reducers/negators (e.g. anti-, contro-, pseudo-, -icchio) (cf. Grandi & Körtvélyessy 2015: 9-10). Examples (1) and (2) provide instances of the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] construction described above. Note that example (1) constitutes a specific subtype of the construction under discussion, featuring a binomial pattern where Nem is a potential antonym of N. (1) evaluative prefixation [I Romani si servivano di falci] utili nella guerra di macchine e contromacchine, invenzioni e controinvenzioni, che gli Antichi praticavano almeno dall'Ellenismo in poi […] ‘[The Romans used sickles]’ useful in the war of various machines, inventions and the like (lit. ‘machines and counter-machines, inventions and counter-inventions’), which Ancient people had been using at least from the Hellenistic period onwards […]’. (Pietro Ianni, Il mare degli antichi, p.302). (2) evaluative suffixation La paura fa l'unione... del centrodestra in Sicilia. Sapendo di essere a rischio di estinzione, tutti i pezzi, pezzettini e pezzettoni si sono trasformati in un composto dall'odore strano. ‘Fear results in… the union of center-right wing parties in Sicily. Aware of the risk of extinction, all of its bits and pieces (lit. ‘pieces, little pieces and big pieces’) have turned into a strange-smelling mixture)’. (https://livesicilia.it/2017/09/02/elezioni-regionali-sicilia-centrodestra-busalacchi-musumeci-armao-lagalla_884688/) What emerges from the two examples provided above is that the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] construction, rather than contributing to an evaluative specification of the semantics of the nouns macchine ‘machines’ and invenzioni ‘inventions’ in (1), and pezzi in (2) and seems to contribute to the identification of two extemporaneous categories – namely, CONTRAPTIONS NEEDED TO WIN A WAR for (1) and TRANSFORMIST POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICIANS for (2) – which are needed to clarify the subjects at stake. In this respect, the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] construction may well be treated as an example of list, defined by Masini et al. (2018: 50) as a “syntagmatic concatenation of two or more units of the same type (i.e. potentially paradigmatically connected) that are on a par with each other, thus filling one and the same slot within the larger construction they are part of”. Indeed, lists are claimed by the authors to convey a large array of functions (see also Bonvino et al. 2009), which include precisely categorization or hypernym-creation. A function that seems to be performed by the [N+Nem(+Nem)n] constructions in (1) and (2). As signalled by Masini et al. (2018: 68), the hypernymic category-creating function is closely related to the concept of ad hoc categories, defined by Barsalou (cf. 1991, 2010) as new, spontaneously constructed, categories aimed to achieve goals relevant to the communicative situation. Ad hoc categories are traditionally opposed to stable categories in that the former (i) are spontaneous and they do not reside in long-term memory; (ii) unlike stable categories, are not identified through specialized familiar words and are verbalized by complex expressions (cf. ANIMALS, FOOD vs. TOURIST ACTIVITIES TO PERFORM IN BEIJING); (iii) ad hoc categories are highly context-dependent and are created online as communication unfolds. In order for ad hoc categories to be perceived as such, their verbalization strategies need to be characterized by “the explicit mention of one or more exemplars, used as a starting point to infer some high-order entity” (Mauri et al. 2018: 4). Once the starting point is identified, additional implicit elements can be associated to the explicit element by virtue of a shared, contextually relevant property which turns both the explicit and the implicit elements into members of a single category showing that particular property. To these implicit and explicit elements, other implicit elements can be more or less approximately added if endowed with the categorical property. Thus, “the identity of the members of the category may be vague, but the category as such must be defined unambiguously, on the basis of the property P relevant to the specific context” (Mauri et al. 2018: 4; see also Mauri & Sansò 2018, Mauri & Sansò forth). Let us consider some more examples to see how the notion of ad hoc category applies to [N+Nem(+Nem)n] list constructions. (3) Inizio con il dirvi che la mia è stata una vacanza condita da pizze, pizzette, pizzettine e dolciumi (tantissimi!). ‘I’ll start telling you that my holiday has been full of pizza and many delicious things (lit. ‘pizzas, little pizzas, very little pizzas and (a lot of) sweets’)’. https://www.lotusflowerpcos.com/prendersi-cura-della-pelle-estate/ (4) Quando scendi dal treno in Cadorna, e ti avvii verso la metropolitana […], non puoi non notare coltelli, coltellini, coltellacci e katane e strumenti di "difesa" personale. ‘When you get off the train in Cadorna, and you head to the underground station […], you cannot avoid noticing knives, daggers, katanas (lit. ‘knives, little knives, bad knives and katanas’) and self-defence weapons ’ https://www.yelp.com/biz/fortuna-milano-2?hrid=Lgmb6jnXe6dQNjbikwJeng (5) Ho acquistato diversi libri sulla tintura e ho scoperto nuove ricette di mordenzatura per le fibre vegetali. Così tutti i giorni continuo a mettere su pentole, pentolini, pentoloni, vasi di vetro… ‘I have bought many books on dyeing and I have discovered new recipes for mordants of natural fibers. So, every day I keep uploading pots and hobs, glass vases (lit. ‘little pots, big pots’)…’ https://officinadelcolorenaturale.com/2014/07/24/pentole-e-colori/ In (3), (4), (5) we find the immediate identification of an explicit element – pizze ‘pizzas’ in (3), coltelli ‘knives’ in (4), pentole ‘pots’ in (5) – which immediately defines the property crucial for the online creation of an ad hoc category – TASTY FOOD TO EAT ON HOLIDAY in (3), WEAPONS FOR SELF-DEFENCE in (4), CONTAINERS FOR DYEING in (5). At this point, the activation of the inference chain that links other implicit elements to the property of the explicit one is favoured by the explicit mention of a Nem which, rather than adding a further property, re-launches the original one by reproducing the N base, also introducing the idea of ‘and the like’ thanks to the presence of evaluative morphology– which actually occurs in all the forms described above: diminutive in (3), (4) and (5),pejorative in (4), augmentative in (5). Differently from (1) and (2), examples (3), (4), (5) also suggest that a further nominal element (N2) can be added syndedically to the list to better specify the common property – e dolciumi ‘and sweet things’ in (3), katane ‘katanas’ in (4), vasi ‘vases’ in (5) – without necessarily having to show any evaluative marker or lexical similarity to the original N. At this point a number of questions arise: (i) are there any types of lexical restrictions in the use of evaluative morphology for the creation of hypernymic lists? (ii) is there a specific functional pattern that triggers the introduction of N2 in the list? (iii) are [N+Nem(+Nem)n] lists only bi- and tri-nomial or can other altered forms of N be accumulated in the list? In order to provide further insights on the four issues just mentioned, data analysis will be carried out on corpora of spoken Italian and web-based dataset.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
