Worcl- Formation or word,fi,rma/ion 3 1
age), institutionalization (echoed in 1,angacker's entrenchment concept),
productivity, and the formation of novel expressions are ultimately consid-
ered non-specific of word-formation itself, either dealt with in an ad-lioc
fashion as cross-domain plienoliiena, or investigated with respect to indi-
vidual word-formation patterns. Of coursc researchers apply, in their spe-
cific analyses, the well-known tools and concepts from the repertoire of
Cognitive Linguistics, but they often seem not to be aware tliat the con-
cepts in question have not been specifically developed for studies in word-
formation.
A brief glance at existing surveys will imtiiediately substantiate this as-
sessment: Ungerer, for instance, sees "the semanticization of word-
formation analysis" as tlie most decisive asset for Cognitive Linguistics to
stimulate further research (2007: 651). The envisaged semanticization be-
comes most obvious in tlie principles relevant for the formation of new
gestalt-like (liiglier-level) conceptual identities on tlie basis of at least two
input concepts (especially in compounding) and in the concept-modifying
functions of affixation (see Schmid 2005: 105). Accordingly, Cognitive
Linguistics approaches to word-formation have investigated (and will most
likely continue to do so) metaphoric and metonymic concept extensions
(Benczes 2006 and this volume, Geeraerts 2002, Panther and Thornburg
2001, Dirven 1999), figure-ground alignment (Schmid 2005), scliematiza-
tion (Ti~ggy 2005, Ryder 199 1, 1994, 1999, Farrell 200 1 ), conceptual fu-
sion or integration in terms of the blending framework (Sweetser 1999,
Kemmer 2003), and form-meaning iconicity (Ungerer 2002), to mention
sonie persistent topics.' In any case, the ultimate goal of the proposed se-
manticization of word-formation research under the aegis of Cognitive
1,inguistics is "to provide more comprehensive and consistent descriptions
of individual word-formation phenomena" (Ungerer 2007: 651). For
Ungerer, and obvioi~sly not only for him, word-formation appears to essen-
tially imply some sort of 'constructiveness.' Since complex niorphological
structures usually involve encoding the same kind of semantic extensions
tliat are found in clialiges of meaning in simplex itenis, the only difference
between semantic extensions in simplex struct~lres and those involved in
the formation of complex ones, lies not in the increase of semantic compo-
nents, but, prototypically at least, in an increase (or, less frequently, a de-
crease) in tlie formal complexity of expressions. Given this 'constructive'
view, a nonce-formation sucli as ewioter would indeed have to be seen as
-extending' tlie meaning of the (verbal) base emote by adding -er; if one
adopts the constructional schema view to be sketched below, however,
ptlloter would as well be conceivable as 'elaborating' or 'instantiating' the