There are major differences between different native speakers of English about how productive such processes can be. For example, Americans commonly verb nouns, but we British don't, for us "verb" is not a verb.===== Original Message From Naama Zahavi-Ely <nxzaha AT wm.edu> =====
Speaking as a native speaker of (Modern) Hebrew, this is not actually
true. Native speakers of Hebrew -- and I assume other Semitic languages --
regularly invent inflections of verb roots by stems to convey new meanings
and nuances. So do children who grow up speaking Hebrew, as a natural
stage in the learning of speech. Such inventions are readily understood
and sometimes enter the regular spoken language.
Interesting. This doesn't seem to agree with what I've seen from others. ...
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.