Of soundscapes, talkathons and shopaholics: On the status of a new type of formative in English (and beyond)

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates a new type of formative in English that frequently gives rise to a productive word-formation process. Three questions that have been discussed controversially in previous research will be addressed: What is the origin of these formatives? What type of morpheme do they represent? What type of word-formation process are they involved in? The paper argues that the secretion, productive use and subsequent lexicalization of these formatives is a recent development in English word-formation that presents challenges to morphological theory and grammaticalization. In addition, data from other languages suggest that processes of language contact are related to the emergence of this new formative in languages other than English.