Derivational Semantic Changes in the Meaning Structure of German Motion Verbs in the Publicistic Genre of Commentary

Abstract

The paper analyses the process of formation of derivational figurative meanings in the meaning structure of the most commonly used German motion verbs “gehen”, “laufen”, “kommen” in the publicistic genre of commentary. The analysis is based on the methodology of identifying integral and differential features that realise the categorical lexical seme MOVEMENT IN SPACE. The research findings reflect the patterns of changes of a derivational nature occurring in the meaning structure of the German motion verbs “gehen”, “laufen”, “kommen”, contain relevant features that determine the analysed semantic changes. The aim of the research is to identify the causes and patterns of formation of figurative meanings as a result of derivational changes in the meaning structure of unprefixed German verbs of motion in publicistic texts related to the commentary genre. The research is novel in that it is the first to carry out a comprehensive analysis of figurative meanings of German unprefixed verbs of motion within the framework of semantic derivation using the material of publicistic texts.