Both compounds and multi-word expressions are complex lexical units, made up of at least two constituents. The most basic difference is that the former are morphological objects and the latter result from syntactic processes. However, the exact demarcation between compounds and multi-word expressions differs greatly from language to language and is often a matter of debate in and across languages. Similarly debated is whether and how these two different kinds of units complement or compete with each other. The volume presents an overview of compounds and multi-word expressions in a variety of European languages. Central questions that are discussed for each language concern the formal distinction between compounds and multi-word expressions, their formation and their status in lexicon and grammar. The volume contains chapters on German, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Finnish, and Hungarian as well as a contrastive overview with a focus on German. It brings together insights from word-formation theory, phraseology and theory of grammar and aims to contribute to the understanding of the lexicon, both from a language-specific and cross-linguistic perspective.

The volume explores compounds and multi-word expressions and their interrelation regarding their status in lexicon and grammar in a variety of European languages, including a contrastive overview with a focus on German. It brings together insights f

A word, a part of a word or a chain of words that forms the basic elements of the vocabulary of a language is known as a lexical unit. Generally, lexical units convey a single meaning but they are not limited to single words. Lexis refers to the entire store of lexical units in a language. Complex lexical units can be both, compounds and multi-word expressions that are made up of at least two constituents. Compounds are morphological objects and multi-word expressions that arise from syntactic processes. The exact demarcation between these two varies greatly from language to language. This book includes some of the vital pieces of work being conducted across the world, on various topics related to complex lexical units. It strives to provide a fair idea about this discipline and to help develop a better understanding of the latest advances within this field. This book is a vital tool for all researching and studying this field.

This book presents a complete method for the identification of metaphor in language at the level of word use. It is based on extensive methodological and empirical corpus-linguistic research in two languages, English and Dutch. The method is formulated as an explicit manual of instructions covering one chapter, the method being a development and refinement of the popular MIP procedure presented by the Pragglejaz Group in 2007. The extended version is called MIPVU, as it was developed at VU University Amsterdam. Its application is demonstrated in five case studies addressing metaphor in English news texts, conversations, fiction, and academic texts, and Dutch news texts and conversations. Two methodological chapters follow reporting a series of successful reliability tests and a series of post hoc troubleshooting exercises. The final chapter presents a first empirical analysis of the findings, and shows what this type of methodological attention can mean for research and theory.

Automating Linguistics offers an in-depth study of the history of the mathematisation and automation of the sciences of language. In the wake of the first mathematisation of the 1930s, two waves followed: machine translation in the 1950s and the development of computational linguistics and natural language processing in the 1960s. These waves were pivotal given the work of large computerised corpora in the 1990s and the unprecedented technological development of computers and software.Early machine translation was devised as a war technology originating in the sciences of war, amidst the amalgamate of mathematics, physics, logics, neurosciences, acoustics, and emerging sciences such as cybernetics and information theory. Machine translation was intended to provide mass translations for strategic purposes during the Cold War. Linguistics, in turn, did not belong to the sciences of war, and played a minor role in the pioneering projects of machine translation.Comparing the two trends, the present book reveals how the sciences of language gradually integrated the technologies of computing and software, resulting in the second-wave mathematisation of the study of language, which may be called mathematisation-automation. The integration took on various shapes contingent upon cultural and linguistic traditions (USA, ex-USSR, Great Britain and France). By contrast, working with large corpora in the 1990s, though enabled by unprecedented development of computing and software, was primarily a continuation of traditional approaches in the sciences of language sciences, such as the study of spoken and written texts, lexicography, and statistical studies of vocabulary.

This volume contributes a wider approach to word formation processes and sheds light on some unsolved issues. While the formal relationships established between the different constituents of a complex word have been analyzed in great depth, the semantic links have received little dedication. In order to complete the analysis, it is necessary to pay attention to the semantic properties associated to verbalization. The main purpose of the book is to integrate both the semantic proposals and the formal perspectives concerning word formation. This theoretical aim becomes the framework to study several mechanisms of lexical creation and neologisms. Furthermore, word formation is presented as a new source for Applied Linguistics. Although the volume uses Spanish as a starting point, it means to delimit formation patterns which may also be productive in other languages. This book is sure to become an important reference in the controversial field of word formation.