On onomasiological models of word-formation
On onomasiological models of word-formation

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the significance and advantages of an onomasiological approach to word formation. In the first part, it briefly outlines the main ideas of three authors who shaped the development of the onomasiological theory of word formation, namely Dokulil, Horecký, and Štekauer. The second part of the paper illustrates the fundamental principles of this general approach through specific onomasiological models designed, respectively, for the formation of new English words by conversion, evaluative morphology, and onomatopoeia formation. All these models lay emphasis on the process of conceptualization as the starting point of the naming act that responds to the needs of a speech community. The paper points out that the semasiological and the onomasiological approaches are not mutually exclusive; on the contrary, they are complementary, offering different perspectives on the same object of study, namely the formation of new complex words.

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