Metaphor and metonymy in word formation

Abstract

This work investigates the relevance of analogy, metonymy and metaphor in word formation patterns and their products. Initially, the semantic side of proportional analogy in morphological restructuring is analyzed. The work then concentrates on the role of metonymy in the formation of instrumentals and agent nouns. The last part of the work is dedicated to the role of metaphor in compounding. The main point of the paper is to show how metaphor is fundamental to the constitution of the lexicon and, consequently, how unfortunate for the discussion of metaphor in language is the relative disregard to word-formation processes.