Early Middle English Word Formation: Semantic Aspects of Derivational Affixation in the AB Language

The author of this book applies the assumptions and methods of Langacker’s cognitive grammar to analyse the word formation patterns of Early Middle English. The analysis is based on the language of the Ancrene Wisse and the Katherine Group, literary texts that are unique in combining standardization with features typical of a system at a time of major transition. The description is introduced by the discussion of the relevant theoretical issues such as linguistic categorization or the metaphorical extension of the spatio-temporal meanings. The author uses data from Modern English and Polish to support some of her theoretical conclusions.