Chariton Charitonidis
Independent Scholar, PhD Linguistics, Department Member
- Lexical Semantics, Morphology (Languages And Linguistics), Derivational Morphology, Compounding, Evaluative morphology, Language Typology, and 17 moreColour Theory, Colour Semantics, Theories of Language and Linguistics, Verbal Morphology, Morphological Productivity, Morphological theory, Linguistics. Word-formation. Morphology. Lexicology. Semantics., Morphopragmatics, Evaluation, Stance, Appraisal, Lexicology, Argument Structure, Appraisal theory, Quantitative Lexicology, Modern Greek Language, English language, Psycholinguistics, and Color Theoryedit
- Chariton Charitonidis is an independent scholar based in Cologne, Germany, who works on language theory. His areas of... moreChariton Charitonidis is an independent scholar based in Cologne, Germany, who works on language theory. His areas of expertise are morphology and lexical semantics. From 2005 to 2017 he was lecturer and researcher at the University of Cologne, Germany.edit
This study is the first attempt in the literature to define the semantic prosody (contextual properties) of extended lexical units (ELUs) according to the psycholinguistic variables ‘valence’ (emotional positivity), ‘arousal’ (excitement,... more
This study is the first attempt in the literature to define the semantic prosody (contextual properties) of extended lexical units (ELUs) according to the psycholinguistic variables ‘valence’ (emotional positivity), ‘arousal’ (excitement, mood-enhancement), and ‘concreteness’. The object of investigation are the verbal phrases feel blue (unambiguous idiomatic ELU, without a literal counterpart) and see red (ambiguous ELU, idiomatic or literal).
Research Interests:
This paper deals with the empirical validation of evaluative operations in English compounds first presented in Charitonidis (2014). The object of investigation are 103 English compounds expressing positive or negative stance, taken from... more
This paper deals with the empirical validation of evaluative operations in English compounds first presented in Charitonidis (2014). The object of investigation are 103 English compounds expressing positive or negative stance, taken from Algeo's (1991) dictionary of neologisms. In the validation task, the valence (emotional positivity) ratings in Warriner, Kuperman and Brysbaert (2013) are used. The non-compositional patterns are explained with reference to the difference rate between the mean values of constituents and/or negative standard-deviation shifts in the evaluative heads.
Research Interests: Emotion, Lexicology, Lexical Semantics, Morphology (Languages And Linguistics), Stance, and 17 moreCompounding, Valence, Evaluative morphology, English Neologisms, Headedness, Pejoration, Morphology-Pragmatics Interface, Socio-expressive heads, Pragmatic heads, Evaluative compounds, Expressive compounds, Attitudinal compounds, Metaphorical compounds, Morphological heads, Classification of Compound Words in English, Evaluative heads, and Emotional positivity
This study deals with the empirical validation of the six linking patterns of evaluative and grammatical/categorial heads in Modern Greek compounding, proposed in Charitonidis (2014). To accomplish this goal 30 online interviews with... more
This study deals with the empirical validation of the six linking patterns of evaluative and grammatical/categorial heads in Modern Greek compounding, proposed in Charitonidis (2014). To accomplish this goal 30 online interviews with native Greek speakers were conducted, on six attitudinal compounds and their constituents. Attributes lists and positivity ratings on a five-point scale were obtained. The analysis validated four out of six head-linking patterns. In the corresponding compounds, the constituent with the highest number of negative attributes points unequivocally to the evaluative head.
Research Interests: Emotion, Lexicology, Lexical Semantics, Morphology (Languages And Linguistics), Modern Greek Language, and 19 moreStance, Compounding, Lexical Categories, Valence, Evaluative morphology, English Neologisms, Headedness, Pejoration, Morphology-Pragmatics Interface, Socio-expressive heads, Pragmatic heads, Evaluative compounds, Expressive compounds, Attitudinal compounds, Metaphorical compounds, Morphological heads, Classification of Compound Words in English, Evaluative heads, and Emotional positivity
This paper deals with the semantic structure of the verbal prefixes apo-, ek(s)-, and kse- in Modern Greek, by considering their interface with pragmatics. 223 verbal creations are examined, elicited by means of language interviews with... more
This paper deals with the semantic structure of the verbal prefixes apo-, ek(s)-, and kse- in Modern Greek, by considering their interface with pragmatics. 223 verbal creations are examined, elicited by means of language interviews with native Greek speakers. For the sake of comparison, 495 existing verbs are considered. The analysis relies on Lieber’s (2004) framework. The interpretations of the creations suggest that the prefixes have a negative socio-expressive (SE/pragmatic) content by default. This content is a function of the base and can be formalized as a set of semantic/pragmatic conditions of a probabilistic nature on specific arguments.
Research Interests: Lexicology, Morphopragmatics, Morphology, Word formation, Theories of Language and Linguistics, and 14 moreModern Greek Language, Verbal Morphology, Morphological theory, Derivational Morphology, Evaluation, Stance, Appraisal, Evaluative morphology, Verbal Prefixes, Morphology-Pragmatics Interface, Derived Verbs, Rochelle Lieber's theory, [– Loc] prefixes, Distancing Prefixes, Created Verbs, and Socio-Expressive Meaning
This study deals with the morphology-pragmatics interface in Modern Greek compounding. The object of investigation are 64 compounds explicitly marked for stance. It is shown that the linking of denotational (semantic and/or categorial)... more
This study deals with the morphology-pragmatics interface in Modern Greek compounding. The object of investigation are 64 compounds explicitly marked for stance. It is shown that the linking of denotational (semantic and/or categorial) and socio-expressive (pragmatic) heads defines the different classes of compounds in a highly restrictive manner. The threefold negative socio-expressive structure of the verbal derivatives in -(i)áz(o) shows up in the compounds as well. It is concluded that, in both verbal derivation and compounding, the morphology-pragmatics interface recruits specific denotational structures for its expression.
Research Interests: Lexicology, Morphopragmatics, Lexical Semantics, Word formation, Theories of Language and Linguistics, and 15 moreModern Greek Language, Morphological theory, Compounding, Evaluation, Stance, Appraisal, Evaluative morphology, Morphology-Pragmatics Interface, Socio-expressive heads, Pragmatic heads, Evaluative compounds, Expressive compounds, Attitudinal compounds, Derived Verbs, -Iázo Verbs, Rochelle Lieber's theory, and -ιάζω
This paper deals with a comparative analysis of Modern Greek and English compounding by using Ralli's (2007, 2013) and Bisetto & Scalise's (2009) classifications, respectively. The object of investigation are 64 Modern Greek and 132... more
This paper deals with a comparative analysis of Modern Greek and English compounding by using Ralli's (2007, 2013) and Bisetto & Scalise's (2009) classifications, respectively. The object of investigation are 64 Modern Greek and 132 English compounds marked for positive or negative stance. In the analysis a pragmatic level of meaning with special properties is deployed, i.e. the socio-expressive tier. It is shown that in both languages the linking of denotational (i.e. semantic and/or categorial) and socio-expressive heads yields three corresponding classes. The special linking patterns of Modern Greek can be ascribed to a tendency toward symmetry between the one-word and multi-word strategy and to language contact.
Research Interests: Lexicology, English language, Lexical Semantics, Modern Greek Language, Compounding, and 11 moreclassifications on compound words in English, Headedness, Lexical Categories, Headedness, Morphology-Pragmatics Interface, Socio-expressive heads, Pragmatic heads, Evaluative compounds, Expressive compounds, Attitudinal compounds, Metaphorical compounds, and Morphological heads
This paper gives an outlook on how the coordination between phonology and semantics in verb derivation may look, and which constraints the distinction between possible/established, possible/novel, and not possible/forced verbs can be... more
This paper gives an outlook on how the coordination between phonology and semantics in verb derivation may look, and which constraints the distinction between possible/established, possible/novel, and not possible/forced verbs can be mapped onto. The object of investigation are the colour -ízo verbs in Modern Greek. The analysis is mainly based on the studies by Berlin & Kay (1969), Kay & McDaniel (1978), and Kay & Maffi (1999) on basic colour terms. The colour verbs in Modern Greek are compared with the English colour verbs. It is shown that systematic gaps linked to the causative/inchoative paradigm of -ízo verbs are due to the semantics of the base rather than deficiencies in the base's morphophonological character. The lower the evolutional stage that a base can be fitted to, the more likely an -ízo derivative will be produced.
Research Interests:
This paper deals with the semantic structure of the Greek verb prefixes apo-, ek(s)-, and kse-by focussing on their socio-expressive content. The patterns presented are the result of an empirical analysis of data extracted from language... more
This paper deals with the semantic structure of the Greek verb prefixes apo-, ek(s)-, and kse-by focussing on their socio-expressive content. The patterns presented are the result of an empirical analysis of data extracted from language interviews conducted with 31 native Greek speakers in Athens, Greece in October 2010. Rochelle's Lieber's (2004, 2007) theoretical framework is used in the analysis. The results suggest that apo-and kse-are similar both denotationally and socio-expressively. ek(s)-shows up with an ambiguous structure. The interactional socio-expressive patterns make clear that no composition takes place between prefixes and bases but a discharging of the prefixal content onto a non-base argument. Positive socio-expressive clusters in the verbal roots promote the default negative content of the prefixes.
This paper examines the semantic structure of the Greek verb derivatives in -(i)ázo. At the level of socio-expressive meaning -(i)ázo structures show a coordinative character which is much more different than the denotational structures... more
This paper examines the semantic structure of the Greek verb derivatives in -(i)ázo. At the level of socio-expressive meaning -(i)ázo structures show a coordinative character which is much more different than the denotational structures assumed in the generative linguistic tradition for verb suffixes. To show this, an extra semantic representation is introduced, i.e. the 'socio-expressive tier'. This tier properly restricts the denotational operations so that a base can be selected by a particular suffix.
Research Interests:
The aim of this paper is to provide a more accurate typological classification of Modern Greek. The verb in MG shows many polysynthetic traits, such as noun and adverb incorporation into the verbal complex, a large inventory of bound... more
The aim of this paper is to provide a more accurate typological classification of Modern Greek. The verb in MG shows many polysynthetic traits, such as noun and adverb incorporation into the verbal complex, a large inventory of bound morphemes, pronominal marking of objects, many potential slots before the verbal head, nonconfigurational syntax, etc. On the basis of these traits, MG has similarities with polysynthetic languages such as Abkhaz, Cayuga, Chukchi, Mohawk, Nahuatl, a.o. I will show that the abundance of similar patterns between MG and polysynthesis point to the evolution of a new system away from the traditional dependent-marking strategy and simple synthesis towards head-marking and polysynthesis. Finally, I will point to the risk of undertaking a direct comparison of different language systems by discussing the pronominal head-marking strategies in MG and the North American languages.
Research Interests:
This paper deals with the semantic structures of the Event -ízo derivatives in Modern Greek, appearing in the syntactic frames NPi __ NP and NP __. The present analysis incorporates a version of Ray Jackendoff's conceptual semantics... more
This paper deals with the semantic structures of the Event -ízo derivatives in Modern Greek, appearing in the syntactic frames NPi __ NP and NP __. The present analysis incorporates a version of Ray Jackendoff's conceptual semantics (1983, 1990, 1992). Special attention is paid to the semantic under-determination of word-formation rules. Semantic fields, conceptual functions, formation rules, and mechanisms/rules involved in -ízo derivation are presented. A principled account of various ambiguous structures is also provided. In the last part, the conceptual structures in -ízo derivation are finally laid down and the question of keeping these structures minimal while extending the semantic fields is once more addressed.
Research Interests:
In the area of the Modern Greek verb, phenomena which consistently appear are head-marking, many potential slots before and/or after the verb root, noun and ad- verb incorporation, addition of adverbial elements by means of affixes, a... more
In the area of the Modern Greek verb, phenomena which consistently appear are head-marking, many potential slots before and/or after the verb root, noun and ad- verb incorporation, addition of adverbial elements by means of affixes, a large in- ventory of bound morphemes, verbal words as minimal sentences, etc. These fea- tures relate Modern Greek to polysynthesis. The main bulk of this paper is dedicated to the comparison of affixal and incorporation patterns between Modern Greek and the polysynthetic languages Abkhaz, Cayuga, Chukchi, Mohawk, and Nahuatl. Ul- timately, a typological outlook for Modern Greek is proposed.
Research Interests:
This paper deals with a group of five alternations for the Modern Greek verb in the syntactic frame NPi __NP for the active form and NP__ for the corresponding active or passive form. The alternations causative/auto, causative/reflexive,... more
This paper deals with a group of five alternations for the Modern Greek verb in the syntactic frame NPi __NP for the active form and NP__ for the corresponding active or passive form. The alternations causative/auto, causative/reflexive, causative/reciprocal, causative/control, and passive participle are presented. It is shown how the interpretation of some of these alternations is influenced by the context. The second part deals with the splitting of the verbs kapnízo and potízo into homophonous lexical units and explains why the alternations component must be favoured in comparison to the conceptual structures and semantic fields component. The proposed model incorporates a version of Ray Jackendoff's conceptual structures.
The aim of this study is to give the semantic profile of the Greek verb-deriving suffixes -íz(o), -én(o), -év(o), -ón(o), -(i)áz(o), and -ín(o), with a special account of the ending -áo/-ó. The patterns presented are the result of an... more
The aim of this study is to give the semantic profile of the Greek verb-deriving suffixes -íz(o), -én(o), -év(o), -ón(o), -(i)áz(o), and -ín(o), with a special account of the ending -áo/-ó. The patterns presented are the result of an empirical analysis of data extracted from extended interviews conducted with 28 native Greek speakers in Athens, Greece in February 2009. Rochelle Lieber's (2004) morphological system is used as a theoretical framework. The analysis suggests (i) a sign-based treatment of affixes, (ii) a vertical preference structure in the semantic structure of the head suffixes which takes into account the semantic make-up of the bases, and (iii) the integration of socio-expressive meaning into verb structures.
Call for papers for the workshop "Evaluative morphology in Greek", which will be held in the context of the 13th International Conference on Greek Linguistics (7-9 September 2017, University of Westminster, London).