Approximation in morphology: A state of the art

Abstract

This paper offers a state of the art of approximation within the larger domain of evaluative morphology. It provides an overview of the formal means employed by the morphology of different languages to express approximative meanings, as well as a survey of the specific approximative values that can be conveyed. We further discuss the (input and output) lexical categories involved in the expression of approximation crosslinguistically. On an intralinguistic level, we address the issue of competition between different strategies.

Keywords

• evaluative morphology
• approximation
• vagueness
• categorization
• competition
• crosslinguistic variation