Deutsche Konversionen als Konzeptuelle Metonymien. Ein Vergleich mit dem Englischen

Invariance of form between base and output word constitutes a relevant criterion in the key theoretical formulations on metonymic conversion (Dirven 1999; Koch 2001; Radden/Kövecses 1999). According to Brdar (2017), metonymy and word formation occur simultaneously only in conversions, where formal identity between the input and output word is maintained. Brdar argues that suffixation has the potential to block or restrict the use of metonymy in word formation processes. This study focuses on German converted denominal verbs, which typically emerge through the addition of an inflectional morpheme. By comparing German with English, the paper aims to propose a theoretical model for determining the role of metonymy in German verbal conversions. In particular, it postulates a continuum along which more or less prototypical metonymic conversions are distributed.