4 Apr 2022
What we learn from Google n-grams about the formation of new morphological paradigms? The case of Italian N + N verbal-nexus composites
N + N composites are a recent structural innovation in Romance languages, the diachronic development of which has not yet been mapped in more detail. The aim of the presented empirical diachronic research is to specify the origin and mechanism of formation of this word-forming formula with a theoretical anchor in the paradigm of structural and relational morphology. For a detailed mapping of the diachronic development of Italian verbal-nexus composites, we tried to use data from Google n-grams (version 2020) and Google books. Analyzes of a sample of more than 1,000 composites (types) so far show that the origin of this formula is probably much older and can be traced in the official language since at least the middle of the 19th century. In the lecture and subsequent discussion, we would like to focus primarily on the technical and methodological aspects of research.