Causa i i y in ze o and o e nominaliza ions:
An expe imen al s udy
Gianina Io dăchioaia (Uni e si y o G az)
Jeannique Da by (Uni e si y College Volda)
GIANINA IORDĂCHIOAIA — JEANNIQUE DARBY
ABSTRACT
We expe imen ally e alua e h ee pa e ns o de e bal nominaliza ions de i ed by means o ze o,
-ing and Romance su ixes (i.e., -(a )ion, -men , and -ance) in English as o whe he hey can exp ess
causa i i y and an icausa i i y like hei base e bs. We epo he esul s o a i s s udy which uses
na i e speake judgmen s o es he accep abili y o hese compe ing nominalizing su ixes (-ing s.
ze o and -ing s. Romance su ixes) in ealizing e en eadings wi h a gumen s uc u e inhe i ed
om hei causa i e, and espec i ely, an icausa i e base e bs. While p e ious li e a u e claims
ha ze o canno ealize he s uc u ally mo e complex causa i e eadings, and -ing canno ealize
an icausa i e eadings, ou cu en esul s indica e ha all h ee su ixes may ealize bo h ypes
o eadings. This is in line wi h da a a es ed in na u al ex co po a and sugges s ha ze o su ixes
a e no necessa ily s uc u ally simple han o e su ixes as o en claimed in p e ious li e a u e.
KEYWORDS
An icausa i i y, causa i i y, -ing su ix, nominaliza ion, Romance su ixes, ze o su ix
DOI
h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/18059635.2025.1.3
1 INTRODUCTION
De e bal nominaliza ion in English in ol es a leas h ee mo phological pa e ns,
which may compe e o he same e bal base, as illus a ed in (1).
(1a) o di ide ( e b)
(1b) he di is-ion (ATK-N)
(1c) he di id-ing (ING-N)
(1d) he di ide-Ø (Ze o-N)
F om he e b o di ide we may de i e di ision wi h aRomance su ix, which we will
e e o as an ATK-N(ominal) ( om ‘-ATion and Kin’, Bo e , 2013), di iding in ol es
he su ix -ing (ING-N), and di ide is de i ed by means o ze o (Ze o-N). Among hese
su ixes, -ing is known as he mos p oduc i e one, a aching o any e b excep o
s a es (Ashe , 1993; Bo e , 2013; Io dăchioaia & We ne , 2019), while ATK-su ixes and
ze o a e selec ionally mo e es ic ed. Fo his eason, no many e bs show all h ee
pa e ns as in (1), and in his pape we he e o e ocus on compe ing pai s such as -ing
s. ze o, ing s. ATK, and, indi ec ly, also ze o s. ATK.
The analysis o ze o o ms such as in (1d) is con o e sial: some au ho s speak o
de i a ion by means o aze o su ix (Ma chand, 1969; Kipa sky, 1982; Don, 1993, 2005;
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Alexiadou & G imshaw, 2008; Io dăchioaia & Melloni, 2023a), o he s a gue agains
aze o su ix and e e o his p ocess as con e sion, ca ego y unde speci ica ion and
he like (Liebe , 1981, 2016; Fa ell, 2001; Plag, 2003; Bo e , 2013). Al hough we do no
di ec ly add ess his deba e (bu see Baue & Vale a, 2005; Dahl & Fáb egas, 2018;
Io dăchioaia & Melloni, 2023b o c i ical o e iews), ou guiding hypo hesis ollows
he ze o-de i a ion app oach, as we aim o di ec ly compa e ze o wi h o e su ixes
and hypo hesize ha he e is no s uc u al di e ence be ween hem.
We p opose an accep abili y judgmen ask, in which we es he abili y o Ze o-Ns
o ealize s uc u ally complex eadings o hei base e bs in compa ison wi h
o e ly de i ed ATK-Ns and ING-Ns. The e a e wo ques ions ela ed o his issue.
The i s is whe he Ze o-Ns may inhe i a gumen s uc u e om hei base e bs
like ATK-Ns and ING-Ns usually do, o ming e en nominals (see G imshaw, 1990;
Bo e , 2013; Liebe , 2016). The second ques ion is whe he such ze o e en nominals
wi h a gumen s uc u e may exp ess causa i e e en s o a e limi ed o an icaus-
a i e e en s. Causa i e e en s a e s uc u ally mo e complex han an icausa i e ones
(Alexiadou e al., 2015) and implici ly mo e di icul o be hos ed by ze o mo phol-
ogy in Ze o-Ns, acco ding o p e ious li e a u e such as G imshaw (1990), Ma an z
(1997), Bo e (2013) and o he s.
Ou p ojec consis s o wo pa s, in es iga ing di e en aspec s o he accep -
abili y o he da a. Fi s , in an accep abili y judgmen s udy we es he accep abili y
o pai s o nominaliza ions buil on an icausa i e and causa i e e bs in e en i e
con ex s wi h e bal a gumen s uc u e ealiza ion, and second, in a o ced choice
in e p e a ion s udy we aim o check he compa ibili y o such p e iously es ed
nominaliza ions wi h con ex s ha impose causa i e s. an icausa i e eadings o
al e na ing e bs such as o c ash in (2) below. In his pape we p esen he i s
pa , namely he accep abili y judgmen s udy, and d aw conclusions on he basis
o hese in e media e esul s, which p o ide p elimina y suppo o ou guiding
hypo hesis.
We s a by in oducing he empi ical issue and he p e ious claims in he li e a-
u e on causa i e/an icausa i e eadings in nominaliza ions in Sec ion 2. In Sec ion3
we p esen ou expe imen al design and in Sec ion 4 we summa ize ou esul s and
in e p e hem wi hin he backg ound o he claims and p edic ions in he p e ious
li e a u e. Sec ion 5 concludes on hese indings and p oposes a ollow-up o compen-
sa e o some sho comings o he cu en s udy.
2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1 (ANTI)CAUSATIVITY IN THE VERBAL DOMAIN
The causa i e al e na ion, one o he mos s udied opics in lexical seman ics, e e s
o he abili y o some e bs such as o c ash o exhibi bo h a ansi i e causa i e ead-
ing as in (2a) and an in ansi i e an icausa i e (essen ially, unaccusa i e) eading as
in (2b). Unlike o he languages, English does no ma k his al e na ion on ei he o
he wo o ms:
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(2a) The hijacke s c ashed he plane. (causa i e eading)
(2b) The plane c ashed. (an icausa i e eading)
The causa i e eading ealizes bo h an ex e nal ( he hijacke s) and an in e nal a -
gumen ( he plane) and beha es like causa i e-only e bs such as o des oy— and
unlike unaccusa i e/an icausa i e-only e bs such as o disappea — in building
passi es wi h an op ional by-ph ase, as in (3a). The an icausa i e eading in (3b)
beha es like ypical unaccusa i e e bs: i ealizes he in e nal a gumen o he
causa i e e b as asubjec and canno license ex e nal a gumen s in aby-ph ase
(Rappapo Ho a & Le in, 1998; Schä e , 2009; Alexiadou e al., 2015). Following
his li e a u e, we conside he causa i e a ian o an al e na ing e b o pa e n
wi h causa i e-only e bs and he an icausa i e a ian wi h non-al e na ing un-
accusa i e e bs.
(3a) The plane was c ashed/des oyed/*disappea ed (by he hijacke s).
(3b) The plane c ashed/*des oyed/disappea ed (*by he hijacke s).
Since he ea ly s udies in lexical seman ics, he causa i e a ian has been a gued
o be s uc u ally mo e complex han he an icausa i e one independen o he ype
o (seman ic o syn ac ic) heo y adop ed (see Dow y, 1979; Rappapo Ho a &
Le in, 1998; Ramchand, 2008; Alexiadou e al., 2015; Bea e s & Koon z Ga boden,
2020 and e e ences he ein). In Dow y (1979), Rappapo Ho a & Le in (1998 and
la e wo k), and Bea e s & Koon z-Ga boden (2020), he causa i e a ian in ol es
aCAUSE ope a o on op o he con en o he an icausa i e one, while in Ramchand
(2008) and in Alexiadou e al. (2015), he causa i e o m in ol es addi ional syn ac-
ic s uc u e.
2.2 DEVERBAL NOMINALIZATIONS
The causa i e al e na ion i sel has no been ho oughly in es iga ed in he domain
o de e bal nominaliza ions. Rela ed claims ha e been made wi hin he la ge discus-
sion on how nominaliza ions may esemble hei base e bs and how much hey may
p ese e om he e bal e en s uc u e, especially building on G imshaw (1990).
The main obse a ion ha G imshaw (1990) makes is ha (o e ly su ixed) de-
e bal nominaliza ions may ealize wha came o be la e known as a gumen s uc-
u e nominals (A gS -Ns; in G imshaw’s e ms complex e en nominals), which inhe i
he ull a gumen and e en s uc u e o hei base e bs, as in (4a), in con as wi h
esul nominals (Res-Ns), which ha e los any connec ion o he e b’s e en s uc u e
and beha e like lexical nouns, as in (4b). While he A gS -N examina ion o he pa-
ien s in (4a) equi es ap edica e o e en s such as ook along ime and is incompa ible
wi h ap edica e o indi iduals such as was on he able, he Res-N examina ion in (4b)
beha es like he clipped lexical noun exam in his espec .
(4a) The examina ion/*exam o he pa ien s ook along ime/*was on he able.
(4b) The examina ion/exam was on he able.
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G imshaw’s claim is ha ATK-Ns like examina ion a e sys ema ically ambiguous be-
ween he wo eadings, as in (4), while ING-Ns always o m A gS -Ns.1 She u he
claims ha Ze o-Ns ne e o m A gS -Ns due o hei ze o mo phology. She conse-
quen ly a gues o aspli be ween o e ly ma ked nominaliza ions, which may o m
A gS -Ns, and Ze o-Ns, which ne e do.
Bo e (2013) u he in es iga es his issue and s eng hens G imshaw’s o iginal
claims by con as ing Ze o-Ns wi h ei he ATK-Ns o ING-Ns buil on he same e b,
as in (5). In hese examples i is clea ha he Ze o-Ns do no o m A gS -Ns, and
only he o e ly su ixed ATK and ING nominals do.
(5a) he impo a ion/*impo o goods om China in o de o bypass ecological
egula ions
(5b) he walking/*walk o he dog o h ee hou s
Following such con as s, Bo e a gues ha Ze o-Ns canno accommoda e any com-
posi ional e en s uc u e om hei base e bs and hey a e idiosync a ic like lexical
nouns. She uses hese obse a ions in suppo o ab oade hesis agains de i a ional
ze o mo phology, gi en ha , as she claims, i canno encode acomplex syn ax-se-
man ics mapping, as equi ed by A gS -Ns.
Howe e , mo e ecen de elopmen s in he s udy o Ze o-Ns ha e a gued ha
hese can o m A gS -Ns as well, e en i hey a e admi edly mo e idiosync a ic
in ha some do no p ima ily exp ess e en s (Newmeye , 2009; Liebe , 2016;
Io dăchioaia, 2020; Io dăchioaia e al., 2020; Io dăchioaia & Melloni, 2023a). Fo in-
s ance, while Io dăchioaia e al. (2020) p esen Ze o-Ns such as cu , c ack, and b uise,
which a e less likely o o m A gS -Ns, Io dăchioaia & Melloni (2023a) o e exam-
ples o A gS -Ns as in (6), aken om he Co pus o Con empo a y Ame ican English:
(6a) acon inua ion o he d ain o capi al om he de eloping wo ld
(6b) ou su ende o eedom and p ope y unde coe cion and h ea
(6c) he sp ead o disease by a ele s
These new insigh s sugges ha a leas some Ze o-Ns beha e simila ly o ING- and
ATK-Ns in hei abili y o inhe i he e en and a gumen s uc u e o hei base
e bs in he shape o A gS -N eadings.
2.3 (ANTI)CAUSATIVITY IN NOMINALIZATIONS
Wi hin he deba e on he possible s uc u al complexi y o de e bal nominaliza-
ions and he gene al obse a ion ha causa i e eadings a e mo e complex han
an icausa i es, he li e a u e has made se e al obse a ions ha a e ins umen al o
ou s udy. In pa icula , a ious claims lead o he expec a ion ha ATK-Ns should be
compa ible wi h bo h causa i e and an icausa i e eadings; ha ING-Ns should allow
1 The la e pa canno hold, gi en ING-Ns such as building, pain ing and he like, which also
ha e Res-Ns eadings, bu i is gene ally acknowledged ha ING-Ns— like ATK-Ns— can
always ealize A gS -Ns, e en i hey may also allow Res-N eadings (see Liebe , 2016).
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causa i e eadings bu disallow an icausa i e ones; and ha Ze o-Ns should only al-
low an icausa i e eadings, o he ex en ha hey can be e en i e a all. Below we
summa ize hese claims.
Fi s , ATK-Ns buil om causa i e al e na ing e bs as in (7c) ha e been shown
o be ambiguous be ween acausa i e and an an icausa i e eading, basically encod-
ing bo h eadings o hei al e na ing base e bs in (7a) and (7b). Adding aby-ph ase
disambigua es he nominals o a(passi e) causa i e eading in (7c) (see Ha ley &
Noye , 2000; Alexiadou e al., 2009; Sichel, 2010; Alexiadou e al., 2013). ATK-Ns buil
om causa i e-only e bs, such as in (7d), con ey only causa i e meanings, while
ATK-Ns buil om an icausa i e/unaccusa i e-only e bs, as in (7e), de i e only an-
icausa i e eadings, as expec ed:
(7a) John accumula ed weal h. (causa i e)
(7b) Weal h accumula ed (*by John). (an icausa i e)
(7c) he accumula ion o weal h (by John) (causa i e/an icausa i e)
(7d) he des uc ion o he ase (by John) (causa i e-only)
(7e) he disappea ance o he plane (*by he hijacke s) (an icausa i e-only)
Second, acon as has been obse ed be ween ATK-Ns and ING-Ns o he ex en ha
he la e exclude asel -ac ion in e p e a ion in examples such as (8). While in (8a)
he agen o he egis a ion e en may be iden ical o he heme he child en, (8b) e-
qui es an agen di e en om he heme he child en (K a ze , 2003; Alexiadou e al.,
2009).
(8a) The egis a ion o he child en (was slow). (Ag≠Th; Ag=Th)
(8b) The egis e ing o he child en (was slow). (Ag≠Th; *Ag=Th)
Following K a ze ’s (1996) hypo hesis ha aVoice p ojec ion hos s he ex e nal a -
gumen o causa i e ac i e and passi e e bs, which in he analysis accoun s o he
disjoin e ec be ween ex e nal and in e nal a gumen s, he es ic ion in (8b) in-
dica es ha ING-Ns mus p ojec Voice.2 Implici ly, his sugges s ha an icausa i e/
unaccusa i e eadings (which lack Voice and ex e nal a gumen s) should no be pos-
sible wi h ING-Ns (Alexiadou e al., 2009, 2013; Io dăchioaia, 2008).
Bo e (2013, ch. 4) u he subs an ia es he empi ical con as be ween ATK-Ns
and ING-Ns ( hough in adi e en o mal accoun ) and a gues ha ING-Ns exp ess
only causa i e/ ansi i e e en s and a e excluded wi h unaccusa i e (and, implici ly,
an icausa i e) e bs. She o e s examples o ING- and ATK-N pai s such as in (9), o
which she akes he ING-N o be comple ely ung amma ical. Io dăchioaia & We ne
2 K a ze (1996) discusses he con as be ween e en i e and adjec i al passi es as in (i)
below. The e en i e passi e in (ia) p ojec s Voice and equi es an agen disjoin om he
heme, while he adjec i al passi e in (ib) allows also a eading in which he child en ha e
egis e ed hemsel es, which indica es ha Voice is no p esen in i s s uc u e:
(i) a. The child en a e being egis e ed (by somebody/* hemsel es). (Ag≠Th; *Ag=Th)
b. The child en a e egis e ed. (Ag≠Th; Ag=Th)
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(2019), howe e , a gue ha ING-Ns a e only sligh ly less accep able han he ATK-Ns,
due o he la e being mo e en enched wi h La ina e e bs.3, 4
(9a) he a i al/?a i ing o he ain
(9b) he disappea ance/?disappea ing o he abbi
Al hough he di e ences be ween ATK-Ns and ING-Ns wi h ega d o (an i)causa i i y
may no be as s ong as claimed by Bo e , he e is agene al ag eemen in he li e a u e
ha ING-Ns highligh he p ocess pa o acausa i e e en o he exclusion o he esul
s a e, while ATK-Ns exp ess bo h. The p esence o an ex e nal a gumen and causa i -
i y a e hus mo e p ominen in ING-Ns han in ATK-Ns. Bu he ques ion is whe he
his sensi i i y can eally be o mula ed as a es ic ion o ING-Ns o causa i e e bs.
Thi d, Ze o-Ns ha e only been ouched upon in his discussion, bu he ew e-
ma ks p edic acon as in he opposi e di ec ion om ING-Ns: namely, hey a e
expec ed o appea wi h an icausa i e bu no wi h causa i e e bs. Smi h (1972)
con as s Ze o-Ns wi h ATK-Ns and a gues ha hey a e es ic ed o in ansi i e
(une ga i e o unaccusa i e) eadings. Ce na owska (1993), meanwhile, compa es
ze o wi h -ing and highligh s he une ga i e eading o he Ze o-N s. he causa i e
eading o he ING-N in examples such as (10):
(10a) he bea o he hea
(10b) he bea ing o p isone s
Al hough (10) does no con as acausa i e wi h an an icausa i e eading, he di e -
ence is eminiscen o he s uc u al con as be ween he wo ypes o e bs: while
causa i e e bs ha e (complex) bi-e en i e s uc u es, une ga i e e bs (like an i-
causa i es) a e simple , as hey ha e mono-e en i e s uc u es. Ma an z (1997) ad-
d esses he same con as om he causa i e/an icausa i e pe spec i e and a gues
wi h da a as in (11) ha Ze o-Ns ealize only an icausa i e and no causa i e eadings,
in con as wi h ING-Ns:
(11a) The ele a o ’s ise o he op loo
(11b) John’s aising/* aise o he glass
2.4 THE CHALLENGE
The obse a ions abo e show in e es ing di e ences be ween he h ee ypes o nom-
inaliza ions, which ha e ound some heo e ical explana ion in e ms o he s uc-
u al complexi y ha he di e en nominalizing su ixes may encode. These obse a-
ions can be summa ized in h ee poin s as in (12).
3 The judgmen s in (9) a e aken om Io dăchioaia & We ne (2019).
4 A u he in e ening ac o ha may be esponsible o he sligh ly educed accep abili-
y o he ING-N in (9) is he p e e ence o -ing o a elic e en s, as a gued in Bo e (2013,
ch.4), e en hough i is no en i ely excluded wi h elic ones, as also indica ed in Alexia-
dou e al. (2010, p.552–553). In ou s udy discussed in Sec ion 4, mos nominaliza ions
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(12) P e ious gene aliza ions on (an i)causa i e e en s in nominaliza ions:
(12a) ATK-Ns allow bo h causa i e and an icausa i e eadings.
(12b) ING-Ns allow causa i e eadings bu disallow an icausa i e eadings.
(12c) Ze o-Ns allow an icausa i e eadings bu disallow causa i e eadings.
The gene aliza ions in (12) c ea e acohe en pic u e abou how he h ee nominal-
izing pa e ns migh compe e and complemen each o he , which would be wo h
es ing expe imen ally in i s own igh . The e is, howe e , one mo e eason o es
hem, namely, he ac ha hese con as s ha e been challenged by empi ical coun-
e e idence. Fo ins ance, Liebe (2016, p.47–49) p o ides co pus examples wi h all
h ee nominaliza ion pa e ns buil on une ga i e, unaccusa i e, as well as al e na -
ing (an i)causa i e e bs. (13) lis s exce p s om Liebe ’s examples, which challenge
he gene aliza ions in (12b) and (12c): (13a) and (13b) show ING-Ns wi h an unaccu-
sa i e e b and an an icausa i e eading o an al e na ing e b (c . (9b)), while (13c)
p esen s aZe o-N wi h he causa i e eading o an al e na ing e b.
(13a) you a e de ining he Resu ec ion as he disappea ing o he body
(13b) ha po ion is he joy ha eeds he g owing o ano he li e wi hin you
(13c) he o ice was imp ope on his s op o his ca
In pa icula , we also ind a ious coun e examples o he gene aliza ion in (12c),
which is cen al o ou discussion. (14a) ( om he Co pus o Con empo a y Ame ican
English) challenges he claim abou (11b), and (14b) is a u he example o acausa i e
Ze o-N ( om he co pus News on he Web); see also he examples in (6):
(14a) acon inuous aise o sala ies
(14b) he delibe a e c ash o apassenge je
3 ACCEPTABILITY JUDGMENT STUDY
Gi en he con o e sial pic u e o he beha io o he h ee ypes o de e bal nomi-
naliza ions wi h espec o causa i e and an icausa i e/unaccusa i e e bs, we aim
o expe imen ally es he gene aliza ions in (12). As men ioned in Sec ion 1, in his
p ojec we plan o in es iga e di e en aspec s o he accep abili y o he da a by
means o a leas wo s udies. In a i s s ep we es he accep abili y o pai s o nom-
inaliza ions buil on an icausa i e/unaccusa i e and causa i e e bs using na i e
speake judgmen s, and in asecond s ep we will ha e a o ced choice in e p e a ion
s udy o check he compa ibili y o hese nominaliza ions wi h con ex s ha impose
causa i e s. an icausa i e eadings on al e na ing e bs. In his pape we p esen he
esul s o he judgmen s udy.
encoded a elic e en s, and o he ew elic ones, ING-Ns did no appea o be less accep -
able. I inne aspec played any ole, i was negligible o he inal esul s.
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3.1 RESEARCH qUESTION AND GUIDING HYPOTHESIS
The o e a ching goal o ou esea ch is o ind ou whe he he ze o nominalizing
su ix is indeed mo e es ic ed in accommoda ing he meanings and s uc u es o
hei base e bs compa ed o o e su ixes, as o en claimed in he li e a u e (see
G imshaw, 1990 and Bo e , 2013 as ep esen a i e o he ze o nominalizing su ix in
English). In his p ojec we ocus on causa i e s. an icausa i e/unaccusa i e e bs
agains he backg ound ha causa i e e bs a e s uc u ally mo e complex han he
an icausa i e/unaccusa i e ones.
Following se e al s udies on Ze o-Ns in English and o he languages, which chal-
lenge he claims abou he inabili y o ze o o hos complex syn ax-seman ics (see
Meinschä e , 2005; Newmeye , 2009; Fáb egas, 2014; Liebe , 2016; Io dăchioaia e al.,
2020; Io dăchioaia, 2020; Io dăchioaia & Melloni, 2023a), ou guiding hypo hesis is
ha Ze o-Ns can exp ess bo h causa i e and an icausa i e/unaccusa i e eadings,
i.e., ze o mo phology is no es ic ed o simple s uc u es. In his espec , we expec
Ze o-Ns o beha e like ATK-Ns. This means ha we aim o es (and challenge) he
gene aliza ion in (12c).
Ideally, o his aim we should es Ze o- and ATK-Ns buil on he same e bs,
and lea e ING-Ns ou . Howe e , ze o and ATK ha e s ong selec ional es ic ions
wi h espec o hei bases and o en ind hemsel es in complemen a y dis ibu-
ion: c . inc ease s. ou da ed inc easemen , o a chaic amaze, meanwhile eplaced by
amazemen . This makes i di icul o ind well-balanced pai s o such nouns. Mo e-
o e , -ing is he mos p oduc i e nominalizing su ix in English, which means ha
an ING-N would also be in p inciple a ailable o e e y e b wi h bo h Ze o and
ATK nouns, which could in luence he speake s’ in ui ions abou hei ela i e ac-
cep abili y. Fo hese easons, we a e es ing e bs wi h ING- and Ze o-Ns as well as
e bs wi h ING- and ATK-Ns, hus aiming a acompa ison o Ze o-Ns and ATK-Ns
media ed by ING-Ns.
3.2 STIMULI AND DESIGN
The s udy included h ee ypes o base e bs: causa i e-only e bs (CAUS), an icaus-
a i e/unnaccusa i e-only e bs (ANTI), and e bs which al e na e be ween hese
wo in e p e a ions (ALT). Ve bs we e collec ed om Ve bNe (h ps:// e bs.colo-
ado.edu/ e bne /, Kippe -Schule , 2006), ada abase o English e bs o ganized in o
lexical seman ic classes based on Le in (1993). A o al o 24 e bs we e chosen o he
s udy: 8 CAUS, 8 ANTI, and 8 ALT. Each o hese e bs o med pai s o nominals su -
ixed wi h ei he ATK and ING (4 e bs o each Ve b Type) o Ze o and ING (4 e bs
o each Ve b Type), o a o al o 48 sepa a e nominaliza ions.
Nominaliza ions de i ed om ALT e bs we e included in his ask so as o p o-
ide baseline accep abili y a ings in e en i e sen ences, o use in ou la e in es i-
ga ions wi h explici ly causa i e and an icausa i e con ex s (see Sec ion 5). Howe e ,
as hese e bs a e in p inciple ambiguous be ween causa i e and an icausa i e ead-
ings in he absence o acon ex , hei nominals may be as well, and i will he e o e
no be clea which eading is being judged in an isola ed sen ence. In wha ollows we
hus limi ou ocus o he CAUS and ANTI e bs, as he only e en i e eading hei
nominals should ha e is ha o he base e b.
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GIANINA IORDăCHIOAIA — JEANNIqUE DARBY 41
The o al numbe o e bs eligible o inclusion was ela i ely limi ed o anum-
be o easons:
i. Al hough p oduc i e, ING-Ns may be qui e in equen , and no all co po a dis-
ambigua e hem om o he uses o -ing (e.g., he pa iciple, he adjec i e, e c.).
Ve bs we e he e o e equi ed o ha e hei espec i e ING-N sepa a ely a -
es ed in he online Ox o d English Dic iona y (OED, www.oed.com) and assigned
o equency band 2 o highe (a leas ~0,009 occu ences pe million wo ds).
ii. The Ze o-Ns had o be a es ed wi h e en eadings and a gumen s uc u e,
a he han solely esul eadings (based on hei OED de ini ions and a es a-
ions in co po a such as COCA, NOW o GloWbE in Da ies 2008-, 2013, 2016-;
see he da ase in Io dăchioaia & Melloni, 2022).
iii. ATK-Ns could no in ol e a ixa ion on o su ixed bases (e.g., equal+iz+a ion),
as compa able cases o Ze o a ixa ion do no occu ; simila ly, we also did no
include Ze o-Ns de i ed om pa icle e bs (e.g., bail+ou ), as such e bs do
no o m nominals wi h ATK su ixes.
Focusing only on he CAUS and ANTI e bs, he e we e he e o e 32 nominaliza ions
ac oss 8 condi ions, based on Ve b Type (CAUS s. ANTI), Pai Type (pai s wi h ATK-
Ns s. Ze o-Ns) and Su ix (ING s. O he ). Base e bs we e ma ched in equency
ac oss he wo Pai Types (ATK: 43,78 pe million; Ze o: 53,07; F1,30 = 0,151, p = 0,70).5
These 32 nominaliza ions a e p esen ed in Table 1 below. Mean equencies o he
e bs and nominaliza ions in each condi ion can be ound in he Appendix.
Ve b Type ATK Ve bs Ze o Ve bs
ATK ING Ze o ING
CAUS
co ec ion
nou ishmen
educ ion
supp ession
co ec ing
nou ishing
educing
supp essing
massac e
upload
mu de
aise
massac ing
uploading
mu de ing
aising
ANTI
eme gence
disappea ance
expi a ion
pu e ac ion
eme ging
disappea ing
expi ing
pu e ying
ise
decay
all
plunge
ising
decaying
alling
plunging
able 1.Lis o i ems o ganized by Ve b Type (CAUS, ANTI), Pai Type (ATK, Ze o) and Su ix (ATK
s. ING, Ze o s. ING)
5 We also a emp ed o balance he a ious g oups based on anumbe o o he ac o s, bu
we e unable o do so due o he limi ed numbe s o possible e bs and hei dis ibu ional
beha io . Fo example, as no ed abo e, he ING-Ns a e consis en ly much less equen han
hei ATK-N o Ze o-N pa ne s. Addi ional ac o s include e ymological o igin (whe e
ATK e bs a e la gely o Romance o igin, and Ze o e bs mo e balanced be ween Romance
and Ge manic), and mo phological complexi y o he base (whe e ATK e bs a e la ge-
ly complex, in ol ing bound La ina e mo phemes, while Ze o e bs a e la gely simple).
We a emp o accoun o hese issues in ou analysis and in e p e a ion (see Sec ion 4).
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48 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 1/2025
Nominaliza ion Mean SE
ATK e bs, ING, ANTI 0,008 0,165
ATK e bs, ING, CAUS –0,134 0,165
Ze o e bs, ING, ANTI 0,275 0,165
Ze o e bs, ING, CAUS 0,158 0,165
able 5.Means o ING-Ns
5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
In his s udy we collec ed accep abili y judgmen s on English nominaliza ions de-
i ed om causa i e and an icausa i e/unaccusa i e e bs in o de o es p e ious
heo e ical claims acco ding o which, i s : ze o nominalize s should no be able o
ealize causa i e e en eadings, and second: he su ix -ing should show a es ic ion
wi h espec o an icausa i e eadings and allow only causa i e ones. Bo h su ixes
a e expec ed o con as wi h he ATK Romance su ixes, which a e compa ible wi h
bo h ypes o e bs.
The esul s o his s udy suppo he obse a ion abou he lexibili y o ATK-Ns
in accep ing bo h causa i e and an icausa i e eadings. Howe e , hey discon i m he
o he wo expec a ions, in ha no di e ence was ound be ween he h ee di e en
ypes o nominaliza ions: all h ee o hem a e equally possible wi h bo h causa i e
and an icausa i e e bs. While some nume ical di e ences do show up in ou da a,
u he in es iga ions a e necessa y o e i y whe he hey may become signi ican
in ag ea e pool o da a.
In conclusion, ou esul s indica e ha Ze o, ATK and ING a e e y simila in hei
possible in e p e a ion wi h espec o hei de i a ion om causa i e and an icaus-
a i e base e bs. All h ee su ixes may ealize bo h he simple an icausa i e/unac-
cusa i e and he mo e complex causa i e s uc u es o hei base e bs. Theo e ically,
igu e 4.Fi ed alues o ING-Ns by Pai and Ve b Type
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GIANINA IORDăCHIOAIA — JEANNIqUE DARBY 49
his speaks in a o o ea ing Ze o as asu ix, like he o e ones. Howe e , his
does no mean ha hese su ixes a e seman ically iden ical, as he e may be o he
di e ences be ween hem (e.g., -ing canno deno e s a es, while ze o and ATK can;
see Io dăchioaia & We ne , 2019).
The e a e a ew sho comings o his s udy, which we aim o o e come in ou
ollow-up esea ch. Fi s , al hough he esul s suppo ou guiding hypo hesis, his
is he null hypo hesis, and in iew o he small numbe o e bs es ed, he absence
o any s a is ically signi ican pa e ns may simply be he esul o oo li le s a is i-
cal powe . In o de o u he assess hese esul s, wo addi ional s udies may p o e
help ul. Fi s , we will un ala ge accep abili y judgmen s udy, aiming o in es iga e
whe he Ze o-Ns which appea o inhe i a gumen s uc u e a e consis en ly ( ela-
i ely) accep able in e en i e con ex s, ega dless o whe he hey encode a gumen
s uc u e. We will do his by compa ing hese Ze o-Ns o hose which o m Res-Ns,
embedding hem in sen ences wi h he p edica es es ed he e (occu , ake place, hap-
pen). In p inciple, he Res-Ns should be signi ican ly less accep able in hese con ex s;
hus, i he e is aclea di e ence, hen his would suppo he idea ha some Ze o-
Ns can indeed o m A gS -Ns, and ha hei ela i e accep abili y is no pu ely he
esul o coe cion o epai .
Second, we aim o un a o ced-choice s udy in which we will p o ide causa i e
s. an icausa i e con ex s (including al e na ing e bs) and ask pa icipan s o selec
one o he wo compe ing nominaliza ions (which in he cu en s udy ha e been
a ed as accep able). I anominaliza ion pa e n has aclea p e e ence o one ead-
ing o he o he , his ask should e eal i , especially as o ced choice asks ha e been
shown o ha e g ea e s a is ical powe han Like -scale asks (Sp ouse & Almeida,
2017). This u u e wo k may he e o e help o mo e clea ly e eal any di e ences
be ween ypes o nominaliza ions and he con ex s in which hey can appea .
Acknowledgemen s
We hank ou s uden assis an s Anna-Lena Feich e , Ma iya Ka aldzhie a and Nina Rich e o
help in he p epa a ion o he expe imen , and Io dăchioaia acknowledges he Spanish Minis y
o Science, Inno a ion and Uni e si ies’ p ojec PID2020-119851GB-I00 based in he Uni e si y o
G anada.
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Gianina Io dăchioaia
Depa men o Linguis ics, Facul y o Humani ies, Uni e si y o G az
Me angasse 70, 8010 G az, Aus ia
ORCID: 0000-0002-8847-6307
[email p o ec ed]
Jeannique Da by
Ins i u e o Language and Li e a u e, Facul y o Humani ies and Teache T aining,
Volda Uni e si y College
Joplass egen 11, 6103 Volda (No way)
ORCID: 0009-0006-3299-227X
jeannique.anne.da by@hi olda.no
APPENDIX
A. FREqUENCIES (OED, # PER MILLION OCCURRENCES)
A.1 BASE VERBS
Pai Type Ve b Type Mean SD
ATK Ve bs CAUS 61,25 92,77
ANTI 26,30 28,63
Ze o Ve bs CAUS 27,88 48,28
ANTI 78,25 92,36
A.2 NOMINALIZATIONS
Pai Type Ve b Type Su ix Mean SD
ATK Ve bs
CAUS ATK 22,75 25,91
ING 0,05 0,03
ANTI ATK 7,58 8,61
ING 0,04 0,04
Ze o Ve bs
CAUS Ze o 9,55 13,77
ING 0,26 0,43
ANTI Ze o 20,25 17,90
ING 1,30 1,45
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GIANINA IORDăCHIOAIA — JEANNIqUE DARBY 53
B. OUTPUT OF LINEAR MIXED EFFECTS MODEL
B.1 MODEL STATISTICS
E ec Es ima e SE
In e cep 0,008 0,165 0,05
Pai Type[Ze o e bs] 0,267 0,231 1,16
Ve b Type[CAUS] –0,142 0,231 –0,61
Su ix [O he ] 0,269 0,231 1,16
Pai Type [Ze o e bs]:Ve b Type[CAUS] 0,025 0,326 0,08
Pai Type[Ze o e bs]:Su ix[O he ] 0,013 0,326 0,04
Ve b Type[CAUS]:Su ix[O he ] 0,118 0,326 0,36
Pai Type[Ze o e bs]:
Ve b Type[CAUS]:Su ix[O he ] –0,269 0,461 –0,58
Random e ec s Va iance SD
Subjec (in e cep ) 0,025 0,16
I em (in e cep ) 0,088 0,30
Residual 0,435 0,66
No e: Con as s we e ea men coded wi h ATK e bs, ANTI, and ING as he e e ence le els.
B.2 LEAST-SQUARES MEANS
Pai Type Ve b Type Su ix Mean SE
ATK Ve bs
CAUS ATK 0,253 0,165
ING –0,134 0,165
ANTI ATK 0,276 0,165
ING 0,008 0,165
Ze o Ve bs
CAUS Ze o 0,289 0,165
ING 0,158 0,165
ANTI Ze o 0,557 0,165
ING 0,275 0,165
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