Wo d- o ma ion om he cogni i e pe spec i e:
E idence om Czech
Božena Bednaříko á — Yuliia Mos o a (Palacký Uni e si y in Olomouc)
ABSTRACT
This pape examines he ole o con e sion as awo d- o ma ion p ocess in Czech, building upon
p e ious esea ch on de i a ional ne wo ks. While p io s udies ocused on de i a ion h ough a -
ixa ion, his esea ch expands he scope o include con e sion, ecognizing i s signi ican ole in
Sla ic languages. The s udy u ilizes amodi ied Swadesh lis , speci ically en common e bs, o ana-
lyze he wo d- o ma ion po en ial o bo h de i a ion and con e sion. The indings e eal ha con-
e sion su passes de i a ion in he numbe o newly coined wo ds o e bs. Seman ic ca ego ies
like agen , ins umen , and pu pose a e p e alen in de i a i es, whe eas ac ion and quali y
domina e in con e ed wo ds. The s udy unde sco es he signi icance o con e sion in shaping he
Czech language’s dynamic and exp essi e capabili ies.
KEYWORDS
Con e sion, de i a ion, in lec ion, seman ic ca ego y, wo d- o ma ion ne wo k
DOI
h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/18059635.2025.1.4
1 INTRODUCTION
The cu en p ojec , ocused on con e sion om awo d- o ma ion and cogni i e pe -
spec i e, builds upon he in e na ional esea ch C oss-linguis ic esea ch in o de i a-
ional ne wo ks, ap ojec ha has been ca ied since 2015 and whose esul s we e pub-
lished in acollec i e monog aph (c . Kö elyessy, Bagashe a & Š ekaue , 2020). This
o iginal p ojec in es iga ed de i a ional ne wo ks in 40 Eu opean languages, bu
delibe a ely omi ed con e sion as awo d- o ma ion p ocess, pa icula ly ocusing
only on de i a ion (su ixa ion, o p e ixa ion, o combined de i a ional p ocesses).
The mo i a ion o he ongoing p ojec is o ex end he esea ch on de i a ional
ne wo ks o include con e sion, which appea s o play akey ole also in Sla ic lan-
guages.
Sla ic languages a e cha ac e ized by s ong in lec ion, meaning ha g amma i-
cal ela ions a e p ima ily exp essed h ough changes in he o m o wo ds, and by
ich a ixa ion. The same is ue in wo d- o ma ion mo phology ha deals wi h o m-
ing new wo ds om o he wo ds p edominan ly using a ixes (c . Pala & Hla áčko á,
2007; Bozděcho á, 2016). Al hough adi ionally, emphasis is placed on a ixa ion as
he main wo d- o ma ion p ocess in Sla ic languages, deduc i e ypology1 consid-
1 Deduc i e ypology di e s om induc i e ypology, which seeks o classi y languages
based on ex e nal ac o s such as his o ical de elopmen o geog aphical p oximi y. De-
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e s con e sion o be a ypical wo d- o ma ion p ocess o his ype o language (c .
Skalička, 1935; Sgall, 1993; Bednaříko á, 2009a).
The aim o he o iginal p ojec was o iden i y he sys ema ici y and egula i y
in he de elopmen o de i a ional ne wo ks ac oss languages. Fo his pu pose, he
concep o ade i a ional ne wo k was in oduced, de ined as he in e sec ion o pa a-
digma ic capaci y and de i a ional deg ee. In he case o de i a ion, he pa adigma ic
capaci y ep esen s he po en ial quan i y o de i ed wo ds ha can be c ea ed om
agi en base wo d. The concep o ‘pa adigma ic capaci y’ is key o unde s anding he
po en ial o awo d in wo d- o ma ion and how many new wo ds can o igina e om
i . The de i a ional deg ee conce ns he linea de i a ion o wo ds om abase wo d.
I ep esen s he numbe o de i a ional s eps ha lead o he c ea ion o anew wo d.
The concep o de i a ional deg ee helps o ack he dep h o ade i a ional ne wo k
and o s uc u e he ela ionships be ween de i ed wo ds. The main indings o he
o iginal p ojec , ele an o he Czech language, a e included in Bednaříko á (2020),
wi h he mos in e es ing being he high de i a ional capaci y: he Czech language
exhibi s an eno mous de i a ional po en ial, wi h he maximum de i a ional ne -
wo k o e bs eaching up o 392 po en ial de i a i es.
2 GOALS OF THE CURRENT PROJECT
The cu en p ojec aims o:
i. Expand esea ch on de i a ional ne wo ks, namely h ough he inclusion o
con e sion, which, al hough widely used in Sla ic languages, was delibe a ely
no conside ed in he p e ious p ojec .
ii. In es iga e con e sion in he Czech language and, in pilo esea ch, also in
Russian.
iii. Analyze he in luence o con e sion on exp essing seman ic ca ego ies and
cogni i e concep s o speake s.
The s udy is aquali a i e analysis wi h basic quan i ica ions o he collec ed da a. I
aims o answe he ollowing h ee esea ch ques ions:
i. Wha is he ole o con e sion in Czech wo d o ma ion compa ed o de i a-
ion?
ii. How does con e sion mani es as ap oduc i e p ocess in he Czech wo d- o -
ma ion sys em?
iii. Wha cogni i e and seman ic ca ego ies a e mos commonly exp essed
h ough con e sion in Czech?
duc i e ypology seeks o del e deepe in o he in e nal s uc u e o languages and iden-
i y he uni e sal p inciples ha go e n hei unc ioning.
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3 SAMPLE SELECTION AND METHOD
This pa o he a icle desc ibes he esea ch sample and me hods used in he p ojec .
As men ioned in he in oduc ion, he p ojec builds on p e ious esea ch on de i a-
ional ne wo ks, bu ex ends i o include con e sion. To ensu e compa abili y o e-
sul s, i is necessa y o s a om he same ma e ial; he e o e his p ojec also uses
a educed e sion o he Swadesh lis .
The Swadesh lis is acompila ion o basic concep s ha he Ame ican linguis Mo -
is Swadesh belie ed should be p esen in all cul u es. These concep s hen se e as
abasis o c oss-linguis ic compa a i e s udies, especially in he ield o his o ical and
compa a i e linguis ics. The o iginal lis con ained 225 wo ds, bu was la e educed by
o 100 wo ds (no by he au ho s o his a icle), which we e selec ed o hei uni e -
sali y and cul u al independence. Al hough he Swadesh lis has been c i icized o i s
in ui i eness, i has been u he de eloped and e ined (c . Bednaříko á, Dokulilo á,
Ham uso á, Kopečko á & No o ná, 2018). Amodi ied e sion o he Swadesh lis ac-
co ding o Se gey Yakhon o 2 was used o he pu poses o his p ojec . This e sion
con ains 100 wo ds, o which 10 e bal lexemes we e selec ed. The main eason o
educing he numbe o wo ds was o simpli y he analysis and compa ison o he e-
sul s wi h p e ious esea ch (speci ically, Kö elyessy, Bagashe a & Š ekaue , 2020).
The selec ion o 10 e bs as he esea ch sample was mo i a ed by he necessi y o
ensu ing con inui y wi h p e ious s udies on de i a ional ne wo ks. In he o iginal
esea ch, he selec ion o e bs was de e mined by he in e sec ion o ansla ional
equi alen s ac oss 40 sample languages. To main ain me hodological consis ency, all
chosen e bs had o mee speci ic c i e ia:
i. They mus be unde i ed (non-de i ed), ensu ing ha hey ep esen lexemes
in hei mos basic mo phological o m.
ii. They mus be, i possible, monomo phemic, excluding compounds o complex
o ma ions.
iii. F om asynch onically ele an pe spec i e, hey mus be ac i ely used in all
40 languages, ensu ing hei unc ional and seman ic compa abili y.
These 10 e bs we e inco po a ed in o he cu en s udy o acili a e di ec compa a-
i e analysis and u he in es iga e he s uc u al and cogni i e pa e ns unde lying
de i a ional p ocesses ac oss languages.
As a esul , he ollowing e bs we e included in he inal da ase :
DÁT ‘gi e’
DRŽET ‘hold’
HODIT ‘ h ow’
HOŘET ‘bu n’
2 Concep lis Yakhon o 1991 100 (h ps://concep icon.clld.o g/con ibu ions/Yakhon-
o -1991-100). Concep icon. Accessed 2024-12-30.
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KOPAT ‘kick’
PÍT ‘d ink’
ŘEZAT ‘cu ’
ŠÍT ‘sew’
TÁHNOUT ‘pull’
ZNÁT ‘know’
The selec ion o e bs o he cu en s udy was conduc ed based on he same me hod-
ological c i e ia. I was p ima ily buil on non-de i a ion and non-con e sion, namely
all e bs we e p ima ily unde i ed and uncon e ed. This ensu es ha hey o m he ba-
sis o de i a ional ne wo ks and a e no he esul o o he wo d- o ma ion p ocesses.
4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The heo e ical amewo k o his s udy is based on he adi ions o he unc ional
app oach o language, which is closely linked o he me hodological ounda ions o
he P ague Linguis ic School. Akey concep he e is unc ion, which cons i u es a un-
damen al elemen o he unc ionalis app oach o language analysis. This concep ,
oo ed in he idea o “ he speake ’s linguis ics” (c . Kořenský, 1991), e lec s he e-
la ionship be ween linguis ic o m, meaning, and he communica i e needs o he
speake (c . Ma hesius, 1982; Vachek, 2005; Nekula, 2017, among o he s).
A he same ime, he s udy is g ounded in he unde s anding o mo phology as
adiscipline ha examines he in e nal s uc u e o wo ds and ocuses on he speci ic
aspec s o con e sion in languages wi h a ich in lec ional sys em. This app oach en-
ables amo e de ailed unde s anding o he dynamics o wo d- o ma ion p ocesses
and hei unc ional in eg a ion in o he linguis ic sys em.
4.1 THE CONCEPT OF MORPHOLOGY
Mo phology is alinguis ic discipline ha s udies he in e nal s uc u e o wo ds and
he men al sys em unde lying hei o ma ion and use (c . Haspelma h & Sims, 2013).
I examines how wo ds a e composed o smalle meaning ul uni s (mo phemes) and
how hese uni s in e ac o shape awo d’s meaning, unc ion, and g amma ical be-
ha io . A ono and Fudeman (2011) desc ibe mo phology as a e lec ion o amen al
sys em ha go e ns he s uc u e o wo ds and he ways in which hey a e o med.
Mos ly, mo phology is di ided in o wo main b anches:
i. In lec ional mo phology, which deals wi h he modi ica ion o wo ds o ex-
p ess g amma ical ca ego ies such as case, numbe , ense, o pe son.
ii. Wo d- o ma ion mo phology (wo d- o ma ion), which s udies how new
wo ds a e de i ed om exis ing wo ds o s ems.
The s udy o mo phology as he in e nal s uc u e o wo ds is essen ial o unde -
s anding he g amma ical sys em o alanguage. I enables he analysis o how mo -
phemes combine, in e ac , and con ibu e o he meaning and unc ion o wo ds in
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asen ence. F om asyn agma ic pe spec i e, awo d is seen as as uc u ed en i y
composed o mo phemes ha mu ually in luence one ano he , shaping i s o e all
meaning and g amma ical cha ac e is ics. This s uc u e eme ges h ough bo h in-
lec ional and de i a ional p ocesses (c . Bednaříko á, 2017).
4.2 THE CONCEPT OF CONVERSION
AS AWORD-FORMATION PROCESS IN SLAVIC LANGUAGES
Con e sion as awo d- o ma ion p ocess emains ahighly deba ed, some imes e en
neglec ed o ejec ed, means o wo d- o ma ion in Sla ic languages. In English, and
mo e b oadly in o he Ge manic languages, whe e i is mos p e alen , con e sion is
ypically unde s ood as aca ego ical shi wi hou any accompanying o mal modi-
ica ions (c . Š ekaue , 2014). E en his in e p e a ion, howe e , is somewha deba -
able, as ce ain o mal changes and al e a ions in syn ac ic beha io a e cha ac e -
is ic e en o non-in lec ional English. Ne e heless, i mus be acknowledged ha in
languages wi h ich in lec ion, he concep o con e sion becomes somewha p ob-
lema ic. Despi e his, i s exis ence can indeed be demons a ed, as has al eady been
done in a ious Sla ic languages — see, o ins ance, Waszakowa (1993) o Polish,
Mano a (2003) o Bulga ian, Russian, and C oa ian, Jo ano ić (2007) o Se bian,
and Bednaříko á (2009a) o Czech.
Wi h ega d o Czech linguis ic esea ch, pa icula ly in he ield o wo d- o ma-
ion mo phology, i is i s necessa y o ela e he e m con e sion o he phenomenon
o wo d-class shi , he heo y o pa s o speech (c . Komá ek, 2006), and he e m
o ansposi ion. In his con ex , ansposi ion is e e ed o as wo d-class ansposi-
ion, unde s ood as he ans e o he o mal componen o apa -o -speech ea u e
in o he unc ional posi ion o ano he pa o speech. This ans e is concei ed as
ap ocess, aising he ques ion o whe he i is an incomple e o acomple ed p ocess.
In he case o an incomple e ans e , he esul is aseconda y unc ion o he same
pa o speech, meaning ha he o m emains he same wo d. This ype o anspo-
si ion is e med g amma ical ansposi ion. Con e sely, in he case o acomple ed
ans e , he esul is achange in pa o speech. This o m o ansposi ion is called
wo d- o ma ion ansposi ion. In ei he case, he uni y o lexical meaning and p i-
ma y unc ion is dis up ed, which is esol ed h ough:
i. The eme gence o aseconda y unc ion.
ii. The de elopmen o awo d- o ma ion quali y associa ed wi h adi e en pa
o speech.
The heo y o ansposi ion, as unde s ood in his pape , is based on he concep o
pa s o speech p esen ed in Mlu nice češ iny 2 (c . Komá ek, Kořenský, Pe & Vesel-
ko á, 1986) and u he de eloped in he la es co pus-based academic desc ip ions
o Czech (Š ícha e al., 2013; 2018). This app oach allows o asys ema ic accoun o
shi s be ween pa s o speech based on syn ac ic and mo phological c i e ia.3
3 Ma chand’s ision o wo d- o ma ion (c . Ma chand, 1969) as p ima ily alexical p ocess
is aluable, bu ansposi ion is so widesp ead in Czech ha i s desc ip ion canno be
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Fo he concep o con e sion, i is p ecisely he second s age o wo d-class ans-
posi ion, i.e., wo d- o ma ion ansposi ion, ha is c ucial. This p ocess a ises bo h
om syn ac ic needs (o pe haps mo e p ecisely, communica i e needs) and om
he acquisi ion o p ope ies cha ac e is ic o he a ge pa o speech, whe e he
ele an unc ion is p ima y. These wo condi ions a e in e dependen and mu ually
ein o cing. Rega ding he syn ac ic mo i a ion o he p ocess, he concep ual con-
en ypically associa ed wi h one pa o speech is ans e ed in o ano he pa o
speech, which is linked o adi e en concep ual con en , as in Czech skona → skon.
He e, he concep ual con en o an ac ion (exp essed by he e b skona , ‘ o die’) is,
h ough he con inua ion o g amma ical ansposi ion, ans e ed in o apa o
speech associa ed wi h he concep ual con en o asubs ance (skon, ‘dea h’). F om an-
o he pe spec i e, he o mal componen o he e bal ca ego y is eloca ed o asyn-
ac ic posi ion in which he p ima y unc ion is ha o anoun. The wo d- o ma ion
p ocess (o mo phological onomasiological p ocess) applied in his case is con e -
sion. In he gi en example, e bal in lec ion is eplaced by nominal in lec ion, speci i-
cally he declension pa e n ypical o inanima e masculine nouns.
Con e sion is a ascina ing linguis ic phenomenon ha is mo e complex han i
may seem a i s glance. As seen abo e, he essence o con e sion lies in changing he
pa o speech o awo d wi hou he addi ion o ade i a ional a ix. Unlike de i a-
ion, which explici ly in oduces new mo phemes, con e sion elies on he exis ing
o mal elemen s o awo d while al e ing i s syn ac ic and unc ional ole (c . Ce na-
owska, 2001; Mano a, 2011).
In in lec ional languages, howe e , he concep o con e sion p esen s addi ional
challenges, pa icula ly ega ding di ec ionali y (see also below). Since in lec ional
mo phology ope a es h ough modi ica ion— whe e one a ix eplaces ano he
a he han being added cumula i ely (Meľčuk, 2000; Bednaříko á, 2009b; 2011)—
he e is no unde lying base o m ha would se e as he sou ce o all o he s. Conse-
quen ly, any assessmen o di ec ionali y in con e sion wi hin such languages mus
conside ha mo phological and g amma ical ca ego y changes occu wi hin asys-
em whe e no single pa adigm o m can be ega ded as he de ini i e base:
(1) zlýA → zlo
N
‘e il’ ‘e il’
(2) lo i
V → lo
N
‘ o hun ’ ‘hun ’
(3) pes
N → psí
A
‘dog’ ‘canine’
limi ed o he c ea ion o new lexemes. While Ma chand emphasizes he lexical aspec ,
ansposi ion in Czech o en ex ends in o he g amma ical sys em, whe e awo d assumes
anew unc ion wi hin an exis ing pa adigm wi hou necessa ily o ming anew lexeme.
This aligns wi h he concep o wo d classes as ou lined in he a o emen ioned academ-
ic wo ks.
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The e a e wo basic unde s andings o con e sion: s a ic and dynamic. The s a ic un-
de s anding iews con e sion as a ela ionship be ween wo wo ds ha sha e he
same o m bu di e in he pa o speech. Fo ins ance, he English wo ds ish and o
ish ha e he same o m, bu in one ins ance, i is anoun, and in he o he , a e b. The
dynamic unde s anding, on he o he hand, unde s ands con e sion as ap ocess in
which awo d om one pa o speech ac i ely mo es o ano he . This unde s and-
ing ocuses mo e on how con e sion happens and wha i s di ec ion is. The dynamic
unde s anding o con e sion be e cap u es he na u al cou se o he wo ld whe e
e en s and s a es a e cons an ly changing. Con e sion allows us o exp ess dynamic
p ocesses (ac ions) s a ically (as nouns) and ice e sa.
In Czech linguis ics, con e sion is some imes mis akenly in e p e ed as ‘ze o
de i a ion’ o ‘a ixless de i a ion’. This concep assumes ha o acon e ed wo d,
he e is an in isible, ze o a ix ha changes i s pa o speech (c . Dokulil, 1968). The
sou ces we a e d awing on ejec his no ion and a gue agains he exis ence o ze o
de i a ion o se e al easons:
i. De i a ion is based on adding o mal elemen s, and he ze o a ix con adic s
his p inciple.
ii. Con e sion exis s e en in languages ha do no ha e de i a ional mo phology,
so he ze o a ix would no make sense in hem.
iii. The exis ence o he ze o a ix would lead o p oblems wi h polysemy (mul iple
meanings) o a ixes.
Con e sion as amo phological p ocess is no always concei ed as adi ec ional p ocess.
A gumen s in a o o di ec ionali y include he pa ial e en ion o cha ac e is ics
om he o iginal wo d class in he new wo d class, whe eas coun e a gumen s empha-
size ac o s such as in ui ion-based pe cep ion, he ela i e un eliabili y o de e min-
ing di ec ionali y, and simila conce ns (c . Don, T ommelen & Zonne eld, 2000). Ne -
e hless, i we conside con e sion as awo d- o ma ion p ocess, we can hink abou
di ec ionali y in e ms o he ansi ion om one wo d class o ano he . This means
iden i ying he sou ce ca ego y and he a ge ca ego y, allowing us o de e mine he
di ec ion o he con e sion p ocess. Howe e , in many languages, including Czech, his
ansi ion is no always s aigh o wa d. In in lec ional languages, he issue o di ec-
ionali y is complica ed by possible bidi ec ionali y o by his o ical a iabili y.
Thus, when discussing di ec ionali y, i is essen ial o dis inguish whe he we a e
examining i synch onically (which wo d class is commonly pe cei ed as he sou ce)
o diach onically (wha he his o ical de elopmen o he wo d was). In in lec ional
languages, whe e o m is no s ic ly ied o asingle ca ego y, de e mining he di-
ec ion o con e sion can be mo e complex han in languages wi h amo e isola ing
mo phology.
The concep ualiza ion o con e sion adop ed in his s udy p esupposes he na u-
al p esence o di ec ionali y. Mo eo e , he ejec ion o di ec ionali y would con a-
dic he e y p ocessual na u e o his mo phological phenomenon.
I can be concluded ha con e sion is closely ela ed o he heo y o pa s o
speech, as i is he mechanism by which he ansi ion be ween pa s o speech oc-
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cu s. This ansi ion can be accomplished unde ame e mo phological change in-
cluding he change o mo phological pa adigm, i.e., no using any wo d- o ma ion
a ix wi h agene alized meaning which is wha dis inguishes con e sion om o he
wo d- o ma ion p ocesses such as de i a ion. Wi hin he hie a chical concep ion o
basal pa s o speech, con e sion is one o he key means o linguis ic lexibili y, wi h
ce ain di ec ions o con e sion, such as he subs an i iza ion o adjec i es, being
mo e common han o he s in he na u al e olu ion o language. This p o es ha con-
e sion is no a andom phenomenon bu asys ema ic mechanism ope a ing acco d-
ing o he in e nal ules o he language sys em.
The sou ces om which his analysis s ems lean owa ds he dynamic unde -
s anding o con e sion as adi ec ional mo phological p ocess. Con e sion is hus
unde s ood as a ully- ledged mo phological p ocess ha allows he language o lex-
ibly cap u e he changing wo ld (c . Bednaříko á, 2009b).
5 SPECIFICS OF CZECH WORD-FORMATION
FROM THE TYPOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW
The Czech language belongs o he usional (in lec ional) ypes o language. This
means ha g amma ical ela ionships a e p ima ily exp essed by in lec ion, ha is,
by changes in he o m o he wo d. The ideal in lec ional wo d consis s o only wo
mo phemes: he oo and one a ix. This a ix is poly unc ional and ca ies cumula-
i e in o ma ion abou g amma ical ca ego ies such as gende , numbe , and case.
Al hough Czech is a ypical ep esen a i e o he in lec ional ype o language, i s
wo d- o ma ion also shows ea u es o o he ypes o languages, such as agglu ina-
ion, polysyn hesis, and isola ion.4
Gene ally speaking, Sla ic languages, including Czech, a e cha ac e ized by ich
possibili ies o wo d o ma ion, which p ima ily u ilizes a ixa ion. He e a e he
main cha ac e is ics o wo d o ma ion in Czech and o he Sla ic languages:
i. Dominan ole o a ixa ion: App oxima ely 80% o wo ds c ea ed h ough
wo d o ma ion p ocesses in Sla ic languages a e o med using a ixa ion,
meaning he addi ion o p e ixes and su ixes o base wo ds.
ii. P oduc i e a ixa ion sys em: Sla ic languages ha e a as and p oduc i e sys-
em o a ixes. In some languages, he numbe o a ixes anges in he ens, in
o he s, e en in he hund eds.
4 Acco ding o unc ionally o ien ed ypology (c . Skalička, 1935; Bednaříko á, 2011) he
“ideal in lec ional wo d” is an abs ac model a he han ano m. Czech exhibi s his en-
dency, bu many wo ds, especially e bal in lec ion and de i ed nouns, con ain mo e mo -
phemes. This does no mean hey a e non-ideal, bu a he ha Czech employs addi ional
mo phological p ocesses, such as su ixa ion and p e ixa ion. As an in lec ional language,
i accumula es g amma ical in o ma ion, ye i is no pu ely in lec ional— i also inco -
po a es elemen s o o he ypes.
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62 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 1/2025
iii. E en hough a ixa ion plays adominan ole, con e sion, meaning he change
o awo d’s pa o speech wi hou he use o an a ix, is common in Sla ic lan-
guages, including Czech:
(4) eplýA → eplo N
‘wa m’ ‘wa m h’
i . In he unc ional linguis ic en i onmen , he syn agma ic concep o awo d
is applied. This means ha awo d is unde s ood as as uc u e composed o
smalle uni s (mo phemes) which mu ually de e mine each o he and hus
c ea e acomplex meaning and g amma ical p ope ies o he wo d. This con-
cep also applies o wo d o ma ion, whe e new wo ds a e o med by he syn-
agma ic combina ion o ade i a ional base and ade i a ional o man .
. In luence o mo phology on syn ax: The mo phological p ope ies o wo ds,
including hei wo d- o ma ion elemen s, in luence hei syn ac ic unc ions
in asen ence. Wo d o ma ion he e o e plays an impo an ole in he g am-
ma ical sys em o Sla ic languages.
Al hough he wo d- o ma ion sys ems o indi idual Sla ic languages di e , hese
common cha ac e is ics demons a e he ichness and complexi y o wo d- o ma-
ion in his language amily.
6 CONSTRUCTION OF WORD-FORMATION NETWORKS
Wo d- o ma ion ne wo ks ep esen as uc u ed o ganiza ion o lexical uni s based
on hei de i a ion and con e sion. Thei cons uc ion is based on he in e sec ion o
pa adigma ic capaci y and he deg ee o de i a ion. This p ocess p oceeds as ollows:
i. C ea ion o di ec ly ounded wo ds: Fi s , an ini ial ( ounding) wo d is es ab-
lished, om which di ec ly de i ed and/o con e ed wo ds a e iden i ied. In
his con ex , pa adigma ic capaci y includes all possible di ec de i a i es, in-
cluding con e ed wo ds.
ii. G adual expansion o he wo d- o ma ion ne wo k: Each newly o med wo d
is subsequen ly ea ed as anew ounding wo d. Addi ional de i a i es o
con e ed o ms a e sough , c ea ing linea wo d- o ma ion chains. This
p ocess is epea ed un il he maximum deg ee o de i a ion ( i e le els) is
eached.
iii. Main aining alinea s uc u e: The wo d- o ma ion ne wo k mus adhe e o
he sequen ial o de o o ma ion, wi h de i a ion and con e sion al e na ing.
I is no pe missible o skip indi idual o ma ion s ages:
(5) no ý → no inář (wi hou in e media e no ina)
‘new’ ‘jou nalis ’
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BOžENA BEDNAříKOVá — YULIIA MOSTOVA 69
7.1 ANSWERS TO THE RESEARCH qUESTIONS
Wha is he ole o con e sion in Czech wo d o ma ion compa ed o de i-
a ion?
The s udy shows ha con e sion plays ac ucial ole in Czech wo d o ma ion, o en
su passing de i a ion in p oduc i i y. The analysis o en selec ed e bs om amod-
i ied Swadesh lis e eals ha con e sion equen ly leads o mo e newly o med
wo ds han de i a ion. While de i a ion is mo e commonly associa ed wi h he c e-
a ion o agen , ins umen , and pu pose- ela ed wo ds, con e sion p edominan ly
gene a es ac ion and quali y- ela ed wo ds, ein o cing i s signi icance in he Czech
linguis ic sys em.
How does con e sion mani es as ap oduc i e p ocess in he Czech wo d-
o ma ion sys em?
The esea ch demons a es ha con e sion is ahighly p oduc i e wo d- o ma ion
p ocess in Czech, o en c ea ing mo e new wo ds han de i a ion. Pa icula ly o
e bs, con e sion acili a es he o ma ion o de e bal nouns and adjec i es while
p ese ing hei ac ion- o quali y- ela ed meaning. I also plays akey ole in he o -
ma ion o aspec ual pai s and enables ca ego y shi s wi hou he use o a ixes, mak-
ing i an e icien and sys ema ic linguis ic mechanism.
Wha cogni i e and seman ic ca ego ies a e mos commonly exp essed
h ough con e sion in Czech?
The s udy iden i ies ha con e ed wo ds in Czech p ima ily all in o he seman ic
ca ego ies o ac ion and quali y, while de i ed wo ds end o exp ess agen , in-
s umen , and pu pose. This sugges s ha con e sion plays akey ole in p ese ing
e bal seman ics in nominal and adjec i al o ms, o en main aining he meaning o
an ac ion e en when he g amma ical ca ego y changes. The indings highligh he
e iciency o con e sion in allowing wo ds o shi ca ego ies while e aining hei
co e concep ual meaning.
8 CONCLUSION
The se s o wo d- o ma ion se ies and he wo d- o ma ion ne wo ks c ea ed on hei
basis om he wo ds o he educed e sion o Swadesh’s lis yielded an unexpec edly
la ge amoun o ma e ial. The p ocessing o he ma e ial using he Czech Na ional Co -
pus, la ge Czech explana o y dic iona ies and In e ne sea ch engines has deal wi h
he po en ial pi alls men ioned abo e as well as wi h he assump ions and expec a-
ions a ising om he ypological cons uc o in lec ional language.
Wo d- o ma ion se ies in he o m o wo d- o ma ion ne wo ks ha e shown some
speci ici ies o Czech wo d- o ma ion. As a as de i a ional p ocesses, especially
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70 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 1/2025
su ixa ion, a e conce ned, one has o eckon wi h acomplex wo d- o man in which
he wo d- o ma ion su ix plays aleading wo d- o ma ion ole, bu no he only one.
An accompanying wo d- o ma ion ole in lexible wo ds is also played by he mode o
in lec ion ha he wo d- o ma ion su ix en ails. Wo d- o ma ion su ixes a e e en
subdi ided acco ding o he indi idual pa s o speech hey o m. Al e na ion and i s
powe o signi ican ly a ec he o m o he wo d- o ma ion su ix also play ano he
impo an ole in inc easing he dis ance o he basic wo d om he newly coined
wo d. Howe e , unlike wo d- o ma ion su ixes, Czech wo d- o ma ion p e ixes do
no ha e his abili y. The po en ial seam be ween awo d- o ma ion su ix and awo d-
o ma ion base also ends o con i m as ongly using ype o Czech, whe e mo -
phemes can me ge (c . piják ‘d unka d’ → pijácký ‘d inking’).
Alongside de i a ion, con e sion has eme ged as a uly signi ican and p oduc-
i e wo d- o ma ion p ocess. Wi h e bs as base wo ds o wo d o ma ion, con-
e ed wo ds o en e en ou numbe de i a i es.
The aim o he wo k was o c ea e wo d- o ma ion se ies and wo d- o ma ion
ne wo ks om he wo ds o he Swadesh lis , acco ding o p ede ined ules, and
hus demons a e he s uc u al wo d- o ma ion ichness o he selec ed wo ds o
he co e ocabula y. Aseconda y aim was o demons a e no only he exis ence
bu also he wo d- o ma ion po en ial o he wo d- o ma ion p ocess in Czech and
he pa icipa ion o in lec ional de ices in wo d- o ma ion p ocesses in his Sla ic
language. Ano he po en ial use o he ma e ial gene a ed o mo e de ailed u-
u e analyses is o iden i y wo d- o ma ion ca ego ies using cogni i e linguis ics
me hods.
Acknowledgmen s
This piece o esea ch was suppo ed by he p ojec IGA_FF_2025_042 Češ ina ajejí s ě y: In e discip-
liná ní přís upy ke zkoumání ex u 21.s ole í.
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Božena Bednaříko á
Depa men o Czech S udies, Facul y o A s , Palacký Uni e si y Olomouc
Křížko ského 10, CZ-779 00 Olomouc (Czech Republic)
ORCID: 0000-0002-0190-1375
bozena.bedna iko [email protected]
Yuliia Mos o a
Depa men o Czech S udies, Facul y o A s , Palacký Uni e si y Olomouc
Křížko ského 10, CZ-779 00 Olomouc (Czech Republic)
ORCID: 0009-0005-3893-7354
yuliia.mos o [email protected]
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