Resumo

BENITEZ GONZALEZ, Grecia Isabel. Suffix Rivalry in the Formation of Relational Adjectives: Formal, Semantic, and Contextual Restrictions. Anu. let. lingüíst. filol. [online]. 2024, vol.12, n.1, pp.123-160.  Epub 27-Maio-2024. ISSN 2448-8224.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.adel.2024.12.1/002x079s044.

Relational adjectives in Spanish constitute a subset of adjectives distinct from qualifying adjectives in both their syntax and semantics. A key difference between relational and qualifying adjectives is that the former can only be created by means of suffixation. From an onomasiological approach, suffixes forming relational adjectives are all conceptually similar, given that they perform the same function. These suffixes create a rivalry between schemes because they compete in the categorization of a lexeme. The choice of a given suffix is dictated by structural and contextual factors. This paper aims to describe the structural factors involved in the use of the -al, -ario, -ero, -esco, -´ico, -il, -ivo, and -torio suffixes, and give an account of their productivity in Mexican Spanish, using data from the Morfolex corpus. The results show that the main suffix forming relational adjectives is -ero, but it is used more in colloquial contexts, so that the diaphasic factor is key.

Palavras-chave : rivalry; relational adjectives; onomasiological approach; adjectival suffixation; neologisms.