Prefixes in Catalan: a theoretical-descriptive approach and compilation of an inventory

Abstract

This article analyses prefixes from an exhaustive inventory of these morphs in Catalan, which was compiled from various different reference works, like dictionaries, grammars and manuals of lexicography. It therefore offers a microlinguistic perspective, based on an empirical study of this data, duly verified through a revision of the bibliography containing the principal contributions to the word-formation process, not only in Catalan, but also other models of lexicography. The study therefore consists of a characterization of prefixes, a selection and empirical examination of their most important attributes, together with the creation of a prototype, based on the data collected, which has enabled us to separate the most representative prefixes from the more peripheral kind.