Word-formation at the crossroads of productivity, creativity, and structural complexity

Abstract Productivity has long been one of the central topics in the study of word-formation. Research in this area has primarily focused on affixation and treated it independently of the creative performance of language users. This paper offers new insights into the nature of word-formation by discussing productivity within the context of two other related phenomena: creative naming acts of language users, and the structural complexity of a word-formation system. These phenomena have typically been studied in isolation, with an emphasis on their outcomes. A cognitively grounded onomasiological approach to word-formation enables a deeper understanding of the relationship between these factors. Instead of concentrating on the products of word-formation, it focuses on the process of coining new complex words, i.e., the creative act of naming by a language user. Rather than a phenomenon detached from language users, this perspective presents word-formation as one deeply tied to their creative potential, manifested through their individual creative performances. The paper highlights how this psychologically grounded factor, combined with the available means of word-formation, influences the productivity of word-formation processes and rules. By emphasizing the processual aspect of word-formation, the paper defines the productivity rate of a word-formation process or rule as the cumulative result of all individual creative naming acts. These acts take place within a competitive environment of all available word-formation means – not limited to affixation. The competition is shaped by the structural richness of the word-formation system, and directly affects the productivity of word-formation processes and rules, thereby influencing the evolution of the system itself. Ultimately, the paper underscores the necessity of viewing each act of naming as the outcome of an interplay between various objective and subjective factors.