Definitions of Suffixed Loanwords in Dictionaries of Foreign Words in Slovak

Abstract

Dictionaries of foreign words in Slovak have a tradition of publication that can be traced for more than one hundred years. Their popularity among users is closely connected to a general interest in so-called language cultivation, which includes a good knowledge of frequently used words of non-native origin. Here, special attention will be paid to suffixed loanwords. In the case of larger sets of loanwords with the same suffix, speakers recognize their similarity and regularity. The central aim of this paper is to investigate how the lexicographic representation of suffixed loanwords in Slovak dictionaries of foreign words developed in the past one hundred years. The analysis focuses on a set of loanwords with three non-native suffixes, namely -ácia (‘-ation’), -izmus (‘-ism’), and -ita (‘-ity’), each of which stands in competition with a corresponding native suffix. It was investigated how the emergence of a competing variant with a native suffix attached to the same foreign base influences the information given by dictionaries. For the analysis, I used five dictionaries of foreign words in Slovak published between 1939 and 2005. Based on a sample of entries from these dictionaries, I distinguish four types of dictionary definitions used to describe suffixed loanwords. Then I propose a model explaining the historical and logical relationships between these four definition types.