Conversion and other word-formation processes

Abstract This chapter compares conversion with other word-formation processes. It considers conversion as a word-formation process with word-class shift and without any phonological change between the base and the derivative other than as a result of the inflection of the new word class. It proposes a unified view of conversion between strongly and weakly inflected languages, by revisiting root-/stem- and grammatical-word-based conversion, but it distinguishes conversion from phonological modification. A refinement of the features of lexical categories that may or may not be involved in conversion allows reassessment of the concept of partial conversion and the distinction between conversion and syntactic phenomena. Also, a comparison between conversion and overt affixation makes it possible to consider conversion as derivation.