New challenges in Diachronic Lexical Morphology.

Today there are several active research teams in Spain that regularly make significant contributions on Morphology, particularly, on Synchronic and Theoretical Morphology. Even so, concerning research on Diachronic Morphology, the most relevant studies have been carried out by foreign researchers. In accordance with Pena (Cuadernos del Instituto de la Lengua, 2009),

“La época dorada de la morfología comparada e histórica ha sido la segunda mitad del siglo XX, más concretamente el período comprendido entre los años 40 y 90, en que aparece la extraordinaria producción científica del hispanista Malkiel y su escuela”.

In contrast, grammatical research has rapidly gained importance worldwide since 50 years ago. Besides, its development, alongside with the diversity of theoretical frameworks put into practice concerning morphological analysis and the great variety of studies on Applied Linguistics (i.e., computerization and edition of lexicographic works), has made us aware of the existing gaps (lack of a Historical Dictionary of Spanish, for instance) and the obstacles that diachronic research must overcome, particularly with reference to Lexical Morphology: choosing a theoretical framework adequate enough for the constraints of a diachronic approach, the selection of data from a lexicographical corpus, the estimation and understanding of data, the relevance of etymological information, the blurred limit between general language use and language-specific ones, the influence of borrowings in word formation, the role of translations, the role of speakers in lexicogenetic processes, etc.

On the other hand, concerning Diachronic Lexical Morphology, we still lack a referential work that offers a homogenized treatment of word formation strategies (suffixation, prefixation and composition), and we are also short of papers on specific topics yet, as can be seen in the proceedings of the eight editions of the Congreso Internacional de Historia de la Lengua Española.

Consequently, generating debate on some crucial aspects of the research on Spanish word formation from a diachronic perspective becomes fundamental. The VII edition of the Morphology meeting is, thus, the best forum to do it.