Non-prototypicality by (discontinuous) reduplication: the N-non-N construction in Italian

This paper contributes to the research on morphological expression of approximation by analysing discontinuous reduplication pattern N-non-N in Italian, giving rise complex nominals (e.g. sapone non lit. soap neg ‘non-soap/soap-free cleanser’). The analysis is based a dataset 4609 tokens and 692 types extracted from corpora annotated for orthographical, phonological categorical parameters. Given its unpredictable formal semantic properties, analysed as semi-schematic productive construction, which hypothesized have emerged microdiachronically entrenchment reanalysis tessuto ‘nonwoven fabric’. We claim that construction bears general function ‘non-prototypicality’ produces expressions with specific meanings are generated context, deviating ‘prototypical’ N concept various ways. Despite productivity, very few conventionalised, making this device similar other approximative strategies evaluative morphology general.