The Within-the-Noun-Category Zero Derivation in Macedonian

Abstract

Zero derivation is a process when from a lexeme that belongs to one lexical category or subcategory another one is formed, which, from derivational point of view has the same form but, since inflectional material is allowed to be used, the form can be changed inflectionally; the category or subcategory of the new lexeme is definitely changed, and what connects the source and the target lexeme is the meaning – it is similar, more precisely, expanded.
When discussing this process within a category, which is a clear type, that is, the process is realized even without using any inflectional material and there is complete overlap between the source and the target lexeme, this paper focuses on changes within the noun category in Macedonian. That is when the natural subclass of the noun is changed, and the process goes from countable to uncountable noun, from uncountable to countable, from proper to common and from static to dynamic noun.
The target lexeme, which is the newly zero derived element, becomes a member of another subclass, different from the subclass to which the source lexeme naturally belongs, and thus accepts the characteristics of the new lexical subcategory or the new subpart of speech and behaves accordingly.
The clear or prototypical side of the process is seen in the formal overlapping of both lexemes, from both derivational and inflectional point of view.