"The book is a research monograph that reviews and revises the cross-linguistic definition of pejoration, and explores the role of 15 suffixes and combining forms, such as -ie, -o, -ard, -holic, -rrhea, -itis, -porn, -ish, in the formation of English pejoratives. The examination of the inner structure of the resulting derivatives is based on an innovative methodology that encompasses the theories and approaches of Construction Morphology, Componential Analysis, and Morphopragmatics. Following the principles of this methodology, pejorative words collected from dictionaries and corpora (a total of approximately 950 words) are abstracted into generalizations (or constructional schemas) where structural and functional similarities are used to cognitively trace the ways in which negative (or derisive) meaning is connected with a specific form. Through this multifaceted methodology, my analysis showcases the fact that the universal properties of 'diminution', 'excess', 'resemblance', and 'metonymization' are what underlie the making of pejorative meaning. These generalizations, along with the schematic representations of formatives, can help linguists, or linguistics enthusiasts in general, to understand the conventions and intricacy of lexical pejoration"--.

• Pejorative Suffixes and Combining Forms in English
• Editorial page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication page
• Table of contents
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations and symbols
• List of figures and tables
• Introduction
  • Aims and structure
  • The data and how it is interpreted
• Chapter 1. Pejoration and beyond
  • 1.1 What is pejoration?
  • 1.2 Pejoration at the interface of semantics and pragmatics
  • 1.3 A linguistic interpretation of pejoratives
  • 1.4 A two-dimensional analysis of pejorative lexis
  • 1.5 Pejoratives: What for?
  • 1.6 Pejoration and X-phemisms
    • 1.6.1 Euphemisms as neutralizers of pejorative meaning
    • 1.6.2 Dysphemisms as enhancers of pejorative meaning
  • 1.7 Pejoration and slang
  • 1.8 Pejoratives and the conceptualization of taboo
• Chapter 2. How pejoratives are made
  • 2.1 Compounding
    • 2.1.1 Blends
  • 2.2 Affixation
    • 2.2.1 Why ‘semi’ in semi-suffix?
    • 2.2.2 Morphological markedness
  • 2.3 Conversion
  • 2.4 Clipping
  • 2.5 Abbreviations
  • 2.6 Loanwords
  • 2.7 Reduplication
  • 2.8 Semantic extensions
• Chapter 3. From diminution to pejoration
  • 3.1 Size definitely (and semantically) does matter
  • 3.2 The suffix ‑ie
    • 3.2.1 Forms and functions of ‑ie pejoratives
    • 3.2.2 Constructional schemas of ‑ie pejoratives
    • 3.2.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑ie
  • 3.3 The suffix ‑o
    • 3.3.1 Forms and functions of ‑o pejoratives
    • 3.3.2 Constructional schemas of ‑o pejoratives
    • 3.3.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑o
• Chapter 4. From excess to pejoration
  • 4.1 Too much can be bad
  • 4.2 The suffix ‑ard
    • 4.2.1 Forms and functions of ‑ard pejoratives
    • 4.2.2 Constructional schemas of ‑ard pejoratives
  • 4.3 The combining form ‑holic
    • 4.3.1 Forms and functions of ‑holic pejoratives
    • 4.3.2 Constructional schemas of ‑holic pejoratives
    • 4.3.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑holic
  • 4.4 The combining form ‑rrhea and the suffix ‑itis
    • 4.4.1 Forms and functions of ‑itis and ‑rrhea pejoratives
    • 4.4.2 Constructional schemas of ‑rrhea pejoratives
    • 4.4.3 Constructional schemas of ‑itis pejoratives
    • 4.4.4 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑rrhea and ‑itis
  • 4.5 The combining forms ‑later and ‑maniac
    • 4.5.1 Forms and functions of ‑later and ‑maniac pejoratives
    • 4.5.2 Constructional schemas of ‑later and ‑maniac pejoratives
    • 4.5.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in later and maniac
  • 4.6 The combining form ‑porn
    • 4.6.1 Forms and functions of ‑porn pejoratives
    • 4.6.2 Constructional schemas of ‑porn pejoratives
    • 4.6.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in porn
• Chapter 5. From resemblance to pejoration
  • 5.1 When partial resemblance meets evil
  • 5.2 The suffix ‑ish
    • 5.2.1 Forms and functions of ‑ish
    • 5.2.2 Constructional schemas of ‑ish pejoratives
    • 5.2.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑ish
  • 5.3 The suffix ‑oid
    • 5.3.1 Forms and functions of ‑oid pejoratives
    • 5.3.2 Constructional schemas of ‑oid pejoratives
    • 5.3.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑oid
  • 5.4 The suffix ‑aster
    • 5.4.1 Forms and functions of ‑aster pejoratives
    • 5.4.2 Constructional schemas of ‑aster pejoratives
    • 5.4.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑aster
• Chapter 6. From metonymization to pejoration
  • 6.1 It’s not you, it’s (a part of) me
  • 6.2 The combining form ‑head
    • 6.2.1 Forms and functions of ‑head pejoratives
    • 6.2.2 Constructional schemas of ‑head pejoratives
    • 6.2.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑head
  • 6.3 The combining form ‑pants
    • 6.3.1 Forms and functions of ‑pants pejoratives
    • 6.3.2 Constructional schemas of ‑pants pejoratives
    • 6.3.3 What schemas tell us about pejoratives ending in ‑pants
  • 6.4 The case of pejoratives ending in ‑ass
• Concluding remarks
• Appendices
• Index