Svitlana Shekhavtsova – Derivational Homonymy in the Slovak and Ukrainian Languages: A Contrastive Analysis of Homomorphemic Models
Svitlana Shekhavtsova
Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Abstract
This study presents a contrastive analysis of derivational homonymy in Slovak and Ukrainian, focusing on formally cognate affixes that exhibit variable degrees of functional-semantic correspondence across the two languages. The research aims to identify and systematize the principal types of homomorphemic mismatches and to propose a preliminary classification framework. Employing a synchronic contrastive methodology grounded in onomasiological theory, the analysis draws on lexicographic sources and examines a corpus of 200 derivational affixes (112 prefixal and 88 suffixal). For each unit, derivational functions, productivity, and distributional constraints were compared and instances of divergence were categorized. The results reveal a fourfold typology: full functional equivalence (43% of the sample), full functional divergence (17%), partial semantic overlap (26%), and combinatorial asymmetry (14%). While nearly half of the formally corresponding affixes retain identical derivational semantics across the two languages, the remaining 57% exhibit varying degrees of functional-semantic mismatch. A key methodological finding concerns the necessity of careful lexicographic verification: several cases initially presumed to represent divergence proved upon closer examination to exhibit full functional convergence, highlighting the risk of overgeneralization in contrastive research. Beyond individual affixal asymmetries, the analysis reveals broader systemic patterns, including differential productivity of prefixal versus suffixal homomorphemes and onomasiological divergences in derivational structures. The findings contribute to contrastive Slavic derivatology by demonstrating that formal morphological identity does not guarantee functional equivalence, while also cautioning against overstating divergence. The proposed typology offers a framework for further large-scale comparative research in Slavic derivational semantics.
Keywords: derivational homonymy, homomorphemic models, contrastive linguistics, Slovak language, Ukrainian language, word-formation
