A cognitive functional approach to nominalization in English

The book offers a systematic theoretical account of the fundamental mechanisms behind deverbal nominalization, providing an original descriptive contribution through detailed discussions of various nominalization systems. It emphasizes a functional approach over a purely structural one, delving into functional constructs from Cognitive Grammar and Systemic-Functional Grammar. Key concepts such as type specification, instantiation, and grounding are analyzed as essential for understanding deverbal nominalization. The author argues that these nominalizations essentially re-classify verbal predicates into nominal constructions, either at word rank or through the rank shift of a clause-like unit, preserving its internal structure. The re-classified unit adopts specific nominal strategies involving determination and quantification. The descriptive section focuses on nominalizations derived at word rank, such as deverbal -er nominals, and those related to temporal clausal heads and finite clauses, particularly in factive contexts. The analysis advocates for a 'subject' perspective on deverbal -er nominals and includes a discussion on clausal middle constructions, highlighting their similarities with non-agentive -er nominals. Additionally, it examines the nominal behavior of various types, including proper names versus common nouns, and the structural and semantic subtypes within gerundive nominals.