THE DERIVATION AND WORD CLASS CHANGE IN MAPUDUNGUN

This study examines the active and productive process of word classes changing in Mapudungun through derivation processes; that word formation process consists of a verbal lexeme, noun, adjective, or adverb linked to a derivational suffix. This is a descriptive study which follows the typological perspective of word class formation. The hypothesis establishes that words in Mapuche language, mainly the open classes, undergo certain morphological and syntactic processes that enable the change of word classes in either three ways: the intervention of some derivational suffix, polysemic properties of derivational suffixes, or the change of word order. While the most productive processes of word formation often are composition and derivation; due to length reasons this article will focus on the derivation process only. Adapted from the source document