Internalization

Internalization is a process by which the external argument of the base becomes the internal argument of the derived word. Internalization has two stages. First, the addition of a new external argument, and then demotion of the old external argument to internal position.

Example

the English adjective modern has the external argument theme (the factory is modern). If the verbal suffix -ize is added, this theme argument becomes the internal argument due to the fact that -ize itself supplies the external argument agent (they modernized the factory).

Link

Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

References

• Di Sciullo, A. M. and E. Williams 1987. On the Definition of Word, MIT-press, Cambridge, Mass.
• Spencer, A. 1991. Morphological Theory, Blackwell, Oxford.
• Williams, E. 1981b. Argument Structure and Morphology, The Linguistic Review 1, pp. 81-114