Conversion in English and its implications for Functional Discourse Grammar

This paper examines the process of conversion in English in the context of Functional Discourse Grammar. Although conversion has traditionally been considered to be morphological in nature (zero-derivation), different authors have suggested a syntactic approach, in which lexemes are deprived of categorial information in the lexicon and are put to use in different syntactic contexts. It is argued that this approach is essentially correct, but that it requires its integration in a theory of lexical meaning which can account for the creation of meaning in communication. The basics of such a theory and its implications for the architecture of Functional Discourse Grammar are also offered. Conversion in English is finally compared to the postulated flexibility of part-of-speech systems in languages such as Mundari and it is concluded that both operate on a common basis.