1

THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

BETWEEN NOUN COMPOUND AND NOUN PHRASES












Emier Zulhilmi
114214043
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERISTY
2014
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ....................................................3
A. Background of study .....................................................................3
B. Problem Formulation ...................................................................4
C. Objection of Study ........................................................................8
D. Definition of Terms........................................................................8
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ..................................10
A. Review of Related Study.............................................................10
B. Review of Related Theories.........................................................13
1. Noun Phrase .........................................................................13
2. Noun Compound...................................................................16
C. Theoretical Framework................................................................23
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY...............................................24
A. Object of Study...........................................................................24
B. Method of Study..........................................................................24
CHAPTER IV : ANALYSIS..........................................................25
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION....................................................30
A. Results........................................................................................30
B. Conclusion.................................................................................33
Bibliography..................................................................................35
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of The Study
Language is one of communication forms that used by people in daily
life. It could vary from the verbal expression to the written or body language and
body gesture. Since its function the experts try to make a certain rules, forms
and structures to prevent the language, especially the written and spoken one,
from changing from one user to another. In the spoken language the feature that
being standardized in English are the tenses or in a simpler and complex way,
the grammar, pronunciations, the idioms or expression and the other things that
developed in a geographical background like dialect, vernacular, or parole. The
written language, on the other hand, has more complex standardization. The fea-
tures that being standardized are more various, ranging from the words struc-
tures, types, functions, and many more which still ambiguous for some parts like
noun noun combination, such as the noun phrase and the noun compound.
The subject that being discussed in this study is the differences about the
noun compound and noun phrases in English. The main reason of choosing this
subject to discuss is both of them are existed in a lot of sentences but sometimes
it cause a confusion to determine which one is a noun compound and which one
is noun phrases since they are similar. It is important since sometimes non-
4

native English learners state that a noun compound as a noun phrase or the op-
posite, state the noun phrase as noun compound. The main focus of the study in
this paper is to classify the differences and similarities of noun compound and
noun phrases and determine the best way how to distinguish them.
B. Problem Formulation
In this paper there are some problems that formulated to the focused the
study they are
1. What are the characteristics of noun compound and noun phrases?
Noun compound is one the word forming steps that existed in
English as the answer of the need to create new words to complete
the sense and the refference that developed in English. It is consisted
of two mainform which is the endocentric compound or the right
handed head noun compound and the exocentric noun compound
which need some contemplation of meaning to determine the
meaning of it since the head not always convey the meaning directly
as the syntax concepts of the compound. On other hand the noun
phrase is a form of where a word that belongs to a class of noun
becomes the head of a phrase and the meaning of the phrase
depends on the valencies of the head of the phrase and its distinct
concepts of meaning that determined or actually being bounded on
the words but since the form of these two combination sometimes
5

make some confusion due to the same aspects or parts, both of
them are a noun - noun combination , therefore it is a need to make
a clear definition of both of them in order avoid the confusion in the
analysis. The idea to avoid the confusion is conveyed into a problem
formulation that functioned as a walls of the study which is to define
the real or the skeletal structure of the noun compound and noun
phrase. The first problem formulation is formulated in order to limit
the study in the features of the noun phrase to the noun compound
in the category of noun noun compound and also to make a deep
analysis to understanding the noun compound which used in spoken
language and its form which is used in the written language. The
question also used as the base of the deep analysis of noun phrase
and its structure in the language which later on will become the base
of the analysis of the similarities of the noun compound and the
noun phrase as the basic differences of the object of study and after
the first question is answered, the answer of this first problem
formulation will be the base of the basic analysis in this study.
2. What are the similarities and differences between noun compound
and noun phrases?
The points that being questioned in the second question is the
idea that being developed in a deep analysis since the idea of first
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question is already answered yet it still need the deep elaboration and
of the next idea of the first main problem, the distinct points of the
noun compound and the noun phrase which is need more
understanding since the answer of the first question is not really
answer the idea that being captured in the problem formulation that
being formed in the second question , about the binary opposition of
the noun compound and noun phrase.
The second problem formulation that used in this study is to
trying to answer the similiarities and differences between the noun
compound and the noun phrase as the problem being discussed in the
study. This problem formulation is used to make the analysis also
focused on the similarities first, since the most distinct concept of
these noun noun combination is started from the same base, the
noun + noun combination or the noun that paired with another noun
to convey a message in semantical ways and also the idea that
required by syntactic concepts in the English grammar .
The second idea that being questioned in the second problem
formulation is the differences of noun compound and the noun
phrase. This ideas or this question will functioned as the second
concentration of the study which will try to search the differences
among the similarities of noun phrase and noun compound that
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already questioned in the first idea of the second question in this
reasearch. This second sub-question also will tries to answer the
ideas that captured in the semantic requirements of the ideas that
needed by the syntactic requirements when being used in the
sentence or in spoken utterance in English.
Later on the answer of the sub-questions that answered in the
next analysis or the analysis parts of this study will be try to elaborate
the answers into the points of similarities and differences in the
conclusion to fulfill the objection of the study which defines the
fastest ways to determines which is the noun phrase and which one is
the noun compounds.
3. How to differentiate the noun compound and noun phrases in the
simplest way?
After defines the skeletal structure of the noun phrases and also
the noun compound which becomes the basic ideas of the ideas to
define the similarities and the differences of the object of this study ,
the noun compound and the noun phrase , the next phase is to
determine how the noun compound and the noun phrase being
differenciate in the simplest way, therefore the last problem
formulation is formed.
8

The last question that used in the study is the stand of the study.
The study will focused on how the points of differences and the
points of similarities defines the understanding of the noun phares
and noun compound in order to get the fastest point of distinction
between the noun phrase and noun compound.
C. Objection of Study
Since the noun compound and the noun phrase differences analysis
helped the understanding of these noun noun combination by showing the
forms, similarities, and the differences therefore, the first objective of the study
is tp help the reader of this study or the undergraduate student to able to
differenciate the noun compound to the noun phrase in the wrtten language and
English grammar. The second objection of this study is to gain a deeper
understanding about the ambigous between the object of study.

D. Definition of Terms
There are three terms that used in this study, they are : noun noun
combination, noun phrase, and noun compound. It is an important thing to
understand the terms that used to avoid different perceptions.

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1. Noun noun combination
Noun Noun combination is a combination of words that consisted
by noun as the base of the combination.
2. Noun phrase
The noun phrase is a s form of noun noun combination which
means are definen by a relation to the outside world
3. Noun compound
The noun compound is a form of noun noun combination which
means are defined by its the second noun.











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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The related study that used as reference in this study is a paper by Bauer
which paper is mainly discussed English Exocentric Compound. In her study
Bauer explains about the noun phrase and the other types inside the noun phrase
such as the Romance Type which is reffered as stated because of its origins of
pattern that originated from Rome. The next types is the phrasal verb type
which already being disccused by Marchand that based on the combination of
noun that composed by verb + preposition / adverb / particle.
The third type that stated by Bauer is the Possesive Type which stated as
What are sometimes, rather misleadingly, called possessive compounds are
also sometimes referred to as bahuvrihi compounds in a narrow sense, which
means that the term bahuvrihi is used ambiguously in the literature.
(Bauer , 2006 ; 4)
Still in the same study by Bauer she states about the types of the nouns phrase
and the other noun combinations that existed in English.
The other related study that used in this study is the study of types in
noun phrase in English which mainly discussed about noun phrases in English.
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The first noun combination that discussed by Bauer in her study is the Adjective
noun which appears as the a combination of A + N that only single stressed on
the first element of the phrase, for example :
flat-foot (policeman, slang)
- greenback (American dollar)
- hot-head (impetuous person)
- redbreast (European robin)
which explained by Bauer as :

While descriptions of people are particularly common, names of animal
and bird species are also frequent and even inanimates may be denoted
by the type. The relationship between the unexpressed possessor or thing
characterised and the expressed AN construction is rather vague. The
existence of one of these with a particular meaning does not appear to
block its existence with another, unrelated, meaning. This is important
because lack of blocking is usually considered to be a sign of a
productive process (Aronoff 1976: 45). ( Bauer, 2006:5 )

From the explanation above it is stated as a form of phrase that use to
decribe a type of proper names that has a particular characteristics that
involve the productive process. The next combination that being explained
by Bauer is the Noun Noun phrase. The feature of this phrase is almost t-
12

he same with the adjective - noun phrase , the stress is only occured in the
first part of the phrase ,as the examples and explananation given by Bauer,
In this sub-type, the first element of the expression is a noun, but
otherwise the type works in the same way as the adjective-noun type
illustrated above. Some examples are given in (5).
(5) birdbrain (idiot)
blockhead (idiot)
egghead (intellectual)
hatchback (car whose boot and rear window form a single opening
door)
paperback (book in soft binding)
skinhead (person usually of a particular social type with a shaven
head)
This type seems to be fairly restricted, but nevertheless productive, as is
witnessed by the name Duckface given to a character in the film Four
Weddings and a Funeral. ( Bauer, 2006; 6)

In the explanation above it is clear that the form of the noun noun
combination coulod be referred as the noun compound therefore the link
between this study and the study by Bauer is established since some words that
shown in Bauer list on Noun noun is could be reffered as noun compound and
noun phrase. The function of the study that done by Bauer helps the base of this
study problems and will bbe explained further
13

B. Review of Related Theories
In the related theories writer will uses three theories to discuss and find
out the answer of the of problem formulation. The first is the theory of noun
compound formation which is discuss how a noun compound is formed and its
definition with its characteristics. The second theory is the theory of noun
phrase formation which is explained about how a noun phrase is formed and in
what condition(s) it is appears. The third theory is the theory of grammar in
English to see and examine how the noun compound environments and noun
phrase environments and what Noun noun combination
1. Noun Phrase
The basic theory in the phrase section is the Phrase Structure Rules
which rules of the sort X Y Z. This rule says take the node X and expand it
into the nodes Y and Z. Alternately, going from right to left (or from below), it
says if you have a Y and a Z next to each other, you can combine them to make
an X. Phrase structure rules can be categorical i.e. rules that expand categories
into other categories, or they can also be lexical i.e. rules that expand category
labels by word (lexical items).


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Some Phrase Structure Rules for English
- Categorical Rules
a. S NP Modal VP
b. VP V AP PP
c. AP ADVP A
d. ADVP ADV
e. PP P NP
f. NP D N
- Lexical Rules
i. N girl
ii. N boy
iii. Adv incredibly
iv. A conceited
v. V seem
vi. Modal must
vii. P to
viii. that
ix. D this

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Phrase Structure Rules for Noun Phrases that used in the study is as
following
a. NP D NP
b. NP NP PP (Adjunct Rule)
c. NP N (PP) (Complement Rules)
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2. Noun Compound
A compound word is a union of two or more words to convey a
unit idea or special meaning that is not as clearly or quickly conveyed by
separated words. Compound words may be hyphenated, written open
(as separate words), or written solid (closed).
A hyphenated compound also called a unit modifier is simply a
combination of words joined by a hyphen or hyphens. The hyphen
is a mark of punctuation that not only unites but separates the component
words; thus, it aids understanding and readability and ensures
correct pronunciation. Words are hyphenated mainly to express the idea
of a unit and to avoid ambiguity.
An open compound is a combination of words so closely
associated that they convey the idea of a single concept but are spelled
as unconnected words lowest common denominator
A solid (closed) compound combines two or more words into one
solid word (e.g., breakdown). The use of compounding in our language is
an evolving process. As expressions become more popular or adopt special
meanings, they follow a gradual evolution from two or more separate or
hyphenated words to single words, for example :
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audio visual audio-visual audiovisual
copy editor copy-editor copyeditor
For some years now, the trend has been to spell compounds as
solid words as soon as acceptance warrants. This is a trend, not a rule, but
it can be helpful in deciding how to format a new or different compound
expression. Compounding is in such a state of flux that dictionaries do not
always agree and, worse yet, many compound terms are unlisted.
In applying the compounding rules in this guide and in GPO (the primary
basis for MMS rules), keep in mind the living fluidity of our language.
Because word forms change constantly, it is important to remember that
the rules for compounding cannot be applied inflexibly.
It is also important to avoid arbitrary compounding. Some word
pairs convey a different meaning when they are written as solid
compounds. For examples :
- anyway (regardless)
- any way (in any manner or way)
- blue bird (any bird colored blue)
- bluebird (a bird of the genus Silalia)
- high light (an elevated light)
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- highlight (as a noun means the most outstanding part)
- highlight (as a verb means to give special emphasis or bring attention
to)
- under way (as an adverb means in motion, in process)
- underway (as an adjective means occurring, performed, or used while
traveling or in motion)
Words usually are compounded (either solid or hyphenated) to
convey an idea that would not be as clearly expressed if the words
were not connected, as seen in :
- areawide
- freshwater
- policymaker
- bottomfishing
- icebreaking
- Shoreline
- downhole
Some words or expressions are written as separate words when
they are used as noun phrases but are hyphenated or written solid when
they are used as adjectives before nouns, as seen in :
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deep sea deep-sea fauna
deep water deep-water technology
food web food-web dependencies
dark green dark-green algae
When verbs are combined with a preposition or adverb,
write them as two words. When the same two words are used as
nouns or adjectives, however, they should be hyphenated or joined.
verb noun or adjective
break up breakup
build up buildup
run off runoff
shut down shutdown
Most words with prefixes, suffixes, or combining forms are
printed solid, except as indicated , however, that although most words
beginning with the short prefixes co, de, pre, pro, and re are printed solid,
a hyphen is sometimes used to avoid doubling a vowel or tripling a
consonant. A hyphen is also used to join a prefix or combining form to a
capitalized word or to distinguish a compound word from a homonym.

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For examples :
cooperation preexisting pre-Neogene
postlease presale prelease
hull-less shell-like un-American
micro-organism ultra-atomic
A prefix that is standing alone but is representative of a compound
word carries a hyphen. over- and underused micro- and macroeconomics
The pre- and postsale activities were documented.
The pre- and postlease sale reports were completed.
over, owner, site, wide, work.
The term unit modifier used in GPO refers to one - thought
adjectives or adverbs consisting of two or more words that are
connected with a hyphen. Unit modifiers can be perplexing, especially
when a specific rule can not be located for their use. In such
cases, the question of hyphenation necessarily must be left to the
discretion of the editor and the author, who must collaborate on how
best to clearly and logically present the information to the intended
audience.

21

The use of hyphen to join two or more words in a unit
modifier before a noun, but do not hyphenate unit modifiers
that appear after a noun.
large-scale project the project is large scale
low-grade metamorphic rocks metamorphic rocks of low grade
bluish-green sea the sea was bluish green
When the meaning is clear or when a compound is well established
or widely known in its field, omit the hyphen. Note that the names of
many chemicals, animals, and plants are in this category. A hyphen can
not be used in a presentg form whihc is a compound that functioned as
predicate adjective or predicate noun, for example :
The horst is northeast trending.
The effects could be far reaching.
The shale was oil bearing.
A hypen can not be used in a compound of predicate adjective
when the second element is a past participle or in a predicate modifier of
comparative or superlative degree, for example :
The refinery is State owned.
The area is drought stricken.
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The material has been fire tested.
The analysts are best informed.
The hypen also can not be used with unit modifiers when the first
element is a comparative or superlative.
better drained soil larger sized grains
higher level decision lower income group
noncoal-bearing member

C. Theoretical Framework
The theories that used in this study, as stated before the theories of
noun compound and noun phrase, will be the base and the main idea to
defines the data of words that belongs to the noun noun combinations.
The analysis of noun compound will focused in the form, patterns, and the
meaning of the words that believed belongs to the noun compound while
the words that believed as the noun phrase will be analyzed in the patterns,
forms, and the relations to the meaning to the outside of the language.

23

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of Study
The object of this study is mainly the two kinds of noun noun
combinations, the noun compound and the noun phrases. The final
results that expected from this study is mainly to finds out the skeletal
structure of the noun compound and it is goes the same for the noun
phrase. The questions the formulated and becomes the problem
formulation of this study will be the first things that considerred to
examines the objects of the studies.

B. Method of Study
The method of this study is analyzing the words that believed as
the words of noun noun combinations with the noun compound
phrase analysis methodologies and the ideas of semantical and
syntactic ideas of the words that being examined.
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CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS
In order to determine the compound type we have to analyze some fea-
tures in the compound itself using the YX analysis which mean Y as the
head giving more notion of meaning to the X.
The words that examined in this analysis is : Address book, Oil paper,
paper clip, suggar daddy, yellow pages, and mother tongue and the
analysis is presented as following :

- Address book
N

N N

Address(X) Book(Y)

25

In the English compound the word relation is the Y explain the X
or the rightmost explain the leftmost so that the meaning of the address
book is a book of address, or a book that for address.

Oil paper
N

N N

Oil(X) Paper(Y)

In the same explanation above about the word relation in com-
pound is the Y explain the X or the rightmost explain the leftmost so that
the meaning of the oil paper is a paper that contain oil for wrapping food
or paper that used to absorb oil




26

Paper clip
N
N N
Paper (X) Clip(Y)

In the same explanation above about the word relation in com-
pound is the Y explain the X or the rightmost explain the leftmost so that
the meaning of the paper clip is clip that used for paper.
The second type of noun compound is the exocentric compound
which a compound which meaning is not solely depends on the head of
the words and depend on its relation with the real world to gain a clear and
exact meaning not only the ambigous meaning. In this analysis section part
the previous pattern will be discussed in the same way but using another
approach to gain the clear meaning of the compound the analysis is as
following.




27

Sugar-daddy
N

N N

Sugar (X) daddy ( Y)

In the patterns of Y X this compound will means a daddy of
sugar but it is an ambigous meaning since it gained no logical meaning, so
it need a contextual meaning to understand it and its meaning as a symbol
language which refers to a middle aged man that loves teenage girl as a
lover
Yellow pages
N

N N

Yellow(X) Pages(Y)

28

In the patterns of Y X this compound will means pages that colored
yellow , it is maybe right but it is also could gained a contextual meaning as a
catalogue of ads near the phone booth or phone numbers list book since this
word is coined to relate the ads catalogue into a simpler referential language.
Mother tongue
N

N N


Mother(X) tongue(Y)

In the patterns of Y X this compound will means a tongue of a
motherbut it does not makes logical sense in language so then this
structure cant be analyze solely using the Y X pattern but must be
related with any other language system to gain another meaning. If we
relate it to the real world through pragmatic or the meaning realation of a
word or words to the real world it will resuted as the word to express the
first language that mastered by someone.


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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
A. Results
In the end of this study it is found that it is difficult to determine
which one is a noun compound and which one is a noun phrase since both
of them are NN or noun + noun combination in English. The common
construction of this combination is N
1
+ N
2
where the N
1
is a premodifier
of the N
2
or the specifier of the N
2
. This constitution can be regarded as
single constitution ( Bauer 1998b and Olsen 2000b) or as two constitution.
The noun compound itself is a form of noun phrase which means
are defined by its N
2
or its head but it is only work in the endocentric
compound but does not work in the exocentric compound which means
determined by a set of concept or the semantic and lexical meaning of the
compositions. This criteria resembles the criteria or the method to
determine the meaning of noun phrase. There are some things that made
noun compound and noun phrase are bias to be determined , they are :


30

1. The format
Both format are noun + noun where the second noun
meanings are bounded into the first noun which used as a
premodifier that clear the meaning of the second one or the
meaning of the set is determined by lexical criteria of its word or
words.
2. The stress
Stress sometimes becomes main distinguishing criterion of English
NN compositions or any other words composition which is based on
the phonological unit of the words, but this things rarely appeared in
NN compositions. Bloomfield (1935: 228) takes the number of sylla-
bles with primary stress, which he calls high stresses as definitive of
compounds and phrases, stating, for example, that ice-cream [ajs-
krijm] is a compound, but ice cream [ajs krijm] is a phrase, but there is
no denotative difference in meaning. Chomsky and Halle (1967:17ff)
also see stress as criteria for compounds, but distinguish between left
and right hand stress, rather than the number of stressed syllables. For
them, compounds have left hand stress, determined by the compound
31

rule, whereas phrases follow the nuclear stress rule and therefore
have right hand stress. Lieberman and Prince (1977, quoted by Selkirk
1984:146) developed this idea further to give the following rule for as-
signing stress in complex words, where the rule applies to lexemes in
compounds and to morphemes in other complex words: assign greater
prominence to the left hand constituent unless the right hand constitu-
ent is branching. This stress criterion has been widely accepted by
scholars of English grammar, For example, Bloomfields conclusion
that ice cream is sometimes a phrase and sometimes a compound, alt-
hough the meaning does not change, is rather unsatisfactory; as is the
result that apple cake and Oxford Street are compounds, while apple
pie and Oxford Road are phrasal . A further surprise is that phrases
such as ice cream can apparently become part of compounds such as
ice cream factory.





32

3. The semantic and syntactic
Various attempts have been made to find semantic and/or syntactic
criteria by which to recognize and classify NN combination, but that the
best approximation is semantic: the meaning of the whole cannot be de-
duced from the meaning of the elements separately. The list of relation-
ships which can be expressed is limitless, and perceived constraints on
compound formation may in fact reflect the likelihood of lexicalization:
compounds depicting classificatory-relevant, permanent relationships may
be used again and can eventually become lexicalized, losing their semantic
decomposability and acting as models for the formation of further com-
pounds by analogy. In NNs as a whole, then, it seems that often the most
that can be said is that N1 bears some relation to N2, and that this relation
includes some element of meaning not overtly expressed. The result is that
most NNs are, at least potentially, ambiguous




33

B. Conclusion

The conclusions that concluded from the analysis are :
1. Noun Compound and Noun Phrase are NNs composition in
english which have same construction and same function in
sentence
2. Noun Compound is part of Noun Phrase since its meaning is
determined in the same way with the noun phrase.
3. The simple way to distinct noun phrase and noun compound is
to see its construction and semantical syntactic construction.






34

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