Lecture 5

COMPOUNDS and COMPOUNDING

1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS glass case; garden party, pyjama top; queen bee; filmsociety; deep-fry, knee-deep, greenhouse; polar expedition, scissor-sharpener; ropewalker; homebaked (cookies) , heart-breaking (events); breadbaking; sightseeing etc. Compounds name relevant categories in the speakers experience of the world. They are predominantly based on the relation of hyponymy, i.e., the compound as a whole denotes a hyponym of the head. Semantically this means that the set of entities possibly denoted by the compound is a subset of the entities denoted by the head: e.g., the compound film society denotes a subset of the head society.
(1)
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The right-hand head rule (Williams 1981): The head of compounds usually occurs on the righthand side The compounds inherits most of the semantic and syntactic information from its head, e.g., if the compound is pluralized the plural marking occurs on the head, not on the non-head. Compare: parks commissioner vs park commissioners. (2) N(sing) N(plural)
parks (N,pl) commissioner (N sing) park (Nsing) commissioners (Nplural)
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2. COMPOUNDING AS A MORPHOLOGY/SYNTAX INTERFACE

Phrase-like properties of compounds

I. compounding and syntactic phrases - recursiveness: (4) ice-cream ice-cream maker ice-cream maker society II. compounds have a constituent structure

(5)

[student [ film society]] film society for students [[student film [society] society for student films

example (5) is ambiguous between two readings, depending on the way brackets are assigned; polymorphemic words are analyzed as hierarchical structures always involving binary sub-elements. the bracketings in (5) are assigned on the basis of meaning because the semantic interpretation of each reading is compositional

III. Bloomfield (1933): the elements of a compound may have relations to each other which resemble the relations holding between the constituents of a sentence. These are predicateargument, modifier-head and apposition/coordination:
(6) predicate argument truck-driving drawbridge meat-eater modifier-head file cabinet greenhouse blackbird apposition apprentice -welder hero-martyr doctor-patient gap

3.CRITERIA FOR COMPOUND IDENTIFICATION 3.1 STRESS IN COMPOUNDS

The standard assumption (Chomsky and Halle 1968, the Compound Stress Rule): a true compound of two elements is stressed on the first constituent i.e., exhibits fronted primary stress, while a phrase is stressed on the last major constituent i.e. (7) a) noun phrases:
(8)

[black bird] [green carpet] [this new house] b) nominal compound [blackbird] [payment problems] Compound stress rule: stress is on the left-hand member of a compound Nuclear stress rule: phrasal stress is on the last word of the phrase.

The Compound Stress Rule is applicable to multi-word compounds, the stress pattern being indicative of a certain kind of interpretation: (8) (a) mail delivery service (a) mail delivery service (b) student feedback system (b) student feedback system (9) [[mail delivery]service] [mail[delivery service]] [[student feedback]system] [student[feedback system]]
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Stress indicates constituent structure Cinque (1993)

(9)
Specifier

X
X X Complement

Stress falls on the non-head of a compound, if this is a complement; otherwise, it falls on the head. This is particularly clear in N A compounds. Thus in (9a) nuclear stress falls on the non-head, since this is a complement. In (9b), the left hand constituent has the character of a modifier ( specification). Stress falls on the head: (9) a disease prone blood thirsty germ resistant b) lily white dirt cheap crystal clear
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Several exceptions to the rule have been identified. Interesting exceptions from the compound stress rule are the following (Plag 2003): (10) geologist-astronomer Michigan hospital summer night Boston marathon apple pie Madison Avenue aluminium foil Mahler symphony

All the above carry stress on the second constituent. Adopting the hypothesis entertained by different scholars, Ingo Plag (2003:138) convincingly argues that the exceptions below are not really idiosyncratic but are more or less systematic exceptions of the compound stress rule
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The rightward prominence is restricted to only a very limited number of more or less well-defined types of meaning relationship or are based on the analogy to existing compounds. A. Compounds like geologist-astronomer differ from other compounds in that they refer to the same entity (these are coordinative or appositional compounds, i.e., the compound denotes one single person who is both a geologist and an astronomer) Meaning relationships such as temporal, locative (e.g. summer night, Boston marathon) , causative, paraphrased as made of (e.g. aluminium foil, silk, tie) or created (e.g., Mahler symphony) Analogy to existing combinations: street names involving street as the head have the stress on the first constituent( e.g. Oxford Street, Main Street, Fourth Street); all combinations with avenue, road, have rightward stress, therefore, phrasal stress.
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B.

C.

3.2 THE SEMANTIC CRITERION

A typical semantic property, further property is that of non-referentiality. Thus, the non-heads of compounds never refer to specific objects. For instance, neither film, nor student in student film society serve to pick out any specific student or film. Likewise, in the expression teapot, there is no sense in which the element tea actually makes reference to the stuff tea in determining the reference of the whole expression. Compounds tend to be referentially opaque, i.e. it is impossible to see inside them and refer to their parts. Compounds are anaphoric islands: that is, we cannot refer to the tea of teapot using an anaphor. Anaphoric islandhood is a special case of a more general property of words, namely lexical (morphological) integrity. The general pattern is that no syntactic process is allowed to refer exclusively to parts of words. This is why these non-heads can be used attributively. Another semantic property that distinguishes compounds from phrases is the permanent aspect criterion, i.e., the semantic bond between the elements of a compound reflects a habitual, inherent, permanent association between the elements. Thus, water-bird denotes only birds that have some permanent association with water (lives near and walks or swims in rivers) rather than any bird that happens to have fallen into it or flown above it. Yet another semantic test for compounds is the one known as semantic specialization i.e. compounds have a more specialized meaning than phrases, that is they are often lexicalized: (11) battle fatigue = a condition of psychic trauma induced by a soldiers direct experience of the horrors of war on a battlefield. A compound like battle fatigue does not denote a feeling of simple tiredness after any kind of battle. It is the additional semantic specialization that determines that battle fatigue should be classed as a compound while housecleaning fatigue, for instance, should not (Levi 1975). This test is equivalent to the claim that all compounds become (at least partially) lexicalized, so that their full semantic specialization must be learned on an individual basis.
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As known, the lexicalized form is one of the three stages in the history of a word (a) nonce formation ; b) institutionalized word/established formation; c) lexicalized unit (cf. Bauer 1983). At first, nonce formations are coined on the spur of the moment to cover some immediate needs. The so called deictic compounds are used in conversational situations in which they are equivalent to descriptive phrases. We could mention here the well-known apple-juice seat exemplified by Downing (1977) (a seat in front of which a glass of applejuice has been placed). An institutionalized word is the next stage, when the nonce formation comes to be used by other speakers as a lexical item. The nonce formation comes to be established /institutionalized when the compound becomes interpretable without recourse to a single immediate context. Typical of this stage is that the potential ambiguity is ignored and only some of the possible meanings are used. A lexicalized form is the final stage in the history of the word. The final stage steps in when, because of some changes in the language system, the lexeme has taken on a form which it could not have had if it had arisen by the application of productive rules; think of yesterday, downstairs, good-bye, etc.

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Opacity - achieved, sometimes, by metonymic and metaphoric transferences. The following compounds that allow both a literal interpretation as well as a metaphorical one; it is precisely the open-ended property of metaphor interpretation that accounts for this possibility: (12) icebox = coffin-nails = (i) box for ice (ii) any place that is extremely cold (i) nails for coffin (ii) cigarettes

A large number of compounds are based on metonymy: exocentric compounds are generally based on metonymic transferences:
(13) hunchback = person who has a hump on his/her back redcap = porter featherbrain = dull witted person

Many compounds that might seem opaque to one speaker/reader/listener might be perfectly transparent to others; the terms advance man, or double blind are entirely transparent and motivated for the specialist (politicians and psychologists, respectively) and completely opaque for the nonspecialist, who have to learn it as a single unit.
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3.2 THE MORPHOLOGIC CRITERION

Compounds have morphologic integrity; no constituent can intervene; the first element is often the default singular form: trouser-press, scissor sharpener, pyjama-top. Exceptions:
(14) systems analyst/ parks commissioner , programs coordinator services coordinator service coordinators woman doctor women doctors

Elements of compounds are not modified, etc. *very blackbirds Compounds may be the basis for derivation: compound derivatives: pickpocket-hood, etc.
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4. COMPOUND TYPES 4.1.The process of compounding yields two types of compounds, namely: 1. root compounds 2. synthetic compounds ( verbal compounds) (14) Root compounds towel rack, greenhouse, stone- deaf, stir-fry,

(15)

Synthetic compounds beer drinker, church-goer, window-cleaning, shopclearance, clear-sighted

Root compounds are compounds whose second constituent is not derived from verbs. Synthetic compounds, in contrast, have a second constituent which is deverbal.
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4.2. ROOT COMPOUNDS there should be a distinction between productive and non-productive compound patterns -- although all major lexical categories N, V, A, P may be involved in root compounding, the most productive patterns are with noun and adjective bases (16) Noun Verb Adjective Preposition Noun towel rack pickpocket greenhouse afterbirth Verb brainwash stir-fry blindfold Adjective stone-deaf light-green -

Verb-based compounds are widely assumed to be the result of backformation or conversion with the exception of the V-V pattern: stir-fry, freeze-dry, dry-clean the interpretation of which resembles that of appositional compounds i.e. to stir-fry means to stir and fry simultaneously. The sub-classification of compounds has been done not only according to what form classes the constituents of compounds belong to (Marchand 1969, Bauer 1983). Adams (2001) offers a synopsis of semantically based taxonomies which lead to a proliferation of possible semantic categories. Such classifications could include as much as a total of 40 compound types (nouns, verbs, adjectives).
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(19)

Subject -verb : bee-sting, heartache Verb - object: chewing-gum, drawstring appositional : buffer state, death-penalty associative: bulls eye, beginners luck instrumental: battering ram, hearing aid locative : drawing paper, diving board resemblence: cotton tail, apron stage composition/form/ contents : air stream, bow tie, beer glass

This type of classification is of little interest and futile since in principle it can be extended in any direction. This classification, though bulky, still leaves out a number of compounds such as for instance concert pitch or conscience money which have been argued to need a rather complex paraphrase. Scholars agree that more profitable would be to ask what kind of interpretations are in principle possible given a certain compound.
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Endocentric compounds Root (primary) compounds exhibit a variety of patterns (see 16) and the relations between the components are predominantly those of modifier-head. Noun-noun compounds like book cover, breadbasket, damp proof, shaving cream denote a subclass of the referents of the head: a book cover is a kind of cover, a breadbasket is a kind of basket etc. The syntactic head of these compounds also qualifies as the semantic head of the compound; these compounds are called endocentric compounds. Most English root compounds are of this type; they display the endocentric subordinative type. In all these cases the compound AB has a head word B and a determinant A which is subordinated to B. The semantic relationship involved is that of hyponymy. (Bloomfield 1933).

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Not all compounds are based on the subset relation, i.e. the modifier-head type (subordinative). There are compounds in which the two elements AB do not show any dependency holding between them. Consider the examples below:

(17) a) singer-songwriter scientist-explorer poet-translator

(b)

the doctor patient gap a modifier-head structure the mind-body problem

Both sets of words are characterized by the fact that neither of the two constituents of the compound seems to be more important than the other, semantically. With these types, the compound AB is made up of two entities of equal rank and has an interpretation roughly equal to both A and B. They could be said to have two semantic heads, neither being subordinate to the other; both members equally contribute to the meaning of the compound; they have been labeled copulative compounds or dvanda compounds( Sanskrit, literary two and two meaning twins/pair). These compounds are right-headed, i.e have a syntactic head (e.g. there are too many poet-translators in this country) behaving grammatically like bona fide endocentric compounds.
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Endocentric copulative compounds fall into two classes depending on their interpretation. In (17a) each compound refers to one entity, i.e. the two members of the compound represent two facets of the same individual. A poet-translator is a person who is both a poet and a translator. This type of copulative compound is sometimes called appositional compound. By contrast the dvandas in (17b) denote two entities that stand in a particular relationship with the head of the phrase: e.g. the doctorpatient gap is a gap between doctor and patient. The two members that make up the compound represent different individuals. These compounds resemble and phrasal constructions: mother - child relationship = mother and child relationship. This type of compound is sometimes known as a coordinative compound. Other types of compounds may display this type of semantic relationship: adjectival compounds like sweet-sour or bitter-sweet are appositional compounds denoting entities that are at the same time bitter and sweet, or sweet and sour, for instance. On the other hand there are coordinative adjectival compounds that are used attributively just like the corresponding noun-noun compounds: a French-German cooperation, the high-low alternation, a public-private partnership. As already mentioned verb-verb compounds may also be interpreted as 19 appositional compounds: stir-fry

Productive conceptual patterns

1. [ X CAUSE Y] (productive) a. internal structure N N X b. compound stress N Y

Examples: drug death, future shock, heat rash, laugh wrinkles, job tension, sex scandal, oil crisis, snow blindness, moth hole, fatigue headache, language riots, deficiency disease, air pressure, cigarette burn, onion tears, energy crisis. Variants: Adj + N, where the A is N-base or N-related electric shock, cultural shock, thermal cracks, occupational hazards, hysterical paralysis, genetic disease, financial dilemma/ crisis 20

Productive conceptual patterns

2. [ Y CAUSE X] (less productive) a. internal structure N Y N N X

b. compound stress Examples: flu virus, mortal blow, accident weather, malarial mosquito, traumatic event, concussion force, growth hormone, sob story, 21

Productive conceptual patterns

3. [X HAS Y] ( productive) (meronymic) (N+N, A+N) Examples: N+N lemon peal (peal of the lemon), government land, family antiques, fish scales, apple core, people power, company assets, city wall, tire rim, student problems, party members, enemy strength, arrow head, beachhead, bedside, bridgehead, cartwheel, onion-peel etc A+N feminine institution, presidential power, judicial discretion, professional standard, maternal instinct, nationl resources, national capital.
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Productive conceptual patterns

4. [Y HAS X] (not productive)
Examples: N+ N picture book, apple cake, gunboat, salt lake, vegetable soup, nut bread, lace handkerchief, bear country, national capital, etc. A+ N pictorial atlas, industrial area, musical comedy.
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Productive conceptual patterns

5. The Agentive qualia, the SOURCE pattern [Y has its SOURCE/ORIGIN/LOCATION/ INSTRUMENT in X] Examples: N+N (origin) olive oil (oil has its source in olives), castor oil, cane sugar, beet sugar, grain alcohol, rye-whiskey, peanut-butter, wood shavings, coal dust, bacon grease, alligator leather, daisy chain, cable network, cell block, mountain range, chocolate bar, copper coins, paper money, steel helmet, plastic toys, candy cigarette, glass eye, etc. N+N (concrete location) store clothes, test-tube baby, A+N stellar configuration, floral wreath, nervous system, reptilian leather, kennel puppies, country butter, sea breeze, farm boy, gutter language, etc. N+N (X is an instrument): steam boat, oil lamp, machine translation, steam roller, water wheel, wind mill, oil lamp, alcohol lampe, hand-brake, hydrogen bomb, smoke signals, shock treatment, gas-stove, vacuum cleaner, starvation diet, heat engine A+ N atomic energy, nuclear weapon, solar generator, electrical clock, etc. [Y PRODUCES X, // X is the THEME of Y] Examples: N+N honey bee, silk worm, song bird, sap tree, music box, seat glands, oil well, coke machine, automobile plant 24

Productive conceptual patterns

6. The formal qualia, temporal and special location
[Y is SPATIALLY LOCATED in X] Examples: N+N field mouse, desert rat, city folk, marginal note, surface tension, river god, water lily, water plant, wood dove, wood frog, hedge-sparrow, country man, neighborhood bars, mountain cabin, mountain lodge, water witch, city libraries, hospital wards, urban parks, sylvan flora, field weed, water bug, city unrest, city police, long-distance courses, etc. A+ N urban riots, terrestrial life, academic transfers, aquatic mammals, textual errors, rural policeman, metropolitan transport, spinal inflammation, etc. (abstract location): marital conflicts, logical impossibility, etc. [Y has subkind X] Examples: cactus plant, love song, warsong, sports magazine, academic novel, academic wrting, political cartoon, pastoral art, etc.

[Y is TEMPORALLY LOCATED in X] Examples N+ N night flight, child hood dreams, adolescent turmoil, midnight snack, evening hours, winter sports, morning prayers, childhood dreams, weekend boredom, winter activity, etc. A + N autumnal rains, nocturnal flights, etc. 25

Productive conceptual patterns

7. The teleological qualia
[ Y SERVES FOR/ IS FOR X] (highly productive)

Examples N+N/A+N dog house, administrative office, industrial equipment, clothing shop, cat food, teaching strategy, digestive system, headache pill, fertility pill, bug spray, pet spray
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Exocentric compounds There are numerous examples of root compounds in which the whole structure is not a hyponym of the grammatical head, that is the syntactic head does not qualify as the semantic head of the compound. They are known as exocentric compounds or bahuvrihi compounds. Consider the following 2 sets of examples: (18) (a) pickpocket (b) loudmouth cut-throat redhead spoilsport greybeard The examples above differ from the endocentric nominal compounds on account of the fact that their semantics is strinkingly deviant . What the examples share is the fact that they designate persons.
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Loudmouth does not designate a kind of mouth but a kind of person and the same holds for redhead and greybeard. Similarly, a pickpocket is not a kind of pocket but someone who picks pockets, and the same holds for cut-throat and spoilsport ; in this type of compounds we can isolate a predicate type element (pick, cut, spoil) and an argument type element (throat, pocket, sport). Since such compounds designate persons it means that the semantic head is outside the compound. These compounds are known as semantically exocentric. From a syntactic point of view, nevertheless, the right-hand member of the compounds qualifies as head in point of the grammatical properties of the compound (category, plural marking) Examples of exocentric compounds may cover other patterns: N+N (agony aunt= woman who gives counselling on personal matters), A+N (golden goose = a source of unlimited prosperity), N+A (colour blind = making no distinction on grounds of skin colour or ethnic origin), Exocentricity is achieved by metaphoric or metonymic transferences.

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 1.

Verbal compounds: #ing compounds Adjectival deverbal #ing compounds

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