Week 12 Flashcards
Compounds (definition 1)
Compounds are complex words which consist of at least two free morphemes. Don’t confuse with derivatives (dislike, teacher).
postman
swearword
windmill
computer software manual
toilet roll dispenser
cranberry
scissor factory
synonymy
morphology
eco-friendly
sitcom
Compounds with bound root
Cranberry, scissor factory
Compounds with neoclassical compound
Synonymy
Morphology
-logy in bio-logy, or geo-in geo-graphy
Compounds with neoclassical element
Eco-friendly
Bio-degradable
Compounds with blend
Sitcom
Guesstimate
Compounding (definition 2)
Compounds are complex words which consist of a combination of at least two roots (one or both of which can be shortened).
Compounding (definition 3)
Compounds are complex words which consist of at less two elements,
• The first of which is a root, word or phrase,
• The second is either a root or a word.
Her pipe-and-slipper husband
Some over-the-fence gossip
Their couldn’t-care-less attitude
Compound vs. phrase (difference)
Compounds are morphological constructions, and have unpredictable properties.
Phrases are syntactic constructions, expected to be regular and have predictable properties.
blackbird - black bird
redneck - red neck
White House - white house
How can you determine whether an A+N combination is a phrase?
By doing the one-replacement test.
What is another difference between compounds and phrases?
Phrases have end-stress (green ‘house), whereas the corresponding compounds have fore-stress (‘greenhouse).
What is the exception to end-stress in phrases?
In phrases, stress consistently falls on the rightmost element, unless the speaker uses emphatic stress:
I didn’t say ‘of my life, I said ‘in my life.
Attributive compounds
Non-head modifies the head
hairnet = ‘net for holding hair’
mosquito net = ‘net for keeping out mosquitos’
butterfly net = ‘net for catching butterflies’
Coordinative compound
Both elements of the compound have equal weight
producer-director
doctor-patient
Secondary (or synthetic/deverbal) compounds
Secondary compounds do have a transparant meaning (where the meaning is obvious).
Chessplayer
Truck driver
Course coordinator
Subordinative compounds
When there is a complementive relation between two constituents.
In a compound such as taxi driver, taxi is clearly the «complement» (most influential part).
Which unpredictable properties do compounds display?
- Orthographic (variable spelling)
- Phonological (variable stress)
- Semantic (unpredictable meaning)
Headedness can be split into…
- Morpho-syntactic rightheadedness
- Semantic rightheadedness
Morpho-syntactic rightheadedness
The last part of a word determines the lexical category.
Teapot is a noun because pot is a noun.
Semantic rightheadedness
The last part of a word determines the type.
A teapot is a kind of pot, a drawbridge is a kind of bridge.
Headless (exocentric) compounds
Forms/words that don’t determine a kind, but refer to someone who is something.
Loudmouth: not a kind of mouth, but refers to someone who has a loud mouth.
Pickpockets: not a kind of pocket. But someone who picks pockets.
Two-headed compounds
Having two heads.
Singer-songwriter
Stir-fried
Nature-nurture
Bigger compounds
Compounds that consist of more than two elements, and have an internal structure that is dictated by meaning (frequently appear in newspaper headlines).
Christmas biscuit recipes
Looking for Horses review
Spy-tech firm
Conspiracy theory movement
