Morphology
Class 9
Compounds
FS 2014
Rik van Gijn
Structures II: Compounds
Goal of this class
You will learn
√ What a compound is
√ About different types of compounds and how to recognize them
√ About morphology associated with compounding
√ About how to distinguish compounds from phrases
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds
Up until now, we have focused primarily on affixes, clitics, and more
abstract morphological processes, and not so much at combinations of
roots or lexemes.
A compound is a combination of two or more lexemes which
together form a new lexeme.
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Just like with derivations, compounds can often be analyzed as headdependent structures.
Haus
Tür
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Just like with derivations, compounds can often be analyzed as headdependent structures. In so-called endocentric compounds, the head
refers to the same entity as the entire compound.
Haus
Tür
Semantics: a Haustür is a kind of door, not a kind of house
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Just like with derivations, compounds can often be analyzed as headdependent structures. In so-called endocentric compounds, the head
refers to the same entity as the entire compound.
die/*das
Haus
Tür
Morphosyntax: tür determines the morphosyntactic category and
controls agreement
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Just like with derivations, compounds can often be analyzed as headdependent structures. In so-called endocentric compounds, the head
refers to the same entity as the entire compound.
N
N
N
Haus
Tür
Tür is the head.
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Just like with derivations, compounds can often be analyzed as headdependent structures. In so-called endocentric compounds, the head
refers to the same entity as the entire compound.
N
N
N
Haus
Tür
Tür is the head.
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
With endocentric compounds that consist of lexemes that are of
different lexical classes, the head determines the lexical class.
N
A
N
black
bird
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Compounds may be headed by other lexical classes than nouns,
although they are comparatively rare in Germanic languages.
A
A
cherry
A
red
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
Compounds may be headed by other lexical classes than nouns,
although they are comparatively rare in Germanic languages.
V
N
machine
V
wash
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
These types of endocentric compounds may be recursive
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
paper
towel
Lieber 2009
N
N
dispenser
factory
building
N
committee
report
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Endocentric compounds
These types of endocentric compounds may be recursive
Recently deleted from the lawbook of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Germanic languages all have right-headed compounds
Dutch
het
DEF.NEUT
het
DEF.NEUT
Booij 2007
soep-vlees
soup-meat
vs.
mode-feest
fashion-party
vs.
de
DEF.NONNEUT
de
DEF.NONNEUT
vlees-soep
meat-soup
feest-mode
party-fashion
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Germanic languages all have right-headed compounds, but this is not
necessarily so in all languages
Maori
wai
water
‘ink’
mangu
black
whare heihei
house hen
‘hen-house’
Booij 2007
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
The dependent element of a compound can be a lot of things.
[green]A house
[under]P dog
[right-wing]NP government
[One-size-fits-all]S sweater
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Exocentric compounds
Exocentric compounds are compounds where the referent of the entire
compound is not the same as the referent of one of the composing
elements.
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Exocentric compounds
Exocentric compounds are compounds where the referent of the entire
compound is not the same as the referent of one of the composing
elements.
English
pick-pocket
air-head
sing-along
evergreen
Spanish
para-sol
lava-manos
limpia-botas
>>
>>
>>
stop-sun
wash-hands
clean-shoes
‘parasol’
‘sink, washbowl’
‘shoeshine boy’
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
Attributive
Coordinative
Subordinative
Lieber 2009
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
Attributive: one lexeme modifies the other.
paper cup
blackbird
greenhouse
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
Attributive: one lexeme modifies the other. The modification can take
on many different forms, attributive compounds are often flexible
semantically
snail mail (metaphorical)
butt call (instrument)
machine wash (manner)
mailman (function)
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
Attributive compounds may also be exocentric
hothead
redhead
flatfoot
old money
Bahuvrihi compounds: compounds that denote a referent by describing a
characteristic or quality the referent possesses
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
Coordinative compounds: the lexemes have equal weight, and are in
apposition (also copulative compounds, sometimes dvandva
compounds)
singer-songwriter
blue-green
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
Exocentric coordinative compounds
doctor-patient (A)
parent-child (A)
trainer-pupil (A)
Lieber 2009
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
subordinative compounds: one element is interpreted as an argument
of another element.
dishwasher
wedding planner
food shopping
home invasion
Lieber 2009
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
In English, endocentric subordinative compounds often have a
nominalized verb as their head, in other languages subordinative
compounds are much more productive as a verb-formation process
(noun incorporation).
We come back to this later.
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Further subdivisions in types of compounds are based on how the
elements in the compound relate to each other
exocentric subordinative compounds
Italian
porta-lettere
lava-piatti
Booij 2007
‘mailman’
‘dishwasher’
(carry-letters)
(wash-dishes)
Structures II: Compounds
Types of compounds
Lieber 2009
Structures II: Compounds
Noun incorporation
Ponapean
I
pahn
kang
wini-o.
1SG
FUT
eat
medicine-DEM
‘I will take that medicine.’
I
pahn
keng-wini.
1SG
FUT
eat-medicine
‘I will take medicine.’ (Lit.: ‘I will do medicine-taking.’)
(Rehg 1981: 209–14)
-
noun is an argument of verb (patient/object)
verb in b becomes intransitive
generic in b, specific in a
no marking possible for definiteness in b (or case, number)
Structures II: Compounds
Noun incorporation
Guaraní
a-jogua-ta
petei
mba’e.
1act-buy-fut
one
thing
‘I will buy something.’
a-mba’e-jogua-ta.
1act-thing-buy-fut
‘I’ll go shopping.’
Lit: ‘I’ll thing-buy.’
(Velázquez-Castillo 1996: 107)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Noun incorporation
Guaraní
*a-ha-ta
a-mba’e-hepy-jogua
1act-go-fut
1act-thing-expensive-buy
‘I’ll go shopping for expensive items.’
Lit: ‘I will go expensive-thing-buying.’
(Velázquez-Castillo
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
1996: 108)
Structures II: Compounds
Noun incorporation
Ainu
Inaw
a-ke.
inaw
1SG.TR-make
‘I make an inaw (a wooden prayer symbol).’
Inaw-ke-an.
inaw-make-1SG.INTR
‘I make an inaw.’
(Shibatani 1990: 11, 28)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Noun incorporation
Huauhntla Nahuatl
ya’
ki-koccˇillo-tete’ki
he
3SG.OBJ-knife-cut
‘He cut the bread with the knife.’
(Merlan 1976: 185)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
panci
bread
Structures II: Compounds
Interfixes
Interfixes
Compounds may have an additional type of affix, called an interfix.
Interfixes come in between two lexemes of a compound, and is also
called a linking element.
Interfixes are often frozen inflections.
Structures II: Compounds
Interfixes
Interfixes
Compounds may have an additional type of affix, called an interfix.
Interfixes come in between two lexemes of a compound, and is also
called a linking element.
Greek
pag-o-vino
psom-o-tiri
sime-o-stolizmos
Booij 2007
‘ice berg’ (pag-os ‘ice’ + vun-o ‘mountain’)
‘bread (and) cheese’ (psom-i + tir-i)
‘flag decoration’ (sime-a + stolizm-os)
Structures II: Compounds
Interfixes
Interfixes
Interfixes may also show allomorphy.
Dutch
schaap ‘sheep’
kind ‘child’
koningin ‘queen’
Booij 2007
schaap-herder
schaap-s-kop
schap-en-vlees
kind-er-wagen
koninginn-e-dag
‘shepherd’
‘sheep’s head’
‘sheep’s meat, mutton’
‘childrens cart, pram’
‘Queen’s day’
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
It is not always straightforward to determine whether a structure is best
analyzed as a compound, or as a syntactic phrase.
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
E.g. Dutch generally does not allow N + N phrases where one modifies the
other, though in compounds this is common
goudklomp
goud-en klomp
nugget of gold (lit. golden clog)
golden clog
atom bomb (compound)
atomic bomb (phrase)
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
e.g. Dutch
schaap-s-kop (sheep’s head)
kind-er-feestje (children’s party)
*schaaps
*kinder
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
gold fish is not a golden fish
but: gold ring is compositional
and: golden age is not
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
In piano-tuner, the first part cannot refer to a particular piano, and a definite
article preceding the compound can only say something about the definiteness
of the tuner.
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
Lakhota
Wičháša ki
čhą̒
ki
man
the
wood
the
‘The man is chopping the wood.’
kaksá-he.
chop-cont
Wičháša ki
čhą-káksa-he.
man
the
wood-chop-cont
‘The man is chopping wood.’ (Lit.: ‘The man is wood-chopping.’)
(Van Valin and LaPolla 1997: 123)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Criteria
Unique collocations (not for every language or CMP type)
Interfix (not for every language or CMP type)
Idiomaticity (but neither sufficient nor necessary)
Dependent noun is generic rather than referential (not sufficient)
Additional criteria
In general terms, compounds exhibit greater phonological, morphological and
syntactic cohesion than phrases.
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
góldfìsh
báckdròp
Whíte Hòuse
góld médal
báckstáirs
whíte kníght
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
(Spelling is imperfect as an
indicator of compounds in
English)
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
Morphological cohesion (no internal inflection)
sisters-in-law
singers-songwriters
vs.
vs.
sister-in-laws
singer-songwriters
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
Morphological cohesion (no internal inflection)
Ponapean
I kang-ala
wini-o.
1sg eat-compl
medicine-dem
‘I completed taking that medicine, i.e. I took all of that medicine.’
I
keng-winih-la.
1sg
eat-medicine-compl
‘I completed my medicine-taking.’
(Rehg 1981: 214)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
Morphological cohesion
Syntactic cohesion (separability)
Hausa
gida-n-sauroo
bàbba
house-rel.m-mosquito big
‘big mosquito net’
gidaa
bàbba na
house
big
rel.m
‘Musa’s big house’
(Newman 2000: 109)
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Muusaa
Musa
(*gidaa bàbba na sauroo)
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
Morphological cohesion
Syntactic cohesion (modifiability)
Dependents in compounds cannot generally be expanded by modifiers such as
adjectives or adverbs (e.g. English kingmaker versus *illegitimate kingmaker ‘someone
who makes an illegitimate king’; crispbread versus *very crispbread ‘bread that is very
crisp’).
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
Morphological cohesion
Syntactic cohesion (ellipsis)
Large fish and small fish were mistakenly placed in the same tank.
Large Ø and small fish were mistakenly placed in the same tank.
Gold fish and small fish were mistakenly placed in the same tank.
*Gold Ø and small fish were mistakenly placed in the same tank.
Haspelmath & Simms 2010
Structures II: Compounds
Compounds versus phrases
Additional criteria
Phonological cohesion
Morphological cohesion
Syntactic cohesion (anaphoric reference)
a. My aunt has one gold watch and three silver ones (i.e. three silver watches).
b. *My aunt knows one goldsmith and three silver ones (i.e. three silversmiths).
Structures II: Compounds
Summary
-
A compound is a word form that consists of two or more lexemes
-
An endocentric compound is a compound whose head refers to the
same entity (or event or quality) as the entire compound
An exocentric compound does not refer to the same entity (event,
quality) as one of ist constituting parts.
-
-
-
In attributive compounds, one element modifies another. The nature
of the modification is often flexible.
In coordinative compounds, the elements have the same status
In subordinative compounds, one element is an argument of the
other.
Compounds are sometimes difficult to distinguish from syntactic
phrases, but they generally show more phonological, morphological,
syntactic, and semantic (idiomaticity) cohesion.