Composition
(Compounding)
HyponYm = a word that
is conceptually included within the definition of another word
= a subordinate word (=a word that is
more specific than a given word)
e.g. scarlet, crimson, carmine –
are all hyponyms of red
x is a hyponym of y if x is a kind of y
oak – kind of tree
house - kind of dwelling
- hyponym of tree -
hyponym of dwelling
Composition is a
device by means of which new words are formed as a result of the
semantic-grammatical combination of two or more words (also roots or stems).
Compounds
can be subdivided into four groups according to the semantic criteria:
1. If the compound is a hyponym
of the grammatical head (e.g. an armchair
is a kind of chair = the head) this type of compound will be termed as
an ENDOCENTRIC compound. (e.g. also footprint, fingerprint – the grammatical
head = print, the compound is a hyponym of print).
2. If the compound is not a hyponym of the grammatical head (e.g. a
redskin is not a type of skin) this type of compound will be termed as
an EXOCENTRIC compound.
3. If the compound is a hyponym of both constituent elements (e.g.
a maidservant – is a type of maid and a type of servant)
this type of compound will be termed as appositional compound.
4. If it is not clear which element is the grammatical head and the
compound is not a hyponym of either element, but the elements name separate
entities which combine to form the entity denoted by the compound, this type of
compound is termed copulative compound: sun and moon, Alsace-Lorraine.
According to form, in
English compounds are classified into:
a. closed forms – in which the
constituents are melted together: pickpocket (hot de buzunare), redcoat (soldat
britanic)
b. hyphenated forms – in which
the words are separated with a hyphen: lion-hearted, a knock-down, first-class
c. open forms – which are
compounds where the two constituents are written separately:
breakfast room, washing machine
The
system of classification we are going to use is one in terms of the form
classes of the elements of the compound.
A. Compound Nouns
1. noun+noun
This
is the largest subgrouping of compounds. (It has also subgroupings according to
basic semantic relationships and morpho-syntactic criteria).
a. The first subgroup is made up
of exocentric compounds: e.g skinhead, hatchback
b. the second subgroup is made up
of appositional compounds: e.g. boy-friend, manservant, woman doctor
c. copulative compounds:
Cadbury-Schweppes, Rank-Hovis-McDougal, Rowntree-Mackintosh
d. Gerund+noun
Since
a gerund has both nominal and verbal characteristics, this pattern could be
treated as either noun+noun or verb+noun. Unlike other compounds
containing a verbal element, however, the elements in these compounds all end
in –ING and the semantic relationships between the two elements seem more like
those which hold in NOUN+NOUN compounds than those which hold in VERB+NOUN
compounds.
e.g. holding pattern
or a fishing rod is a rod
for fishing just as a bath towel
is a towel for the bath
e. Proper noun-noun: e.g. Wellington airport, Utah
effect etc
f. compounds made up of two
common nouns
This is by far the most
productive type of compound.
e.g. cable television, language
laboratory, safety razor, domino effect, family planning
2. VERB+NOUN e.g.
pickpocket, makeshift, cut-throat (ucigas), hovercraft
3. NOUN+VERB (not so
productive) e.g. birth control, sunshine
4. VERB+VERB is extremely
rare and probably not productive
e.g. make-believe
5. ADJECTIVE +NOUN e.g fast-food,
hot-pepper, blackbird, software
6. PARTICLE+NOUN e.g.
over-stock, off-islander, in-crowd
7. ADVERB+NOUN is a very
restricted pattern, partly because only adverbs of time or place occur in such
compounds
e.g. now generation,
through-train, uptrain
8. VERB+ADVERB e.g. drawback
9. VERB+PARTICLE these are
nominalizations of phrasal verbs
e.g. pray-in, teach-in, press
down, drop out, put on
10. PHRASE COMPOUNDS are
constructions where an entire phrase seems to be involved in the formation of a
new word
e.g. son-in-law, pepper-and-salt,
forget-me-not
11. ADVERB+VERB e.g.
welcome, welfare, outcome
12. ADVERB+PAST PARTICIPLE
by-gones, outcast, outburst
B. Compound verbs
They are represented by various
combinations:
1. Noun + verb: to waylay
2. Adverb + verb: to backslide; to backbite
3. Adjective + verb: to whitewash, to blackmail
4. Verb + noun: shunpike
5. Particle + verb: to overachieve, to overeducate
6. Adjective + noun: to bad-mouth
7. Verb + verb: to dare-say, test-market
8. Noun + noun: to breath-test
A
subcategory of compound verbs is that of complex verbs made up of a main verb
and adverbial element, which usually modifies the meaning of the verb:
to bring about = a determina, a
cauza
to bring up = a creste, a educa
to fall out = a se certa
C. Compound adjectives are
formed according to a large number of different patterns:
1. Noun + adjective: is the most frequent type of compound
adjective: e.g. crystal-clear, card-carrying
2. Adjective + adjective: e.g. bitter-sweet, open-ended,
ready-made, dark-blue
3. Adverb + adjective: e.g. over-qualified, evergreen
4. Adverb + present/past participle: e.g. well-meaning,
ill-favoured, easy-going
5. Verb + noun: e.g. roll-neck (sweater)
6. Adjective + noun: e.g. red-brick (university)
7. Verb + verb: this type must be assumed to be new and possibly
growing
e.g. go-go (dancer), pass-fail
(test)
8. Adjective/adverb + verb:
e.g. high-rise (tower), quick-change (artist)
9. Verb + particle: see-through (blouse)
10. Noun + indefinite
participle/past participle: e.g. good-looking, life-giving, moonlit (luminat
de lună), crest-fallen (abătut, necăjit)
Another characteristic
device is composition by partial conversion and suffixation:
e.g. adjective + noun + (e)d
blue-eyed, short-fingered, kind-hearted, short-sleeved, double-bedded
D. COMPOUND ADVERBS
e.g. beforehand = dinainte, în prealabil
henceforward = de aici înainte
wherefrom = de unde
E. Compound prepositions –
into, onto, because of, throughout
F. Compound pronouns: self-forms and somebody, anyone etc
G. Compound conjunctions:
whenever, so that
H. Rhyme-motivated compounds:
in these compounds, the rhyme between the two elements is the major motivating
factor in the formation
e.g. roly-poly, gang-bang,
teeny-weeny
I. Ablaut-motivated compounds:
Similar in many ways to
rhyme-motivated compounds are those involving ablaut, i.e. vowel change or
alternation between the two elements:
e.g. zig-zag, flip-flop
J. Disguised compounds:
are a variety of compounds whose constituent elements have blended to the
degree of being difficult to distinguish
e.g smog (smoke + fog); motel
(motor + hotel); cheeseburger (cheese + burger); milkaholic (milk + alcoholic);
foolosopher (fool + philosopher); medicare (medical + care); electrocute
(electricity + execute); fantabulous (fantastic + fabulous); pictionary
(picture + dictionary); Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge ); smist (smog +
mist)
K. Compound derivatives: are words, usually nouns and adjectives
consisting of a compound stem and a suffix:
e.g type-writer, house-keeping, bed-sitter (garsonieră),
blue-eyed, high-heeled, rosy – cheeked, sharp-tongued
CONVERSION
Conversion (or “zero derivation” or “shift”) is the process by which a
part of speech is changed into another part of speech without modifying the
form of the word (i.e. without adding any affixes or formatives). Thus, verbs
may be converted into nouns, nouns into verbs, adjectives into nouns or verbs,
adverbs and pronouns into nouns, pronouns into verbs.
Verbs
may be derived from the stem of almost any part of speech but the most common
is the conversion from noun stems:
e.g. a
doctor (noun) becomes to doctor (‘to
treat as a doctor’; ‘to falsify’ (e.g. to
doctor photos); ‘ to confer the degree Doctor
upon’; ‘ to sophisticate’)
aircraft –to aircraft
slogan – to slogan
a face – to face
a star—to star
a finger—to finger (‘to touch with fingers’)
an eye – to eye (‘to observe, to watch’)
a baby—to baby (‘to treat as a baby’)
a handbag – to handbag (‘to treat ruthlessly’)
room - to room
Verbs may
also be derived from other parts of speech, such as adjectives and adverbs or :
wrong—to wrong; better—to better; slow—to slow; up—to up; down—to down; happy—to happy; calm—to calm;
ready—to ready; slow—to slow; clear—to clear.
Nouns are
usually converted from verb stems: to make—a
make, to walk – a walk, to cut – a cut; to drive – a drive; to try – a try;
to laugh – a laugh; to move – a move; to ride – a ride.
Phrasal verbs are often
turned into nouns by means of conversion:
to make up – a make up; to call up – a call up; to pull over – a pullover.
The derived word and
the deriving one are connected semantically. The semantic relations between
them are varied. For example,
a. the verb denotes the act accomplished by means of the thing
expressed by the noun:
to hand – (the noun: hand) ‘to give a help with the hand, to
deliver, to transfer by hand’;
to finger (‘to touch with fingers’).
b. the verb may have the meaning “to
act as the person/animal/thing denoted by the noun does”: to cook = ‘to prepare
food, to do the work of a cook’;
to dog = ‘to follow closely’ (but
also, metaphorically, ‘to worry’);
to robot
c. the derived verbs may have the
meaning “to go by” or “to travel with the thing denoted by the noun”: to train
= to go by train; to bus; to tube etc.
d. the derived verbs may have the
meaning “to spend, to pass the time expressed by the noun”: to winter = to
spend the winter; to weekend = to spend the weekend), to summer, to holiday.
Derived nouns denote: 1. the act as…: a knock, a smoke; 2. the result of an action: a cut, a run, a sip (sorbitură), a call.
A characteristic feature of modern English is
the growing frequency of new formations by conversion especially among the
verbs.
Other types of conversion are:
1. Adjectives into nouns: legitimate – the legitimate; rich - the rich; dead – the dead(s); injured – the
injured(s); needy - the needy;
good - the good; aged - the aged; healthy - the healthy; sick - the sick;
mighty - the mighty; famous - the famous.
2. Adverbs into nouns: backward - the backward; forward - the forward
3. Pronouns into nouns: “You are the cruellest she alive”. (W. Shakespeare – The Two Gentlemen of Verona); the proudest he.
4. Pronouns into verbs: “Don’t he/she/we… me.”
