Compounding

Definition

Types of compounds

The process of combining two or more words (free morphemes) to create a new word.

Also called composition/compounding.

Closed form

Hyphenated form

EXAMPLES

life-threatening

hanger-on

court-martial

EXAMPLES

newborn

keyboard

firefly

crosstown

Open form

EXAMPLES

triple heart bypass

attorney general

trade union

Rhubarbbarbarabarbabariansbeardbarberbeerbarbaerbel

Rhubarb – Barbara – Bar – Babarians – Beard – Barber – Beer – Bar – Baerbel

Word translation: Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar’s barbarian’s beard barber’s beer bar’s bartender

CamelCase

• Is the practice of writing words with the first letter of each smaller piece capitalized: FedEx, MacBook, PayPal.

Thank you!

Observation

Syntactic classification

Noun + Noun

Adjective + Noun

Verb + Noun

”Compounds are not limited to two words, as shown by examples such as bathroom towel-rack and community center finance committee. Indeed, the process of compounding seems unlimited in English.”

broad + band = broadband

home + work = homework

cyber + space = cyberspace

ultra + book = ultrabook

smart + phone = smartphone

whole + sale = wholesale

pick + pocket = pickpocket

show + case = showcase

run + way = runway

References

https://www.teaching.com/

https://www.thoughtco.com/

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)

https://www.youtube.com/

• Francis Katamba, John t. Stonham (2006): Morphology, 2nd Edition
• Katja Böer, Sven Kotowski, Holden Härtl (2012): Compounds vs phrases, The cognitive status of morphological products, Kässel University, 15th International Morphology Meeting, Vienna
• Robert Lawrence Trask (2013): A dictionary of grammatical terms in Linguistics
• Rafica Sari (2013): Compounding in Information Technology Terms: A Morphological Study

Verb + Verb

Noun + Verb

Compound Words Today

trans(fer) + code = transcode

drip + dry = drip-dry

guess + work = guesswork

head + ache = headache

breast + feed = breastfeed

water + fall = waterfall

Adrian Akmajian et al., "Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication". MIT Press, 2001

Semantic classification

Verb + Preposition

• are often used in website titles, apps, and technological speak: facebook, face swap, pop-up window, drop-down menu

locked + up = locked-up

fall + out = fallout

break + through = breakthrough

Adjective + Verb

Adjective + Adjective

bitter + sweet = bittersweet

kind + hearted = kind-hearted

speed + walking = speedwalking

high + light = highlight

over + supply = oversupply

double + tap = double-tap

Exocentric compounds

Endocentric compounds

no head

head + modifier

• greenbottle = a fly of the genus lucilia (not a type of bottle)
• redneck = an ultra-conservative; white working-class person (not a type of neck)

EXAMPLE MEANING

steamboat a boat powered by steam

airhose a hose that carries air

firetruck a vehicle used to put out fires

firedrill a practice in the event of a fire

Compounds vs phrases

Compounds: name-giving function

Phrases: descriptive function

green house greenhouse

black board blackboard

free mason freemason

"Typically a compound begins as a kind of cliché, two words that are frequently found together, as are air cargo or light colored. If the association persists, the two words often turn into a compound.”

The stress test

To determine whether a phrase is an open copound word, say it out loud to see where the emphasis falls.

Examples

jumping bean > adj-noun pair

jumping bean > compound word

"floppy disk„

"ice cream" (originally "iced cream")

"national security"

Word stress

”We can be sure we have a compound when the primary stress moves forward; normally a modifier will be less heavily stressed than the word it modifies, but in compounds, the first element is always more heavily stressed.”

Kenneth G. Wilson, "The Columbia Guide to Standard American English". Columbia University Press, 1993

Compounding