Is often a compound word

1. The criteria of compounds

2. Semi-affixes

3. Classification of compounds

I

Compound
words are words consisting of at least two stems which occur in the
language as free forms.

In
describing the structure of a compound one should examine three types
of relations, namely the relations of the members to each other; the
relations of the whole to its members; and the correlation with
equivalent free phrases.

Some
compounds are made up of a determining and a determined part, which
may be called the determinant and the determinatum.

E.g.
A compound is indivisible. It’s impossible to insert words or
word-groups between its members.

A
sunbeam, a bright sunbeam, a bright and unexpected sunbeam. But no
insertion is possible between sun and beam, for they are not words
they are morphemes. The second stem beam is the basic part the
determinatum.
The determinant serves to differentiate it from other beams.

The
determinatum is the grammatically most important part which undergoes
inflection: sunbeams, brothers- in –law, passers-by etc.

As
for the semantics of the compounds, their meanings are not a mere sum
of the meanings of their components. A compound is often very
different in meaning from a corresponding syntactic group.

E.g.
blackboard and black board not every black board is a teaching aid
and vice-versa.

On
the other hand there are non-idiomatic compounds with a perfectly
clear motivation. Here we add the meanings of constituents to create
the meaning of a whole.

E.g.
seaman – when was first used there was no doubt (a profession
connected with sea).

As
English compounds consist of free forms, it is difficult to
distinguish them from phrases.

E.g.
phrase “the top dog” – a person occupying the foremost place;

a
compound “underdog” – a person who has the worst of an
encounter.

Thus
separating compounds from phrases and also from derivatives is no
easy task, and scholars are not agreed upon the question of relevant
criteria.

E.Nida
writes, that “the criteria for determining the word units in a
language are of three types: 1) phonological; 2) morphological; 3)
syntactic. No one type of criteria is normally sufficient for
establishing the word unit. Rather the combination of two or three
types is essential”.

He
doesn’t mention the graphic criterion (namely spelling). It is a
mistake, in ME the written form is as important as the oral.

We
can see in the dictionaries of different authors and even of the same
author that some words are spelled differently: headmaster –
head-master, airline – air line – air line.

The
lack of infirmity in spelling is the chief reason why many authors
consider this criterion insufficient. Some combine it with the phonic
criterion or stress.

There
is a marked tendency in English to give compounds a heavy stress on
the first element. Some scholars consider this unity of stress to be
of primary importance.

Thus,
Bloomfield writes: ”Wherever we hear lesser or least stress upon a
word which would always show a high stress in a phrase, we describe
it as a compound member: `ice-cream is a compound but `ice `cream is
a phrase although there is no denotative difference in meaning.

E.g.
`blackboard, `black `board; `blackbird, `black `bird etc.

This
rule doesn’t hold good with adjectives. Compound adjectives are
double stressed: `gray-`green, `easy-`going, `new-`born.

Adjectives
expressing emphatic comparison are heavily stressed on the first
element: `snow-white, `dog-cheap.

Moreover,
stress can be no help in solving the problem of compounds because
word stress may depend on phrasal stress or upon syntactic function
of the compound.

E.g.
light-headed has a single stress when it’s used attributively, in
other cases the stress is even.

Besides,
the stress may be phonological and help to differentiate the meaning
of compounds:

`overwork
– “extra work”

`over
`work – “hard work injuring ones health”

`bookcase
– “a piece of furniture”

`book
`case – “ a paper cover for books”

As
for morphological criteria they are manifold.

Smirnitsky
compares the compound shipwreck
and the phrase (the)
wreck of (a) ship.
They comprise the same morphemes. Although they don’t differ in
meaning, they stand in different relation to the grammatical system
of the language. From this example it follows that a word is
characterized by structural integrity non-existent in a phrase.

We
should remember E.Nida that no one type of criteria is normally
sufficient for establishing whether the unit is a compound or a
phrase. We have to depend on the combination of different types of
criteria. But even then the ground is not very safe and we meet here
a “stone-wall problem” that has received so much attention in
linguistic literature.

II

The
problem of distinguishing a compound from a derivative is actually
equivalent to distinguishing a stem from an affix.

In
most cases the task is simple enough. The immediate constituents of a
compound are free forms and a combination containing bound forms as
its immediate constituents, is a derivative.

But
there are cases which present difficulties.

Thus
such nouns as man, berry, land are very often used as the second
element in a word. They seem to have acquired valency similar to that
of affixes. As you remember they are called semi-affixes. Such
elements as –like, -proof, and –worthy can be referred to as
semi-affixes as well.

III

Classification
of compounds

The
great variety of compound types brings about a great variety of
classifications. Compound words can be classified according to the
type of a composition and the linking element; according to the
number of stems; according to the number of constituent parts;
according to the part of speech to which the compound belongs;
according to the structural pattern within a part of speech.

The
classification according to the type of composition permits us to
establish the following groups:

1)
The predominant type without any linking element: heartache,
heart-brake.

2)
Composition with a vowel or a consonant as a linking element:
speedometer,
statesman.

3)
Compounds with linking elements presented by preposition or
conjunction stems: matter-of-fact; up-to-date; son-in-law;
forget-me-not; what’s-her-name (n).

4)
Compound-derivatives or derivational compounds: kind-hearted;
old-timer;
teenager.

The
classification of compounds according to the structure of immediate
constituents distinguishes:

1.Compounds
consisting of simple stems: film-star

2.Compounds
where one of the constituents is a derived stem: chaine-smoker.

3.Compounds
where at least one of members is a clipped stem: maths-mistress;
H-bag (handbag) or X mas (Christmas).

4.Compounds
in which at least one of the constituents is a compound stem:
wastwpaper-basket.

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Scientists are big into molecular compounds, and there is something kind of magical about them. You can start with a couple of atoms of hydrogen, add another atom of oxygen, and bada bing: water. Two distinct elements come together to create something entirely different.

It’s exactly the same with words. Well, maybe not exactly the same, but English is such a flexible, creative language that it’s filled with compound words—and new ones are popping up all the time to suit our ever-changing world. Some useful compound words recently added to Merriam-Webster are clickbait, photobomb, binge-watch, humblebrag, and spit-take.

So what is a compound word? How do you know whether it should be a closed compound, a hyphenated compound, or an open compound? What about compound sentences? We’ll look at all of these in this post.
 

When two (or occasionally, three) words work together to express a single idea, that’s a compound word. Compound words can be open, closed, or hyphenated, and they can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. English is full of preexisting compound words—or you can make up your own to suit the situation.

No one at the Star Trek convention really appreciated my Klingon-librarian costume.

The lung-collapsing dead-flower stench of my aunt Penelope’s perfume was headache-inducingly strong.

What is an open compound word?

An open compound word is two separate words (without even a hyphen to link them) functioning as a single idea.

When we were in high school, we regularly ate French fries, hot dogs, and ice cream with peanut butter as an afterschool snack.

What is a hyphenated compound word?

A hyphenated compound word is a term composed of two (or more) words connected by a hyphen. Like other compound words, a hyphenated compound can be a noun, adjective, or adverb.

The gun-toting, card-carrying FBI agent hid her angst well.

What is a closed compound word?

A closed compound word is a single word constructed of two or more other words. Most closed compound words were once open or hyphenated, but continued use solidified them—made them a single unit. Today’s open or hyphenated compounds are tomorrow’s closed compounds.

The moonlight coming through my bedroom window is so bright it outshines my flashlight.

Every afternoon, she wrote another story in her notebook; my favorite is the one about the starfish who loved rainbows and strawberries.

How do you know whether a compound word is open, hyphenated, or closed?

There’s really no trick to this! You look it up in a dictionary (like Merriam-Webster). Compound words evolve over time, so what was once black-bird is now blackbird, and what was once a web site is now almost always a website.

Don’t worry if you find dictionaries contradicting each other! Not every dictionary agrees on which compounds are open, hyphenated, or closed. Some offer health care and voice mail, for example, as two words, but others hyphenate or close those same compounds. In such cases, you’re free to use the spelling you prefer, except if you’re supposed to be following a particular style guide.

For example, the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) says that when a compound modifier comes before a noun, it’s never wrong to hyphenate it, since it can aid readability.

The seventy-year-old professor despaired for the dull-witted students in her late-afternoon class.

But (Chicago goes on to say) when compound modifiers follow the noun, leave them unhyphenated (even if they’re hyphenated in the dictionary).

The professor, who was almost seventy years old, couldn’t understand why her students were so dull witted by late afternoon.

What is a compound noun?

Compound words can be nouns, adjectives, adverbs—and even verbs (like pole-vault or double-click). In each case, they can be open, hyphenated, or closed. Compound nouns are perhaps the most common type of compound word. Here are some examples of compound nouns (some closed, some open, some hyphenated).

Susan’s grandmother, my mother-in-law, had a skylight above the bookcase in her living room that let in rainwater.

Watch out for the sometimes-unusual plurals of hyphenated compound nouns.

The workmen fixing the two merry-go-rounds in the local park typically catcalled all passersby, but they stopped once our attorneys-at-law sent them a warning.

What is a compound name?

A compound name is essentially a compound proper noun—a multiword term (often an open compound, though not always) that names a single entity.

Like Popeye, Black Panther gets at least some of his powers from eating his greens—in his case, the heart-shaped herb. But I bet Superman liked Cheez-Its better.

What’s important here is that these proper nouns are always preexisting compounds, so if you’re turning an open compound name into part of a compound modifier (see more about compound adjectives and adverbs below), you’ll need to use an en dash rather than a hyphen.

My new World War I–era cloche didn’t really go with anything in my New York–style wardrobe, so naturally I had to go shopping.

 

 

What is a compound adjective?

A compound adjective is a single adjective made up of more than one word—and it’s often a compound noun (or even compound name) being used to modify another noun. According to CMoS, it’s never wrong to hyphenate multiword adjectives when they precede a noun, even if they’re familiar open compounds like high school.

High-school students often have more brain-draining homework than college students.

My silly-voiced sister found her calling in advertising.

When a compound name functions as an adjective, there’s no need for a hyphen.

Penny was thrilled to win Dolly Parton tickets.

The Los Angeles weather is typically hot and sunny.

As touched on above, when a compound adjective follows a noun, the hyphen is usually not necessary.

Georgia is a well-read academic.

Georgia is well read.

I found a useful list of low-calorie cocktails.

I found a useful list of cocktails, all of them low calorie.

Remember that compound adjectives made from an adverb ending in –ly plus an adjective are never hyphenated. The -ly is enough of a signal that what follows is meant to be read together with the preceding word.

Sarah’s short-tempered grandfather griped about her recital, calling it a really dull concert.

Sarah’s grandfather, always short tempered, griped about her recital, describing it as really dull.

What is a compound adverb?

A compound adverb looks like a single word but (closely examined) is actually made up of two or more words working together to function as a single adverb. They’re often rather old fashioned, and they can sound stuffy and pompous so are best used sparingly: notwithstanding, nevertheless, heretofore, albeit, and so on.

Phrasal adverbs are very similar to compound adverbs, and they’re rather more useful.

I scattered rose petals here and there.

The newly married couple walked arm in arm.

Joseph goes running every day.

What is a compound sentence?

And here’s the bonus section (because the last thing we want to do is compound anyone’s confusion about compounds)!

Compound sentences are grammatically unrelated to compound words, but that still doesn’t answer the key question: What is a compound sentence? A compound sentence is when two or more independent clauses, each with its own subject and verb plus attendant objects and phrases, are joined with a coordinating conjunction (one of the FANBOYS: for, and, nor but, or, yet, so). Here, the key thing to remember is to always include a comma after the first independent clause and before the conjunction.

I read this blog post about compound words, but they didn’t explain about compound sentences, so I had to keep on searching.

My son’s story about the strawberry-loving starfish was really cute, so I sent it to my sister, and she loved it too.