The head in compounding
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Sergio Scalise
Abstract
This chapter deals with the notion of head inside compounds. We will first focus on the unproblematic cases which have led researchers to determine that compounds contain a head (Section 1). Then we will analyse more problematic cases, showing that some of the properties of heads (such as their position inside the word) are not completely understood (Section 2). Problematic cases of exocentricity or multiple headedness inside compounds will be considered in Section 3, while Section 4 briefly explores the possibility that compounds contain more than one head. The main conclusion of this paper is that there are empirical grounds to propose the existence of heads inside compounds, but the determination of their properties and the identification of the units that play this role for a given feature require detailed language-particular and typological research yet to be done, although some generalizations can already be made.
Abstract
This chapter deals with the notion of head inside compounds. We will first focus on the unproblematic cases which have led researchers to determine that compounds contain a head (Section 1). Then we will analyse more problematic cases, showing that some of the properties of heads (such as their position inside the word) are not completely understood (Section 2). Problematic cases of exocentricity or multiple headedness inside compounds will be considered in Section 3, while Section 4 briefly explores the possibility that compounds contain more than one head. The main conclusion of this paper is that there are empirical grounds to propose the existence of heads inside compounds, but the determination of their properties and the identification of the units that play this role for a given feature require detailed language-particular and typological research yet to be done, although some generalizations can already be made.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Why compounding? 1
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Section 1. Delimiting the field
- The role of syntax and morphology in compounding 21
- Constraints on compounds and incorporation 37
- Compounding versus derivation 57
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Section 2. At the core of compounding
- Units in compounding 77
- Compound construction: Schemas or analogy? 93
- The head in compounding 109
- On the lexical semantics of compounds 127
- The phonology of compounds 145
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Section 3. Typology and types of compounds
- The typology of exocentric compounding 167
- Coordination in compounding 177
- Parasynthetic compounds 199
- Synthetic compounds 219
- Corpus data and theoretical implications 237
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Section 4. Quantitative and psycholinguistic aspects of compounding
- Frequency effects in compound processing 257
- Computational issues in compound processing 271
- Relational competition during compound interpretation 287
- Sign languages and compounding 301
- First language acquisition of compounds 323
- List of abbreviations 345
- Master list of references 349
- Language index 377
- Subject index 379
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Why compounding? 1
-
Section 1. Delimiting the field
- The role of syntax and morphology in compounding 21
- Constraints on compounds and incorporation 37
- Compounding versus derivation 57
-
Section 2. At the core of compounding
- Units in compounding 77
- Compound construction: Schemas or analogy? 93
- The head in compounding 109
- On the lexical semantics of compounds 127
- The phonology of compounds 145
-
Section 3. Typology and types of compounds
- The typology of exocentric compounding 167
- Coordination in compounding 177
- Parasynthetic compounds 199
- Synthetic compounds 219
- Corpus data and theoretical implications 237
-
Section 4. Quantitative and psycholinguistic aspects of compounding
- Frequency effects in compound processing 257
- Computational issues in compound processing 271
- Relational competition during compound interpretation 287
- Sign languages and compounding 301
- First language acquisition of compounds 323
- List of abbreviations 345
- Master list of references 349
- Language index 377
- Subject index 379
