44.Types of compounds

Compounding or word-composition is one of the productive means of word-formation in Modern English. Compounds are words that are made up of two immediate constituents which are both derivative bases.

Derivative bases in compounds can have different degrees of complexity:

both bases are simple (weekend, girlfriend).

one base is simple, the other is derivative (a shoemaker).

one base is compound and the other is either simple or derivative (fancy-dress -> fancydress-ball, маскарад; fancydress-maker).

Classification of compounds.

1) According to the type of word-formation:

a. compounds proper – are words made up of two derivative bases (red-current, girlfriend)

b. derivational compounds – are words formed by affixation or conversion from a compound derivational base (blue-eyed, a breakdown)

c. pseudo-compounds - The constituent members of compound words of this subgroup are in most cases unique, carry very vague or no lexical meaning of their own, are not found as stems of independently

functioning words. They are motivated mainly through the rhythmic doubling of fanciful sound-clusters. (loudmouth).

1. According to the parts of speech compounds are subdivided into:

a) nouns: baby-moon;

b) adjectives: power-happy;

c) adverbs: headfirst;

d) prepositions: into, within;

e) numerals: fifty-five.

2. According to the way components are joined together compounds are

subdivided into:

a) neutral, which are formed by joining together two stems without any

joining morpheme: ball-point;

b) morphological where components are joined by a linking element:

astrospace, handicraft, sportsman;

c) syntactical where components are joined by means of form-word stems,

e.g. do-or-die.

Compounds can be classified according to their structure:

consisting of simple stem

heartbreak

compounds where at least one stem is a derived one

football player

where one stem is clipped

Xmas

H-bag (handbag)

where one of the elements is also a compound

wastepaper basket

compound nouns, adjectives, verbs.

There are also the so-called reduplicative compounds:

Tick-tick, chow-chow

45.The main types of word-formation processes

Word-formation – the process of forming words by combining root and affixal morphemes according to certain patterns specific for the language (affixation, composition), or without any outward means of word formation (conversion, semantic derivation).

Word formation (словообразование)

Is a branch of science of the language, which studies the patterns on which a language forms new lexical items (new unities, new words)

It’s a process of forming words by combining root & affixal morphemes.

According to certain patterns specific for the language or without any outward means.

(conversion)

2 Major groups of word formation:

1) Words formed as grammatical syntagmas, combinations of full linguistic signs (types: compounding (словосложение), prefixation, suffixation, conversion, and back derivation)

2) Words, which are not grammatical syntagmas, which are not made up of full linguistic signs.

Ex.: expressive symbolism, blending, clipping, rhyme & some others.

Common for both groups is that a new word is based on synchronic relationship between morphemes.

Different types of word formation:

Is joining together 2 or more stems.

Types:

1) Without a connecting element

headache, heartbreak

2) With a vowel or consonant as a linking element

speedometer, craftsman

3) With a preposition or conjunction as a linking element

down-and-out (в ужасном положении, опустошенный)

son-in-law