12. Reconversion

A diachronic semantic analysis of a conversion pair points out that in the course of time the semantic structure of the base may obtain a new meaning or several meanings under the influence of the meanings of the converted word. If conversion leads to a numerical enlargement of the English vocabulary, reconversion only brings about a new meaning correlated with one of the meanings of the converted word. Reconversion only operates with denominal verbs and deverbal nouns.

13. Compounding

Compounding is the largest and the most important source of new words. New words are formed in a perfectly transparent way. Then various changes take place which produced by putting together two words losing their transparency. For example the following words are recognizable now only as fully assimilated single words: woman from wife + mon (“female” + “person”), good-bye from God be with you, holiday from holy day.

14. Structure of compounds

Structurally compound words are characterized by the specific order and arrangement in which 2 bases are placed within a compound. The second component is considered to be the head-member of the word (table-cloth, diving-suit).

Phonetically compounds are also marked by a specific structure of their own. A compound word receives a new stress pattern, different from the stress in the motivating words: `keyhole (замочная скважина). Compound words have three stress patterns:

1.) a high or unity stress on the first component as in `honeymoon; 2.) a double stress, with a primary (первичным) stress on the first component and a weaker, secondary stress on the second component: `washing-machine; 3.) level (ровный) stress: `arm-`chair.

Graphically most compounds have two types of spelling – they are spelt either solidly (твердо) or with a hyphen (дефисом). Both types of spelling serve as an indication of inseparability (неотделимость) of compound words in contradiction (противоположность) to phrases.

15. Syntactic and lexical compounds

Syntactic compounds are formed by regular rules of grammar, like sentences, and they are not therefore, listed in a dictionary, e.g. shoemaker (someone who makes shoes), candlelight (light provided by candles), birdcage (a cage for birds), playgoer (someone who goes to plays regularly). In fact the majority of compounds we use on a daily basis are the transparent syntactic ones.

On the other hand we cannot figure out (узнать) what ice cream means from the rules of grammar. Therefore ice cream is a lexical compound which (if we don’t know the meaning already) has to be looked up in a dictionary like a totally new word. Crybaby must also be treated as a lexical compound, because it refers not to babies that cry but to people who act like babies that cry, i.e. who complain when anything makes them unhappy.

16. Classification of compounds

Compounds can be classified according to the nature of the basis and the interconnection (в-связи) with other ways of word forming: compounds proper and derivational compounds.

Compounds proper are formed by joining together bases built on the stems or on the word forms of independently function words with or without the help of special linking element such as “handiwork”, “sportsman”. Compounds proper constitute (составляют) the bulk (основную массу) of English compounds in all parts of speech; they include both subordinate (второстепенные) and coordinative classes, productive and nonproductive patterns.

Derivational compounds or compound-derivatives (long-legged, breakdown (поломка), absent-mindedness, blue-eyed, golden-haired, broad-shoulderd, lady-killer (сердцеед), film-goer (кинозритель), music-lover, late-comer, newcomer, early-riser, differ from compounds proper in the nature of basis and the second indeed constituent (составной частью). They are the words in which the structural integrity (целостность) of the two free stems is ensured (обеспечена) by a suffix referring (имеющим отношение) to the combination as a whole, not to one of its elements.