Classifications of Compound Words

There is a great variety of types of compound words in the English language and they are classified according to different criteria. The following classifications are described in linguistic literature:

I. The classification according to means of composition:

1) The overwhelming majority of compound words are coined by a mere juxtaposition of the derivational bases (placing one constituent after another) without any linking elements: rain-driven, day-break, sky-blue, etc. Sometimes they are called neutral compound words [Антрушина 1985: 80].

2) Composition with a linking element which may be either a vowel [o], [i] or a consonant [s/z]. Such examples are not numerous: Anglo-Saxon, Afro-American, Indochina, speedometer, electro-dynamic, filmography, videodisc, videophone, sociolinguistics, tragicomic, technicolour, statesman, sportsman, landsman, saleswoman, and some others.

3) Compounds with linking elements represented by preposition or conjunction stems: jack-in-the-box, mother-in-law, lily-of-the-valley, bread-and-butter, pepper-and-salt, tip-and-run, maid-of-all-work, matter-of-fact, good-for-nothing, etc.

II. The classification according to the structure of derivational bases making up compound words:

1) Compounds consisting of simple stems: heartache, horse-race, blackbird, film star, etc.

2) Compounds with derived stems: maid-servant, pen-holder, mill-owner, office-management, etc. There might be two derived stems: fighter-bomber.

3) Compounds where the first component is a clipped stem: V-day (Victory day), A-bomb (atomic bomb), H-bag (holiday bag), T-shirt (tennis shirt), TV-set, etc.

4) Cоmpounds where one of the components is a compound base: postmaster-general, fancy-dress-maker, etc.

5) Compounds which are called compound words of syntactic type or lexicalized phrases: forget-me-not, merry-go-round, devil-may-care, whodunit, pay-as-you-earn, etc.

III. The classification according to the relations between the ICs of components:

There are two types of relations between the Immediate Constituents of compound words: the relations of coordination and subordination. Accordingly all the compounds are subdivided into coordinative and subordinative:

1) In coordinative compounds the two ICs are semantically equally important as in the examples girl-friend, Anglo-American. The constituents belong to the base of one and the same lexico-grammatical class (part of speech) and not infrequently to one and the same lexico-semantic group. Coordinative compounds fall into three groups:

а) Reduplicative compounds are formed by the repetition of base: fifty-fifty, goody-goody, hush-hush, etc.

b) Compounds formed by repetition of a base with alternation either of a root vowel phoneme (rhyme combinations): chit-chat, zigzag, riffraff, tip-top, or an initial consonant phoneme: walkie-talkie, hurly-burly, wishy-washy, hanky-panky, willy-nilly, etc. Such compounds are referred to pseudo-compounds by some linguists as their constituent members are in most cases unique and they carry vague or no lexical meaning of their own.

Compounds of (a, b) subgroups are rhythmic combinations, they are marked by expressiveness. They are used mainly in colloquial discourse and possess a very small degree of productivity.

c) Additive compounds are coined by joining together two derivational bases built on the stems of independently functioning words belonging to the same part of speech. The derivational bases denote a person or an object which is two things at the same time: girl-friend, bed-sitting-room (both a bedroom and a sitting-room), or in case if a person performs two kinds of activity: secretary-stenographer, actor-manager, etc. The bases often stand in genus-species relations: oak-tree, baby-girl, queen-bee, etc. To additive compounds also refer adjectives with a linking element, one of ICs of which is a bound morpheme: Afro-American, Anglo-Saxon, Sino-Japanese, etc.

2) In subordinative compounds the relations between the ICs are based on domination of one of the constituents which is a semantic and structural centre, its head-member, which is the second IC as a rule: footstep, door handle, shipwreck, maid-servant, baby-sitter, icy-cold, gunpowder, etc. It is the first IC in such cases as passer-by, looker-on, summing-up, breakthrough, layout. The head-member determines the part of speech of the compound. Thus tape-recorder, ash-tray are nouns, age-long, sky-blue are adjectives. The head-member also takes upon itself the grammatical inflections. Cf. footsteps, door handles vs. passers-by, goings-on.

IV. According to the structural correlation between compounds and free phrases the compounds are subdivided into:

1) Syntactic are compounds the order of the components of which correspond to the order of the words in free phrases (word combinations) according to the norms of English syntax. For example, the order of the components in the compounds blackboard, door-handle, etc. (n + n) соrresponds to the order of the words in the word combinations: a black board, a door handle (N + N).

2) Asyntactic are compounds the order of the components of which do not correspond to the order of the words in free phrases. Сf.: oil-rich ~ rich in oil, man-made ~ made by man, etc.

There are also classifications based on a functional criterion. Functionally compounds are viewed as words of different parts of speech. Compound words are found in all parts of speech, but the bulk of them are nouns and adjectives.

Further on the compounds are classified according to structural patterns, i.e. the original parts of speech the derivational bases belonged to:

The typical patterns of compound nouns are as follows: n + n – seashore, adj + n – bluebell, v + n – call girl, adv + n – outpatient, prt + v – outcome, prt + n – onlooker, num + n – two-step, v + v – hearsay, v + adv – standstill.

The typical patterns of adjectives: n + adj – snow-white, n + part II – tongue-tied, prt + part II – bygone, adv + part II – newly-born, adv + a – upright, prt + part II – outstanding, adj + adl – red-hot, a + adv – nearby, n + (v+-ing) – peace-loving, v + n – hangdog, adv + (v+-ing) – far-seeing.

Accordingly are distinguished the structural patterns of compound verbs, pronouns, adverbs, numerals and formal parts of speech.