Handout 3: Compounding

(Seminar Issues in Morphology; Andrew McIntyre

1. Three types of compounds

Endocentric compounds: AB is an instance of B: houseboat is a type of boat; a person
who is seasick is sick. Here the final element is the head, and the other element(s) provide
additional information about the head.
(1) [N N]N: chess table, strawberry jam, diesel motor, bookshelf
(2) [V N]N: crybaby, scrubwoman, bakehouse
(3) [Participle N]N: filing cabinet, reading class, writing table, drinking water
(4) [A N]N: blackbird, drydock, redbrick, wetsuit
(5) [Particle/Preposition N]N: outhouse, outgrowth, undergrowth, offprint
(6) [N A]A: bloodthirsty, pain-free, theory-neutral, colourblind, class-specific, sky blue

Exocentric compounds: AB is neither an A nor a B (but a C somehow associated with A
and B): a sabretooth is neither a tooth nor a sabre, but a tiger with teeth resembling sabres.
Exocentric means literally out-centred, i.e. the centre (head), is not in the compound.
Calling a compound exocentric isnt the same as saying that its meaning has nothing to do
with the meanings of the parts of the compound. In most cases, the compounds meaning
is related to that of its parts. (Alternative term for exocentric cpd: bahuvrihi (<Sanskrit
rich person, literally much rice.)
(7) [A N]N: paleface, redskin, redback, redneck, redhead, highbrow, bigfoot, loudmouth
(8) [N N]N: skinhead, egghead, blockhead
(9) [V N]N: pickpocket, spoilsport, killjoy, answerphone, hunchback
(10) [V Particle]N: hndout, putdown, sit-in, walkout, breakdown, fallout, bailout, pushup
(11) [P N]N: afterbirth, afternoon, underground

Copulative compounds (also called appositive or coordinative compounds): AB is A and
B. Frequently written with hyphens in English.
(12) [N N]N: owner-builder, producer-director, secretary-lover, murder-suicide
(13) [A A]A: bittersweet, deaf-mute
(14) [V V]V: stirfry, freeze-dry
A. Certain types of exocentric compounds are called possessive compounds. Why?
B. The Sanskrit term dvandva (pair) describes a compound of the type pipdam
(limbs, literally: hands-feet) ajavyah sheep and goats (lit. sheep-goats).
The term has also been used for compounds of the type singer-songwriter, but
Bauer (2008) notes that this terminology is inaccurate. What are the differences
between the relationship between the two nouns in this English compound and the
relationship between the nouns in the Sanskrit compounds just mentioned?
C. Are these compounds endocentric, exocentric or copulative or something else:
author-publisher, birdbrain, wheelchair, sugardaddy, Austria-Hungary,
greenback, apple tree, parent-child relationship
D. Do the same for the following French compounds: compositeur-pianiste, porteparole, bloc-notes, wagon-lit, gratte-ciel, voiture sport

2. The headedness of compounds

Irregular inflection can be inherited in English compounds only if the right-most
morpheme is the head. Thus, only endocentric compounds have irregular inflection:
(15) afterlives, pigfeet, saw teeth, chessmen, flowerchildren, silverfish, greenhou[z]es
(16) still lifes, lowlifes, flatfoots, bigfoots, sabretooths (in sense tigers, not type of teeth)

Cases like flowerchildren give the lie to the idea that irregular plurals are ruled out with
lexicalised compounds.
Various possible explanations for behaviour with respect to inflection:
In headed compounds, the info associated with the head percolates (is transferred) to
the whole compound, cf. (17)(a). Percolation is impossible without heads, cf. (17)(b).
Inflection is a head operation, i.e. an operation performed on the head as if the
nonhead material were not there. If theres no head, then head operations are
impossible, so default inflection is applied.
Exocentric compounds have a head, but it is unpronounced, a zero morpheme, cf.
(17)(c). This corresponds to how the compounds in (16) are interpreted. Sabretooth is
interpreted as if were formed by clipping from sabretooth tiger. In the other cases,
there could be a silent morpheme denoting a thing, person etc. Since the silent head
has no irregular inflection features, the compound will receive default inflection.
(17) a.

N[plural: teeth]
N[plural: teeth]
tooth

-c.
N
N[plural: teeth]
tooth
N
N
N
N

sabre
tooth
Inflection is not the only information which can be inherited in endocentric compounds,
cf. also grammatical gender: der Hauskauf vs. das Kaufhaus.
E. Speakers vary on choice of plural in mongooses/mongeese; walkmans/walkmen.
Explain why this variation should exist. (Note: Mongoose originally came from an
Indic language, not from goose. The origin of walkman is unclear.)
F. (For German speakers) Explain why the nouns below have a different gender from
that normally found with the righthand nouns (die City, das Grammophon/Bild).
What do these cases tell us about the explanation for (16)?
der Intercity, Deutsche Grammophon, (er liest) die Bild
N
saw

b.
N
N
sabre

3. Linking morphs and inflection inside compounds

It is normally said that there is no inflection inside compounds: *cars driver driver of
more than one car). Many apparent cases of compound-internal inflection are really cases
of linking morphs (interfixes). E.g. in the following German examples, the underlined
morphemes are neither plural nor genitive inflections:
(18) Sonnenschein, Frauenkirche, Massenmord
(19) Befreiungskrieg, richtungsweisend, Hilfsmittel, arbeitsmde
G. Most cases of irregular inflection in compound nonheads involve irregular plurals
(teethmarks, lice-infested) or semantically irregular inflection (glasses case).
Speculate on why this would be the case.
H. Why could one argue that the s in (1) in compounds with man is a linking morph
rather than an instance of possessive or plural s? The words in (2) give clues.
1.
tradesman, tribesman, linesman, marksman, sportsman, craftsman,
huntsman, kinsman, helmsman, spokesman, batsman, bondsman
2.
trade fair, tribe leader, line adjudicator
I. The structures in (1) are often seen as compounds. Why do the facts in (2) argue
against treating such structures as standard cases in which possessive s has a full
NP in front of it?
1. goats milk, cats eye, beeswax, bulls eye, drivers licence, childs play
boys room, drivers seat, hangmans noose, monks hood, bachelors degree
2. a. a mens room
b. those mens jackets (ambiguous)

Compounding
General result from the above exercises: compounding patterns can require the insertion
of morphemes which initially look like inflectional morphemes, but seem to be
synchronically arbitrary (the -ing in dressing room may be another example). Sometimes
this synchronic effect is the result of diachronic reanalysis of syntactic phrases as
compounds.
The German type Gottesfurcht goes back to the Saxon genitive used in older German
(des Knigs neue Kleider)
The English type with possessive s (bondsman, goats milk) goes back to older times
when s was a genitive case marker on nouns rather than being the clitic that attaches
to full NPs that we find today.
4. Compounding patterns
To say that compounding is/isnt productive in a language is oversimplifying, since differnt
compounding patterns may differ in producitivty. Cf. the (incomplete) list of compounding
patterns in English below. Those marked * are unproductive. The others range from
somewhat productive to very productive.
Compound nouns
(20) a. [N N]N endocentric: word stress, silkworm, diesel motor, bookshelf
b. copulative: owner-builder, maidservant, producer-director
c. exocentric: skinhead, birdbrain
(21) a. *[V N]N endocentric: crybaby, scrubwoman, dress pants, bakehouse, drawbridge,
driftwood, mincemeat, skim milk, whetstone
b. exocentric: pickpocket, spoilsport, killjoy, answerphone, cutthroat
(22) [Ving N]N exocentric: filing cabinet, writing table, drinking water, cleaning lady
(23) a. [A N]N endocentric: blackbird, drydock, redbrick, wetsuit, greenhouse;
b. exocentric: paleface, redskin, redneck, redeye, redhead, highbrow, bigfoot
(24) a. [P N]N endocentric: outhouse, outgrowth, undergrowth, offprint
b. exocentric: afterbirth, afternoon, underground
(25) [V Particle]N exocentric: hndout, ptdown, sit-in, walkout, breakdown, fallout,
bailout, pushup
(26) [XP N]N endocentric (these are called phrasal compounds, compounds with a whole
phrase as nonhead): leave-me-alone gestures, Chinese print collector, God-is-dead
theology, over the fence gossip, whos-the-boss wink
Compound adjectives
(27) [N A]A: bloodthirsty, pain-free, theory-neutral, colourblind, class-specific, sky blue,
brain-dead
(28) *[A A]A: copulative: bittersweet, deaf-mute
Compound verbs
(29) *[V V]V copulative: stirfry
Structures like babysit, grandstand are generally considered to involve either backformation
or conversion (see introductory handout).
Compound prepositions
(30) *[P P]P into, onto, *underto, *besideto
J. Many compound nouns like rattlesnake, repair work, pay TV, dropkick, may or
may not belong to the group in (21)(a). What is the alternative analysis?
K. Which compound pattern above refutes the belief that syntactic structures cannot
be part of words?
L. The examples below illustrate the productive German [VN]N compound pattern
which is impossible in English. How does English express these concepts?
3

Ezeit eat-time, Schieplatz shoot-place, Lesebuch read-LM-book,

Schreibtisch write-table, Schliezeit close-time, Gefrierpunkt freeze-point
5. The interpretation of compounds
There is much literature on the interpretation of compounds; we just discuss basic points here
(see Plag, 2003:148 for related discussion). We concentrate on compound nouns.
The grammar doesnt seem to specify the relationship between the two nouns in a N+N
compound. Arguably, English grammar only tells us that an endocentric structure AB
means a B which has something to do with A. The number of possible meanings may be
unlimited, as can be tested with new compounds:
(31) cat woman = woman {looking like/with/near...?} a cat
Contextual knowledge helps identifying the nature of the relationship, e.g.
(32) Two women were standing on the street. One of them had a cat on a leash. The cat
woman said something to the other one.
Knowledge about normal states of affairs gives other clues. Compounds may name
language-independent memorised concepts. This is common with [AN]N compounds.
(33) Busdriver (probably does so as a job, because this is normal for buses) vs. car driver
(34) upsidedwn fridge (type of refrigerator which looks upside-down because freezer
part is not at top) which constrasts with upsidedown frdge (any refrigerator which
happens to be or look inverted).
(35) upside-dwn cake, softwood, longjump, blackberry, hothouse, wetsuit, longbow,
drydock, whitewash, sweetcorn, highchair, blackbird
(36) Schwarzbier (not beer with black ink in it); Weiwurst, Trockenrasur, Englischhorn,
Festplatte, Glatteis, Grostadt, Hochantenne, Langwelle, Nazelle, Warmbier,
Blaukraut, Rotkohl, Schwarzbrot, Kleingarten
If the head noun takes an argument (in the syntactic sense, similar to complement), then
the nonhead will be interpreted as an argument if this is plausible. Examples of such
argument-taking nouns are relational nouns, nouns indefinable without reference to some
other entity (e.g. parent is indefinable without reference to children). A special case of
these are deverbal nouns which come from verbs taking complements (writer is
indefinable without reference to written material).
(37) car driver, car seller, car thief, child hater, window cleaning, pasta eating
Compounds with deverbal head nouns like (37) are called synthetic compounds (or,
confusingly, verbal compounds). It is not yet clear whether they have the same structure
as normal nominal compounds; some linguists assume a structure like (38), involving
affixation to a VP-like constituent. We may get time to talk about such theories in more
detail later.
(38) [[soldier kill]ing]
(39) soldier killing = killing of soldiers, not killing by soldiers
M. Give three more examples of synthetic compounds.

Compounding

6. Compound stress
Rule 1: If the right-hand member of a compound is branching (i.e. itself a compound), it
receives main stress.
Rule 2: If the right-hand member is non-branching, stress the first member.
This may be represented with diagrammes like the following (s = 'strong'; w = 'weak'):
(40) a.

b.
w

s
w
s
w
finance committee selection panel

s
s
w
w
finance committee chair

Note: (b) is intended to have the reading 'chair of the finance committee', not 'committee
chair who has to do with finance', which would be stressed according to Rule 1 because it
would have the structure [[finance][committee chair]].
When discussing rules for stressing compounds and phrases, it is important to control for
contrast accent, the stressing of a particular morpheme which is contrasted with another:
(41) a. Normal accent: the finance committee selction panel.
b. Contrast accent: the FNance committee selection panel (not the BILding committee
selection panel)
(42) a. Normal accent: John likes msic.
b. Contrast accent: Jhn (not Bill) likes music; John lkes music, he doesn't hte it
N. Draw the appropriate diagrammes for the following compounds:
1. lw degree requirement changes; 2. evening computer class administrtion fee
2. community centre bilding council 4. World Trade Center conspiracy theories

6.1. Systematic and unsystematic exceptions to Rule 2

Exceptions I have found to Rule 1 seem to involve 2nd members that are memorised as
units rather than put together 'online':
(43) mths homework, morphlogy handbook
Olsen (2000) & Spencer (2003) note that what I call Rule 2 has a lot of exceptions. Many
correspond to coherent semantic patterns of compounding:
(44) owner-bulder, singer-guitrist, kidnapper-kller, rockstar-rebel, scholar-activist
(45) gold rng, cardboard box, silk drss, copper wire, paper/leather bag, lead pencil,
(46) court jester, villiage idiot, home video, a Leipzig pub, Sydney University
(47) may flwers, summer dress, July weather, Autumn leaves, Christmas dinner
O. Define the semantic relations between the compound members for each set of
examples.
Groups of compounds obeying Rule 2:
(48) Synthetic compounds: drg dealer tlent search, bsdriver, huse owner, wtchmaker,
strgazer, fcesaver, mths teacher, pstery cook, landscape painter, crowd control,
potholder
(49) Olsen argues that initial stress occurs whenever we can infer the exact relation
between the two constituents from the meaning of one of them:
5

a. spce scientists (all scientists study something; here it must be space)

b. gs mask (we know masks help filter out something, in this case gas)
c. pper clip (clips hold things together, probably paper in this case)
d. fngernail, toilet seat, bedhead, table top, shirt sleeve, horse hoof, eggshell,
doorknob (B is an inherent part of A)
We could add the following examples in support of (49):
(50) a. fctory worker/owner/builder/building (which factories inherently have)
b. factory jnitor/canteen/gtes (factories needn't have these)
c. fctory window (sounds like a type of window designed for use in a factory; needn't
have been built in yet) vs. factory wndow (window in factory). Similar: car door
d. hotl room/guest/owner vs. hotel ktchen/tilets/grden/lundry/cok (hotels
inherently have rooms etc, but needn't necessarily have kitchens etc.)
There are exceptions that nobody can explain:
(51) Moonlight/Spring/d-minor Sonta vs. Wldstein/Kruzer/Tmpest Sonata
(52) Thmpson Street vs. Thompson venue/road/lane/boulevard
Beyond N+N combinations, there are some other classes of compounds which disobey
Rule 2 systematically:
(53) lefthnded, shortsighted, coldhearted, absent-minded, heavy-handed, bad-tempered,
six-fingered, dim-witted, one-armed
(54) two-sater, four-wheeler; three-piece sit, two-door cr, two-car fmily
(55) bittersweet, deaf-mute
Examples where Rule 2 applies to classes of compounds other than simple N+N:
(56) [A N]N: blackbird, drydock, upside-dwn cake, wetsuit, greenhouse
(57) [Particle/Preposition N]N: outhouse, outgrowth, undergrowth, offprint
(58) [V N]N: crybaby, scrubwoman, bakehouse (this pattern is rare, usually participles are
used: filing cabinet, reading class, writing table, drinking water)
(59) [V N]N: pickpocket, spoilsport, killjoy, answerphone
(60) [V Particle]N: hndout, blckout, fedback, ptdown, sendup, walkout, sit-in,
breakdown, fallout, bailout, pushup
Note: The last group (often mispronounced by foreign learners) looks like conversions from
phrasal verbs (to hand out etc.), but they are probably compounds, since sometimes they can
be formed without any parallel phrasal verbs existing: cokoff, bakeoff, playoff.
With some patterns its difficult to see a regularity:
(61) [N A]A: blodthirsty, pain-fre, theory-nutral, clourblind, clss-specific, sky ble
(62) [P N]N: fterbirth, afternon, nderground
P. Check whether the Rules 1 and 2 apply to German:
1. Sdvrstadt, Brandvrwerk, Atomwaffensprrvertrag, Bhnhofsvorplatz,
Bundeskriminlamt, Landesrbeitsamt Stdteschnellverkehr, Bundesgartenschau
2. Maschendrahtzahn, Fuballfeld, Straenbahndepot
3. Sprtflugzeug, Kinderfahrrad, Gterbahnhof, Zentrlflughafen
4. Stadtbauamt

Compounding
6.2. Comparison to phrasal stress
Phrasal stress works much like the reverse of Rule 2 for compounds:
(63) In a phrase [[A][B]]phrase B receives main stress.
(64) [VP likes msic], [NP big tres], [AP very bg], [S John rn]
(65)
w
s
w
s
w
s
w s
w
s
John read the paper every morning
7. Literature
Bauer, L. 2008. Dvandva. In: Word Structure 1: 1-20.
Giegerich, H. 1992. English Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jackendoff, R. 2009. Compounding in the parallel architecture and conceptual semantics. To
appear in the Oxford Handbook of Compounding. Oxford University Press.
Olsen, S., 2000. Compounding and stress in English. Linguistische Berichte 181:55-69.
Spencer, A. 1996 Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Spencer, A. 2003 Does English have productive compounding? Ms. Essex
http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~spena/papers/englishcompounds.pdf