AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY

properties. These changes therefore generate new vocabulary needs that (despite the reservations expressed in Chapter 5 about semantic definitions for word classes) are more readily answered by new nouns than by new verbs or adjectives. Ex mples can be found with each of the other main word classes supplying the left!hand element"

(13) verbnoun (VN): swearword, drophammer, playtime (14) nounnoun (NN): hairnet, mosquito to net, butterfly net, hair restorer (1 ) ad!e"tivenoun (#N): bla"$board, %reenstonefainth"art (#$) preposition%noun (#& ')" in&%roup, outpost, over"oat
(ll of these have the main stress on the left % a characteristic identified in )ection $.# as important for distinguishing compound nouns from noun phrases. (The fact that hair restorer, butterfly net and mosquito net are spelled with a space does not affect the fact that& from the grammatical point of view& they each constitute one complex word.) *ost of these are also right! headed& although we will defer further discussion!of headedness to )ection $.$. +f you try to thin, of more examples for the four types at (#-)%(#$)& you will probably find the tas, easiest for the '' type at (#.). +n fact& almost any pair of nouns can be juxtaposed in English&!so as to form a compound or a phrase % provided that there is something that this compound or phrase could plausibly me!n. The issue of meaning turns out to play an important part in distinguishing two ,inds of NIN compound. Consider the four examples at (14). Does each one have a precise interpretation that is clearly the molt natural, on the basis of the meanin s of their t!o components" #or hair restorer, the answer is surely yes" it most naturally denotes a substance for restoring hair growth. /n tine other hand& for hairnet, butterfly net and mosquito netthe answer is less clear. 0hat tells us that a hairnet is for ,eeping one1s hair in place& while a butterfly net is for catching butterflies and a mos2uito net is for ,eeping mos2uitoes away3 This information does not reside in the meaning of net, nor in the meanings of

hair butterfly

to

y and mosquito The most that one can conclude from these individual meanings is that each is a nit that has something to do with hair& butterflies and mos2uitoes respectively. (rriving 4it the precise meanings (!&f these compounds depends ()+&. our ,nowledge of1 the world (that some people collect butterflies& and that mos2uitoes can carry disease4 rather than on purely& linguistic ,nowledge. The difference in precision with w !lich we can interpret hair restorer on the one hand and hairnet etc. on th !& ether hinges on the fact that resto, &er in hair restorer is derived from a verb (restore)' 5erbs& unli,e most nouns and adjectives& impose expectations and re2uirements on the noun

COMPOUND WORDS, BLENDS AND PHRASAL WORDS

phrases that accompany them in the sentence. 6orexample& with the verb sleep !e expect to find one noun phrase as subject4 with eatwe expect to find also a noun phrase as object4 and with %ive we expect to find& or at least to be able to identify from the context& a third 1indirect object1 noun phrase denoting the recipient of1 the gift. These expected or re2uired nominal concomitants tants to a verb are called its arguments. 6or present purposes& what matters is that& when the head of a '' compound is derived from a verb& as restorer is& the most natural way to interpret the whole compound is 2uite precise" the first element expresses the object argument of the verb (that is& the person or thing that undergoes the action). 6or example& an 7!restorei& whatever 7 is& something or someone that restores 7. 8ere are some more compounds whose second element is derived from a verb" (#9) sign!writer& slum clearance& crime prevention& wish!fulfilment 6or all of these& the mostnatural interpretation is clear. To interpret any of them some other way % for example& to interpret "rime prevention as meaning not 1prevention of crime1 but 1use of crime for preventive purposes1 % seems contrived and unnatural. +t is time to introduce some terminology& for convenience. et us call a '' compound li,e hairnet or mosquito to net, in which the right!hand noun is not derived from& a verb aid whose interpretation is therefore not precisely predictable on a purely linguistic basis& a primary or root compound. (The term 1root compound1 is well established but not particularly appropriate& because primary compounds include! many& such as "limbin% equipment or fitness "ampai%ner, neither of whose components is a root in the sense of Chapter :.) et us call a '' compound li,e hair restorer or slum "learan"e, in which the first element is interpreted as the object of the verb contained within the second& a secondary or verbal compound. (;et another term <ometime used is synthetic compound.) =aradoxically& then& although verbs are relatively rare as elements in compounds in English (the s(vearwordpattern is unusual)& verbal compounds& in the sense just defined& are common. )e c onda ry c ompounds a re ce rta inly right!he a de d& in tha t for example) "rime prevention denotes a ,ind of prevention and wish fulfilment denotes a ,ind of fulfilment. +n tiis respect they are li,e most '' compounds and most compounds generally % but not all& as we shall see m the next section.
S

6.4 Compound nouns,

+t is with nouns that compounding ivally comes into its on 1a as 3. woici1&

f1orjiiiiigiii 6iiglish. That is ! process in + not surprising. surprising.Cultural and tech +lical change produces more novel artefacts than novel activities or novel