Phrasem und Nominalkompositum

Abstract

The reconstruction of Indo-European poetic language treats nominal compounds as proper evidence for old “formulae”. It is thereby supposed that nominal compounds found in old Indo-European languages are fusions of former fixed phrases, i. e. “phrasems” (process of “univerbation”). But the assumed process of grammaticalization cannot be maintained. Moreover, nominal compounds in Indo-European arise directly from free phrases and therefore cannot be viewed as evidence for old “formulae”