Verb + Noun Function-Describing Compounds

Abstract

In this study we examine a class of exocentric nominal compounds (i.e. compounds with an unexpressed noun head) in Spanish, French, and Chinese. This class consists of nominal-compounds formed by a verb-plus a noun complement, usually though not necessarily a direct object, which combine to describe a function or characteristic of a new whole. In the three languages studied: here, compounds of this type tend to fall into two semantic groups: (1) utilitarian objects, such as 'paperweights' and 'armrests', which are perhaps best and most easily described by their functions; and (2) specialized professions, like 'drivers' and 'switchmen'; plus a subcategory of often pejorative, tongue-in-cheek descriptions of certain types of people, like 'wet blankets' and 'quack dentists'; and a smaller subcategory of other living things, i.e. plants and animals. The fact that languages in such diverse families as Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan-selectively, comparing, however, only SVO languages-exhibit the same type of compound, and use it to indicate extremely similar referents, suggests that certain objects in which a main function or peculiar characteristic stands out (e.g. an umbrella, whose one main function is to protect one from the rain) are more likely than words not of this type to be expressed in a verb + noun exocentric compound, in languages in which this compound type commonly occurs. This is also true of profession names, in which function is an outstanding element; as well as of certain types of people, who are identified chiefly by a particular characteristic (such as being a 'fight-picker'); and other living things possessing some salient feature. The study of this method of compounding-and compounding in general-may also have significance in the area of word order typology. The observation that the syntax of a language is reflected in its morphology is borne out through a comparison of this word type in languages not treated in this paper; for example, a similar compound type occurs in Burmese and Persian, both SOV languages, but in an inverted noun + verb format. Further examination of this compound type in various languages promises to make contributions to the study of language universals, word order typology, comparative morphology, and our understanding of the interrelationships among the three.