Motivation in Compound words

2.2.3. Motivation in Compound words.

Compound words are motivated2 through the individual lexical meanings of their components and the meaning of the structure. In motivated compound words the native speaker can see a connection between the lexical meanings of the stems and the meaning of the order and arrangement of components of the word. Motivation in compound words varies in degree. There are compounds which are completely motivated, i.e. the lexical meaning of these words is transparent and is easily deduced from the lexical meanings of the stems and the meaning of their distributional formulas. Compound words like wind-driven, sky-blue, foot-step, foot-pump, door-handle, and bottle-opener may serve as examples of completely transparent or motivated compound words. Motivation in compound words may be partial, but again the degree will vary. Compound words like hand-bag, flowerbed, handcuff are all only partially motivated, but still the degree of transparency of their meanings is different: hand-bag, e.g., is essentially 'a bag designed to be carried in the hand', whereas handcuffs retain only a resemblance to cuffs and in fact are 'metal rings placed round the wrists of 3 prisoner'; a f lower-bed is not 'a mattress or piece of furniture’ as the lexical meaning of the second component suggests; but 'a piece1 of ground where flowers grow'. Compound words with a smaller degree-of partial motivation may be illustrated" by the words: walkup—'a house without an elevator where one has to walk upstairs', cast-off—'discarded', castle-builder—'a day-dreamer, one who builds castle; in the air'.

There are compound words that lack motivation altogether, i.e. the native speaker does not see any obvious connection between the meaning of their structure and the individual meanings of the stems and consequently cannot deduce the lexical meaning of the word. Compound words like eye-wash –‘something said or done to deceive a person’, fiddlesticks - 'nonsense rubbish', wall-flower—'a woman who remains. by the wall as a spectator at a dance, because not chosen as a partner', eye-servant—'a servant who attends faithfully to his duty only when watched’, night-cap—'a drink taken before going to bed at night', dog-eared—'having the corners of the leaves turned down' all lack motivation and their lexical meanings cannot be deduced from the meanings of their components and the meaning of their structure. Lack of motivation in compound words may be often connected with the transferred usage of the denotational meanings of the components or of the whole word as in slow-coach—'a person who acts slowly', sweet-tooth—'one who likes sweet food and drink', wall-flower; the words consequently acquire a new co notational meaning not proper to either of their components. Lack of motivation is of ten due to the specialized and unexpected semantic relations embedded in the compound word as in, e.g., eye-servant, dog-days—'the hottest part of July and August’.

Sometimes the motivated and non-motivated meanings of the same word are felt as two homonymous words, e.g. night-cap 1) a cap worn in bed at night and 2) a drink taken before going to bed at night; eye-wash 1) a liquid for washing the eyes and 2) something said or done to deceive a person; eye-opener 1) enlightening or surprising circumstance and 2) a drink of liquor.

Semantic Classifications

Semantically compound words may be classified (1) according to the degree of motivation, and (2) according to the structural meaning of various distributional formulas described through the interrelation of the components.

1) According to the degree of motivation compound words are subdivided into (a) motivated or non-idiomatic, i.e. words marked either by complete or partial motivation which makes the meaning of the word transparent; (b) non-motivated or idiomatic, i.e. "words the lexical meanings of which cannot be inferred from the individual meanings of their components and the meaning of the distributional formula they are built after.

2) According to the structural meaning or the type of semantic relations between the components compound words may be classified into various groups as words based on the relations of: (a) agent and action, e.g. sunrise, earthquake, (b) object and action, e.g. warship, handshake, (c) the part and the whole, e.g. plum-tree, shirt-collar, eye-ball, etc., (d) the place end the action, or the doer, e.g. street-fighting, grass-hopper, garden-party, (e) the time and the action. e.g. day-flight, night-school, winter-sport, etc., (f) purpose, e.g. table-cloth, driving-suit, bird-cage, etc.

 

Chapter III Classification of Compounds

 

2.3 Types of Compounds according types of speech

Compound words may be classified

a) from the functional point of view;

b) from the point of view of the way the components of the compound are linked together and

c) from the point of view of different ways of composition.

a) Functionally compounds are viewed as words belonging to different parts of speech. The bulk of Modern English compound belong to nouns and adjectives: e.g. arm – chair, baby – sitter, boiling – point, knee – high, rain – driven, adverbs and connectives are represented by an insignificant number of words, e.g. indoors, within, outside and we may say that composition on the whole is not productive in adverbs and in connectives. It is of interest to note that composition in verbs in Modern English is not productive either. Verbs that are morphemically compound, such as to (goose flesh, (to) weekend; prove to be words of second derivation on the word – formation level.

b) from the point of view of the means by which the components are joined together compound words may be classified into: 1) words formed by mere placing one constituent after another in a definite order, e.g.: door – handle, rain – driven. This means of linking the components is typical of the greater part of Modern English compounds in all parts of speech.

2) compound words whose components are joined together with a linking element, as in speedometer Fro – Asian; compounds of this type are found both in nouns and in adjectives but present a small group of words considerable restricted by the nature of their components, The components of compound words of this type are mostly joined with the help of the linking vowel [ou] and occasionally the vowel. In both cases the first component often contains a bound root. E.g. Fro – Asian, Sino – Japanese, Anglo Saxon, tragicomic other examples of compound words of this type are electro – dynamic, handicraft, handiwork. This group is generally limited to the names of nationalities and scientific terms. The components of compound nouns may also be joined with the help of the linking consonant [slz] e.g. sportsman, tradesman, saleswoman, bridesmaid, statesman, landsman and etc. This is also a very small group of words restricted by the second component, which is, as a rule, one of the three stems man - , woman - , people - , and the commonest of them being man.

c) Compounds are also classified according to different ways of compounding. There are two ways of composition and accordingly we distinguish two types of compounds: those formed exclusively after a composition pattern, the so called compounds and those formed by a simultaneous operation of two types of word – formation: composition and derivation, the so – called derivational compounds:

Compound words proper are formed by joining together stems of words already available in the language, with or without the help of special linking elements such as: door – step, age – long, baby – sitter, looking – glass, they constitute the bulk of English compounds in all parts of speech and include both productive and non – productive patterns.

In Uzbek the relationship between the components of compound words are different: They show:

1. Comparison: карнайгул, отқулоқ туяқуш, шерюрак, қўйкўз.

2. Relevance, purposed for something: гултувак (vase for flower), молқўра, оловкурак, токқайчи,қийматахта. In English washing – machine, blood – vessel (a tube through which bloods flows in the body).

3. Connection to some places: сувилон (a snake which lives in water), тоғолча, чўлялпиз, қўқонарава like in English zookeeper, postman, house keeper, head – dress, ear – ring. In German Hausfrau, Wesserballspiel, Unterseeboot.

4. The mark of something: аччиқтош, олақарға, шўрданак, қизилиштон, Қизилтепа. In English long – legged, bluebell, slow – coach. Here are some examples of German: Dampfheizung, Arbeitkleidung.

5. Relationship to quantity: бешбармоқ, мингоёқ, қирқоғайни, Бешариқ. This rule is also relevant to English compounds such as: three – cornered, fifteen – fold, six – fold, five – sided polygon. In German there are examples of this kind: Funfjahreplan.

Uzbek compound words are classified:

a) from the point of view of the way the components of the compound are linked together: хомкалла, кўксултон, искабтопар.

b) from the point of view of agreeing:

тўйбоши, китобсевар, дунёқараш.

с) from the point of view of relationship between subject and predicate: first elements of such kind compound will be predicate: гўшткуйди, келинтушди.

There are 6 types of compound words in Uzbek:

1. Compound nouns 4. Compound pronouns

2. Compound adjectives 5. Compound adverbs

3. Compound verbs 6. Compound number

Most frequently spread English compound words are:

1. Compound nouns

2. Compound adjectives

3. Compound adverbs

4. Compound verbs

German compound words are also divided into 4:

1. Compound nouns

2. Compound adjectives

3. Compound verbs

4. Compound numbers

a) Compound Nouns

2.3.1 Compound Nouns

Most English compound nouns are noun phrases that include a noun modified by adjectives or attribute nouns. Due to the English tendency towards conversion, the two classes are not always easily distinguished. Most English compound nouns that consist of more than two words can be constructed recursively by combining two words at a time. The compound science fiction writer, for example, can be constructed by combining the resulting compound with writer. Some compounds, such as salt and pepper or mother – of pearl, can be constructed in this way, however.

In general, the meaning of a compound is a specialization of the meaning of its head. The modifier limits the meaning of the head. This is most obvious in descriptive compounds, also known as Karmad haraya compounds, in which the modifier is used in an attributive or appositional manner. A blackboard is a particular kind of board which is generally black, for instance.

 In determinative compounds, however, the relationship is not attributive. For example, a foot stool is not a particular type of stool that is like a foot. Rather, it is a stool for one's foot or feet. (It can be used for sitting on but that is not its primary purpose). In a similar manner, the office manager is the manager of an office, an armchair is a chair with arms, and a raincoat is a coat against the rain. These relationships, which are expressed by prepositions in English, would be expressed by grammatical case in other languages. Compounds of this type are also known as tatpurusha compounds.

But of the above types of compounds are called endo centric compounds because the semantic head is contained within the compound itself a blackboard is a type of board, for example, and a footstool is a type of stool.

However, in another common type of compound, the exocentric or ba huvrihi compound, the semantic head is not explicitly expressed. a red head, for example, is not a kind of head, but is a person with a red head, but a person with a head that is as hard and unreceptive as a block (i.e. stupid). And, outside of veterinary surgery, a lion – heart is not a type of heart, but a person with a heart like a lion (in its bravery, courage, fearlessness).

Exocentric compounds occur more often in adjectives than nouns. A barefoot girl, for example, is not a girl that is a bare foot, but a girl with a bare foot. Similarly, a V – 8 car is a car with a V – 8 engine rather than a car that is a V – 8, and a twenty – five – dollar car is a car with a worth of $ 25, not a car that is $ 25. The compounds shown here are bare, but more commonly, a suffixal morpheme is a added, esp. – ed. Hence, a two – legged person is a person with two legs and this is exocentric.

On the other hand, endocentric adjectives are also frequently formed, using the suffixal morphemes: - ing or -er/or. A car – carrier is a clear endocentric determinative compound: it is a thing that is a carrier of cars. The related adjective, car – carrying, is also endocentric: it refers to an object which is a carrying – thing.

These types account for most compound nouns, but there are other, rarer types as well. Coordinative, copulative or dvandva compounds combine elements with a similar meaning, and the compound meaning may be a generalization instead of specialization. Bosnia – Herzegovina, for example, is the combined area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but a fighter – bomber is an aircraft that is both a fighter and a bomber. Iterative or amredita compounds repeat a single element, to express repetition or as an emphasis. Day – by – day and go –go – go are examples of this type of compound, which has more than one head.

Analyzability may be further limited by cranberry morphemes and semantic changes. For instance, the word butterfly, commonly thought top be a metathesis for flutter by, which the bugs do, is actually based on an old bubbe – maise that butterflies are petite witches that steal butter from window sills. Cranberry is a part translation from Low German, which is why we cannot recognize the element cran (from the Low German kraan or kroon, "crane"). The ladybird or ladybug was named after the Christian expression "our Lady, the Virgin Mary".

In the case of verb + noun compounds, the noun may be either the subject or the object of the verb. In playboy, for example, the noun is the subject of the verb (the boy plays), whereas it is the object in call girl (someone calls the girl).

A black board is any board that is black, and equal prosodic stress can be found on both elements (or, according to psycholinguist Steven Pinker, the second one is accented more heavily.) A blackboard, compound, may have started out as any other black board, but now is a thing that is constructed in a particular way, of a particular material and serves a particular purpose; the word is clearly accented on the first syllable.

Sound patterns, such as stresses placed on particular syllables, may indicate whether the word group is a compound or whether it is an adjective - + - noun phrase. A compound usually has a falling intonation: "blackboard", the "White House", as opposed to the phrases "black board". (Note that this rule does not apply in all contexts. For example, the stress pattern "white house" would be expected for the compound, which happens to be a proper name, but it is also found in the emphatic negation "No, not the black house; the white house!").

Uzbek compound nouns.

Uzbek compound nouns are formed in the following ways:

1.  Noun and noun: отқулоқ, қўларра

2.  Adjective + noun: кўксултон, хомток

3.  Noun + adjectivesective: гулбеор, ошкўк

4.  Number + noun: мингоёқ, қирқоғайни, учбурчак

5.  Noun + verb ўринбосар, бешиктерватар

6.  Verb + verb искабтопар, олиб сотар

Following compound words are written without hyphen:

1) The nouns with one stress: гулкўрпа, ошқозон, ўқилон, тутмайиз.

2) Nouns + aр suffix: отбоқар, изқувар

3) Geographical places: Сирдарё, Оқтепа

German Compound nouns are formed in these ways:

1.  Noun + noun: Infinitivform

2.  Verb + noun: Leitglied

3.  Noun + adjective: Kleinkind, Reinmetall, Hochstufe

4.  Number + noun: Erststellung, Drittdroße, Tausendfuss

5.  Pronoun + noun: Ichton, Erform, Ichbewußtsein

6.  Adverb + noun: Spätstellung

7.  Präposition + noun: Mitschüler, Zwischenglied, Abart.

German Noun + verb nouns may express different relationships:

1.  Object of action: Kindererziehung, Blaubersammlung

2.  Subject of action: Mutterliebe

3.  Material: Brotteig

4.  Time: Sonntagsanzug

5.  Place: Dorfteich, Waldrande

6.  Purpose: Brotmesser, Roman Schreiber

 

2.3.2 Compound Adjectives

English compound adjectives are constructed in a very similar way to the compound noun. Black board jungle, gunmetal sheen and green monkey disease are only a few examples.

There are some similarities in forming English and German compound nouns: The components of some compound nouns may be joined with the help of linking consonant: English compound nouns statesman, sportsman nouns statesman, and sportsman are joined with the consonant "s".

German compound nouns are joined:

·  with the help of linking element – "s" or "es"

die Arbeit + s + der Plan = der Arbeitsplan

das Land + es + die Grenze = die Landesgrenze

·  with the help of " - in" or " - en".

der Student + en + die Versammlung = die Studentenversammlung

·  with the help of linking element "e"

halt(en) + e + das Signal = das Haltesignal.

·  without a' linking element:

der Tausch + der Wert = der Tauschwert.

But in Uzbek all compound nouns are joined together without any linking element.

A compound adjective is a modifier of a noun. It consists of two or more morphemes of which the left – hand component limits or changes the modification of the right – hand one, as in "the dark – green dress": dark limits the green that modifies dress.

Solid compound adjectives

There are some well – established permanent compound adjectives that have become solid over a longer period, especially in American usage: earsplitting, eye catching. However, in British usage these, apart from downtown, are more likely written with a hyphen: ear – splitting.

Other solid compound adjectives are for example:

·  Numbers that are spelled out and have the suffix – fold added: "fifteen ‘fold", "six fold".

·  Points of the compass: "northwest", northwesterly, "northwestwards", but not North –West Frontier.

Hyphenated compound adjectives

A compound adjective is hyphenated if the hyphen helps the reader differentiate a compound adjective from two adjacent adjectives that each independently modifies the noun. Compare the following examples:

·  "acetic acid solution": a bitter solution producing vinegar or acetic acid (acetic + acid + solution)

·   "acetic - acid solution ": a solution of acetic acid.

The hyphen is unneeded when capitalization or italicization making grouping clear:

·  "Old English scholar ": an old person who is English and a scholar, or and old scholar who studies English

·  "Old English scholar": is scholar of Old English

·  "De facto proceedings" not (de – facto)

If, however, there is no risk of ambiguities, it may be written without a hyphen: "Sunday morning walk". Hyphenated compound adjectives may have been formed originally by an adjective preceding noun:

·  "Round table" – "round – table discussion"

·  "Blue sky" – "blue sky law"

·  "Red light" – "red light district"

·  "Four wheels" – "four wheel drive" (the singular, not the plural is used).

Others may have originated with a verb preceding and adjective or adv: "feel good" – "feel – good factor", "by now, pay later" – "by – now pay – later purchase".

Yet others are created with an original verb preceding a preposition:

·  "Stick on" - "stick – on label"

·  "Walk on" - "walk – on part"

·  "Stand by" - "stand – by fare"

·  "Roll on; roll off" - "roll – on roll – off ferry".

The following compound adjectives are always hyphenated when they are not written as one word:

·  An adjective preceding a noun to which –d or –ed has been added as a past – participle construction, used before a noun:

o  "loud – mouthed hooligan"

o  "middle – aged lady"

o  "rose - tinted glasses "

·  A noun, adjective, or adv preceding a present participle:

o  "an awe – inspiring personality"

o  "a long – lasting affair"

o  "a far –reaching decision"

·  Numbers spelled out or as numerals:

o  "seven-year itch"

o  "five-sided polygon"

o  "20^th-century poem"

o  "30-pice band"

o  "tenth-story window"

·  A numeric with the affix –fold has a hyphen (15-fold), but when spelled out takes a solid construction (fifteen fold).

·  Numbers, spelled out or numeric, with added –odd: sixteen –odd, 70-odd.

·  Compound adjectives with high- or low-: "high-level discussion", "low-price markup".

·  Colors in compounds:

o  "a dark-blue sweater"

o  "a reddish-orange dress".

·  Fractions as modifiers are hyphenated: "five-eight inches", but if numerator or denominators are already hyphenated, the fraction itself does not take a hyphen: "a thirty-three thousandth part".

·  Fraction used as nouns have no hyphens: "I ate only one third of pie".

·  Comparatives and superlatives in compound adjectives also take hyphens:

o  "the highest-placed competitor"

o  "A shorter-term loan".

·  However, a construction with most is not hyphenated:

o  "The most respected member".

·  Compounds including two geographical modifiers:

o  "Afro-Cuban"

o  "African-American" (sometimes)

o  "Anglo-Asian"

·  But not

o  "Central American".

The following compound adjectives are not normally hyphenated:

·  Where there is no risk of ambiguity:

o  "a Sunday morning walk"

·  Left-hand components of a compound adjective that end in –ly that modify right-hand components that are past participles (ending in –ed):

o  "a hotly disputed subject"

o  "a greatly improved scheme"

o  "a distantly related celebrity"

·  Compound adjectives that include comparatives and superlatives with more, most, less or least:

o  "a more recent development"

o  "the most respected member"

o  "a less opportune moment"

o  "the least expected event"

·  Ordinarily hyphenated compounds with intensive adv in front of adjectives:

o  "very much admired classicist"

o  "Really well accepted proposal".

English compound adjectives are formed:

1.  Adjective + noun: blackboard

2.  Adjective + adjective: blue-green, dark-red, light-green.

3.  Adjective + verb: highlight

4.  Adjective + preposition: forthwith.

In Uzbek compound adjectives are formed in the following way:

1.  Noun + noun – these adjectives are written separately: ҳаво ранг, кул ранг

2.  Adjective + noun – these adjectives are written as one word: қимматбаҳо

3.  Noun or adverb a verb with the suffix "ap": тезоқар, эрксевар, меҳнатсевар

But these adjectives are hyphenated when we translate it into English: меҳнатсевар - hard-working, эрксевар - peace – loving and etc.

4. Noun + "apo" word: халқаро as in English international.

There are a group of words which form compound adjectives, such as: аралаш, йўқ, кўл, олий, оч, тўқ, тўла, чала: қумаралаш лой, тенги йўқ қиз, кўп тармоқли соҳа, олий маълумотли, оч қизил, қорни тўқ, тўқ қизил.

In English we can also find the signal words which form compound adjectives; but they are hyphenated: light, dark, long, middle, high: e.g. light – green, dark-blue, middle-aged, long-legged, and high-qualified.

German compound adjectives are formed like English compound adjectives.

1.  Adjective + adjective + Adjektive = shwarzweissrot.

 Deutsch + usbekisch = deutsch - usbekisch

2.  Hell + grün = hell – grün. As in English light – green

3.  Adjektive + Adverb = bekannt + in der Welt = Wellbekannt

машхур + дунёда = дунёга машхур

hart + wie Stahl = Stahlhart

қаттиқ + пўлатдай

This kind of adjectives always express comparison rot + wie ziegel = ziegelrot - красный как кирпич

blau + wie himmel = himmelblau - синий как небо

But in English “as … as” is used to show comparison: as blue as the sky

 

2.3.3 Compound Verbs

In Uzbek compound verbs are formed by joining two words:

1.  Verb + noun – verb word: дам олмоқ (to rest), ҳимоя қилмоқ(to defend), пайдо бўлмоқ(to appear).

Some of them are synonyms to simple verbs:

ёрдам бермоқ, = ёрдамлашмоқ, - to help – to give a hand