Linguist Forum
Specializations => Morphosyntax => Topic started by: Natalia on July 05, 2017, 09:44:24 AM
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I would like to ask you for advice concerning the compound "reader-listener-viewer". It's surely a coordinate compound, as it refers to one entity. However, I'm not sure how to treat this compound in terms of its structure. My friend told me that she would classify it as syntehtic, but, the syntehtic compounds I have analysed so far usually consist of two elements (e.g. "bus driver") and there is some semantic relationship between the two elements. That is why, "reader-listener-viewer' is neither root nor synthetic, in my opinion. Could you please give me your opinion on that?
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Isn't it the same as "writer-director", "singer-songwriter"? These are sometimes called appositional compounds I think.
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Yes, it's exactly the same. Could appositional compounds (like "writer-director") be at the same time synthetic?
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In what sense? Apposition involves renaming, rather than a modification or argument relationship.
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That's what I thought. Let me ask you just one more question about synthetic compounds. Is it always the case that synthetic compounding involves argument relationship?
For example, I classified the compound "environmental management" as syntehtic because it contains the verbal head and the first element acts as an argument of the head (managing the environment). Is that right?
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Environmental management is an adjective modifying a noun.
Environment management is a noun-noun compound. And yes, it is basically the same meaning (managing the environment).
As for the definition, that's a question of the definition-- which are you using? I imagine that would make sense, but since these are just descriptive terms, it's not an empirical question (you can't answer it with data, only by citing a definition).
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"Environemtnal management" seems to be a lexicalised expression. It's defined in online dicitionaries, there are 534 occurrences in COCA. Why cannot it be a compound? The linguist R.Lieber, for example, cited "arctic cat" as an example of a compound.
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I understand the term "compound" to refer to a noun+noun combination, or other combination with an unusual/non-syntactic modifier (like verb+noun).
I guess there's no reason why an adjective and noun couldn't form a compound, except that I would see that usage as a normal adjective+noun noun phrase, rather than a compound.
As for "arctic cat", the word "arctic" is ambiguous, either a noun or an adjective. I assume the meaning is intended to be "cat of the arctic" when it is claimed as a compound.