On the form and meaning of double
noun incorporation
Noun Incorporation Constructions commonly involve one noun root and one verb root, but in some languages the verbal member may be compounded with two nominal roots, which almost always have the semantics of a theme and a non-theme (a problematic fact for Baker’s 1988 theory). Moreover, if the non-theme noun specifies instrument or manner, the linear order in which the two nouns appear may vary, one noun taking scope over the other. This fact too can be a problem for Baker’s theory, as well as for any theory making use of a fixed Thematic Hierarchy. By reviewing the most salient features of Noun Incorporation Constructions in general, a theoretical apparatus is proposed which dispenses with the notion of head movement in favor of XP movement, yet preserves the idea of a Thematic Hierarchy by means of a phase-based model of word formation.