Ch. 4 | Exercise 8

Chapter 4
The Internal Structure of Words and Processes of Word Formation in English

Exercise 4.8
Compounding

1.

Identify the syntactic pattern in each of the following compounds and express it in a lexical rule.

Example: gravedigger N + V + -er > N

a.

hovercraft

b.

dairyman

c.

bath-towel

d.

goldfish

e.

inroads

f.

bystander

g.

setback

h.

meltdown

i.

blackout

j.

stand-in

k.

turnout

l.

money-hungry

m.

dugout

n.

hardhearted

o.

homesick

p.

proofread

q.

overqualified

r.

overachieve

s.

badmouth

t.

redhead

u.

birth control

v.

breakfast

w.

thoroughgoing

x.

quick-change

y.

lukewarm

z.

law-abiding

aa.

far-reaching

bb.

homemade

cc.

clean-cut

dd.

fighter-bomber

ee.

earthenware

ff.

driver's seat

gg.

baking powder

hh.

drip-coffee

ii.

wisecrack

jj.

snowplow

2.

The following words are compounds which also include derivational affixes. Analyze the words, identifying the roots and their parts of speech, as well all the affixes and their function as nominalizer, verbalizer, adjectivalizer, or adverbializer.

Example: housekeeper

house (root - noun) + keep (root - verb) + -er (nominalizer)

a.

flightworthiness

b.

chatterbox

c.

owner-occupied

d.

freedom-loving

e.

handicraft

f.

broken-hearted

g.

safety-tested

h.

worldly-wise

i.

antiaircraft

j.

machine-readable

k.

chartered accountant

3.
a.

Look at the following set of words naming berries. The second half of each is the recognizable root berry. Can you analyze these as compounds?

blueberry

blackberry

cranberry

marianberry

strawberry

raspberry

loganberry

Does a more recent formation such as cranapple provide evidence for or against these forms as compounds?

b.

A problem of morphological arises for forms such as the following:

fish-monger

broadcaster

gossip-monger

sportscaster

scandal-monger

newscaster

ironmonger

war-monger

Are these forms compounds?

1.
a.

V + N > N

b.

N + N > N

c.

N + N > N

d.

N + N > N

e.

Prt + N + -s > N

f.

Prt + V + -er > N

g.

V + Prt > N (conversion)

h.

V + Prt > N (conversion)

i.

V + Prt > N (conversion)

j.

V + Prt > N (conversion)

k.

V + Prt > N (conversion)

l.

N + A > A

m.

V + -en + Prt > N

n.

A + N + -ed > A

o.

N + A > A

p.

N + V > V

q.

Prt + V + -en > V/A

r.

Prt + V > V

s.

A + N > V (conversion)

t.

A + N > N

u.

N + N/V > N/A

v.

V + N > N

w.

A + V + -ing > A

x.

A + V > A

y.

A + A > A

z.

N + V + -ing > A

aa.

A + V + -ing > A

bb.

N + V + -en > A

cc.

A + V + -en > A

dd.

V + -er + V + -er > N

ee.

N + -en + N > N

ff.

V + -er + ‘s + N > N

gg.

V + -ing + N > N

hh.

V + N > N

ii.

A + V > V/N

jj.

N + V/N > V/N

2.
a.

flight (root - noun) +

worth (root - noun) +

-y (adjectivalizer) +

-ness (nominalizer)
b.

chat (root - verb) +

-er (nominalizer) +

box (root - noun)
c.

own (root - verb) +

-er (nominalizer) +

occupy (root - verb) +

-en (past participle/adjectivalizer)
d.

free (root - adjective) +

-dom (nominalizer) +

love (root - verb) +

-ing (present participle/adjectivalizer)
e.

hand (root - noun) +

-y (adjectivalizer) +

craft (root - noun)
f.

break (root - verb) +

-en (past participle/adjectivalizer) +

heart (root - noun) +

-ed (adjectivalizer)
g.

safe (root - adjective) +

-ty (nominalizer) +

test (root - verb) +

-ed (past participle/adjectivalizer)
h.

world (root - noun) +

-ly (adjectivalizer) +

wise (root - adjective)
i.

anti -(prefix) +

air (root - noun) +

craft (root - noun)
j.

machine (root - noun) +

read (root - verb) +

-able (suffix - adjectivalizer)
k.

charter (root - noun) +

-ed (suffix - adjectivalizer) +

account (root verb) +

-ant (suffix nominalizer)
3.
a.

blueberry, blackberry: the first parts of these compounds are clearly the morphemes {blue} and {black}.

strawberry: the first part of this compound is straw, but it is uncertain whether this is the morpheme {straw}; the form apparently does not have its usual meaning here.

raspberry: the first part of this compound is rasp, which is not a recognizable morpheme of English (it is not the verb rasp ‘to scrap’, which is pronounced [ræsp], not [ræz]).

cranberry: the first part of this compound is cran, which is also not a clearly recognizable morpheme of English.

loganberry, marianberry: the first parts of these compounds appear to be brand names.

(There are various theories to account for the meaning of straw in strawberry, that it, for example, refers to the yellow flecks on strawberries, or to the use of straw in strawberry fields. Also, cran is sometimes related to crane; either the birds are thought to eat cranberries or the blossoms resemble the heads of cranes.)

If we treat forms such as raspberry and cranberry as true compounds analogous to blueberry and blackberry, then rasp and cran exist in only one word and are semantically rather opaque. Recent formations such as cranapple suggest that cran is becoming a recognizable morpheme, though it might be better to analyze such forms as blends (see below) since it still lacks an identifiable meaning.

b.

Although historically monger is an independent form (deriving from Lating mangō ‘to peddle, deal’), it rarely occurs independently today. Therefore, would we be better to consider it a bound form, a suffix?

The form caster never occurs independently. It appears that sportscaster and newscaster are blends based on broadcaster.