英语合成词研究

英语合成词研究ContentsIntroduction…….…..…………….……………..11MorphemeandCompounds…..…..………….………………..11.1DefinitionofMorpheme….….……….......21.2DefinitionofCompounds……………..…………..….….22ClassificationofCompoundsAccordingtoMorphologicalFeatures……..…32.1CompoundsofNouns……………..……..32.2CompoundsofAdjectives………..……....72.3CompoundsofVerbs…………….……....92.4CompoundsofAdverbs………………..……………......102.5CompoundsofPronouns…………….……..………........103DifferencesBetweenCompoundsandFreePhrases……….…...113.1PhonologicalFeatures………….…..……………….......113.2SemanticFeatures…………………..........123.3GrammaticalFeatures………………........123.4OrthographicalFeatures………………..…………….....134SignificanceofCompounds……........134.1CompoundsandMorphology………....134.2CompoundsandLife…………….13Conclusion…………………….……………….14IntroductionThestudyaboutEnglishcompoundshasformedaquitecompletesystemathomeandabroad.Intheearly20thcentury,phonologyandgrammarweregivenmuchmoreattentionbywesternmodernlinguists,whilemorphologywasoftenignoredbythem.Theyexcludedthesewordswithameaningofreferentfromtheresearchoflinguistics,thustheresearchaboutcompoundswasdelayedbyseveraldozensyearsinthewest.However,thatsituationhaschangednow.Inthelate20thcentury,especiallyfrom1990s,peoplebegantopayattentiontomorphologyandEnglishwordformationinwesterncountriesandtherearesomeworksandarticlesaboutthisfield,forexample,ElementsofLexicologyeditedbyWitoldDoroszewski,andAnOutlineofEnglishLexicology:LexicalStructure,WordSemanticsandWordFormationeditedbyL.Lepkaandsomeotherbooks(qtd.in李如龙32).Thepublicationofthemagazine“Morphology”andsomemonographsaboutEnglishmorphologyshowthatmorphologyhasbecameanimportantpartinmodernlinguistics.InChina,theresearchaboutmorphologywasinfluencedbySovietUnionfrom1950sandhasobtainedgreatsuccess.During1983to1997,manymonographsaboutmorphologywerepublished.ATextBookforEnglishLexicologywrittenbyWangPeirongisthemostpopularforhedescribestheformation,thesyntaxstructureandthesemanticrelationbetweenwordsfromamacroscopicview.ResearchesbyotherssuchasHuZhuanglin,DaiWeidongandZhangWeiyouareofgreatimportancetomodernlinguistics.Thisthesismainlydescribessomeaspectsofcompoundsonbasisofthetheoriesandhandwritingofthosescholars.1MorphemeandCompoundsWeknowthatsomewordsareformedbycombininganumberofdistinctunitsofmeaning.Themostbasicelementofmeaningistraditionallycalledmorpheme.Infact,everywordineverylanguageisalmostcomposedofoneormoremorphemes.Sometimesweseldomuseonemorphemealone,andsometimeswecombinetwoormoremorphemesintolongerunits.Compoundwordsrefertothosewordsthatconsistofmorethanonelexicalmorpheme,orthewaytojointwoseparatewordstoproduceasingleform.Thusthestudyabouttherelationbetweenmorphemeandcompoundsbecomesnecessaryandimportant.1.1DefinitionofMorphemeMorphemeisthesmallestunitoflanguageintermsofrelationshipbetweenexpressionandcontent,aunitthatcannotbedividedintofurthersmallerunitswithoutdestroyingordrasticallyalteringthemeaningwhetheritislexicalorgrammatical(胡壮麟84).Morphemeistheimmediateconcernofabranchoflinguisticscalledmorphology,whichstudiesinternalstructureofwords,andtherulesbywhichwordsareformed.Forexample,theverbsimplifyinEnglishconsistsoftwoparts:simpl(e)and–ify,fromwhichonecanworkoutarule:anewformofverbcanbecreatedbyadding–ifytoanadjective.Thisisamorphologicalrulethatmayfunctiontoaccountfortheexistence,ortheformation,ofasetofverbsendedwith–ify,suchasamplify,purify,electrifyandfalsity.Andtheseconstitutivepartsineachoftheseverbsaremorphemes.Peopleoftenclassifymorphemesintotwotypesintermsoftheircapacityofoccurringalone.Inlinguistics,freemorphemesaremorphemesthatcanstandalone,unlikeboundmorphemes,whichoccuronlyaspartsofwords.IntheEnglishsentence“colorlessgreenideassleepfuriously”,forexample,color,green,idea,andsleepareallfreemorphemes,whereas-less,-sand-lyareallboundmorphemes.Boundmorphemesaremorphemesthatcanoccuronlywhenattachedtorootmorphemes.Affixesareboundmorphemes.CommonEnglishboundmorphemesinclude:-ing,-ed,-er,andpre-.1.2DefinitionofCompoundsInWebster’sNinthNewCollegiateDictionary,compoundisexplainedas“Awordconsistingofcomponentsthatarewords”as“rowboat,highschool,devil-may-care”;inAGrammarofContemporaryEnglish,RandolphQuirketalexplainsthecompoundas“isolatedmulti-baseunitswhichfunctionsassinglewordsandreflectscertaingrammaticalprocesses”.Whatiscompounding?AspointedoutbyRandolphQuirketal,Acompoundisalexicalunitconsistingofmorethanonebaseandfunctioningbothgrammaticallyandsemanticallyasasingleword…compoundsusuallycomprisetwobasesonly,howeverinternallycomplexeachmaybe(Quirketal421).2ClassificationofCompoundsAccordingtoMorphologicalFeaturesTherearemanykindsofcompounds;peoplealwaysclassifythecompoundsaccordingtotheirmorphologicalfeatures.Eachkindofcompoundshastheirownfeatures,fromthewordclasstothesyntacticrelationshipbetweentheroots.AccordingtoZhangWeiyou,WangPeirong,HuZhuanglinandsomeotherlinguistics,compoundscanbemainlyclassifiedintofivekindsasfollowing.2.1CompoundsofNouns2.1.1Formation(A)Type“subjectandverb”:Therearethreekindsinthistype.(a)subject+deverbalnoun:thisisaveryproductivekind.sunrise(Thesunrises.),daybreak,earthquake,headache,heartbeat,nightfall,catcall,soundchange(b)verb+subject:thiskindisonlyweaklyproductive.crybaby(Thebabylikestocry.),flashlight,hangman,playboy,tugboat,turntable,watchdog,driftice,glowworm(c)verbalnounin–ing+subject:thiskindisveryproductive.dancinggirl(Thegirldances.),cleaningboy,firingmachine,flyingkite,investigatingcommittee,wadingbird,washingmachine(B)Type“verbandobject”:Therearefivekindsinthistype.(a)object+deverbalnoun:thisisamoderatelyproductivekind.Compoundsofthiskindhavedifferentexpressionsinmeaning.Somecompoundsdenoteanactivity(e.g.handshake),somecompoundsdenotetheresultofanactivity(e.g.bookreceive),andsomecanbeeither(e.g.meatdelivery).bloodtest(Someonetestsblood.),haircut,self-control,dress-design,officemanagement,self-destruction,suicideattempt,birth-control,word-formation(b)object+deverbalnounin–ing:thiskindisveryproductive.sight-seeing(Someoneseesthesight.),air-conditioning,book-ordering,brainwashing,dressmaking,housekeeping,letter-writing,story-telling,town-planning(c)object+agentialnounin–er(or–or):thisisaveryproductivekind.languageteacher(Someoneteacheslanguages.),fortune-teller,hairsplitter,weedkiller,computer-designer,songwriter,radio-operator,window-cleaner,cigar-smoker(d)verb+object:draw-bridge(Someonedrawsthebridge.),call-girl,knitwear,pin-upgirl,punchcard,push-button,treadmill(e)verbalnounin–ing+object:thisisaveryproductivekind.readingmaterial(Someonereadsthematerials.),livingroom,chewinggum,cookingapple,drinking-water,eatingapple,toastingjoint,spendingmoney(C)Type“verbandadverbial”:Therearefivekindsinthistype.(a)verbalnounin–ing+adverbial(aprepositionalphraseusedasanadverbial):thisisaveryproductivekind.swimmingpool(Someoneswimsinthepool.),divingboard,drinkingcup,freezingpoint,waitingroom,writingdesk,addingmachine,walkingstick,washingmachine(b)adverbial+verbalnounin–ing:thisisamoderatelyproductivekind.daydreaming(Someonedreamsduringtheday.),churchgoing,horseriding,tight-ropewalking,sun-bathing,sleepwalking,fly-fishing,handwriting,shadow-boxing(c)adverbial+agentialnounin–er:thisisamoderatelyproductivekind.babysitter(Someonesitswithababy.),backswimmer,city-dweller,factor-worker,sun-bather,theater-goer,daydreamer(d)adverbial+deverbalnoun:thisisamoderatelyproductivekind.homework(Someoneworksathome.),boat-ride,field-work,tabletalk,moonwalk,daydream,nightflight,gunfight,smallpoxvaccination,telephonecall(e)verb+adverbial:dancehall(Someonedancesinahall.),searchlight,springboard,workbench,cookbook,grindstone,plaything,restroom,swimsuit,washroom(D)Type“subjectandobject”:thistypeisalsocalledverblesscompounds.Therearefivekindsinthistype.(a)noun+noun(thefirstnounpowersoroperatesthesecondnoun)windmill(Thewindpowersthemill.),air-brake,cablecar,steamingengine(b)noun+noun(thesecondnounproducesthefirstnoun)toyfactory(Thefactoryproducestoys.),honey-bee,oilwell,powerplant,silkworm,teargas,textilemill(c)noun+noun(thefirstnounproducesthesecondnoun)canesugar(Thecaneproducesthesugar.),bloodstain,foodpoisoning,gaslight,sawdust,tortoise-shell,whalebone(d)noun+noun(thefirstnounhasthesecondnoun):thisisaproductivekind.tableleg(Thetablehaslegs.),cartwheel,pianokeys,shirt-sleeves,arrowhead,televisionscreen(e)noun+noun(thesecondnouncontrolsorworksinconnectionwiththefirstnoun):securityofficer(Theofficerlooksaftersecurity.),chairperson,deckhand,fireman,gasman,motorman,police-officer(E)Type“subjectandcomplement”:Thistypehasfivekinds.(a)noun+noun(thefirstnounisthesecondnoun)girlfriend(Thefriendisagirl.),feederbus,oaktree,pinetree,tape-measure,drummerboy(b)adjective+noun(Nounisanadjective):darkroom(Theroomisdark.),blueprint,blackbird,blackboard,greymatter,double-talk,hot-house(c)noun+noun(thesecondnounislikethefirstnoun):thisisaveryproductivekind.frogman(Themanislikeafrog.),butter-bean,catfish,dragonfly,goldfish,sandwichman,tissuepaper(d)noun+noun(thesecondnounisoforconsistsofthefirstnoun)raindrop(adropofrain),chocolatebar,dustheap,sanddune,soapflake,snowflake(e)noun+noun(thesecondnounisforthefirstnoun):thisisaveryproductivekindexpressingpurpose.tearoom(Theroomisfortea.),birdcage,breakfasttime,facecloth,flowerbed,flypaper(F)Type“combiningformandnoun”:thisisahighlyproductivetype.Therearethreekindsinthistype.(a)noun(initscombiningform)+noun(nouninrespectofnoun):psychanalysis(theanalysisofthepsyche),agriculture,barometer,biophysics,Eurodollar,horticulture,microelectronics,stereo-vision,turbo-jet(b)noun+noun(initscombiningform)+noun(nouninrespectofnoun)insecticide(thecideoftheinsect),cryptography,pesticide,pornography,psychology(c)compoundsconsistingofmorethanonecombiningform:nephrolithotomy,neurolymphomatosis(G)Type“exocentriccompounds”:Exocentriccompoundsarecompoundswhichrefernottotheirpatternofformation,buttotherelationtheyhavewiththereferents.Thesecompoundsaresomewhatderogatoryinmeaningandareusedchieflyintheinformalstyle.Inmostcasesthistypeofcompoundsdenotespersons,somewhatthings.Thefollowingexamplesare:birdbrain,blockhead,egghead,fathead,hardback,hardtop,heavyweight,loudmouth,redcap,redcoat,shellback,paperback2.1.2CharacteristicsofNounCompoundsStillwealsocandescribenouncompoundsfromotheraspects,justastheforminwhichthewordsconstitute,thepluralformsandthemeaning.Therearethreewaysinwritingnouncompounds.Thefirstoneistwopartswritingtogether,suchasbookstore,motorbike,lipstick,fireplace,typewriterandsoon;thesecondoneistwopartsconnectingwiththehyphen,suchasice-cream,baby-sister,self-control,man-eater,air-conditioning,go-between;thethirdoneistwopartswritingseparately,suchaspostoffice,restroom,busstop,railwaystation,database.Whiletherearesomewordswhichcanorcannotwritetogether,orcanwritewiththehyphen,eveninsomecasesthehyphendisappears,weshouldlookupthedictionaryforthereisnoruletoobey.Therearefourwaysinwritingthepluralforms.Whenthewordisunaccountable,thereisnopluralform,suchashousework,homework,paperwork;whenthewordisaccountable,thepluralformisaddedasthesuffix,suchasboyfriends,breakdowns,grow-ups,walking-sticks;whenthecompoundismadeupbymorethantwomorphemes,thepluralformisaddedtothenoun,suchassisters-in-law,brothers-in-law;thelastwayisthepluralformisaddedtobothpartsofcompounds,suchaswomendoctors,menteachers.Themeaningofnouncompoundscanbecomprehendedfromthreeaspects.Themeaningofsomecompoundsisjustequaltothemeaningofthefirstpartplusthemeaningofthesecondpart,suchasraincoat,weekend,railway,busstop;themeaningofsomecompoundsisjustliketheprimarymeaningoftheparts,butdifferentincertainpoint,suchasbedclothes,underwear;othercompoundscompletelyloseitsoriginalmeaning,suchasbusboy,busybody,goldbrick.2.2CompoundsofAdjectives2.2.1Formation(A)Type“verbandobject”:thisisaveryproductivetype.Theword“self”canbeusuallyusedasthefirstelement,butithasthesecondarystress.man-eating(Someoneeatsmen.),breathtaking,fact-finding,heartbreaking,record-breaking,self-defeating,self-justifying(B)Type“verbandadverbial”:Therearefourkindsinthistype.(a)adverbial+-ingparticiple:ocean-going(Someonegoesacrossoceans.),fist-fighting,law-abiding,lip-sucking(b)adverbial+-edparticiple:heart-felt(Someonefeelsitintheheart.),air-borne,custom-built,handmade,homemade,typewritten,thunder-struck,town-bred,self-appointed,self-taught(c)adverbial/adjective+-ingparticiple:hardworking(Someoneworkshard.),easy-going,everlasting,far-reaching,good-looking,high-sounding,sweet-smelling(d)adjective/adverb+-edparticiple:quick-frozen(Somethingwasfrozenquickly.),dry-cleaned,fresh-baked,new-laid,true-born,well-meant,widespread(C)Type“verbless”:Thistypehasthreekinds.(a)noun-basedadverbialofrespect+adjective:footsore(soreinrespecttoone’srespect),airsick,carsick,dustproof,foolproof,tax-free,war-weary(b)noun(denotingbasisofcomparison)+adjective:grass-green(asgreenasgrass),age-old,bottle-green,brickred,jetblack,rock-hard,sea-green(c)adjective+adjective:grey-green(thecolorisbasicallygreenbutwithagrayishtint.),auditory-visual,aural-oral,Sino-Italian,socio-economic2.2.2TransformationfromOtherSaucesInaddition,theadjectivecompoundsmayalsobetransformedformotherpartsofspeechesorstructures,andevenmaybecompressedfromtheattributiveclause.Betweenvariousmorphemesofthiskindofadjectivecompounds,thehyphenisgenerallyused,andcannotbeomitted.Herearesomecommonwaysofformation.Thefirstoneistransformedfromtheadverbphrases,justasthehead-of-schedulegeneralelection,aonce-a-weekdiscussion,around-the-clockshop;thesecondoneistransformedfromtheverbphrases,justasaback-upgenerator,asee-throughshirt,astand-upcollar;thethirdoneistransformedfromtheinfinitiveverbwithoutthe“to”,justastake-homepay,akeep-fitclass,aget-acquaintedparty;theforthoneistheprepositionphrasetransformedbeforethenoun,justasfrom“therelationshipbetweenteachersandstudents”to“theteacher-studentrelationship”;thefifthoneistheidiom,proverborphrasetransformedbeforethenoun,justasadog-in-the-managerattitude,alive-and-let-livepolicy,acompletelycards-on-the-tableapproach,anever-too-old-to-learnspirit;thesixthoneistheadjectivecompoundsformedbycompressingtheattributiveclause,justasadifficult-to-operatemachine;thelastoneistheadjectivecompoundsformedbyasentence,justasthissentenceadon’t-tell-me-what-to-dolook,andI-don’t-care-what-you-doattitude.Amongthesetypesabove,thesixthandlastoneareoftenusedintheofficialsituationswhichareoftenseeninspokenlanguagesandpublicationmagazines,haveasenseofhumorandappearnimbly,vivid,easy-understanding.Still,sometimesthosewordformationsareuniqueandhumorouswhentheyareusedbywritersandjournaliststoreachsometemporaryrhetoricpurpose.2.3CompoundsofVerbs2.3.1Formation(A)Conversionnickname(tonickname),honeymoon(tohoneymoon),moonlight(tomoonlight),first-name(tofirst-name)(B)Backformationlip-reading(tolip-read),bottle-feeding(tobottle-feed),chain-smoker(tochain-smoke),mass-production(tomass-produce)Asshowedbytheexamples,back-formedverbcompoundscomeintobeingchieflybydroppingthesuffixes:-er,-ing,-ion,etc.2.3.2OtherFormationaboutVerbCompoundsThediscussionsofarisrestrictedtotwo-basecompounds.Asstatedearlier,compoundsarelargelytheresultsoflexicalizationofphrases,forexample,“heofferedheracupofcoffee”,hencecoffeecup.“Tomisaboywhobehavedwellinhisclass”,hencewell-behaved.Thisprocessofcompoundingyieldsalargenumberofcompounds,whichgrowoutofphrasesjustbyhyphenatingthewords,e.g.cross-question,fact-talk,off-load.Thisprobablyaccountforthehighproductivityofcompounding.Whenawordunavailableisneeded,allonehastodoistochooseanexpressionorevenasentence,thenhyphenatethewords.Thatisacommonpracticeofjournalistsandpopularwriter.2.4CompoundsofAdverbsAdverbcompoundsarenotascommonasthesefourabove.Thenumberisalsolimited.Thiskindofcompoundcanbedividedintofourtypesaccordingtothewordformation.(A)Type“proposition+noun”:beforehand(earlier,inadvance),inboard,offstage(B)Type“adjective+adverb”:hotfoot(movefast),someday,anywhere,anyhow,elsewhere(C)Type“noun+adverb”:headfirst(withtheheadfirst),headlong,head-on(D)Type“noun+adjective”:day-long(forthewholeday),sky-highThequantityoftheadverbcompoundsisverylimited,andthemeaningofthemcanbereadfromthewordingsignificance,suchasanyhow,downstairs,somehow,thereafter,upside-down,whereupon.2.5CompoundsofPronounsThepronouncompoundsarediscussedfromtwoaspectsastheformationandtheusage.Thepronouncompoundsareoftenformedbyaddingsome,any,no,everyto-body,-thing,-oneandtheobjectivecaseofpronouns,thepossessivepronounplus“-self”.Thesecompoundsareverycommoninourdailylifebuttheyhaveaverylimitednumberfortheycannotbeformedfreelyasthenouncompounds.Thiskindofpronouncompoundhasfourdifferentusages:(A)Thepronouncompoundcanbemadeassubject,object,orpredicateandsooninthesentences.E.g.(1)Nobodywilllistentohim.E.g.(2)Hewantssomethingtoeat.(B)Whenthepronounismadeassubject,predicateverbshouldbesingular.E.g.(3)ThereisnothingwrongwiththeTV.E.g.(4)Everybodylikestobefree.(C)thepronoun“some-”isoftenusedinassertivesentence,whilethe“any-”isoftenusedinnegativesentence,interrogativesentenceandconditionadverbsubordinateclause,whilethe“some-”isoftenusedtoshowrequestedandinvitation,expectingsomeonetogiveanaffirmationreplyininterrogativesentence.Eg.(5)Someonecalledonherlastweek.Eg.(6)Thereisn’tanyoneelsethere.(D)Whentheadjectivemodifiesthepronoun,itisoftenputafterthepronoun.E.g.(7)Thereissomethingwrongwithyoureyes.E.g.(8)Thereissomethingseriouswiththisproblem.3DifferencesBetweenCompoundsandFreePhrasesCompoundshavenoticeablecharacteristicswhichmayinmostcasesdifferentiatethemselvesfromfreephrases.Theymaybedistinguishedfromphrasesonphonological,semantic,grammaticalandorthographicalfeatures.3.1PhonologicalFeaturesIncompoundsthestressusuallyoccursonthefirstconstituentwhereasinnounphrasesthesecondelementisgenerallyaccentedifthereisonlyonestress.Incaseswheretherearetwostresses,thecompoundhastheprimarystressonthefirstelementandthesecondarystress,ifany,onthesecond,whereastheoppositeistrueofthefreephrases.Butthisaccentualpatternofcompoundsisnotabsolute.Sometimes,theprimarystressmayalsofallonthesecondconstituentasinash-blondeandbottle-greenaswellasincombining-formcompounds,socio-linguistics,andpsycho-analysis.Therefore,thisisnotalwaysreliable.3.2SemanticFeaturesCompoundsdifferfromfreephrasesintheirsemantic“one-wordness”,say,asinglesemantic.Everycompoundshouldexpressasingleideajustasoneword.Forinstance,agreenhandisan“inexperiencedperson”,notahandthatisgreenincolor;redmeatreferstobeeformuttonratherthananymeatthatisredincolorlikeleanpork;hotdogisbynomeansadogthatishot,butatypicalAmericansausagebetweentwopiecesofbread.Themeaningofsuchexamplescannotbeeasilyinferredfromthetwocomponentsofthecompounds.Nevertheless,alotofcompoundsaretransparent,thatis,themeaningcanbeobtainedfromtheseparateelementsofcompounds,justasthefollowingrandomexamples:disaster-related,flower-pot,taxcut,washingmachine,dumbshow,scarletfever.Buttwoelementsareinseparableandchangeoftheelementwouldresultinthelossoftheoriginalidentity.Thecompoundsarecharacterizedsemanticallybythefactthattheytendtoacquirespecializedmeaning,thusbecomingverymuchlikeidioms.Themeaningofacompoundsomehowcannotalwaysbederivedfromthatofitsconstituents.3.3GrammaticalFeaturesTheone-wordnessofcompoundscanbeseeninthewaytheexpressionsarehandedmorphologically.Theytendtofillasinglegrammaticalslotinasentence,forexample,thatofaverb,anoun,oranadjective.Bad-mouthusedasaverbcantakethethirdpersonsingular–sandthepasttensemarker-ed,e.g.“Hebad-mouthedme.”Compoundnounsshowtheirpluralformsbytackinginflectional–sattheend,e.g.new-borns,three-year-olds,will-o’-the-wisps,majorgenerals.Buttherearealsoexceptionsasinbrothers-in-law,lookers-on,consulgenerals,yettheirone-wordnessidentityisapparent.3.4OrthographicalFeaturesInmostcases,compoundsarewritteneither“solid”or“hyphenated”asmentionedearlier,thuseasytorecognize.Butspellingconventionsarenotoftendependablebecauseasillustratedabovesomecompoundscanbewritteninallthethreeforms,e.g.flowerpot,flower-pot,flowerpot.Asamatteroffact,thedifferentorthographicalformsarelargelyapersonalpreference.Comparatively,BritishspeakerstendtohyphenatecompoundswhileAmericanstowritecompoundslikefreephrases.4SignificanceofCompounds4.1CompoundsandMorphologyTheexpansionofvocabularyinmodernEnglishdependschieflyonwordformation.Thereisavarietyofmeansbeingatworknow.Themostproductiveareaffixation,compoundingandconversion.AccordingtoPylesandAlgeo,wordsproducedthroughaffixationconstitute30%to40%ofthetotalnumberofnewwords;compoundingyields28%to30%ofallthenewwords;conversionbrings26%ofthenewvocabularyintomodernEnglish.Therestofthenewwordscomefromshorteningincludingclippingandacronym,numbering8%to10%,togetherwith1%to5%ofwordsbornoutofblendingandothermeans(qtd.in张维友69).4.2CompoundsandLifeFrom