Seminar Syntax in word formation

In the English language, there is quite a range of different strategies to create new words. We can for example add suffixes (pay → payment), shorten words (laboratory → lab) or blend existing words to create a new one (breakfast, lunch → brunch). These word formation processes are commonly considered to take place within the realms of morphology. In some cases though, syntax seems to have a share as well. Take for example compounding, where we usually have a combination of two (or more) words such as wallpaper or word class. Sometimes we encounter structures such as the following, in which the first part is a phrase or even an entire clause: My legs are in that magical, end-of-a-good-ski-day limbo […] (COCA, 1993 MAG) The heart of grunge is an I-don't-care-what-I-wear attitude […] (COCA, 1992 NEWS) These so-called -phrasal compounds” differ from ‘regular’ compounds in several formal (and functional) aspects, which raises the question whether we are really dealing with a morphological process here. To analyze phenomena such as the above, we will first of all recapitulate the differences between syntax and morphology. We will then review the defining characteristics of compounds to see to what extent they apply to -phrase + N” structures as well. Once we have identified differences to seemingly similar items as e.g. N N compounds, we will have a closer look at the internal structure of the items under consideration. Using corpus data, we will examine the different kinds of phrases found in the structure as well as the nature of the head. The findings will be compared to recent treatments in the pertinent literature. Englisch (MA, PO 2013) Anglistik-BA: Abgeschlossenes Intermediate Modul. Universität Düsseldorf SoSe 2016 Dr. Günther Christine