Nukus State Pedagogical Institute named after Ajiniyaz

Chapter II.Specific features and classification of English compounds.
2.1 Classification of English compounds
It seems this division is quite simple. The first composition is made with the support of an interfix part called interfix: artisan, speedometer, CzechSlovakia. Those without a connecting factor are another type of composition thatpredominates in English: blackbird, dustman, nightmare.
Classification based on determinant/ determinantum sequence
Compounds are divided into two streams, according to this classification. The
Germanic compound form is characterized by the precedence of the determinant.
This form of compound, as is evident from the word, is unique to Germanic languages and predominates in English. Space ship, blackboard,
greenhorn, tooth-paste, driving shaft, for instance. The latter form is called French,
and it very rare in English. Determinantum precedes determinant in these compounds.
Relations between the ICs of Compounds
From the point of view in English lexicology it is recognized that there are two types of connection between ICs of compound words: the relations of coordination and subordination, and also compound words fall into two classes, they are: coordinative compounds (also called copulative) and subordinative (often called determinative).

Coordinative Compounds


The importance of the two ICs is usually equal in coordinative compound words. In this kind of compound words, the constituent bases belong to the same class, even in most cases to the same semantic word groups. Coordinative compounds are divided into three minor groups: 1. reduplicative, 2. the phonetically variated rhythmic twin forms and, 3. the basis of additive compounds.


Reduplicative compound words are compounds in which the first constituent is a copy of the second base, like knock-knock, fifty-fifty, hush-hush.

The phonetically variated rhythmic twin forms are the joined type of compound words in which the two constituents have little difference in initial consonants but in some cases it may vary as in chit-chat, sing-song, tick-tock, wishy-washy; or by changing the first consonants such as, clap-trap, lovey-dovey, willy-nilly, hurly-burly, hoity-toity. Those types of compounds are often motivated through rhythmic doubling of fanciful sound-clusters and those both types of compounds are usually known as very small degree of productivity.

The bases of additive compound words are usually built on stems of the words that have independent functions of the same part of speech, unlike first two groups above. For example, a bed-sitting-room in this compound word we can understand that it means both a bedroom and a sitting-room. There is also a specific subgroup in additive compounds which is a bound root-morpheme and the words that belong to this group are usually limited to the names of nationalities such as Afro-Asian, Anglo-Saxon, Afro-American.