Article Classification of compounds in English and Ukrainian

« Назад

Theoretical foundation of the problem

In a comparatively short time linguistics has been enriched with new and original ways and methods of studying the structure and semantics of the word creation. Word-formative structure and semantics of compound words in the modern Ukrainian language thoroughly is investigated by N.F. Klimenko, K.G. Horodenska who interpreted the formation of compound nouns as a way of formal grammatical semantic structure of a sentence.

In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word) that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes (the other word-formation process being derivation). That is, in familiar terms, compounding occurs when two or more words are joined together to make one word. The meaning of the compound may be very different from the meanings of its components in isolation.

Ukrainian is language which has many word formation processes like compounding, blends, affixation etc. In each word we can make change in the part of speech so we can enrich our new vocabulary, it is very useful to communicate with each other. The word that is employed by the speaker must be related to the rules of that language. For example, in Ukrainian, the speaker who uses it has to know about the word formation process so that they can make a new word. We must also know about the rules of this process to enrich our vocabulary.

Writing compound words:

The most common type of compounding in the Ukrainian language is the combination of two (or more) nouns in order to form a resulting noun:

Noun + Noun = Noun.

Examples: магнітолог-астроном, член-кореспондент.

So, compound nouns are written together or hyphenated:

- together written compound nouns are formed by connecting vowels (е, є, о) whether or not two or more bases, for example: ціноутворення.

- with пів-, напів- e.g.: півгодини, напівприбутковий.

- words with components of екстра-, макро-, мета-, мікро-, мілі-, моно-, мульти-, псевдо-, соціо-, стерео-, супер-, фоно-, -граф, -графія, -логія

e.g.: євростат, радіотехніка.

Written hyphenated compound nouns that indicate similar or opposite in meaning of the concept, for example: купівля-продаж.

- with віце-, екс-, , максі-, міні-, міді-, , унтер-, штаб- e.g.: міні-маркет.

- nouns with the first part пів-, e.g.: пів-Києва, пів-Європи.

There are various other types of compounds. A selection of which is shown below.

Compound adjectives are written together or hyphenated.

Adjective+Adjective: гірко-солодкий, глухонімий, звуковий-оральний, англосаксонська.

Noun + Adjective = Adjective, e.g.: трудоінтенсивний, всесвітньовідомий.

Compound numerals are transmitted in writing together, separately and with a hyphen. Together written cardinal and ordinal numbers, e.g.: чотирнадцять, шістдесятий.

Separately are written compound cardinal and ordinal numerals, which include the expression з половиною, etc., e.g.: двісті тридцять сім, вісімдесят шостий, п’ять з половиною годин.

Compound adverbs are written together and separately with a hyphen. Together transmitted adverbs formed from several bases, e.g.: ввечері, втроє, мимоволі, насамперед.

Separately written dialects formation of nouns with prepositions без, в, до, з, на, під, по, e.g.: без відриву, під питанням.

So, the correct spelling of compound words is very important to know, because it enriches our vocabulary makes our speech more perfect.

Practical assignments

Exercise 1. Write the words, explain the spelling of the words with пів-, напів-, полу- + noun.

Пів/аркуша, пів/години, пів/дюжини, пів/карбованця, пів/коло, пів/місяця, пів/яблука, пів/Києва, пів/огірка, напів/автомат, напів/провідник, полу/мисок, пів/Кавказу, напів/фабрикат, пів/Одеси, пів/день.

Keys:

Піваркуша, півгодини, півдюжини, півкарбованця, півколо, півмісяця, пів’яблука, пів-Києва, півогірка, напівавтомат, напівпровідник, полумисок, пів-Кавказу, напівфабрикат, пів-Одеси, південь.

Exercise 2. To choose adjectives which are synonymous with words having a negative prefix не-

Складний, боязкий, беззаконний, дешевий, чистий, високий, сумний, бідний, короткий, м’який.

Keys:

Непростий, несміливий, незаконний, недорогий, небрудний, немалий, невеселий, нещасний, недовгий, нетвердий.