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Form and Meaning of Bahuvrihi Compounds: Evidence from Modern Greek and Its Dialects

2015; Springer International Publishing; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-319-14102-2_9

2214-0050

Μάριος Ανδρέου, Angela Ralli,

Lexicography and Language Studies

This paper offers a detailed investigation of bahuvrihi compounds in Greek with a focus on their form and semantics. First, we present a classification of bahuvrihis according to the lexical category of the compound structure and the lexical category of the compound members and we provide examples of the rarest attested type, that is, verbal bahuvrihis (e.g. kalozoizo < kal(i) 'good' zo(i) 'life', 'to have a good life'). Second, we raise the question of where the meaning 'having/to have X' comes from in bahuvrihis. Based on the distinction between nominal, adjectival, and verbal bahuvrihis, we propose that the former type should be accounted for by metonymy, whereas the latter two types, that is, adjectival and verbal bahuvrihis should be analyzed as "extended bahuvrihis" in that they combine compounding and derivation in this particular order. As such, adjectival and verbal bahuvrihis can be better understood if we examine the relation between compounding and derivation.