COMPOUNDING IN THE DERIVATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

Abstract

This article is devoted to the consideration and analysis of such notions as “word building” and “compounding” in the Russian language. Word building is the process of the formation of new words called derivatives usually on the basis of single root words or word combinations by existing patterns and models in t he language. One of the main word building methods is compounding when two or more units or more exactly stems combine together and form a new lexical item. This is a broad representation of the compounding, the result of which is the formation of compounds, or composites. The notion “compounding” is traditionally considered as a morphological, morphologo-syntactical and semantic ways of word building. In the fi rst case compounding is regarded as a stem composition – inseparable combination of two or more morphemes serving as roots and accompanied by affi xation and prefi xation. In the second case compounding is an intermediate way of word building between morphological and syntactical ones, because it is a blending of stems derived from curtailed word combinations or sentences. According to the third approach compounding is considered to be a semantic (without morphemes) way of word building to which pure addition, abbreviation, syncopation by an abbreviated type, substantivisation and concretion. The considered approaches do not eliminate but supplement one another and serve as a basis for the regarding the compounding as a derivationally syntactical notion. Such interpretation suggests distinction of the word combination compression (syntactic unit) into an univerb (a compound stem which can undergo affi xation like a root) and affi xation (in particular – suffi xal derivation) – a system of word building in the narrow sense. Univerbation binds syntax and lexis turning a word combination into a radix (positional analogue of a root) and affi xation of a radix belongs to the word building (derivatology by A. A. Kretov). In this case the system of the formation of units must be studied by a separate grammar section – radixology which describes everything that can take the position of a root and undergo affixation.