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3 - From Protolanguage to Deuterolanguage: The Importance of Compounds

from Part I - The Evolution of Syntax

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2025

By
Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy
Edited by
Dany Adone  and
Astrid Gabel
Dany Adone
Affiliation:
Universität zu Köln
Astrid Gabel
Affiliation:
Universität zu Köln
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Summary

Carstairs-McCarthy’s chapter explores Jackendoff’s suggestion that exuberant compounding of the kind that is possible in English may be a ‘coelacanth of language’, that is a relic of a pre-syntactic stage of linguistic evolution. In support of this view, he contrasts English compounding possibilities with those of other Germanic languages and French, where compounds typically involve more than mere juxtaposition. The peculiar characteristics of compounding help to explain the ambiguity of the term ‘lexical’, used to mean both ‘listed in the lexicon’ and ‘relating to words’.

Keywords

language evolutioncompoundingprotolanguagedeuterolanguagepre-syntactic stageEnglish/Germanic languages and French
Type
Chapter
Information
The Evolution, Acquisition and Development of Syntax
Insights from Creole Languages and Beyond
 , pp. 34 - 48
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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