V-V Compounds

This article describes V-V compounds constructions that have inspired the lexicon-versus-syntax debate for the place of morphology. It explores the issues that constitute the basis for considering several analyses of V-V compounds—aspectual and psychological compounds and headedness—and some major lexical and syntactic analyses. The article then considers how they fare empirically with the main properties of V-V compounds. Some complex cases are provided as illustrations of the recalcitrant aspects of V-V compounds. It finally explains the theoretical implications from the discussion on V-V...

This article describes V-V compounds constructions that have inspired the lexicon-versus-syntax debate for the place of morphology. It explores the issues that constitute the basis for considering several analyses of V-V compounds—aspectual and psychological compounds and headedness—and some major lexical and syntactic analyses. The article then considers how they fare empirically with the main properties of V-V compounds. Some complex cases are provided as illustrations of the recalcitrant aspects of V-V compounds. It finally explains the theoretical implications from the discussion on V-V compounds. It is hoped that the article will provide a basis for further research on V-V compounds, which directly touch on the important issue of the place of morphology in linguistic theory.