The syntactic structure of pelirrojo compounds

Marqueta, Bárbara (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: This paper deals with Spanish adjective-headed compounds (pelirrojo), whose main properties are systematically compared with those of their English counterparts (red-haired). I provide a distinction based on the grammatical category of the non-head projections peli and red and on their relative complexity to capture the relevant differences. Additionally, I focus on the most noticed feature of Spanish pelirrojo compounds, which is the fact that they only codify inalienable possession relationships. I argue that the existence of an inalienable-only compound pattern shows that Spanish pelirrojo compounds contain a relational head which establishes an inalienable possession relationship between a possessee located inside the compound (pelo ‘hair’), and a possessor located outside it (e.g., Juan in Juan es pelirrojo. ‘John is red-haired.’). The same kind of relational structure is not identifiable inside English parallel structures or other Spanish compound patterns.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.5334/gjgl.746

Año: 2019

Publicado en: Glossa 4, 40 (2019), [23 pp.]
ISSN: 0017-1271

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MEC/FPU14-01500
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO-FEDER/FFI2017-82460-P

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Lingüística General (Dpto. Lingüíst. Gral. e Hisp.)