Classification, headedness and pluralization: Corpus evidence from French compounds

Abstract

This study examines the relation between headedness and pluralizaron In French compounds attested in a newspaper corpus. It leans on the classification of compounds proposed by Bisetto and Scalise (2005) that distinguishes between subordinate, attributive or coordinate, and additionally, endocentric or exocentric. However, as to what item constitutes a compound in French, it follows the much more restricted definition of Corbin (1992), inter alia. My result indicates that French compounds exhibit double marking, i.e., both on the head and externally, as to pluralizaron. In a larger perspective, this result can indicate a tendency towards external pluralizaron in French. © 2007 Akadémiai Kiadó.