Phrasal compounds and the morphology-syntax relation

Phrasal compounds are not an entirely uniform domain: it is necessary to dis-
tinguish between four different types of phrasal compounds. I will discuss their
characteristics and the distinct analytical challenges. Only one type – the ›gen-
uine‹ phrasal compounds with the non-head corresponding to a non-quotative
well-formed syntactic phrase – poses a special problem for the morphology-syntax
relation. There are three options for generating ›genuine‹ phrasal compounds:
Merge, Insertion, and Conversion. I will argue that Conversion is the most suitable
option. The analysis of phrasal compounds will suggest a symmetrical relation be-
tween word and phrase formation (phrases can be built on the basis of words and
words on the basis of phrases) and a ›parallel‹ view of morphological and syntactic
structure as fully separate structures with distinct properties.