La Spanish compounding: a new proposal of classification

Abstract

This study aims to delimit the concept of noun compound within the largest realm of Spanish compound words. We are specifically focusing on the so called lexical compounds and, from a critical analysis of the most extended classifications for our language in the last 30 years, we bring forward a new classification that takes the grammatical relationship established between the components of the compound as the leading criterion which is applied from the first classification level. Thus, we abandon the most extended research approach in Spanish, which usually takes the grammatical category as the organizing criterion of its classifications, on the first and second classification levels, whether they are the resulting compound category or the category of the compound components. After a brief description of each of the types presented, the research focuses on highlighting the importance of the diachronic and typological issues in the study of Spanish, and also of Romance compounds as well as in our own classification.