Synthetic Compounding and Lexical Integrity

The study of the argument structure of Persian synthetic compounds shows that not only do the internal argument but also the external argument and indirect object incorporate into verbal stem to make synthetic compounds. In addition to simultaneous incorporation of internal and external arguments, other categories such as adjuncts, adjectives, noun phrases, adjective phrases and prepositional phrases are incorporated into synthetic compounds. Phrasal verbal compounds, compounds possessing conjunctions, extended verbal compounds, argument structure and referential structure of nonverbal constituent of verbal compounds, referential verbal compounds and multi-incorporation are criteria that reject both "lexical integrity" and "no phrase constraint" hypotheses and confirm the interaction of morphology and syntax modules in word formation. Identical relations between constituents of sentences and synthetic compounds, from argument and non-argument points of view, indicate the participation of syntax in word formation process and accessing of syntactic rules to internal structure of words. Verbal compounds data reveals that, on the one hand, morphological output is used as syntactic and phrasal input; on the other hand, syntactic output is employed as word formation process input. Therefore, morphology and syntax have reciprocal, rather than directional, relation in word formation. Changeability of verb valence and referentiality of non-head constituents of verbal compounds show the interface of morphology and semantics.