Root compound nouns in Tshivenḓa

Abstract

There are nominal compounds in Tshivenḓa but unlike in other languages, there are no verbal compounds. Some nominal compounds are formed by combining two nouns (Noun + Noun) while other nominal compounds are formed by the noun followed by other word categories. Compound nouns formed by Noun + Noun can be divided further into two main types: compound nouns formed by compounding two nouns: and compound nouns formed by compounding two elements where one of the morphemes is a root.