Understanding the Meaning of V-nuku in Terms of the Polysemous Verb nuku

To Help L2 Learners Guess the Meaning of Unknown Compound Verbs

Abstract

This paper discusses how the meaning of compound verbs of the form V-nuku can be understood in terms of the core meaning of nuku ‘pull out, remove'. Himeno (1999) indicates that most instances of V-nuku are syntactic compound verbs in which the verb nuku undergoes semantic bleaching. For example, in hashiri-nuku ‘run all the way to the end', nuku indicates accomplishment, whereas in nayami-nuku ‘go through agonies' (e.g. before making a decision) it indicates an extreme degree. The difference between the meaning of nuku as a simple verb and its semantic contribution to V-nuku compounds makes it difficult for L2 learners to guess the meaning of V-nuku from the meaning of nuku.

This paper suggests that the core meaning of nuku should be described as "move object X from inside to outside of place Y against a resisting force." This core meaning of nuku will help L2 learners guess the meaning of V-nuku because it will explain a part of every instance thereof.