Refining quantitative methods for Diachronic Construction Morphology: a study of three compound families in French

Abstract

This paper investigates the diachronic development of three semi-schematic French N+N compound families — N-limite, N-modèle, and N-surprise — within the framework of Construction Morphology, using large-scale data extracted from Google N-grams. Building on previous research on Italian compounds, the study refines quantitative methods for analysing constructional change and productivity in diachrony. The methodology combines large-scale data extraction, manual validation of compound types, normalization of type frequency by unique word forms, and non-parametric trend analysis using Theil–Sen regression and the Mann–Kendall test. The analysis identifies onset, expansion, and saturation periods for each family and reveals distinct diachronic trajectories: N-limite and N-surprise expanded in separate historical periods, whereas N-modèle developed through multiple phases, including decline and renewed growth. Qualitative analysis of “leader words” further illustrates how highly frequent compounds contributed to the emergence and diffusion of productive constructional patterns in French nominal compounding.