This paper is the final instalment in a series of studies investigating the modification patterns in complex noun phrases (NPs) in English. It particularly focuses on the modification of two-noun compounds by three attributive adjectives. An analysis of all such NPs from the BNC reveals a strong preference for head modification over modifier modification, similar rates of convergent and divergent modification and the non-occurrence of crossed modification. The single most important factor influencing the modification patterns is functional status. The larger the number of adjectives modifying the head of the compound, the higher the frequency of the modification type (modulo a proximity effect). The absence of crossed modification is expected under the no-crossing constraint, which is understood here not as a formal but as a functional principle ensuring successful communication. The various factors can be tied together under the rubric of accessibility. The probability of selecting a particular modification target is argued to be a function of the accessibility of the nouns in an NP.

中文翻译：

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三个形容词对复合名词的修饰

本文是一系列研究英语复杂名词短语 (NPs) 修饰模式的研究的最后一篇。它特别侧重于三个定语形容词对两个名词复合词的修饰。对来自 BNC 的所有此类 NP 的分析揭示了对头部修饰的强烈偏好，而不是修饰修饰，收敛和发散修饰的相似速率以及不发生交叉修饰。影响修改模式的一个最重要的因素是功能状态。修饰复合词头的形容词数量越多，修饰类型的频率越高（以邻近效应为模）。在无交叉约束下预计不存在交叉修饰，这在这里不是被理解为正式的，而是被理解为确保成功沟通的功能原则。在可访问性的标题下，可以将各种因素联系在一起。选择特定修饰目标的概率被认为是 NP 中名词的可访问性的函数。