Contemporary Morphological Theories

In spite of the central position that the concept word has among the basic units of language structure, there is no consensus as to the definition of this concept (or network of related concepts). Many perspectives are needed in order to gain even a schematic idea of what words are, how words may be composed, and what relationships there might be between words. Many linguists have put forward frameworks for describing the domain of morphology, each framework proceeding from its author's assumptions, prioritizing distinct formal and functional dimensions, and therefore entering into de facto competition. This book addresses the needs of the language scholar/student who finds her/himself engaged in morphological analysis and theorizing. It offers a guide to existing approaches, revealing how they can either complement or compete with each other.

Theoretical Morphology provides a comprehensive and coherent treatment of contemporary morphological research and theory. A variety of theoretical paradigms are reviewed and illustrated by specific topics of debate within the field. The twenty-one chapters are divided into sections on inflection, function, historical/area studies, mapping to other components, and morphophonology.

Theoretical Morphology provides a comprehensive and coherent treatment of contemporary morphological research and theory. A variety of theoretical paradigms are reviewed and illustrated by specific topics of debate within the field. The twenty-one chapters are divided into sections on inflection, function, historical/area studies, mapping to other components, and morphophonology.

This popular introductory textbook offers a lively and comprehensive introduction to current morphological theory and analysis, enabling beginners to approach current literature in the subject with confidence. Part I develops students' understanding of traditional and structuralist notions of word structure and provides them with a firm grounding in word structure and word formation. Part II explores the relationship between morphology and phonology, while Part III looks at morphology in relation to syntax and the lexicon. Numerous practical exercises which involve formulating hypotheses and testing them against linguistic data cement the reader's understanding of the field. This accessible introduction to morphology is an ideal resource for students of English and linguistics and their teachers. New to this Edition: - Fully revised throughout, with updated discussions to reflect changes in the field and an expanded list of suggestions for further reading - Brand-new chapter on Optimality Theory

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

Morphology, the science of words, is a complex theoretical landscape, where a multitude of frameworks, each with their own tenets and formalism, compete for the explanation of linguistic facts. The Oxford Handbook of Morphological Theory is a comprehensive guide through this jungle of morphological theories. It provides a rich and up-to-date overview of theoretical frameworks, from Structuralism to Optimality Theory and from Minimalism to Construction Morphology...

What is Morphology? PRAISE FOR THIS EDITION “What is Morphology? continues to be the most attractive, accessible, and entertaining introduction to morphology on the market. It is a lively conversation between the authors and their readers, which radiates enthusiasm for its subject, while stimulating readers to think about morphology for themselves through numerous skillfully designed examples and exercises. The book is deliberately theory-neutral but leaves no doubt about the fundamental importance of morphology within linguistic theory.” Martin Maiden, University of Oxford “It’s no surprise that What is Morphology? is now appearing in a third edition. Aronoff and Fudeman’s textbook is a fun, highly accessible introduction to morphology, providing an excellent grounding in the key distinctions and theoretical issues.” Dunstan Brown, University of York PRAISE FOR PRIOR EDITION “Aronoff and Fudeman have produced a clear and jargon-free introduction to contemporary morphological theory and practice. The book succeeds particularly in clarifying the empirical content, organizational principles and analytic techniques that distinguish morphology from other fields of linguistics.” James P. Blevins, University of Cambridge What is Morphology? Third Edition, provides a critical introduction to the central ideas and perennial issues of linguistic morphology. Assuming only minimal background in linguistics, this student-friendly textbook uses clear language and easy-to-understand examples to describe fundamental morphological phenomena and their interactions with phonology, syntax, and semantics. The chapters of this textbook equip students with the skills needed to analyze a range of classic morphological problems through engaging examples and student-friendly explanations. Cross-linguistic data from Kujamaat Jóola, a West African language, is incorporated throughout the text to explain and clarify morphemes, morphophonology, inflection, syncretism, lexemes, and other essential concepts. Fully revised and updated, the third edition also contains an entirely new chapter on computational linguistics, and a wealth of additional exercises, examples, and further readings. What is Morphology? Third Edition, is the perfect textbook for undergraduate and graduate students studying morphology for the first time, a useful reference for researchers and scholars with limited experience in linguistic morphology, and a valuable resource for professionals working in areas such as speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine translation, and natural language generation. An instructor website is available at www.wiley.com/go/aronoff/morphology3e.

This volume provides an introduction to word and paradigm models of morphology and the general perspectives on linguistic morphology that they embody. The recent revitalization of these models is placed in the larger context of the intellectual lineage that extends from classical grammars to current information-theoretic and discriminative learning paradigms. The synthesis of this tradition outlined in the volume highlights leading ideas about the organization of morphological systems that are shared by word and paradigm approaches, along with strategies that have been developed to formalize these ideas, and ways in which the ideas have been validated by experimental methodologies. An extended comparison of contemporary word and paradigm variants isolates the central assumptions about morphological units and relations that distinguish implicational from realizational models and clarifies the relation of these models to morpheme-based accounts. Designed to be accessible to a wide readership, this book will serve both as an introduction to morphology and morphological theory from the word and paradigm perspective for non-specialists, and for morphologists, as a detailed account of the history of the ideas that underlie these models.