Morphological Variation

Morphological variation is a rather young, yet fascinating topic to study in its own right because it offers challenging evidence both for the autonomy of morphology (morphomic processes) as well as for its tight interconnection with other grammatical domains, notably phonology and syntax. Covering a wide range of phenomena (e.g. negation structures, form function-mismatches in the verbal and nominal domain, loss of morphosyntactic feature values, etc.), the contributions to this volume combine in-depth empirical studies with the explanatory potential of modern theories of grammar as well as approaches for capturing and modelling microtypological diversity.

Over 1,400 individual skeletons from three major skeletal populations were examined for a series of approximately fifty infracranial non-metric traits. Trait frequencies are studied for size, sex and age differences, trait intercorrelations, and association with bone robusticity. Skeletal population studies are performed using various combinations of the traits and two distance statistics.

"The study reported here explores the possibilities of investigating the important question of genetic and environmental interaction by genetic methods utilizing the techniques of morphological description and measurement. The complex nature of man's genetic variation and some of the problems which are unique to human studies are reviewed. The twin method is then evaluated, within the context of our understanding of the phenomenon of human twinning, for its usefulness in detecting genetic variability and analyzing genetic and environmental interaction. With this background, the twin method is then applied to the study of different descriptions and measurements of morphological variation. Because this is a preliminary study, emphasis has been placed upon the methods of investigation and upon providing an empirical basis for the application of genetic and morphological studies to different human problems. It is hoped that the methods presented here and the results of this analysis will suggest further twin research and morphological studies in genetics, anthropology, and the medical sciences. While the present study was designed for the analysis of genetic and environmental effects on what may be termed "normal" morphological variation, selection of the subjects on the basis of medical histories and examinations has made it possible to extend considerably the scope of the investigation. Most of the data relating to medical information have been reported elsewhere. Those aspects which have a bearing on the evaluation of the twin method or the analysis of morphological variables are reported here. Extensive data available from the records of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center also have been incorporated. The Twin Study Project was carried out under the auspices of the Institute for the Study of Human Variation in Columbia University, and was conducted within the facilities of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. The collection of the data was started in September 1952 with a poll of all new admissions to Vanderbilt Clinic, for twins; it was completed in March 1956"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

The papers in this volume derive from the 13th International Morphology Meeting (Vienna 2008). They all address the main topic of the meeting, viz. variation and change in morphology. Inflectional and derivational morphology are represented on equal terms. The focus is on cases of language-internal variation, such as pattern competition, base variation, form–function mismatches, or morphological pleonasm. Other recurring themes are language contact as a cause of variation, the output-orientedness of morphological patterns, and linguistic economy.The contributions cover a wide variety of languages, both Indo-European (Romance, Germanic and Slavic; Latin, Lithuanian and Romani) and non-Indo-European (Hungarian, Maay, Chinese).

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...

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Morphological Variation in a Population of the Snake, Tantilla gracilis Baird and Girard" by Laurence M. Hardy, Charles J. Cole. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.