Morphology By Itself

Most recent research in generative morphology has avoided the treatment of purely morphological phenomena and has focused instead on interface questions, such as the relation between morphology and syntax or between morphology and phonology. In this monograph Mark Aronoff argues that linguists must consider morphology by itself, not merely as an appendage of syntax and phonology, and that linguistic theory must allow for a separate and autonomous morphological component. Following a general introductory chapter, Aronoff examines two narrow classes of morphological phenomena to make his case: stems and inflectional classes. Concentrating first on Latin verb morphology, he argues that morphological stems are neither syntactic nor phonological units. Next, using data from a number of languages, he underscores the traditional point that the inflectional class of a word is not reducible to its syntactic gender. He then explores in detail the phonologically motivated nominal inflectional class system of two languages of Papua New Guinea (Arapeshand Yimas) and the precise nature of the relation between this system and the corresponding gender system. Finally, drawing on a number of Semitic languages, Aronoff argues that the verb classes of these languages are purely inflectional although they are partly motivated by derivational and syntactic considerations.

Provides a critical introduction to the central ideas and perennial problems of morphology, fully revised and updated in a new edition What is Morphology? is a concise, student-friendly introduction to the fundamentals of contemporary morphological theory and practice. Requiring only a basic knowledge of linguistics, this popular textbook describes morphological phenomena and their interactions with phonology, syntax, and semantics while familiarizing students with the importance of linguistic morphology as a subject of research. Each chapter contains engaging examples and student-friendly explanations to support the development of the skills necessary to analyze a wealth of classic morphological problems. The third edition is fully updated to reflect the current state of the field, featuring a new chapter on morphology’s intersections with typology and computational linguistics. Expanded coverage of morphological productivity and processing is supported by additional exercises, examples, and further reading suggestions. Thoroughly revised chapters cover essential topics including morphemes, the lexicon, phonology, inflection, syncretism, and derived lexemes. This accessible textbook: Introduces fundamental phenomena with a descriptive theme and minimal theory Uses cross-linguistic data to explain and clarify new concepts Provides new and revised chapters written by prominent experts in their respective areas Includes answers to all exercises via a companion instructor’s website The latest edition of What is Morphology? remains the ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate linguistics students, researchers and scholars unfamiliar with linguistic morphology, and professionals involved in industrial applications of linguistics such as speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine translation, text-to-speech, and natural language generation.

This book considers the evolution of the grammatical structure of words in the contexts of human evolution and the origins of language. The author challenges the conventional views of the relationship between syntax and morphology, the adaptationist view of language evolution, and the notion that language in some way reflects 'laws of form'.

A revival of interest in morphology has occurred during recent years. Since 1988, the Yearbook of Morphology book series has proven to be an eminent platform for the growth of morphological research, containing articles on topics that are central in the current theoretical debates. The Yearbook of Morphology 1996 focuses on the relationship between morphology and psycholinguistics. Basic questions such as the following are discussed. To what extent does the morphological structure of a word play a role in its perception and production? Are regular complex words created anew each time they are used, or are they stored in the lexicon? The relevant evidence comes from a variety of European languages. Another important theme in this yearbook is the degree of autonomy of morphology: in which respect does it differ from other modules of the grammar? The present yearbook also contains articles on periphrasis, the nature of inflectional morphology and syncretism in derivational morphology. Audience: Theoretical and historical linguists, morphologists, phonologists and psycholinguists will find this book of interest.

A revival of interest in morphology has occurred during recent years. The periodical Yearbook of Morphology, published since 1988, has proven to be an eminent support for this upswing of morphological research, and has shown that morphology is central to present-day linguistic theorizing. In the Yearbook of Morphology 2005 a number of important theoretical issues are discussed: the role of inflectional paradigms in morphological analysis, the differences between words and affixes, and the adequacy of competing models of word structure. In addition, the role of phonological factors in shaping complex words is discussed. Evidence for particular positions defended in this volume is taken from a wide variety of languages. This volume is of interest to those working in theoretical, descriptive and historical linguistics, morphologists, phonologists, computational linguists, and psycholinguists. Beginning with Volume 16 (2006) the Yearbook of Morphology continues as a journal with the title: Morphology. This is the only journal entirely devoted to the study of linguistic morphology. The journal is available online as well as in print. Visit the journal at: www.springer.com/11525 or click on the link in the top right hand corner.

The first comprehensive morphology textbook written in the framework of Distributed Morphology, firmly grounded in cross-linguistic theory Distributed Morphology is the theoretical framework that views morphology as syntactic, proposing that there is no divide between the construction of words and the construction of sentences. The first text of its kind, Morphology: A Distributed Morphology Introduction provides a thorough overview of Distributed Morphology using data and problem sets from a diverse selection of the world's languages. Divided into two parts, this valuable resource begins by describing the basics of morphology and then moves into an exploration of more advanced topics in morphology including morphosyntactic operations, cyclic derivation, the Mirror Principle, and non-compositional language. Each chapter includes a glossary of key terms, learning objectives, further readings, and illustrative examples to reinforce learning. Exercises and problem sets encourage students to develop their understanding and build confidence in the application of theory to practice. Through this valuable text, students will develop comprehension in morphological parsing and glossing, the concept of the lexicon, the different types of morphemes, the idea of paradigms, the basic practice of morphological analysis, and more. Offering detailed yet accessible coverage of morphological theory from the perspective of Distributed Morphology, this textbook: Introduces the methodology used in morphology, the basic assumptions of Distributed Morphology, and key concepts from lexical grammatical approaches to language Covers essential phonology, feature interaction, paradigms as linguistic objects, core ideas of syntax and syntactic derivation, and derivation and inflection in Distributed Morphology Includes a Quick Reference Guide with glossing abbreviations from the Leipzig Glossing Rules, a full IPA chart with instructions, and charts of phonological features Provides access to a companion website containing solutions to problem sets and additional instructor resources Morphology: A Distributed Morphology Introduction is the ideal textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in morphology courses or with an interest in specializing in morphology. Offering students an unparalleled overview of this growing field of morphology, this text will ensure that developing morphologists are well-equipped to employ the latest methods in Distributed Morphology to their own research and study.

This is the first comprehensive overview of computational approaches to Arabic morphology. The subtitle aims to reflect that widely different computational approaches to the Arabic morphological system have been proposed. The book provides a showcase of the most advanced language technologies applied to one of the most vexing problems in linguistics. It covers knowledge-based and empirical-based approaches.

This volume explores the multiple aspects of morphological complexity, offering typological, acquisitional, sociolinguistic, and diachronic perspectives. The analyses are based on rich empirical data from a wide range of languages, as well as experimental data from artificial language learning.