Morphological Theory: An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar (Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics)

This is an introduction to the rapidly developing field of morphology in generative grammar. Presupposing very little prior knowledge of linguistics, the book guides the reader from absolute basics to the most recent theoretical developments. This textbook includes a wealth of exercises, and is designed to be used either on courses explicitly focused on morphology or as an adjunct to other courses, particularly in generative syntax and phonology. The book opens with an account of the phenomena studied by morphologists, of classical problems and of the earliest models of morphology proposed within the generative paradigm. Its second part deals with the interface between morphology and phonology. Part 3 begins with a comprehensive introduction to more recent theories of word structure, including inflectional morphology. Subsequent chapters examine the interface between morphology and syntax, exploring the processes which affect grammatical relations, such as passives and causatives. Further chapters examine compounding processes and the morphology, phonology and syntax of clitic systems. The final part of the book includes a full discussion of "bracketing paradoxes" and closes with a survey of models of morphology and competing views of the place of morphology in linguistic theory.