This dissertation discusses the empirical distribution and systematicity of morphotactic
rules on the relative order of verbal affixes. In the literature, the exact role of
morphology and its interaction with other factors affecting affix order is still under
debate. More specifically, syntactic (Baker 1985, 1988) and semantic approaches
(Muysken 1986, Rice 2000, Stiebels 2003) to affix order assume that some underlying
grammatical structure, the syntactic derivation or the semantic composition, is
mapped transparently onto the surface, such that the relative order of affixes on
the surface matches the underlying order of the elements. However, phenomena
like nontransitive affix order or templatic morphology suggest that morphological
rules may overwrite the surface order provided by syntax or semantics. In this
dissertation, I examine exactly these phenomena to investigate the empirical scope of
these morphological rules. I demonstrate that there are crosslinguistically stable, systematic
rules of morphology, which are in direct competition with rules of syntactic
or semantic transparency. Concretely, I conclude that there is a morphological rule
that requires the realization of causatives in proximity of the verb root.
The role and systematicity of morphotactics in affix order is highly relevant for
linguistic theory: if seemingly arbitrary rules influence affix order without any restriction,
it is impossible to build restrictive theories. Thus, uncovering the crosslinguistic
patterns of morphological rules help to build empirically adequate, restrictive theories
about affix order.
Furthermore, I demonstrate that the interaction of affix order with phonology suggests
a cyclic model of the morpho-phonology interface. More specifically, I assume
that phonology has temporarily limited access to morphological structure, thus deriving
well-attested cases of phonologically conditioned affix order. To model the
competition between rules of morphology on the one hand and rules of syntax and
semantics on the other hand, I suggest a concrete mechanism that translates the underlying
semantic composition into a restricted set of constraints. Consequently, the
simultaneous interaction between these constraints implementing transparency requirements
and morphotactic constraints derives the variety of transparency patterns
found in combinations of valency markers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:79968 |
| Date | 18 July 2022 |
| Creators | Popp, Marie-Luise |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/updatedVersion, doc-type:doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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