Morphosemantic Number:: From Kiowa Noun Classes to UG Number Features / Edition 1

by Daniel Harbour

Overview

Number is a major research domain in semantics, syntax and morphology. However, no current theory of number is applicable to all three fields. In this work, the author argues that a unified theory is not only possible, but necessary for the study of Universal Grammar. Through insightful analysis of unfamiliar data, the author shows that one and the same feature set is implicated in semantic and morphological number phenomena alike, with syntax acting as the conduit between the two. At the heart of the study is an original treatment of Kiowa, a North American language with a remarkable constellation of characteristics, including semantically based noun classification and complex agreement morphology.

This volume presents: (1) the foundations of a unified morphosemantic theory of number; (2) insight into the flow of information from the lexicon, via syntax, into the morphology; (3) wide-ranging topics: nominal semantics, noun classes, DP syntax, agreement, suppletion, complex morphology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402050398
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	05/04/2008
Series:	Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory , #69
Edition description:	2008
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.02(d)

Table of Contents

Framework.- Kiowa's Noun Classes.- Number Features.- Agreement And Suppletion.- The Agreement Prefix.- Conclusions and Consequences.