Project A-20

Morphological Typology:
Agglutination - Flexion

Project Abstract

We continue to investigate morphological typology, with particular reference to agglutination vs. flexion and the elementary parameters in terms of which these higher-level notions are defined. The overall question we continue to address is, How do languages come to have inflectional systems with the particular properties that they have? Particular attention will be given to

• phonological phrasing and its relation to the creation of bound forms;
• morphological cumulation as a result of fusional phonology;
• the typological significance and diachronic origins of suspended affixation;
• the storage, accessing, and processing of inflectional forms.

The customary methods of typological and historical linguistics will be supplemented by field work (to gain crucial data on the phonology-morphology-syntax interface), computer modelling (to test developmental scenarios), and neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic experiments (to get an angle on the mental representation of morphology of different types).

Publications