The boundary between grammar and lexicon evidence from Japanese verb morphology Brent De Chene, Waseda University

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Chene, Brent E. (Brent Eugene), 1948- author.

Series:

Current issues in linguistic theory 0304-0763 volume 368

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Japanese language--Verb.

Japanese language.

Japanese language--Morphology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam Philadelphia John Benjamins Publishing Company [2025]

Summary:

"All linguists recognize that competence in a natural language involves knowledge of a lexicon or dictionary; most assume that it also involves knowledge of a grammatical system. Just where the boundary between the lexicon and the grammar lies, however, is a question on which there is little consensus. This problem arises in particular with regard to the field of morphology, with many morphologists taking all morpheme combinations to result from the operation of the syntactic computational system and many others assuming that morphological units like stems and words are either lexically listed or created by nonsyntactic means. The present study, using Japanese and Ryukyuan verbal morphology as its primary database, argues that evidence from the both the syntactic and the phonological branches of the grammar converge on the conclusion that, while inflectional morphology is fully syntactic, derivational morphology has properties that militate against a syntactic treatment. The boundary between grammar and lexicon, then, falls at the boundary between inflection and derivation, rendering morphology "split" between syntactic and nonsyntactic subparts. The work should be of interest not only to morphologists, but to all concerned with the distinction between grammatical and lexical competence"-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

The syntactic nature of inflection

An apparent challenge: morphosyntactic and phonological fusion

The nonsyntactic nature of verbal derivation

An apparent challenge: syntactic and lexical causatives

The suffixal alternations of Japanese verbal inflection

Analysis A in Ryukyuan

Explaining the choice of Analysis A

The timing of the adoption of Analysis A

Conclusion: A sharp boundary

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher

Other Format:

Print version De Chene, Brent E. 1948- Boundary between grammar and lexicon

ISBN:

9027246262

9789027246264

OCLC:

1467706628

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license