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Morphology
Class 8
Inflection
FS 2015
Rik van Gijn
Contexts I: Inflection
Goal of this class
Learn about
√ Criteria to distinguish inflection from derivation
√ Types of inflection
√ Another typological parameter: locus of marking
Contexts I: Inflection
Ideal picture
Derivation
Inflection
Provides new
lexemes
Provides forms
of lexemes
Lexicon
Syntax
Contexts I: Inflection
More realistic picture?
Derivation
Inflection
Provides new
lexemes
Provides forms
of lexemes
Lexicon
Syntax
Contexts I: Inflection
Types of words
Grammatical
word
Lexical integrity
Phonological
word
Domain
phonological and
prosodic rules
Lexeme
Distinction
derivation and
inflection
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Nature of meaning
Change of category
Regularity of meaning
Productivity
Position in the template
Obligatoriness
Relevance to syntax
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
1. Nature of meaning
-
Inflectional feature values
+
Derivational meanings
Semantic content
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
1. Nature of meaning
Inflectional features and their values
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
1. Nature of meaning
Inflectional features and their values
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
Honorifics
Comparative
Voice
Polarity
Dependent verb forms
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
1. Nature of meaning
Derivational meanings
Diverse group.
Some meanings are common cross-linguistically (e.g. agent noun,
quality noun) but some are highly specific.
Big Nambas
dui
navanel
‘man’
‘road’
French
pomme
poire
‘apple’ pomm-ier
‘pear’ poir-ier
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
dui-et
navanel-et
‘sacred man’
‘sacred road’
‘apple tree’
‘pear tree’
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
1. Nature of meaning
The criterion of meaning is a useful starting point, but as a decisive
criterion, it has at least the following problems
1. It is rather difficult to decide on a cut-off point of semantic content
in an objective way
2. For some languages it makes sense to call, say, voice morphology
derivational; for other languages it may be more useful to call voice
morphology inflectional  see also number
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
2. Change of category
One characteristic that one often encounters in derivational affixes, is that they
change the lexical class category of the base they attach to. Inflectional affixes
do not do this.
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
2. Change of category
Some common derivational meanings
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
2. Change of category
However, derivation does not necessarily lead to other lexical classes.
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
2. Change of category
But: What is a category?
Bauer:
If we define category at the coarse level of noun, verb, adjective, then the
criterion isolates some derivational affixes but fails to distinguish between the
other derivational affixes and inflectional ones. If we work with an extremely
delicate notion of category, it is not clear that the criterion will work at all.
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
3. Regularity of meaning
The interpretation of inflectional markers is regular, that of derivational markers
often is not
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
3. Regularity of meaning
The interpretation of inflectional markers is regular, that of derivational markers
often is not
- Derivational markers with regular meaning, especially very productive ones,
like -er and -able
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
3. Regularity of meaning
The interpretation of inflectional markers is regular, that of derivational markers
often is not
- How do we determine meaning?
Bauer (96):
beaver-ette
flannel-ette
maison-ette
kitchen-ette
suffrag-ette
usher-ette
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
3. Regularity of meaning
The interpretation of inflectional markers is regular, that of derivational markers
often is not
- How do we determine meaning?
Three meanings
Bauer (96):
beaver-ette
flannel-ette
maison-ette
kitchen-ette
suffrag-ette
usher-ette
i. small (as in kitchenette, maisonette),
ii. female (as in suffragette, usherette) and
iii. mock material (as in beaverette, flannelette).
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
3. Regularity of meaning
The interpretation of inflectional markers is regular, that of derivational markers
often is not
- How do we determine meaning?
Three meanings
Bauer (96):
beaver-ette
flannel-ette
maison-ette
kitchen-ette
suffrag-ette
usher-ette
i. small (as in kitchenette, maisonette),
ii. female (as in suffragette, usherette) and
iii. mock material (as in beaverette, flannelette).
One meaning
Diminutive = 'small in size' but can, in our society, imply one of two things:
i. delicacy (as with women) or
ii. inferior quality (as with the materials and - possibly - with the women).
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
Inflection is productive, derivation is semi-productive
What is productivity?
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
What is productivity? (Lieber 2009)
warm
true
warmth
truth
modern modernity
pure
purity
happy
dark
happiness
darkness
-th attaches to adjectives, and creates nouns. For
a base meaning ‘X’, the derived noun means ‘the
state of being X’.
-ity attaches to adjectives, and creates nouns. For
a base meaning ‘X’, the derived noun means ‘the
state of being X’.
-ness attaches to adjectives, and creates nouns.
For a base meaning ‘X’, the derived noun means
‘the state of being X’.
Contexts I: Inflection
Exercise 1
lovely
cool
crude
evil
googleable
rustic
musty
inconsequential
feline
toxic
bovine
How would you form a noun from these adjectives
meaning ‘the state of being X’ (where X refers to
the quality expressed in the adjective) choosing
between one of the suffixes -th, -ness, and -ity.
Did you use one of the three far more or far less
often than the other(s)? Can you come up with an
explanation as to why that is?
(Source: Lieber 2009)
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
What is productivity?
A morphological pattern or rule is productive if it can be applied to
new bases to create new words
-
Productivity is a relative notion
Productivity is a synchronic notion
Productivity ≠ Frequency
Productivity ≠ Analyzability
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
What is productivity?
A morphological pattern or rule is productive if it can be applied to
new bases to create new words
-
Productivity is a relative notion
Productivity is a synchronic notion
Productivity ≠ Frequency
Productivity ≠ Analyzability
Comparative % of first citations of -dom per Century (Lieber 2009)
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
Factors contributing to productivity
segmentability
compositionality
the (cultural-historical)
needs of a society
restrictions on base
- categorial
- other
Lieber 2009: 61
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
Factors contributing to productivity
segmentability
compositionality
the (cultural-historical)
needs of a society
restrictions on base
- categorial
- other
Lieber 2009: 61
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
Examples of restrictions
Phonological restrictions
Semantic restrictions
Etymological restrictions
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
e.g. * Bäum-in is nonsensical
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
Inflection is productive, derivation is semi-productive
- Some derivational affixes (like -able) are very productive
- Some inflectional affixes are not fully productive (e.g. deponent verbs see for instance modal verbs in English which do not take -s or -ing)
- But base definition is generally simpler (i.e. in terms of categorial
restrictions) for inflection than for derivation
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
4. Productivity
Inflection is productive, derivation is semi-productive
- Some derivational affixes (like -able) are very productive
- Some inflectional affixes are not fully productive (e.g. deponent verbs see for instance modal verbs in English which do not take -s or -ing)
- But base definition is generally simpler (i.e. in terms of categorial
restrictions) for inflection than for derivation
The definition of the base is more likely to be just
categorial for inflection than for derivation; derivation
is more likely to require further specification.
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
5. Position in template
derivation is closer to the root than inflection
1. Statistical tendency not criterial (one needs an apriori decision about
what is derivational and inflectional)
2. Counterexamples:
interest·ed·ly
exaggerate·d·ly
report·ed·ly
accord ·ing·ly
lov·ing·ness
bound ·ed ·ness
for·giv·ing·ness
startl-ing·ness
Bauer 2003
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
6. Monomorphemic replacability
Derivational constructions can be replaced by monomorphemic forms inflected
forms can’t
Patriot-ism is good for a nation
Oil is good for a nation
Lee always arrives at noon
*Lee always come at noon
Bauer 2003
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
6. Monomorphemic replacability
Derivational constructions can be replaced by monomorphemic forms inflected
forms can’t
Relates to obligatoriness
Inflectional features are obligatorily expressed on all applicable word-forms.
Derivational meanings are not obligatorily expressed
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
6. Monomorphemic replacability
Derivational constructions can be replaced by monomorphemic forms inflected
forms can’t
- Fails in inflectional languages
- Optionality of inflection (e.g. optional case marking)
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
7. Relevance to syntax
Inflection is relevant to syntax, derivation is not.
Government: the situation where a word (typically a verb or adposition)
requires another word to have a particular inflectional value.
Agreement
Haspelmath & Sims 2010
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
7. Relevance to syntax
Inflection is relevant to syntax, derivation is not.
Agreement: Some systematic covariation between a semantic or formal
property of one element and a formal property of another. Steele (1978: 610).
Corbett 2008:5
domain
controller
target
the system
works
feature: number
value: singular
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
7. Relevance to syntax
Inflection is relevant to syntax, derivation is not.
Agreement: Some systematic covariation between a semantic or formal
property of one element and a formal property of another. Steele (1978:610).
Contexts I: Inflection
Criteria for the distinction between derivation and inflection
7. Relevance to syntax
Inflection is relevant to syntax, derivation is not.
What about tense, aspect, mood, etc.?
Consecutio temporum (predetermination)
I want to buy a car
He said that he wanted to buy a car
Contexts I: Inflection
Exercise 2
3. One might ask whether the English deadjectival adverb-forming pattern (nice >>
nicely) is inflectional or derivational. Apply the criteria discussed in class (repeated
below) and try to form an opinion on this question.
Source: Haspelmath & Sims 2010
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Nature of meaning
Change of category
Regularity of meaning
Productivity
Position in the template
Obligatoriness
Relevance to syntax
Contexts I: Inflection
Inflection versus derivation: two opposed views and a compromise
The distinction between inflection and derivation is sharp
The distinction between inflection and derivation is gradient
Contexts I: Inflection
Inflection versus derivation: two opposed views and a compromise
The distinction between inflection and derivation is sharp
Proponents of a dichotomy approach to the distinction between derivation and
inflection usually emphasize relevance to syntax as the all-important criterion,
and often also obligatoriness and generalized application.
These scholars are usually proponents of the split-morphology view, in which
derivation and compounding takes place in the lexicon, and inflection only after
syntax.
Derivation & compounding
Syntax
Inflection
The distinction between inflection and derivation is gradient
Contexts I: Inflection
Inflection versus derivation: two opposed views and a compromise
The distinction between inflection and derivation is sharp
inflection
derivation
Grammatical meaning
+
+
+
+
+
-
-
Does not change lexical category
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
Regular meaning
+
+
-
+
-
-
-
Productive
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
Outmost template position
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
Obligatory
+
-
+
+
+
+
-
Relevant to syntax
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
Gradience proponents say that, like with so many linguistic phenomena there
is a prototypical or canonical notion of both derivation and inflection, and
accept that they fade into each other in the middle.
The distinction between inflection and derivation is gradient
Contexts I: Inflection
Inflection versus derivation: two opposed views and a compromise
The distinction between inflection and derivation is sharp
Inherent versus contextual inflection
Inherent inflection: inflection that is relevant to the syntax, but which conveys
some independent information as well (e.g. tense, aspect, number on nouns,
some peripheral case markers)
Contextual inflection: required by the syntactic context (government and
agreement)
The distinction between inflection and derivation is gradient
Contexts I: Inflection
Another typological parameter for contextual inflection
Locus of marking
Syntactic head
- Contains the crucial semantic information: it determines the meaning
and class of the entire constituent
-Has the same distribution as the entire constituent
-Can normally not be left out
-Selects dependents
Contexts I: Inflection
Another typological parameter for contextual inflection
Locus of marking
Head
Dependent
adposition
object NP
verb
arguments
Possessed NP
Possessor NP
Noun
Adjective
The question to answer for Locus of Marking is: if there is any
morphological marking (contextual inflection) indicating the relation
between head and dependent (case, agreement), where does it appear?
Contexts I: Inflection
Another typological parameter for contextual inflection
Locus of marking: where does contextual information appear?
head-marking: on the head
dependent-marking: on the
dependent
double marking: on both
no marking: there is no
contextual inflection for the
relation on head or
dependent
Contexts I: Inflection
Exercise 3
Indicate for the relation between verb and subject (and between verb and
object if relevant) what the locus of marking pattern is
Tzutujil (Guatemala)
nuuyon
x-ø-in-b’an
I.alone
TENSE-3SG-1SG-make
‘I alone built the house.’
Eastern Pomo (California)
bu:ráqal-là:
mí:p-al
bear-SUBJ
3s-OBJ
‘A bear killed him.’
ša:k’-a
kill-INDIC
ja
the
jaay
house
Contexts I: Inflection
Exercise 3
Indicate for the relation between verb and subject (and between verb and
object if relevant) what the locus of marking pattern is
Yup’ik (Alaska)
qikmigh-ma
negh-aa
dog-ERG.1S
eat-IND3S-3S
‘My dog ate the fish.’
Eastern Kayah (Thailand, Burma)
?a
chu
?a
thwi
3S
stab
3S
hond
‘He stabbed his (own) dog.’
kayu-ø
fish-ABS
Contexts I: Inflection
Recapitulation
Learn about
√ Criteria to distinguish inflection from derivation
√ Types of inflection
√ Another typological parameter: locus of marking