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References

Luo: from Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

2008-03-29T04:11:33Z

from Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics

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In morphology, '''bracketing paradox''' is a situation in which the morphological structure of a word which one would like to propose for semantic reasons does not correspond to the structure one would like to propose for phonological reasons.

===Examples===
A well-known case of a bracketing paradox independent of level-ordering (see [[Level Ordering Hypothesis]]) involves the English comparative [[suffix]] ''-er'' and the negative [[prefix]] ''un-''. In this case the phonological argumentation derives from a well-known restriction on the attachment of ''-er''. This [[suffix]] is [[subject]] to the following constraint: it may attach to monosyllabic [[adjective]]s, and a small class of bisyllabic ones with a light final syllable, while it may not attach to adjectives with two or more heavy syllables. Compare the words

blacker, softer, poorer, nicer
happier, luckier, heavier
*directer, *complexer, *eloquenter, *importanter

Apparent counterexamples involve the [[prefix]] ''un-'', since ''unhappier'', ''unluckier'' etc. are well-formed. In level-ordering theories, the solution to this problem is almost trivial: assume that ''-er'' suffixation takes place at an earlier level than ''un-'' prefixation. In that case ''-er'' is added to, for instance, ''happy'', and ''un-'' to ''happier'', and the phonological condition on ''-er'' suffixation is not violated. Hence, the phonologically motivated morphological structure of unhappier is ''[un [happy-er]<sub>A</sub>]<sub>A</sub>''. However, this structure raises a problem of interpretation. The meaning of the word ''unhappier'' can be paraphrased as 'more not happy', i.e. with more having scope over ''un-'', and crucially not as 'not more happy' with reversed [[scope]]. Hence the semantically motivated structure is ''[[un happy] er]''.

===Comments===
A situation in which morphophonological structure and semantic structure are not isomorphic. The existence of bracketing paradoxes is closely associated with level-ordering theories such as Pesetsky's (1979) and Kiparsky's (1982) theories of [[Lexical Morphology]]/Phonology. These theories propose morphological structures on the basis of level-ordering which are sometimes in conflict with the semantic structure.

All bracketing paradoxes take the form: [ [[prefix]] [ [[root]]+[[suffix]]]] <-> [[[[prefix]]+[[root]]] [[suffix]]].

===Synonym===
[[relatedness paradox]]

===Link===
[http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Bracketing+paradox&lemmacode=848 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]

===References===
*Halle, M. & Vergnaud , J.-R. 1987.
*Hoeksema J. 1985.
*Hoeksema, J. 1987.
*Kiparsky, P. 1982.
*Kiparsky, P. 1983.
*Pesetsky, D. 1979.
*Pesetsky, D. 1985.
*Sproat, R. 1985.
*Sproat, R. 1988.
*Williams, E. 1981.

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[[Category:Syntax]]

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 ===References===
-*Halle, M. & Vergnaud , J.-R. 1987.
+*Halle, M. & Vergnaud , J.-R. 1987. ''An Essay on Stress.'' Cambridge: MIT-Press.
-*Hoeksema J. 1985.
+*Hoeksema J. 1985. Categorial Morphology. PhD. diss. Groningen University.
-*Hoeksema, J. 1987.
+*Hoeksema, J. 1987. Relating Word Structure and Logical Form. ''Linguistic Inquiry'' 18, 119-126.
-*Kiparsky, P. 1982.
+*Kiparsky, P. 1982. From Cyclic Phonology to Lexical Phonology. In ''The Structure of Phonological Representations (I).'' van der Hulst, H. & Smith, N. (eds.), 131-175.
-*Kiparsky, P. 1983.
+*Kiparsky, P. 1983. Word formation and the lexicon. In ''Proceedings of the 1982 Mid-America Linguistics Conference.'' Ingemann, F. (ed.), 3-32. University of Kansas.
-*Pesetsky, D. 1979.
+*Pesetsky, D. 1979. ''Russian Morphology and Lexical Theory.'' ms. MIT.
-*Pesetsky, D. 1985.
+*Pesetsky, D. 1985. Morphology and Logical Form. ''Linguistic Inquiry 16'', 193-246.
-*Sproat, R. 1985.
+*Sproat, R. 1985. On Deriving the Lexicon. PhD diss. MIT.
-*Sproat, R. 1988.
+*Sproat, R. 1988. Bracketing Paradoxes, Cliticization, and Other Topics. In ''Morphology and Modularity.'' Everaert, M. et al. Dordrecht, Foris.
-*Williams, E. 1981.
+*Williams, E. 1981. On the notions 'Lexically Related' and 'Head of a Word'. ''Linguistic Inquiry 12'', 245-274.
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 [[Category:Syntax]]

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Luo: from Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics