Difference between revisions of "Inflection"
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| − | '''Inflection''' is a one of the main types of morphological operations by which an affix is added to a word. An inflectional affix adds a particular grammatical function to a word without changing the category of that word, or even leading to a different word. We may say that inflected forms are just variants of one and the same word. | + | '''Inflection''' is a one of the main types of morphological operations by which an [[affix]] is added to a word. An inflectional affix adds a particular grammatical function to a word without changing the category of that word, or even leading to a different word. We may say that inflected forms are just variants of one and the same word. |
| − | === | + | ===Term proprties=== |
| + | The relational adjective is ''inflectional''. An altrnative spelling (confined to British English and increasingly outdated) is ''inflexion''. | ||
| − | + | === Examples === | |
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| + | [[Count noun]]s in English can be pluralized by adding the inflectional ending -''s'' (''dog-dogs'', ''noun-nouns''). The plural forms ''dogs'' and ''nouns'' are variants of the base nouns ''dog'' and ''noun''. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Comments=== | ||
| + | Traditionally inflection is distinguished from [[derivation]] (the second type of major morphological operation). Although it is not possible to draw a sharp boundary between both types of operation, there are at least two differences: (i) inflection is never category-changing, while derivation typically is category changing, and (ii) inflection is usually peripheral to derivation. Some linguists (e.g. Aronoff (1976), Anderson (1982), Perlmutter (1988)) assume that inflection and derivation belong to different components of the grammar. This view is not uncontroversial though, since others (e.g. Halle (1973), Kiparsky (1982)) assume that inflection and derivation are reflexes of one and the same operation, namely affixation. | ||
=== Link === | === Link === | ||
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* Kiparsky, P. 1982. ''From Cyclic Phonology to Lexical Phonology,'' in: Hulst, H. van der and N. Smith (eds.) The Structure of Phonological Representations (I), pp.131-175 | * Kiparsky, P. 1982. ''From Cyclic Phonology to Lexical Phonology,'' in: Hulst, H. van der and N. Smith (eds.) The Structure of Phonological Representations (I), pp.131-175 | ||
* Perlmutter, D. 1988. ''The Split-morphology Hypothesis: evidence from Yiddish,'' in: Hammond, M. and M. Noonan (eds.) Theoretical Morphology: Approaches in Modern Linguistics, Orlando, Academic Press. | * Perlmutter, D. 1988. ''The Split-morphology Hypothesis: evidence from Yiddish,'' in: Hammond, M. and M. Noonan (eds.) Theoretical Morphology: Approaches in Modern Linguistics, Orlando, Academic Press. | ||
| − | * Pollock, J.-Y. 1989. ''Verb movement, Universal Grammar, and the structure of IP,'' Linguistic Inquiry 20, pp.365-424 | + | * Pollock, J.-Y. 1989. ''Verb movement, Universal Grammar, and the structure of IP,'' Linguistic Inquiry 20, pp.365-424. |
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| − | + | ===Other languages=== | |
| + | German [[Flexion]] | ||
{{dc}} | {{dc}} | ||
[[Category:Morphology]] | [[Category:Morphology]] | ||
Revision as of 22:20, 15 February 2009
Inflection is a one of the main types of morphological operations by which an affix is added to a word. An inflectional affix adds a particular grammatical function to a word without changing the category of that word, or even leading to a different word. We may say that inflected forms are just variants of one and the same word.
Term proprties
The relational adjective is inflectional. An altrnative spelling (confined to British English and increasingly outdated) is inflexion.
Examples
Count nouns in English can be pluralized by adding the inflectional ending -s (dog-dogs, noun-nouns). The plural forms dogs and nouns are variants of the base nouns dog and noun.
Comments
Traditionally inflection is distinguished from derivation (the second type of major morphological operation). Although it is not possible to draw a sharp boundary between both types of operation, there are at least two differences: (i) inflection is never category-changing, while derivation typically is category changing, and (ii) inflection is usually peripheral to derivation. Some linguists (e.g. Aronoff (1976), Anderson (1982), Perlmutter (1988)) assume that inflection and derivation belong to different components of the grammar. This view is not uncontroversial though, since others (e.g. Halle (1973), Kiparsky (1982)) assume that inflection and derivation are reflexes of one and the same operation, namely affixation.
Link
Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics
References
- Anderson, S.R. 1982. Where's Morphology?, Linguistic Inquiry 13, pp. 571-612, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
- Aronoff, M. 1976. Word Formation in Generative Grammar, MIT-press, Cambridge, Mass.
- Chomsky, N. 1993. A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory, MIT occasional papers in linguistics, 1-67. Reprinted in: Chomsky (1995).
- Chomsky, N. 1955. The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory, University of Chicago Press, Chicago(1975).
- Halle, M. 1973. Prolegomena to a Theory of Word-Formation, Linguistic Inquiry 4, pp. 451-464
- Kiparsky, P. 1982. From Cyclic Phonology to Lexical Phonology, in: Hulst, H. van der and N. Smith (eds.) The Structure of Phonological Representations (I), pp.131-175
- Perlmutter, D. 1988. The Split-morphology Hypothesis: evidence from Yiddish, in: Hammond, M. and M. Noonan (eds.) Theoretical Morphology: Approaches in Modern Linguistics, Orlando, Academic Press.
- Pollock, J.-Y. 1989. Verb movement, Universal Grammar, and the structure of IP, Linguistic Inquiry 20, pp.365-424.
Other languages
German Flexion
