16.2337, Review: Morphology/Textbooks: Booij (2005)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-2337. Sat Aug 06 2005. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 16.2337, Review: Morphology/Textbooks: Booij (2005)

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1)
Date: 05-Aug-2005
From: Alexandra Galani < ag153 at york.ac.uk >
Subject: The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Sat, 06 Aug 2005 04:56:45
From: Alexandra Galani < ag153 at york.ac.uk >
Subject: The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology 
 

AUTHOR: Booij, Geert
TITLE: The Grammar of Words 
SUBTITLE: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology 
SERIES: Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press 
YEAR: 2005
Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-1342.html


Alexandra Galani, Department of Language and Linguistic Science, 
University of York.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK 

This textbook is an introduction to morphology. It is a guide of the 
morphological concepts to unfamiliar students. The book, nevertheless, 
further examines a variety of theoretical issues and introduces the 
fundamental methods of morphological analysis. Specifically, it is divided 
in to five main sections covering not only a great range of purely 
morphological phenomena (e.g. derivation, compounding, inflection) but 
also the interfaces between morphology and phonology, morphology and 
syntax as well as morphology and semantics. Additionally, it discusses the 
role of morphology in psycholinguistics and language change. A overall 
structure of the book followed throughout the chapters, is the following: 
most of the issues which are discussed and the points which are made, are 
exemplified in a clear and coherent way in the majority of the work. Each 
chapter concludes with a summary of the main points raised, and is 
followed by a set of ten questions/exercises and finally references for 
further reading. Complete lists of typographic conventions (p. viii), 
abbreviations and symbols (p. xi), figures (p. xii) and tables (p. xiii), 
references (pp.290-302), language (p.303) and subject (pp.304-308) indexes 
are also available.   Section I: What is Linguistic Morphology? (pp. 1-48) 
The first section presents an overview of what morphology is all about and 
introduces the fundamental morphological concepts and processes.

Chapter 1: Morphology: basic notions (pp. 3-26) The first chapter opens 
with a presentation of the concepts surrounding morphology, such as 
morphology, inflection, derivation and compounding. The author then moves 
on to discussing paradigmatic and syntagmatic morphology, offering 
definitions such as simplex/complex/polymorphemic words, morphemes and 
morpheme versus lexeme-based morphology. Students are further introduced 
to the functions of morphology (labelling, recategorisation, 
coreferentiality) before engaging in to the relation that holds between 
morphology and the lexicon: lexicalisation, borrowing, univerbation, word 
creation and lexical integrity are some of the aspects discussed. The 
chapter concludes with a short reference to the goals of morphology. As 
for the ten exercises, the students are invited to identify suffixes and 
stems in a given set of data, discuss cases of blending and bacronyms as 
well as give the morphological structure of words, amongst others.

Chapter 2: Morphological analysis (pp. 27-48) The second chapter focuses 
on the atoms of words, morphological operations and aspects of typology. 
The definitions of stems, zero endings, affixes, cranberry morphemes, 
allomorphy, suppletion, underlying forms, obstruents, reduplication, 
category-changing, internal modification, transposition, polysynthetic 
versus agglutinative languages, morphological, implicational and 
markedness universals are some of the phenomena which are discussed and 
exemplified in the present chapter. The exercises mainly shed light on the 
identification of morphemes and the formulation of morphological rules 
that account for the formation of the sets of data given by the author.

Section II: Word-Formation (pp. 49-96) The second section of the book is 
devoted to word-formation as seen in derivational and compounding 
processes.

Chapter 3: Derivation (pp. 51-74) Chapter 3 sets off with a reference to 
category-determining processes, such as nominalisations and 
verbalisations. Williams' (1981) Right-hand Head Rule and the Non-
Redundancy Constraint (Ackerman and Goldberg 1996) are explored here 
alongside inheritance tree and constraints on derivation (e.g. prosodic, 
stratal, based-driven). Issues of productivity and affix ordering are 
discussed briefly in the two final sections of the chapter. Students are 
asked to discuss whether sets of data impose problems for a percolation 
account, for instance, what determines selection of allomorphs and whether 
certain morphological patterns can find an explanation along the lines of 
iconicity.  

Chapter 4: Compounding (pp. 75-96) Compounding is the topic 
of chapter four. Types of compounds, the distinction between compounds and 
phrasal expressions, the differences between compounds and derived words, 
interfixes and stem allomorphy as well as synthetic compounds and noun 
incorporation are examined. The exercises aim to test the students' 
understanding on giving the morphological structure of compounds, 
formulating the restrictions imposed on possible combinations of 
categories with English compounds, stating the processes which are 
involved in the formation of compounds and identifying compound types.

Section III: Inflection (pp. 97-228) In section three, attention is paid 
on issues surrounding inflectional morphology, ranging from the 
morphosyntactic categories represented in nominal and verbal inflection to 
the ways inflectional phenomena are accounted for theoretically.

Chapter 5: Inflection (pp. 99-124) The first chapter of this section 
examines the sets of morphosyntactic features forms may be inflected for 
which also allows the author to introduce the properties of forms, such as 
infinitives and gerunds, to students. The roles of inflection in the 
construction of sentences are further explored in detail. Here, Booij 
explains the differences between contextual and inherent, weak and strong 
inflection. The criteria for distinguishing inflection from derivation are 
presented in the third section of the present chapter. The discussion 
turns to be theoretically driven from this point onwards, as the author 
explores the formal representation of inflectional processes and the 
component of grammar where inflectional rules apply. The relevant 
discussion reveals the different theoretical models which have been 
formulated in the literature from the Item-and-Arrangement, to the Item-
and-Process, realisation morphology and Distributed Morphology. The 
universal ordering of morphemes finally concludes the chapter. Reference 
is made to Bybee's (1985) work and the models of split morphology and 
strong lexicalism. The exercises invite students to explore and explain 
inflectional patterns in data drawn from English, German, French, Dutch, 
Finnish and Russian.

Chapter 6: Inflectional systems (pp. 125-150) Gender, number and case in 
nominal systems open chapter six, something which gives rise to the 
discussion of the Animacy Hierarchy (Corbett 2000), rules of referral, 
inflectional homonymy and concord. The Tense-Mood-Aspect system (TMA) is 
presented in detail and further discussed in relation to Bybee's (1985) 
typological work. The chapter is rounded off with an equally extensive 
reference to autonomous morphology. The exercises focus on identifying 
stem forms and further explaining inflectional patterns mainly in relation 
to agreement, temporal and aspectual features.

Section IV: Interfaces (pp. 151-228) The nature of the discussion in the 
remaining of the book shifts to a more theoretical level. The interfaces 
of morphology with phonology, syntax and semantics are explored in the 
fourth section.

Chapter 7: The interface between morphology and phonology (pp. 153-184) 
This chapter reveals how morphology may influence the phonological form of 
a complex word. Optimality Theory, paradigmatically governed allomorphy, 
morpholexical and morphologically conditioned phonological rules, 
cyclicity and co-phonologies, autosegmental and prosodic morphology are 
the central points of attention.

Chapter 8: Morphology and syntax: demarcation and interaction (pp. 185-
206) Aspects around the relation between words and phrases, grammatical 
functions and case marking, syntactic valency, periphrasis and 
constructional idioms give rise to the discussion in chapter eight which 
includes reference to particle verbs, anaphora, Predicate Argument 
Structure (PAS), linking rules, passivisation, thematic roles and serial 
verbs. The exercises accompanying the present chapter invite students to 
explain syntactic valency and explain case marking mainly in passive 
contexts.

Chapter 9: Morphology and semantics (pp. 207-228) The Compositionality 
Principle, the differences between meaning and interpretation, 
conceptualisation rules and bracketing paradoxes surround the discussion 
around the semantic interpretation of morphological structure. The 
investigation of syntactic valency of complex words determined by semantic 
properties further advances the phenomena covered here before the chapter 
concludes with a fairly extensive reference to the domain of polysemy.

Section V: Morphology and Mind (pp. 229-278) The final section of the book 
is concerned with the relation that holds between morphology and the 
organisation of the human mind as well as with what diachronic changes 
have to tell us about a system, how a language changes and how it is 
learnt.

Chapter 10: Morphology and sociolinguistics (pp. 231-254) This chapter 
explains the ways morphological structures and rules are represented in 
the human brain. Emphasis is placed not only on the properties of the 
mental lexicon but also on the acquisition of morphology and, of course, 
on the variety of the models of morphological knowledge. A brief reference 
to sources of evidence on how morphological information is represented in 
the mind as well as the ways according to which morphological information 
is stored, is made in a comprehensive way.

Chapter 11: Morphology and language change (pp. 255-278) The final chapter 
of the book examines the relation of morphology with respect to language 
change. It pays attention to the nature of language change by making 
reference to lexical innovation, internal change, language contact, pidgin 
and creole languages. The author refers to historic sources of morphology 
to discuss desyntactisation, dephonologisation, paradigmatic and 
bidirectional lebelling. Booij further illustrates what sort of changes 
may occur in morphological rules as well as how changes may affect the 
word structure in languages.

EVALUATION 

As a whole, the book is well-organised and -written, coherent and clear. 
The author covers a great range of morphological concepts, patterns and 
issues which are briefly but nonetheless, concisely explained and well-
exemplified in the vast majority. Evidence is brought forward from a 
number of languages and language families, although emphasis is placed on 
the Germanic ones. Coherent definitions of morphological terms are 
frequently offered. The chapters are generally well-organised and equally 
presented in length, although particular attention is paid on chapter 6 
(on the inflectional systems). Cross-references are also well managed. The 
conclusive notes of each chapter provide a useful and clear summary of the 
most fundamental points which have been raised. Furthermore, the 
discussion in each chapter follows from the one immediately preceding it. 
The references on further reading are not only appropriate but also 
necessary.

The most important aspect of this book's value and strength is the fact 
that it presents a nicely outlined way of "how to do morphological 
analysis theoretically". A representative example is given on pages 172-
175, when the author discusses the selection of the suffixes -er and -aar 
in Dutch. Once the facts have been presented, he briefly refers to a 
theoretical principle before he engages in a possible analysis. Reference 
is made to previous accounts and he further points out the advantages and 
disadvantages of the alternative approach. Generally and even from the 
first section in the first chapter of the book, Booij incorporates the 
discussion around the fundamental morphological concepts within a wider 
theoretical perspective. The exercises force students to approach the data 
critically and explain it along the lines of principles previously 
discussed in the chapter, instead of simply describing morphological 
patterns.

Nonetheless, the incorporation even of the basic concepts in to a rather 
elaborated discussion levels up the nature of the book which makes it 
advanced in comparison to other introductory books of morphology in the 
literature, as Haspelmath's (2002) for instance. It renders, on the other 
hand, more similarities with Spencer's (1991). The author, in several 
cases, moves straight to the point of interest and omits giving more 
substantial information in relation to the phenomenon he examines or 
several points require previous knowledge of the linguistic issues under 
examination and specifically those which are concerned with the syntax-
morphology interface. Consequently, what is not clear is the degree of 
knowledge of linguistics the author assumes that the students to which the 
book is addressed might have. Not all students are familiar with the 
particulars of voice or duality and, some explanatory information could 
have been further added to. Along these lines, Booij refers to labelled 
bracketing before explaining the term (page 9). Similarly, he invites 
students to identify the stem forms in the set of data in exercise 5 of 
chapter 1 but stems are not discussed until chapter 2. In some instances, 
information that makes the discussion rather confusing (again, as it takes 
students to a more advanced level than the rest of the book) or could have 
been omitted is offered (for example, the IPA chart).

In a couple of cases, additional examples could have been given to 
illustrate and accompany the phenomena and issues presented. For instance, 
the actual example from Papuan (page 23) could have been offered to make 
the discussion clear and the patterns concrete. Additionally, Booij notes 
that "... there are many more languages that only use suffixes (Turkish is 
an example) than there are languages that only use prefixes". Here, I 
guess a very short reference could have been made to a couple of such 
languages. Such cases are noted in several parts of the book. Their 
incorporation would have stimulated and rouse the students' interest even 
more, as it would have allowed them to make comparisons, engage further 
with the discipline and challenge them theoretically. This would have also 
been along the lines of morphological analysis put forward in the present 
work. When the author refers to principles -let's say the compositionality 
one- the relevant references could have been given briefly.

A couple of final remarks; The author does not mention the importance of 
morpheme-by-morpheme glossing and this is something which is not always 
applied in his examples. Consider the Latin example 2 in chapter 5 
(slightly reformatted):

laud-a-t 
TENSE: PRESENT
ASPECT: IMPERFECTIVE
MOOD: INDICATIVE
NUMBER: SINGULAR
PERSON: 3

A glossary of technical terms could have been added to the extensive 
lists, tables and indexes. Finally, there is a misprint on the heading of 
1.2 section: "Paradigmatic versus syntactic morphology" where it should 
have been "Paradigmatic versus syntagmatic morphology".

The aforementioned points only aim to point out some implementations which 
could have been made. I believe that this book can be used as an 
introductory one to morphology but it is addressed to students with 
previous knowledge of linguistics above the first year of their 
undergraduate degree or postgraduates. Some students may also feel that 
they need to consult a rather less advanced introductory work. 
Nevertheless, the value of the book should not be down-sided by these 
points. It presents a diversity of issues, teaches the students how to 
analyse morphological phenomena, think theoretically and investigate 
morphological patterns not as isolated cases but as closely related to 
syntax, phonology, semantics as well as other disciplines of linguistics.

REFERENCES 

Ackerman, F. and A. Goldberg (1996) Constraints on adjectival past 
participles. In Goldberg (Ed.), Conceptual structure, discourse and 
language, 19-30. Standford: CSLI.

Bybee, J. (1985) Morphology: A study of the relation between meaning and 
form. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Haspelmath, M. (2002) Understanding Morphology, Arnold Publishers.  

Spencer, A. (1991) Morphological Theory: An introduction to word structure 
in Generative Grammar, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Williams, E. (1981) On the notions "Lexically related" and "Head of a 
word", Linguistic Inquiry 12:245-274. 

ABOUT THE REVIEWER 

Alexandra Galani is a member of the Department of Language and Linguistic 
Science at the University of York. She has been working on the 
morphosyntax of tense and aspect in Modern Greek within Distributed 
Morphology. Her main research interests are: word formation, 
syntax/morphology interface, morphology/phonology interface, allomorphy, 
suppletion and the lexicon.





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