20.1964, Diss: Historical Ling/Ling Theories/Morphology/Typology: Gardani: ...

[LINGUIST Network]

LINGUIST List: Vol-20-1964. Sat May 23 2009. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 20.1964, Diss: Historical Ling/Ling Theories/Morphology/Typology: Gardani: ...

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>
 
Reviews: Randall Eggert, U of Utah  
       <reviews at linguistlist.org> 

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, 
and donations from subscribers and publishers.

Editor for this issue: Nick Prokup <nick at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.html.

===========================Directory==============================  

1)
Date: 22-May-2009
From: Francesco Gardani < francesco.gardani at wu.ac.at >
Subject: Dynamics of Morphological Productivity: A synchronic analysis and diachronic explanation of the productivity of nominal inflection classes from archaic latin to old italian in terms of natural morphology
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 08:29:58
From: Francesco Gardani [francesco.gardani at wu.ac.at]
Subject: Dynamics of Morphological Productivity: A synchronic analysis and diachronic explanation of the productivity of nominal inflection classes from archaic latin to old italian in terms of natural morphology

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=20-1964.html&submissionid=218350&topicid=14&msgnumber=1
  


Institution: Vienna University 
Program: Department of Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2009 

Author: Francesco Gardani

Dissertation Title: Dynamics of Morphological Productivity: A synchronic
analysis and diachronic explanation of the productivity of
nominal inflection classes from archaic latin to old
italian in terms of natural morphology 

Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics
                     Linguistic Theories
                     Morphology
                     Typology


Dissertation Director(s):
Michele Loporcaro
Wolfgang U. Dressler

Dissertation Abstract:

The present dissertation is a theoretical synchronic and diachronic study
on inflectional productivity with empirical work on language data from
Latin throughout its history and from Old Italian. Given the central role
of productivity for morphological theory, a wealth of discussions has been
conducted on the topic within the most different frameworks. Yet,
productivity still remains one of the most controversial issues in current
linguistic trends. Particularly, very little of work has been done in the
literature on productivity of inflectional classes and rules from a
diachronic perspective. The theoretical framework of the present thesis is
the model of inflection morphology of Natural Morphology as developed by
Dressler. This approach represents a new theoretical, empirical and
methodological account of tracing changes in inflectional diachronic
productivity. Within this model productivity is assumed to be a
constitutive primitive property of inflectional patterns and assigned to
the level of grammatical competence, thus distinguished from type and token
frequency. Furthermore morphological productivity is viewed as gradual. In
order to measure the degrees of productivity of the nominal inflection of
Latin and Old Italian, a hierarchical scale of criteria, originally
proposed by Dressler and now presented in a thoroughly modified outline, is
applied. The present work establishes an innovative theoretical basis for
viewing productivity from an evolutionary and typological perspective which
can be operationalised through the measurement of productivity over time in
historical corpora. The thesis overcomes a striking gap in linguistic
research by exploring diachronic changes in inflectional productivity and
detecting the role of typological shift in the process of increase and
decrease of morphological productivity in inflection systems. 




-----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-20-1964