Diese Hausarbeit befasst sich mit Klitika und ist auf Englisch verfasst. Startpunkt der Betrachtung sind die Englischen Wortformen "we're" und "won't", die kurz analysiert werden. Im Folgenden geht es um Klitika allgemein und deren Eigenschaften. Kernpunkt der Arbeit ist dann die Frage, ob die Annahme einer weiteren Klasse von gebundenen Morphemen (also Klitika) gerechtfertigt ist und ob jede Sprache solche Morpheme hat, die aufgrund ihres Status zwischen unabhängigen Wörtern und klaren Affixen gewisse Probleme aufwerfen. Im Rest der Arbeit wird noch darauf hingewiesen, ob und inwiefern die Betrachtung bei Klitika bei der Analyse der Interfaces zwischen Morphologie und Syntax bzw. Morphologie und Phonologie hilfreich ist und warum Klitika häufig auch post-lexikalische Affixe genannt werden.
Table of Contents
1 Analyze the forms we’re and won’t. Describe the difficulties of morphological analysis.
2 Name and specify the features of clitics.
3 Do you consider the assumption of another class of bound morphemes justified?
4 Comment on the statement by Zwicky (1): "Most languages—very possibly, all except for the most rigidly isolating type—have morphemes that present analytic difficulties because they are neither clearly independent words nor clearly affixes."
5 Explain why clitics can help to illuminate the interface between morphology - phonology and morphology - syntax.
6 Why are clitics also called "post lexical affixes"?
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper examines the linguistic status of clitics, specifically investigating whether they constitute a distinct class of bound morphemes separate from inflectional affixes, and how their behavior informs the interaction between morphology, syntax, and phonology.
- Morphological and phonological analysis of clitic forms like 're and n't.
- Defining the structural and functional features of clitics.
- Evaluating criteria for distinguishing clitics from inflectional affixes.
- Exploring the interface between syntactic structure, prosodic structure, and phonological rules.
- Investigating the "post-lexical" nature of clitic attachment in word formation.
Excerpt from the Book
2 Name and specify the features of clitics.
"As we shall see, the various elements which are called clitics form a heterogeneous bunch . . . " (Halpern 101). And indeed, giving a complete typology of clitics is a difficult task. One such attempt by Aikhenvald (43) lists 15 parameters for specifying clitics. A detailed account of these would surely be beyond the scope of this paper. Consequently, I will list the basic features of clitics and refer to the criteria for distinguishing clitics from inflectional affixes suggested by Zwicky and Pullum (503-5) in task 3, where they will be of great importance.
As mentioned in task 1, clitics form a grammatical word but by themselves they do not constitute a phonological word and are always unstressed. Hence they can neither be pronounced in isolation nor stand alone in a sentence. Instead, they phonologically attach to another word, their host. Together, the host and the clitic are also called the clitic group. As Aikhenvald puts it, "[c]litics occupy an intermediate position between a full-fledged phonological word and an affix . . . " (43) and can attach either to the front of their host, making them a proclitic, or to their end, making them an enclitic.
Also, "the phonological and structural hosts of a clitic may be distinct" (Katamba and Stonham 341). One example of this is the possessive ’s in English, as can be seen in these examples borrowed from Klavans (96-97):
(3) a. the queen of England’s hat
b. the boy who I saw’s mother
c. the boy I talked to’s sister
In the examples, the clitic phonologically attaches to different hosts: a noun, a verb and even a preposition. Even though the syntactic host in each of the examples is the preceding NP (or DP, for those who prefer to use the Determiner Phrase), the possessive ’s phonologically simply attaches to the last word in the phrase.
Summary of Chapters
1 Analyze the forms we’re and won’t. Describe the difficulties of morphological analysis.: This chapter provides an initial analysis of English clitics like 're and n't, highlighting the challenges in classifying them as either independent words or inflectional affixes.
2 Name and specify the features of clitics.: This chapter defines clitics by their phonological dependence on a host and introduces the distinction between proclitics and enclitics.
3 Do you consider the assumption of another class of bound morphemes justified?: This chapter evaluates Zwicky and Pullum's criteria for distinguishing clitics from affixes, ultimately arguing that the "clitic" category remains a useful, albeit complex, theoretical construct.
4 Comment on the statement by Zwicky (1): "Most languages—very possibly, all except for the most rigidly isolating type—have morphemes that present analytic difficulties because they are neither clearly independent words nor clearly affixes.": This chapter explores the historical development of clitics and their universal presence in non-isolating languages as a transitional phase in grammaticalization.
5 Explain why clitics can help to illuminate the interface between morphology - phonology and morphology - syntax.: This chapter demonstrates how clitics provide evidence for the interaction between prosodic structure and syntactic movement, particularly through constraints on reduced auxiliaries.
6 Why are clitics also called "post lexical affixes"?: This chapter examines the timing of clitic attachment in relation to lexical rules, showing that cliticization occurs at the post-lexical level, distinct from standard affixation.
Keywords
Clitics, Morphology, Phonology, Syntax, Bound Morphemes, Inflectional Affixes, Grammaticalization, Prosodic Structure, Host, Enclitic, Proclitic, Post-lexical Rules, Lexical Morphology, Word Formation, Linguistic Interface
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this term paper?
The paper explores the morphological and phonological status of clitics and evaluates their classification as a distinct category of bound morphemes.
What are the main thematic areas discussed?
The core themes include the definition and typology of clitics, the criteria for separating them from affixes, and their role at the interface between morphology, syntax, and phonology.
What is the central research question?
The paper investigates whether the assumption of a separate "clitic" class is theoretically justified and how this classification aids our understanding of language structure.
Which scientific methodology is applied here?
The author uses a theoretical linguistic approach, analyzing existing literature (such as Zwicky, Pullum, and Spencer) and applying prosodic and morphological evidence to linguistic examples.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the analysis of specific English forms like 're and n't, the distinction between simple and special clitics, and the interaction of clitics with phonological rules like resyllabification.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include clitics, morphology, phonology, syntax, grammaticalization, and post-lexical rules.
Why is n't classified as an inflectional affix in the paper?
Based on evidence provided by Zwicky and Pullum, the author concludes that despite its behavior resembling a simple clitic, n't adheres to criteria more characteristic of inflectional affixes.
How do clitics demonstrate the existence of a morphology-phonology interface?
Clitics show that phonological rules, such as final devoicing or resyllabification, are sensitive to the morphological structure of words, suggesting that the modules interact during word formation.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Jörn Piontek (Autor:in), 2009, Clitics - features and usage, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/168527
