A Two-Level Approach to Morphological Structure

What is it about?

In morphological theory, various models have been developed with respect to the appropriate levels of abstraction for stating morpho-logical generalizations. This paper addresses a class of seemingly marginal and/or problematic phenomena in morphology and proposes that morphological descriptions regularly refer to two distinct levels of description. One is the level of “morphosyntax,” and one is the level of “morphophonology.” Furthermore, morphology is considered to be marginal if and only if the degree of isomorphy between representations on these two levels is reduced. This basic proposal is illustrated and tested with several central phenomena of morphology found in German: synthetic compounds, conversion, empty morphs, and trun-cation. A Two-Level Approach to Morphological Structure. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231828406_A_Two-Level_Approach_to_Morphological_Structure [accessed Jul 19, 2017].

Featured Image