This book is about the borrowing of inflectional morphemes in language contact settings. This phenomenon has at all times seemed to be the most poorly documented aspect of linguistic borrowing. Contact-induced morphological change is not rare in word formation, but exceptional in inflection. This study presents a deductive catalogue of factors conditioning the probability of transfer of inflectional morphology from one language to another and adduces empirical data drawn from Australian languages, Anatolian Greek, the Balkans, Maltese, Welsh, and Arabic. By reference to the most advanced theories of morphology, a thorough analysis of the case studies is provided as well as a definition of inflectional borrowing according to which inflectional borrowing must be distinguished from mere quotation of foreign forms and is acknowledged only when inflectional morphemes are attached to native words of the receiving language.
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Contents: Contact-induced language change – Contact-induced morphological change – Problems and predictions – Case studies – Analysis – Definition of inflectional borrowing.
Product details
ISBN
9783631565193
Published
2008
Publisher
Peter Lang AG
Weight
170 gr
Height
210 mm
Width
148 mm
Age
P, 06
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Author