Universals in Comparative Morphology: Suppletion, Superlatives, and the Structure of Words (Volume 50) (Current Studies in Linguistics (50))

This groundbreaking study of the morphology of comparison yields a surprising result: that even in suppletion (the wholesale replacement of one stem by a phonologically unrelated stem, as in __good-better-best__) there emerge strikingly robust patterns, virtually exceptionless generalizations across languages. Jonathan David Bobaljik describes the systematicity in suppletion, and argues that at least five generalizations are solid contenders for the status of linguistic universals. The major topics discussed include suppletion, comparative and superlative formation, deadjectival verbs, and lexical decomposition. Bobaljik's primary focus is on morphological theory, but his argument also aims to integrate evidence from a variety of subfields into a coherent whole. In the course of his analysis, Bobaljik argues that the assumptions needed bear on choices among theoretical frameworks and that the framework of __Distributed Morphology__ has the right architecture to support the account. In addition to the theoretical implications of the generalizations, Bobaljik suggests that the striking patterns of regularity in what otherwise appears to be the most irregular of linguistic domains provide compelling evidence for Universal Grammar. The book strikes a unique balance between empirical breadth and theoretical detail. The phenomenon that is the main focus of the argument, suppletion in adjectival gradation, is rare enough that Bobaljik is able to present an essentially comprehensive description of the facts; at the same time, it is common enough to offer sufficient variation to explore the question of universals over a significant dataset of more than three hundred languages. An argument for, and account of linguistic universals in the morphology of comparison, combining empirical breadth and theoretical rigor. This groundbreaking study of the morphology of comparison yields a surprising result: that even in suppletion (the wholesale replacement of one stem by a phonologically unrelated stem, as in good-better-best) there emerge strikingly robust patterns, virtually exceptionless generalizations across languages. Jonathan David Bobaljik describes the systematicity in suppletion, and argues that at least five generalizations are solid contenders for the status of linguistic universals. The major topics discussed include suppletion, comparative and superlative formation, deadjectival verbs, and lexical decomposition. Bobaljik's primary focus is on morphological theory, but his argument also aims to integrate evidence from a variety of subfields into a coherent whole. In the course of his analysis, Bobaljik argues that the assumptions needed bear on choices among theoretical frameworks and that the framework of Distributed Morphology has the right architecture to support the account. In addition to the theoretical implications of the generalizations, Bobaljik suggests that the striking patterns of regularity in what otherwise appears to be the most irregular of linguistic domains provide compelling evidence for Universal Grammar. The book strikes a unique balance between empirical breadth and theoretical detail. The phenomenon that is the main focus of the argument, suppletion in adjectival gradation, is rare enough that Bobaljik is able to present an essentially comprehensive description of the facts; at the same time, it is common enough to offer sufficient variation to explore the question of universals over a significant dataset of more than three hundred languages Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page ix) Abbreviations (page xi) 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction (page 1) 1.2 Distributed Morphology (page 6) 1.3 Constructing the Database (page 15) 1.4 Comparative Typology (page 18) 2 Comparative Suppletion 2.1 Introduction (page 27) 2.2 *ABA: Explaining a Gap (page 31) 2.3 Universal Grammar versus the European Sprachbund (page 39) 2.4 Summary (page 47) 3 The Containment Hypothesis 3.1 Introduction (page 49) 3.2 Transparent Containment (page 49) 3.3 Comparison and the Synthetic/Analytic Divide (page 67) 3.4 The Synthetic Superlative Generalization (page 79) 3.5 Containment and Semantic Considerations (page 95) 3.6 Chapter Summary (page 103) 4 The Comparative-Superlative Generalization: The Data 4.1 Adjectives (page 105) 4.2 Adverbs (page 116) 4.3 Quantifiers (page 123) 4.4 Chapter Summary (page 135) 5 Theoretical Refinements 5.1 Introduction: Taking Stock (page 137) 5.2 Conditions on Suppletion: Exponence versus Readjustment (page 139) 5.3 Adjacency, ABC, *AAB (page 144) 5.4 AAB Ablaut (page 158) 5.5 Merger, Rule Ordering, Diacritics, and Acquisition (page 163) 6 Getting Better: Comparison and Deadjectival Verbs 6.1 Introduction (page 169) 6.2 Preliminary Remarks (page 172) 6.3 Deadjectival Degree Achievements: Doubting Dowty (page 176) 6.4 To Good, to Badden, and to Many (page 187) 6.5 Summary: What's the Difference? (page 205) 7 Complexity, Bundling, and Lesslessness 7.1 Introduction (page 209) 7.2 Lesslessness (page 213) 7.3 Conservative Decomposition: Adjacency and Bundling (page 221) 7.4 Concluding Remarks (page 224) Appendixes (page 227) A The Broad Sample (page 229) B The Focused Survey (page 243) C Principal Sources (page 257) References (page 269) Index