关键词: 形态; 音系; 交互作用; 模块性

Abstract:

Morphology and phonology are often regarded as two distinct parts of grammar, but on the other hand, they have also been suggested in many literatures to share a connection much closer than expected. Looking into the range of possible interactions between morphology and phonology, and then probing for their proper linguistic treatments, would be significant both for understanding the nature of human languages and for constructing viable linguistic theories. The new book The Interplay of Morphology and Phonology, authored by Professor Sharon Inkelas, presents a thorough survey on this very topic. It brings under scrutiny the various types of morphology-phonology interactions manifested in natural languages, such as morphologically conditioned phonology, process morphology, prosodic templates, reduplication, infixation, interleaving effects, derived environment effects, phonological interference with morphology, the Bracketing Paradox, and paradigmatic effects. Expository data sets are provided for each type of these interactions, and relevant proposals for treatments are then introduced. In case of competition among different treatments on the same issue, comparisons are drawn to clearly bring out the author’s preference. This article first makes a brief summary on the basic contents of this monograph, and then gives some reflections on its potential relevance to the study of Chinese languages. At the end, this article presents some cautions against the general approach taken by the book which in essence weakens grammar modularity in exchange for analytical flexibility.

Keywords: morphology; phonology; interplay; modularity