Aspects of the Theory of Clitics

by Stephen Anderson

Overview

The first book to cover the grammar of clitics from all points of view, including their phonology, morphology, and syntax, and the first comprehensive survey of clitic phenomena for twenty years. Written with exceptional clarity and based on a course given to graduate students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199279906
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/24/2005
Series:	Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics , #11
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.36(h) x 0.95(d)

About the Author

Stephen R. Anderson is Professor of Linguistics, Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale University. He has previously taught at Harvard University, UCLA, Stanford, and The Johns Hopkins University. Among his other books are A-Morphous Morphology (1992), The Language Organ, co-authored by David Lightfoot (2002), and Doctor Dolittle's Delusion: Animals and the Uniqueness of Human Language (2004). He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has held a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. What is a Clitic? 3. The Phonology of Cliticization4. Special Clitics and Their Grammar5. Theories of Special Clitics6. An Optimal Theory of Clitic Positioning7. Verb Second as Alignment8. Pronominal Clitics9. Clause Structure and the Grammar of Incorporation

Editorial Reviews

"This book comes as a breath of fresh air. It is very clearly written, and is comprehensive in every way: it deals with a broad range of language types; it gives very clear comparisons with alternative theories; and it addresses all the important syntactic and phonological implications of the theory. It is a great feat to be able to pull all of these issues together and explain them in a way that is actually enjoyable to read."—Margaret Speas, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Important and much needed.... An invaluable contribution to our understanding of the grammar of clitics. By effectively employing several components of the grammar to jointly account for the grammar of clitics, it seriously casts doubt on approaches that promote single component perspectives on this phenomenon. This study will undoubtedly be a cornerstone in any future debates on this important topic."—Journal of Word Structure

From the Publisher