Construction Morphology

This book shows how complex words and word-like phrasal lexical units can be analysed as constructions, as pairings of forms and meanings. It contributes to current work on the architecture of the grammar, the morphology-syntax interface, the shape and characteristics of the lexicon, and the analysis of grammaticalization phenomena. It is an important work for morphological theory in particular and for linguistic theory in general.

Geert Booij applies the insights of construction grammar to morphological theory and the formation of words and lexical phrases. Construction grammar refers to the class of linguistic theories that focus on the pairing of form and meaning at different levels of abstraction. Such work (by William Croft and Adele Goldberg, for example) has tended to focus on syntax or (as in the case of Ray Jackendoff) on the syntax-semantics interface. Geert Booij offers a characteristically lucid integration of his own and others' work and considers what it reveals about the nature of words and idioms. His book will appeal to professional linguists in all subfields and to graduate students of syntax and morphology. Geert Booij is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Leiden.

Geert Booij's Construction Morphology is a revealing synthesis of insights from Construction Grammar, grammaticalization theory, Simpler Syntax, and psycholinguistics. Booij captures the delicate interplay of morphosyntax and phrasal syntax, as well as the intricate patterns of productivity and semiproductivity in morphological and phrasal phonology, syntax, and semantics. Behind it all is the hierarchical lexicon, which stores not just words but patterns at all levels of generality. This is a major contribution not only to morphology but to an overarching theory of the architecture of language.

Booij's Construction Morphology should be required reading for any linguist who wants to understand how words work. This brilliant book is broadly informed, rich with deep insights, and chock-full of great examples.

At long last, the theory of Construction Grammar is accessible to morphologists. This concise, thorough introduction to Construction Morphology is a tour de force covering the essential elements and arguments for the theory, as well as presenting a wide range of new data. Phenomena which could be shoehorned only crudely into past theoretical models of morphology receive insightful analyses. This book should be an essential part of any graduate course in morphology and belongs on the bookshelf of every morphologist.