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4 - Construction Morphology and Relational Morphology

from Part I - The Constructional View of Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2025

By
Jenny Audring  and
Ray Jackendoff
Edited by
Mirjam Fried  and
Kiki Nikiforidou
Mirjam Fried
Affiliation:
Univerzita Karlova
Kiki Nikiforidou
Affiliation:
University of Athens, Greece
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Summary

The framework of Construction Grammar extends naturally to morphology. Constructions in a lexicon–grammar continuum elegantly capture the regularities and idiosyncrasies that typically co-occur in complex words. Yet, Construction Morphology is not just Construction Grammar applied to morphology. Morphological phenomena come with their own challenges and place specific demands on the theory. This chapter outlines the contributions that a constructionist approach to morphology makes to constructionist thinking more broadly. The focus is on two construction-based approaches: Construction Morphology and Relational Morphology. Three topics are highlighted especially. First, idiomaticity and other types of non-compositionality are discussed in the context of the relations within and across morphological constructions. Second, the chapter addresses productivity, specifically limited productivity as is often seen in word-formation. The third topic is paradigmaticity and the role of ‘horizontal’ connections between complex words and between morphological schemas. The chapter aims to show that morphology, the grammar of words, is instructive for the larger theoretical framework.

Keywords

morphologyword-formationinflectionidiomaticitynon-compositionalityproductivityparadigmaticityrelationalityConstruction MorphologyRelational Morphology
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Construction Grammar , pp. 101 - 128
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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