Separable complex verbs

Separable complex verbs (SCVs) are a subtype of multi-word expressions: phrasal predicates with a verbal head, and particles, adjectives, or nouns as non-heads. They behave as lexical units, but cannot be analysed as verbal compounds. They are analysed as verb phrases with a non-projecting complement, and they can also behave as syntactic compounds, with syntactic incorporation of the preverb. The subtype of SCVs with a Noun as complement is called quasi-incorporation. Nominalizations of separable complex verbs are nominals compounds consisting of a preverb and a deverbal nominalization. This implies a systematic paradigmatic relationship between phrasal constructions (SCVs) and morphological constructions (the corresponding nominalization compounds).

The interface of morphology and phonology

This chapter discusses how morphology and phonology interact in the morphological system of Dutch. Bound morphemes differ in their phonological make-up from lexical morphemes. Morphological structure is not isomorphic to prosodic structure, which serves to explain how morphological structure determines the pronunciation of complex words. This is also an essential insight for understanding the gapping of parts of complex words. Many bound morphemes behave as prosodic words of their own. Allomorphy, both of stems and affixes is pervasive in Dutch, and the chapter discusses how the various types of allomorphy can be accounted for. The stacking up of affixes is also constrained by phonological factors.

Compounding

This chapter provides a survey of the types of compounds found in Dutch. Nominal and adjectival compounding is productive, unlike verbal compounding. Many compounds have constituents that no longer function as words by themselves. Classes of compounds with special properties are numerals, neo-classical compounds, and reduplicative compounds. In the non-head position of compounds, not only words occur, but also phrases and sentences. A special class discussed are synthetic compounds, combinations of compounding and derivation.

Morphology and the architecture of grammar

This chapter summarizes the theoretical findings of the book concerning the architecture of grammar. The notion ‘construction’, a systematic correspondence between form and meaning, appeared to be very fruitful in describing the morphology of Dutch. Paradigmatic relations between words, and between words and phrases are essential for the analysis of Dutch morphology. The interaction between inflection and derivation in Dutch implies rejection of the split morphology hypothesis. A proper theory of morphology requires us to conceive of the grammar and the lexicon of Dutch as forming a multidimensional network of relations between (morphological and phrasal) constructional schemas of various degrees of abstractness, between these abstract schemas and the individual words and phrases by which they are instantiated, and between individual words and phrases. The detailed study of one subsystem of one language, the morphology of Dutch, gives us insight into the kind of conditions of adequacy that any theory of the architecture of grammars of natural languages must meet.

The inflectional system

This chapter provides a survey of the inflection of nouns, adjectives, and verbs in Dutch. Productive nominal inflection is restricted to making plural forms of nouns. In addition, there are remnants of case marking that function as markers of specific constructions. Adjectives are only inflected in pre-nominal position, in which gender also plays a role. Verbs are inflected according to two systems: weak verbs by means of suffixation, strong verbs by means of stem change (mainly vowel alternations or Ablaut). Some tense forms are periphrastic in nature. This chapter introduces the distinction between inherent and contextual inflection, and shows that inherent inflection may feed word formation. Thus use of inflectional forms is subject to syntactic restrictions, and its use is also pragmatically determined.

The interaction between morphology and syntax

This chapter discusses how morphology and syntax interact in the grammar of Dutch in various ways. The principle of Lexical Integrity is used to distinguish words from phrases. Syntax selects the appropriate inflectional forms of words, and word formation processes determine the syntactic valency of derived words. Syntactic constructions may require the use of specific morphological constructions (construction-dependent morphology). Morphological and phrasal coining of lexical units with the same meaning may compete or complement each other.

Derivation

Dutch complex words are formed by means of suffixation, prefixation, and conversion (change of category without morphological marking). The productivity of a word formation process is subject to various types of restriction, partially having to do with the layer of the lexicon (native or non-native). There are also word formation patterns that are unproductive. The grammar has to specify them nevertheless because these patterns still have a motivating function and reduce the arbitrariness of form-meaning correspondences. Special forms of word coining are blending, clipping, and the formation of acronyms.

Preliminaries

This chapter introduces a number of core concepts for morphology: the nature of morphological generalizations, paradigmatic word formation, productivity, the nature of the lexicon and lexicalization. It also specifies the sources of information on the morphology of Dutch, and gives a survey of the rest of the book.