Morphology by Serial Optimization

Harmonic Serialism is a derivational version of Optimality Theory that has widely been pursued for phonology and syntax but so far much less for morphology. The harmonic serialist approach to inflectional morphology underlying the contributions to the present volume is virtually unique in that it combines, from the perspective of the minimalist program, a cyclic approach to morphological structure-building with an optimality-theoretic approach to optimization; in a general taxonomy of morphological theories, it qualifies as lexical, realizational, Merge-based, and pre-syntactic.

Following a comprehensive introduction to the new theory, the book brings together eight case studies from typologically different languages (like Potawatomi, Itelmen, Acoma, Modern Greek, Lithuanian, Urarina, Irarutu, and Hill Mari) that address a number of morphological phenomena which can all be shown to empirically support a cyclic, optimality-theoretic approach (among them extended exponence, disjunctive blocking, impoverishment, deponency, portmanteau marking, and morphological movement). The book will be of use to all scholars and students interested in morphological theory.