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[Studies in Language 41:1] 2017
► pp. 76–98

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Nominal complex in West Circassian

Between morphology and syntax

 | Institute of Oriental Studies RAS | National Research University Higher School of Economics |
Published online: 1 June 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.41.1.03lan
The paper presents a description and an analysis of the nominal complex, a peculiar construction which includes a noun and its modifiers, in West Circassian, a polysynthetic language of the Northwest Caucasian family. The nominal complex shows properties of a single word and tends to follow the template proposed for the word in West Circassian. However, its parts may themselves have a complex structure based on a similar template. This is argued to result from a principle that requires these subparts to be interpreted without appealing to a broader morphological context. In addition, the nominal complex may contain complex syntactic constituents as its proper parts. It is shown that the nominal complex in West Circassian is currently undergoing demorphologization and syntacticization.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Morphology (vs syntax) of West Circassian content words
  • 3.Nominal complex: Basic information
  • 4.Wordhood and stemhood
    • 4.1Lexical parts form the stem
    • 4.2The position of suffixes
    • 4.3Morphophonological properties
  • 5.Morphological embedding
    • 5.1Zone nesting with postnominal modifiers
    • 5.2Zone nesting with prenominal modifiers
  • 6.Syntacticization and demorphologization
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Abbreviations
  • Notes
  • References
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