Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.pdf

A-Z 1293word stress stress 2word structureFollowing a suggestion by Williams (1981), analogy of the structure of complex words( word formation) with the structural principles of phrases, especially with that of X-bar syntax ( X-bar theory). As in phrasal syntax, the head constituent determines thefeatures of the whole word over the percolation mechanism, which is known from thesyntax. In particular, the concept of ‘head’ is taken over in word structure in a variant thatdefines it according to its position, which constitutes a parameter determined by theindividual languages. In English and German the head is on the right, in Hebrew andperh aps French on the left. In a relativized variant of the head concept, Di Scuillo andWilliams (1987), unlike Selkirk (1982), assume that the inflectional affixes can functionlike the derivational suffixes as (relativized) heads with regard to the inflectionalstructure of the word. The set of categories in word structure is smaller than in the phrasesyntax: the lexical categories N, A, V, and P (abbreviated: Xº) alone appear to participatein word formation processes, together with the bound affixes. Still, it is debated whethersyntactic categories like NP, VP, and S can occur as non-head constituents. ( alsosyntactic affixation)ReferencesSelkirk, E. 1982. The syntax of words. Cambridge.Di Sciullo, A.M. and E.Williams 1987. On the definition of word. Cambridge, MA.Williams, E. 1981. On the notions ‘lexically related’ and ‘head of word.’ LingI 12.245–74.word syntaxword syntaxApplication of more recent theories and knowledge of syntax to the structure of the word.( also inheritance, theta criterion, word structure, X-bar theory)ReferencesBoase, J. and J.Toman. 1986. On θ-role assignment in German compounds. FoLi 20.319–39.Di Sciullo, A.M. and E.Williams. 1987. On the definition of word. Cambridge, MA.Selkirk, E. 1982. The syntax of words. Cambridge, MA.