This collection of papers on phrasal compounding is part of a bigger project whose aims are twofold: First, it seeks to broaden the typological perspective by providing data for as many different languages as possible to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon itself. Second, based on these data which clearly show interaction between syntax and morphology it aims to discuss theoretical models which deal with this kind of interaction in different ways. Models like Generative Grammar, assume components of grammar and a clear-cut distinction between the lexicon (often including morphology) and grammar. Other models like construction grammar do not assume such components and are rather based on a lexicon including constructs. A comparison of these models on the basis of this phenomenon on the morphology-syntax interface makes it possible to assess their descriptive and explanatory power.

This controversial new book addresses the linguistic problems around compounds: words which sit on the borderline of syntax and morphology.

This volume provides an unprecedented collection of data from Asia Minor Greek, namely from Cappadocian, Pharasiot, Silliot, Smyrniot, Aivaliot, Bithynian, Pontic, Propontis Tsakonian and the dialect of Adrianoupolis. It offers fresh and original reflections on the study of morphology, dialectology and language contact by examining issues regarding inflection, derivation and compounding, dealt with by Metin Bağrıaçık, Marianna Gkiouleka, Aslı Göksel, Mark Janse, Brian D. Joseph, Petros Karatsareas, Nikos Koutsoukos, Io Manolessou, Theodore Markopoulos, Dimitra Melissaropoulou, Nikos Pantelidis and Angela Ralli. An in-depth investigation of phenomena aims to increase our understanding of language change. They result either from a natural evolution of Asia Minor Greek, or from the interaction between the fusional Greek and the agglutinative Turkish or the semi-analytical Romance.

Presents three frameworks for studying morphology, offering different insights into the meaning of compounds.

Both compounds and multi-word expressions are complex lexical units, made up of at least two constituents. The most basic difference is that the former are morphological objects and the latter result from syntactic processes. However, the exact demarcation between compounds and multi-word expressions differs greatly from language to language and is often a matter of debate in and across languages. Similarly debated is whether and how these two different kinds of units complement or compete with each other. The volume presents an overview of compounds and multi-word expressions in a variety of European languages. Central questions that are discussed for each language concern the formal distinction between compounds and multi-word expressions, their formation and their status in lexicon and grammar. The volume contains chapters on German, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Finnish, and Hungarian as well as a contrastive overview with a focus on German. It brings together insights from word-formation theory, phraseology and theory of grammar and aims to contribute to the understanding of the lexicon, both from a language-specific and cross-linguistic perspective.

Taking extra-vagans literally (Lat. ‘wandering outside, out of bounds’), this volume comprises nine case studies on extravagant morphology ranging from pattern-extending derivational processes via theory-challenging compounding processes to interface-straddling morphosyntactic phenomena. As a heuristic approach, morphological extravagance captures word-formation processes characterised by constraint violations, interface phenomena as well as borderline phenomena not easily reconcilable with traditional postulates of morphological accounts. In this regard, the notion of extravagance allows for an exploration of rule-bending language use both empirically and theoretically. The volume makes a valuable contribution to studies on morphological variation, which has only recently seen a renewed and growing interest in morphological phenomena that challenge morphological frameworks. The volume is of interest to all researchers who seek to gain a broader understanding of the mechanisms and factors at work in morphological variation and who are interested in the reassessment of morphological theorising in light of empirical data.

The studies presented in this volume deal with numerous and often undervalued aspects of multilingualism in Ancient Europe and the Mediterranean. Primarily, but not exclusively, they explore the impact of the great transnational languages, Greek and Latin, on numerous indigenous languages: the latter mostly disappeared apart from a number of written texts, often not well comprehensible, but at the same time provided the dominant languages with loanwords, some of them destined to enduring success. Moreover, Greek and Latin were remarkably affected by their mutual contact, with the complication that Greek was notoriously far from monolithic, and in some areas its different dialects intermingled with each other and with the local languages. The case studies of this volume were conducted in the frame of a European HERA research on Multilingualism and Minority Languages in Ancient Europe, which covered a number of very diverse areas, with an emphasis on Sicily and Southern Italy, Illyria, Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, Egypt and Asia Minor (also in medieval and modern times). This book makes indispensable reading for anyone with an interest in multilingualism and language contact in Ancient Europe.