Linguistic Complexity The Influence of Social Change on Verbal Inflection Published by LOT phone: +31 30 253 6006 Trans 10 fax: +31 30 253 6000 3512 JK Utrecht e-mail: [email protected] The Netherlands http://wwwlot.let.uu.nl/ Cover illustration designed by Wouter Kusters ISBN 90-76864-41-1 NUR 632 Copyright © 2003 by Wouter Kusters. All rights reserved. Linguistic Complexity The Influence of Social Change on Verbal Inflection PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D.D. Breimer hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 18 september 2003 klokke 14:15 door Christiaan Wouter Kusters geboren te Geldermalsen in 1966 Promotiecommissie promotor: prof. dr. P.C. Muysken (Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) co-promotor: dr. M. van Oostendorp (Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam) referent: prof. dr. A. Verhagen overige leden: prof. dr. W.F.H. Adelaar dr. G.A.T. Koefoed (Universiteit Utrecht) prof. dr. A. de Leeuw van Weenen prof. dr. Th. C. Schadeberg prof. dr. C.H.M. Versteegh (Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................1 1.1 COMPLEXITY IN LINGUISTICS.............................................................................1 1.2 DEFINITION OF COMPLEXITY .............................................................................5 1.3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................7 1.4 OBJECTIONS AGAINST COMPLEXITY ..................................................................9 1.5 COMPLEXITY IN LANGUAGE ............................................................................12 1.5.1 Phonology ..............................................................................................12 1.5.2 Syntax.....................................................................................................13 1.5.3 Derivational morphology.......................................................................14 1.5.4 Inflectional Morphology ........................................................................17 2. COMPLEXITY IN VERBAL INFLECTION ...................................................21 2.1 PRINCIPLES OF INFLECTION .............................................................................21 2.1.1 Economy.................................................................................................22 2.1.2 Transparency .........................................................................................26 2.1.2.1 Fusion............................................................................................................ 26 2.1.2.2 Homonymy.................................................................................................... 27 2.1.2.3 Allomorphy ................................................................................................... 28 2.1.2.4 Fission........................................................................................................... 29 2.1.3 Isomorphy ..............................................................................................30 2.1.3.1 Background ................................................................................................... 30 2.1.3.2 Aspects of Isomorphy.................................................................................... 32 2.1.3.3 Marked affix ordering ................................................................................... 33 2.1.3.4 Inconsistent ordering..................................................................................... 33 2.1.4 Other factors ..........................................................................................34 2.1.4.1 Animacy Principle......................................................................................... 34 2.1.4.2 Suffix Principle ............................................................................................. 35 2.1.4.3 Phonological Principles ................................................................................ 35 2.1.4.4 Morphological Principles.............................................................................. 35 2.2 LANGUAGE PROCESSING .................................................................................36 2.2.1 Production and perception ....................................................................36 2.2.2 Child and adult learning........................................................................37 2.2.3 Communicative and symbolic function ..................................................38 2.3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNITIES ...............................................................41 2.4 INFLECTIONAL COMPLEXITY IN LANGUAGE PROCESSING .................................45 2.4.1 Economy.................................................................................................46 2.4.1.1 Production and perception ............................................................................ 46 2.4.1.2 Child and adult learning................................................................................ 48 2.4.1.3 Communicative and symbolic function......................................................... 49 2.4.1.4 Summary and conclusion .............................................................................. 51 2.4.2 Transparency .........................................................................................52 2.4.2.1 Production and perception ............................................................................ 52 2.4.2.2 Child and adult learning................................................................................ 53 2.4.2.3 Communicative and symbolic function......................................................... 55 2.4.2.4 Summary and conclusion .............................................................................. 56 2.4.3 Isomorphy ..............................................................................................57 2.4.3.1 Production and perception ............................................................................ 57 2.4.3.2 Child and adult learning ................................................................................57 2.4.3.3 Communicative and symbolic function .........................................................58 2.4.3.4 Conclusion.....................................................................................................58 2.4.4 Other principles .................................................................................... 58 2.4.4.1 Animacy Principle .........................................................................................58 2.4.4.2 Suffix Principle..............................................................................................59 2.4.4.3 Phonological Principles.................................................................................59 2.4.4.4 Morphological Principles ..............................................................................59 2.5 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................. 60 3. OPTIMALITY THEORY .................................................................................. 63 3.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 63 3.2 BASICS OF OPTIMALITY THEORY.................................................................... 66 3.3 MORPHOLOGY AND OPTIMALITY THEORY ..................................................... 69 3.3.1 Introduction........................................................................................... 69 3.3.2 Markedness Constraints and Constraint Composition.......................... 72 3.3.3 Faithfulness Constraints ....................................................................... 74 3.3.3.1 Fusion............................................................................................................75 3.3.3.2 Fission ...........................................................................................................76 3.3.3.3 Allomorphy and homonymy..........................................................................77 3.3.4 Isomorphy.............................................................................................. 79 3.3.5 Summary................................................................................................ 79 3.4 LANGUAGE CHANGE....................................................................................... 79 4. ARABIC............................................................................................................... 89 4.1 EMERGENCE AND SPREAD OF ARABIC ............................................................ 90 4.1.1 Pre-Islamic Arabic and the Arab people............................................... 90 4.1.2 Arabic at the beginning of Islam........................................................... 93 4.1.3 The spread of Arabic............................................................................. 96 4.1.3.1 Expansion of Arabic ......................................................................................96 4.1.3.2 Najdi Arabic ..................................................................................................98 4.1.3.3 Moroccan Arabic .........................................................................................102