The Syntax of Roots and the Roots of Syntax

This book investigates the nature and properties of roots, the core elements of word meaning. In particular, chapters examine the interaction of roots with syntactic structure, and the role of their semantic and morpho-phonological properties in that interaction. Issues addressed in the book include the semantics and phonology of roots in isolation and in context; the categorial specification of roots; and the role of phases in word formation. Internationally recognized scholars approach these topics from a variety of theoretical backgrounds, drawing on data from languages including German, Hebrew, and Modern Greek. The book will be of interest to linguistics students and researchers of all theoretical persuasions from graduate level upwards.1. Introduction ; 2. From syntax to roots: A syntactic approach to root interpretation ; 3. The roots of nominality, the nominality of roots ; 4. Roots in transitivity alternations: Afto/auto-reflexives ; 5. Domains within words and their meanings: A case study ; 6. The category of roots ; 7. On a low and high diminutive: Evidence from Italian and Hebrew ; 8. The interaction of adjectival passive and Voice ; 9. Roots and phases ; 10. The ontology of roots and verbs ; 11. Derivational affixes as roots, no exponence: Phasal spellout meets English stress shift ; 12. Building scalar changes ; 13. When roots license and when they respect semantico-syntactic structure in verbs