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Unification of Morphology and Syntax

by M. Rita Manzini, Leonardo M. Savoia

"This book focuses on a classical theme of linguistic theory, that of variation across languages. From an empirical point of view, A Unification of Morphology and Syntax contributes to the discussion on language variation through engaging with new data collected during fieldwork covering both Romance and Albanian dialects. From a theoretical point of view the book shows how the variation displayed by the data is best accounted for through the interaction of an innate and universal computational system (Chomsky's Universal Grammar) with language-particular lexicons, whose items and their properties are set by the speaker-hearer in the course of acquisition. In this sense this book is a contribution to what Noam Chomsky has recently called the 'biolinguistic approach', which holds that crucial aspects of language can be studied as part of the natural world."--Jacket.