Words and Features
Paula Fenger, Maria Kouneli
March 2023 

In this chapter, we address questions related to cross-linguistic variation in the organization of features and their morphological expression in words (or morphemes), focusing on implications for syntax. In a way, this chapter is an overview of various overviews, as it tries to bring together topics pertaining to both words and features, two types of primitives that are not the same for most syntactic frameworks. The questions that guide the content of the chapter are: Is there a universal feature hierarchy? How are these features organized? How are they expressed? Even though there is no clear, uniform answer to each of these questions, there seem to be clear tendencies in both the domains of features and word(building) in relation to syntax. However, the limits of variation, and the details for specific issues are still active areas of investigation. Topics that are discussed in relation to these questions are the status of features as binary or privative; bundling of features in one or multiple heads in the clausal spine; the expression of a morpho-syntactic feature as an affix, clitic, or free-standing element; and polysynthetic languages.

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/007208 (please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:	to appear in The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax
keywords:	algonquian, auxiliary, affix, binary feature, bundling, clitic, configurationality, feature geometry, germanic, inverse, japanese, nakh-daghestani, nilo-saharan, number, person, polysynthesis, privative feature, turkic, v2, warlpiri, morphology, syntax
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