Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði - 2014, Page 30

summary
ʻInflected first parts and two morphological theories’
Keywords: inflection, morphology, compounds, split morphology hypothesis, split in -
flection, inflected first parts, Icelandic
The purpose of this paper is to examine inflected first members in Icelandic compounds,
so-called genitive compounds, in light of two morphological theories. One of them, the
split morphology hypothesis (Perlmutter 1988), allows for full separation of word formation
and inflection while the other, split inflection (Booij 1994), allows for two kinds of inflec-
tion, inherent inflection which includes inflection inside word formation and contextual
inflection which includes inflection relevant to syntax. In addition to examining genitive
first members in Icelandic compounds there is an overview over inflected first members in
several other languages. One of the main results of the paper is that the genitive in
Icelandic compounds can formally be categorized as contextual inflection but functionally
as inherent inflection. This dual role of the genitive is unique and creates problems for the
theories previously mentioned.
Þorsteinn G. Indriðason
Institutt for lingvistiske, litterære og estetiske studier
Universitetet i Bergen
Sydnesplassen 7
N-5007 Bergen, NORGE
torsteinn.indridason@lle.uib.no
Þorsteinn G. Indriðason30