Aspects of the Theory of Clitics

This comprehensive study explores clitics from multiple linguistic perspectives, making Aspects of the Theory of Clitics essential for scholars and students alike.

The book Aspects of the Theory of Clitics offers a comprehensive exploration of clitics, addressing their phonology, morphology, and syntax in a way that has not been done for the past two decades. Written with exceptional clarity, it is based on a course designed for graduate students, making complex concepts accessible. The author, Stephen Anderson, delves into the intricate relationship between second position clitics and verb-second phenomena across various languages, including Germanic languages, while also examining contracted auxiliary verbs in English and noun incorporation constructions.

In Aspects of the Theory of Clitics, Anderson presents analyses of specific languages, drawing on his own field research in languages like Kwakw'ala and Surmiran Rumantsch. This detailed examination reveals how the study of clitics can significantly enhance our understanding of sentence structure in natural languages. The book stands out as the first comprehensive survey of clitic phenomena in over twenty years, making it an essential resource for linguists.

The implications of clitic studies extend beyond mere grammatical structures; they touch upon the core of linguistic theory itself. Anderson's wide-ranging and original account is crafted with an eye towards both clarity and depth, ensuring that it will appeal to scholars and advanced students of phonology, morphology, and syntax alike. This book is poised to become a pivotal reference in the field of linguistics.