On 27 Dec 2004, at 5.20 pm, Thomas R. Wier wrote:
> We had a discussion about this some months back about the
> technical distinction between case affixes and clitic postpositions.
You don't perchance have the thread title to you? Would aid searching.
> The most widely accepted criteria are those set forth by Zwicky and
> Pullum:
>
> (1) Clitics have “freedom of movement”, affixes do not.
> (where 'movement' need not necessarily imply Movement
> with a capital-M.)
> (2) Clitics can attach to material already containing clitics; affixes
> (since they are morphological entities) are pre-syntactic and
> cannot
> attach to material containing clitics.
'If it attaches to a clitic, it is a clitic'?
> (3) Clitics have freedom of host selection, affixes have no freedom of
> stem selection.
> (4) Clitic-host combinations may not have idiosyncratic meanings;
> stem-affix combinations may.
> (5) Clitics may neither trigger nor undergo morphophonological or
> suppletive alternations, affixes may.
I thought /s~z~@z/ was a morphophonolgical alternation? Am I wrong, or
are these just guidelines?
> (6) Clitic-host combinations may not have arbitrary gaps;
> stem-affix combinations may.
By which I assume we mean "you can attach +im to any word except
prepositions" would invalidate it? (assuming +im is a clitic &
prepositions could come in a position where +im may attach).
Thanks,
--
Tristan.