This project explores what appear to be deep and surprising connections between two areas of linguistic structure that are superficially quite diverse: on the one hand, clitic elements (such as Romance pronominals, Warlpiri Auxiliaries, etc.) and on the other, formal reflections of the morphological properties of words. A theory of the structure of words and of their relations to one another, developed in previous research by the P1 and known as "A-Morphous Morphology," has as one important component the claim that clitics serve a function within the phrase which is closely parallel to that filled by affixes (and other morphological markers) within words. This research intends to develop and explore the consequences of that observation. The research to be conducted will enrich our understanding of a number of areas of linguistic structure (phonology, morphology and syntax) and their inter-relation. It will also lead to refinements in our understanding of a range of current linguistic theories, including A-Morphous Morphology, Optimality Theory, and Minimalist syntax. As a by-product of research into such theoretical questions, the project will also result in descriptive studies of languages with rich but poorly documented systems of clitics, such as the Rumantsch dialects of Switzerland and Italy.
