Word Structure in Australian Languages*

Abstract

In this paper we propose a new model for the analysis of complex word forms in Australian languages. We propose that complex words should be categorized in terms of their phonological patternings. We show that complex words exhibit two distinct types of phonological patternings. One type of complex word shows the same patterns as simplex words. We call morphological relations within this type of word, root-level relations. In the other type of complex word, at least one constituent itself has the characteristics of a simplex word. We call morphological relations within this type of word, word-level relations. We demonstrate that the distinction between root-level and word-level relations has clear correlates in morphological productivity. Our model provides a straightforward account of the relationship between phonology and morphology in complex words.