Introduction: Theory and theories in morphology

This opening chapter provides an overview of the aims, structure, and contents of the volume. It ties together the individual chapters by identifying common themes that run through the various theories of morphology presented in the volume. These are the place of morphology in the architecture of language, the degree to which it is independent from other components of the grammar, the basic units of morphological analysis, and the relation between morphology on the one hand and syntax, semantics, phonology, and the lexicon on the other. A brief summary of the literature on types of morphological theories helps the reader to become oriented to the landscape of frameworks. The chapter closes with an overview of the three parts of the volume and the individual chapters in each part.