Multi-Word Expressions and Morphology

Words (or better lexemes) have the essential function of organizing and categorizing human experience into symbolic units, and word formation is a process that implements this function by creating new lexemes that serve to name new concepts. Concept-naming, however, is not a prerogative of morphology, specifically word formation: there are other items in natural languages that do not conform to what are normally called ‘words’ and that serve precisely the same function. These items are so-called multi-word (or multiword) expressions (MWEs). The article introduces MWEs, illustrating their formal and functional properties, the main classifications available on the market, their relevance for (and place in) linguistic theorizing and linguistic typology. It also discusses the relationshiop with morphological words in terms of demarcation as well as competition / cooperation.