Morphological productivity

the long version

"Why are there more English words ending in -ness than ending in -ity? What is it about some endings that makes them more widely usable than others? Can we measure the differences in the facility with which the various affixes are used? Does the difference in facility reflect a difference in the way we treat words containing these affixes in the brain? These are some of the questions examined in this book." "Morphological productivity is one of the most contested areas in the study of word-formation. This book takes an eclectic approach to the topic, and concludes by applying the finding for morphology to syntax and phonology, Bringing together the results of twenty year's work in the field, it provides new insights and considers a wide range of linguistic and psycholinguistic evidence."--Jacket.