Noun incorporation in Hopi

This paper examines Noun Incorporation (NI) in Hopi and presents evidence that Hopi has Type IV noun incorporation according to the typological classification presented in Mithun 1984. The incorporated noun (IN) is visible to discourse reference, NI can strand modifiers, and the IN can have a classificatory function. Hopi thus fulfills the criteria for a syntactic analysis as proposed in Baker 1988, 1995 . However, the claim that word formation actually occurs in the syntax has been controversial and is challenged by a number of lexicalists (e.g. Rosen, Mithun). The arguments crucially weigh on the Lexicalist Hypothesis and the division of labour between the morphology and the syntax. Both the syntactic and the lexical approaches seem to account for the basic facts of NI, but significant differences arise on closer examination. The goal of this paper is to contribute some previously unknown data to the current discussion of this rather unusual morphological process and to consider possible analyses of the data. Furthermore, a brief overview of the polysynthetic properties of Hopi is presented to see whether these tendencies may account for NI in Hopi. Except when indicated, all the examples used in this paper are taken directly from The Hopi dictionary (Hill et al. in press) .