In this paper, I argue that declension classes are not primitives (see Aronoff
1994
; Alexiadou
2004
; Kramer
2015
; i.a.), but are decomposed into simpler features, one of which is gender (Harris
...1991
; Wiese
2004
; Caha
2019
). The argument is based on semantic gender agreement in Russian, where a grammatically masculine noun can trigger feminine agreement if its referent is female (Mučnik
1971
; Pesetsky
2013
). Semantic agreement is grammatical only in those forms where a regular nominal exponent is syncretic with an exponent of a declension class that includes feminine nouns. In other forms, conflicting masculine and feminine gender features lead to ineffability in morphology (cf. Schütze
2003
; Asarina
2011
; Coon and Keine
2020
). Ineffability arises because the Subset Principle (Halle
1997
) that holds between features of a vocabulary item and a terminal at the point of Vocabulary Insertion is violated later in the derivation. This is in turn possible if Vocabulary Insertion applying cyclically bottom-up (Bobaljik
2000
) is interleaved with Lowering that alters structure below a triggering node (Embick and Noyer
2001
). Finally, I show that Russian also has a number of cases where conflicting gender features in a noun phrase do not result in a realization failure (Iomdin
1980
). The difference between these patterns is derived in a principled way and follows from the positions where conflicting features are introduced.
This study of morphological overabundance focuses on the (non-)synonymy of parallel forms in Estonian illative case (‘into’) and the type of entrenchment behind it. We focus on the lexical level, ...testing whether the form preferred for a lexeme depends on semantic or morphophonological factors, or both. Using multifactorial regression analyses, we compare three corpus datasets: lexemes biased toward long forms, those biased toward short forms and lexemes with balanced form distribution. This is the first study to investigate realised overabundance in this way, and to include inflection class membership in the model, enabling us to test whether declension class subsumes the morphophonological factors found to affect form preference in previous studies. The analysis shows that cell token frequency and inflection class are significant predictors of form preference, while the lexical-semantic features included in the study do not affect formative choice, highlighting the role of cell entrenchment instead of formative entrenchment in guiding form use. In conclusion, the study highlights the important role of inflection class (morphophonology) in the general shaping of form usage patterns in parallel forms and the weak role of semantic factors on the lexical level.
Ongoing innovations in Standard Belarusian nominal declension indicate that speakers are aware of and actively using paradigmatic stress patterns for grammatical purposes. The adoption of new mobile ...stress patterns in paradigms which originally had fixed stress is now complementary in Declension Ia masculine nouns and in Declension II feminine nouns; most neuter nouns simply default to fixed stem stress. The highlighting of grammatical gender distinctions via changes in paradigmatic stress patterns has led to a reanalysis of
, and
in common gender and a-stem masculine nouns and their case exponents have now become stress-dependent, a situation markedly distinct from that found in the other closely related East Slavic languages, Russian, and Ukrainian. These developments pose a challenge for several theories of morphology, either because the theory takes paradigmatic stress to be dependent on declension class or because the theory does not have a provision for paradigmatic stress to determine inflectional exponents.
Like other syntactic elements, affixes are sometimes said to be heads or modifiers. In Russian, one suffix,
-onok
, can be either: as a head, it is a size diminutive denoting baby animals, and as a ...modifier, it is an evaluative with a dismissive/affectionate flavor. Various grammatical properties of this suffix differ between the two uses: gender, declension class, and interaction with suppletive alternations, both as target and trigger. We explore a reductionist account of these differences: the baby diminutive comprises a lexical morpheme plus a functional nominalizing head, while the evaluative affix is the lexical morpheme alone. We contend that our account is superior to two conceivable alternatives: first, the view that these are homophonous but unrelated affixes, and second, a cartographic alternative, whereby diminutives attach at different levels in a universal structure.
Prispevek obravnava distribucijo in izvor končnic rodilnika množine, ki se pojavljajo v štirih glavnih (sinhronih) sklanjatvenih vzorcih samostalnikov v terskem narečju slovenskega jezika – ...o-sklanjatvi moškega in srednjega spola, a-sklanjatvi, i-sklanjatvi. Oblika rodilnika množine izkazuje precejšnjo končniško variantnost tako med posameznimi sklanjatvenimi vzorci kot znotraj njih; možne so tudi dvojnične uresničitve z dvema ali več variantnimi končnicami pri istem leksemu. Obravnava se osredotoča na stanje v govoru kraja Ter/Pradielis.
Abstract This paper explores an approach to root and stem allomorphy that does not make use of context sensitive rules (i.e., secondary exponence) and relies on primary exponence only. In such a ...system, each feature is referenced by realisation rules only once and multiple exponence is eliminated. The study applies this system to the phenomenon of root and stem allomorphy in declension systems (McFadden in Glossa 3:8.1-36, 2018, Christopoulos & Zompì in Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 1–31, 2022). The paper argues that in this domain, the theory makes different empirical predictions than models based on context-sensitive rules. Specifically, the current model allows for an account of special nominative singular forms and the so-called pseudo-ABA patterns (Middleton in Morphology 31:329–354, 2021, Davis in Glossa 6, 2021). The proposal relies on the Nanosyntax model of grammar, using phrasal lexicalisation and lexicalisation-driven movements (Starke in Exploring nanosyntax, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 239–249, 2018), though alternative implementations of this idea are conceivable.
Under a superset-based approach to spellout (Caha 2009; Starke 2009), a vocabulary item characterizes a set of PF-legible syntactic objects. The consequence is a dynamic, configurational and ...vocabulary-driven notion of a feature’s (un)interpretability at PF, that gives rise to the possibility of spellout-driven movement (Starke 2018). In this case study, I employ this to reinterpret Kouneli’s (2021) analysis of the tripartite number-based system of nominal classification found in Kipsigis. While Kouneli’s analysis makes use of uninterpretable classificatory features to derive the classes, I derive the classes from the restrictions on PF-legibility imposed the vocabulary items themselves, thus providing an explanatory account of the PF-legibility of particular number properties from a general theory of PF interpretation. This account also solves the issue raised by Alexiadou & Müller (2008) who show that introducing declension class feature in the syntax or at PF are both problematic for the Y-model. Since the proposal I argue for here disbands such features in favor of a configurational analysis of noun class, it shows the potential for resolving a serious conceptual issue.
The present paper argues for a view of gender agreement without either grammatical or natural gender being represented as syntactic features. Rather than deriving declension classes in terms of ...realisation, I postulate them as the only relevant feature that is lexically specified on the noun. Agreement copies the declension class and triggers presuppositions. When these presuppositions clash with those already active in the discourse, default agreement is realised. The paper moreover provides a quantitative analysis of semantic correlates of declension classes and a novel analysis of SC declension classes.
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