Possible and impossible variation in Hungarian
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László Kálmán
Abstract
The paper discusses variation in the occurrence and quality of ‘linking vowels’ in Hungarian. While linking vowels are discussed in the traditional and/or generative literature, implicitly or explicitly, this variation is considered or predicted to be accidental by these analyses. In a detailed analysis of the behavior of linking vowels (focusing on the accusative of sibilant-final nouns, loan adjectives, nouns lexicalized as adjectives and linking vowels in hiatus), the paper shows that variation related to linking vowels is systematic and the traditional view is untenable. The authors argue that (a) such a view follows from the theoretical stance these approaches have on variation in general and (b) an analogical approach which sees variation as the conflict of incompatible (surface) generalizations whose strength is determined by token frequency can reveal/explain the systematic nature of variation in the presence and quality of linking vowels.
Abstract
The paper discusses variation in the occurrence and quality of ‘linking vowels’ in Hungarian. While linking vowels are discussed in the traditional and/or generative literature, implicitly or explicitly, this variation is considered or predicted to be accidental by these analyses. In a detailed analysis of the behavior of linking vowels (focusing on the accusative of sibilant-final nouns, loan adjectives, nouns lexicalized as adjectives and linking vowels in hiatus), the paper shows that variation related to linking vowels is systematic and the traditional view is untenable. The authors argue that (a) such a view follows from the theoretical stance these approaches have on variation in general and (b) an analogical approach which sees variation as the conflict of incompatible (surface) generalizations whose strength is determined by token frequency can reveal/explain the systematic nature of variation in the presence and quality of linking vowels.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction ix
-
Part I. Regularity, irregularity, and analogy
- Arguments from Lovari loan-verb adaptation for an analogy-based analysis of verbal systems 3
- Possible and impossible variation in Hungarian 23
- Variation in the possessive allomorphy of Hungarian 51
- Revisiting exocentricity in compounding 65
- A constructionist account of the Modern Dutch adnominal genitive 83
-
Part II. The role of frequency in morphological complexity, morphological change and language acquisition
- Perspectives on morphological complexity 107
- Morphological complexity and unsupervised learning 135
- A working typology of multiple exponence 163
- Linguistic self-regulation 189
- Suffix predictability and stem transparency in the acquisition of German noun plurals 217
- Acquisition of German diminutive formation and compounding in a comparative perspective 237
- Index 265
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction ix
-
Part I. Regularity, irregularity, and analogy
- Arguments from Lovari loan-verb adaptation for an analogy-based analysis of verbal systems 3
- Possible and impossible variation in Hungarian 23
- Variation in the possessive allomorphy of Hungarian 51
- Revisiting exocentricity in compounding 65
- A constructionist account of the Modern Dutch adnominal genitive 83
-
Part II. The role of frequency in morphological complexity, morphological change and language acquisition
- Perspectives on morphological complexity 107
- Morphological complexity and unsupervised learning 135
- A working typology of multiple exponence 163
- Linguistic self-regulation 189
- Suffix predictability and stem transparency in the acquisition of German noun plurals 217
- Acquisition of German diminutive formation and compounding in a comparative perspective 237
- Index 265
