A constructionist account of the Modern Dutch adnominal genitive
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Alan K. Scott
Abstract
In this paper it is proposed that otherwise obsolete agreement morphology which is used productively but is no longer part of a case system can be effectively accounted for within a constructionist framework. The Dutch case system was lost by the 15th century; nonetheless, a fragment of the adnominal genitive continued to be used and today it preserves agreement morphology that is otherwise absent from the language. Although potentially problematic for a traditional account of Dutch morphosyntax, a constructionist, usage-based account can explain the retention and current regularity of this genitive fragment.
Abstract
In this paper it is proposed that otherwise obsolete agreement morphology which is used productively but is no longer part of a case system can be effectively accounted for within a constructionist framework. The Dutch case system was lost by the 15th century; nonetheless, a fragment of the adnominal genitive continued to be used and today it preserves agreement morphology that is otherwise absent from the language. Although potentially problematic for a traditional account of Dutch morphosyntax, a constructionist, usage-based account can explain the retention and current regularity of this genitive fragment.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & acknowledgments vii
- Editors’ introduction ix
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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
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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
