On binary features and disagreeing natural classes: Evidence from Cheyenne and Serbian
-
Miloje Despić
and
Sarah Murray
Abstract
In this paper we offer new arguments for bivalence of morphological features. In the domain of person, we argue in support of the system using the features [±speaker] and [±hearer], on the basis of plural marking in Cheyenne. In the domain of gender, we argue in support of the system using the features [±masculine] and [±feminine], on the basis of gender agreement in Serbian coordinate structures. The property of binary systems crucial for our proposal is that they allow combinations of disagreeing feature values, given that in such systems every morphological category is represented as a combination of two values. Our main empirical goal is to show that some languages treat such combinations of disagreeing feature values (as well as combinations of agreeing values) as natural classes (e.g., Noyer, Rolf. 1992. Features, positions and affixes in autonomous morphological structure. Ph.D. dissertation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank John Bowers, Wayne Leman, Richard Rhodes, Will Starr, and audiences at the 46th Algonquian Conference (Connecticut 2014) and the Mellon Humanities Corridor Workshop in Theoretical and Experimental Linguistics (Syracuse 2014) and participants in our seminars for helpful comments and discussion of the material presented here. Finally, we want to thank anonymous reviewers and the Editor for their careful and detailed suggestions. Any errors are our own.
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© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Lexicalist vs. exoskeletal approaches to language mixing
- On binary features and disagreeing natural classes: Evidence from Cheyenne and Serbian
- VP-fronting: Movement vs. dislocation
- Alternating adjectives
- Spelling out enclitics and giving their tone a voice: Cyclic clitic incorporation in BCS and breaking the cycle
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Lexicalist vs. exoskeletal approaches to language mixing
- On binary features and disagreeing natural classes: Evidence from Cheyenne and Serbian
- VP-fronting: Movement vs. dislocation
- Alternating adjectives
- Spelling out enclitics and giving their tone a voice: Cyclic clitic incorporation in BCS and breaking the cycle
