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A Realization Optimality Theory approach to blocking and extended morphological exponence1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2011

ZHENG XU  and
MARK ARONOFF
ZHENG XU*
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore
MARK ARONOFF*
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
*
Authors' address: (Xu) Department of Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570chsxz@nus.edu.sg
Authors' address: (Aronoff) Department of Linguistics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USAmark.aronoff@stonybrook.edu
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Abstract

Blocking in inflection occurs when a morphological exponent prevents the application of another exponent expressing the same feature value, thus barring the occurrence of multiple exponents of a single morphosyntactic feature value. In instances of extended exponence, more than one exponent in the same word realizes the same feature value. We provide a unified account of blocking and extended exponence that combines a realizational approach to inflection with Optimality Theory (Realization Optimality Theory), encoding morphological realization rules as ranked violable constraints. The markedness constraint *Feature Split bars the realization of any morphosyntactic feature value by more than one exponent. If *Feature Split ranks lower than two or more realization constraints expressing the same feature value, then we observe extended exponence. Otherwise, we find blocking of lower-ranked exponents. We show that Realization Optimality Theory is superior to various alternative approaches to blocking and extended morphological exponence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , November 2011 , pp. 673 - 707
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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Footnotes

[1]

Research in this paper was partially supported by a National University of Singapore faculty start-up grant (R-102-000-044-133). Earlier versions of this paper were presented at Stony Brook University, the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, and the Yale Linguistics Colloquium. We thank James P. Blevins, Geert Booij, Greville G. Corbett, Alice C. Harris, Robert D. Hoberman, Rochelle Lieber, Mary Paster, and two anonymous JL referees for their comments. All errors are our own.

We use the following abbreviations for feature values in this paper: 1, 2, 3: first, second, and third person; CM: class marker; f(em): feminine; GEN: gender; ind: indicative; int: interrogative; m(asc): masculine; neg: negation; NUM: number; part: participant; PER: person; perf: perfective; pl: plural; pret: preterite; sg: singular; Subj/subj: subject.

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