The semantics of gender in Mayali: Partially parallel systems and formal implementation

Nicholas Evans, Dunstan Brown, Greville G. Corbett

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    32 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Mayali has four genders and five morphological classes, with formal identity between the gender prefixes and four of the morphological class prefixes. Gender and morphological class are assigned according to different but largely overlapping semantic principles. We analyze these partially overlapping systems within the NETWORK MORPHOLOGY framework; an implemented model demonstrates that the analysis gives the correct forms for the majority of nouns in a basic lexicon, and further extends to understanding assignment in the avoidance register. Our account depends on recognizing two different types of default: NORMAL CASE DEFAULT, the expected outcome in a given domain, and EXCEPTIONAL CASE DEFAULT, the last resort short of full lexical specification.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)111-155
    Number of pages45
    JournalLanguage
    Volume78
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2002

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