Semantic Gender Diversity and Its Architecture in the Grammar of Arabic

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelkader Fassi Fehri
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Layered Architecture ◽  
Morphology Model ◽  
Size Evaluation

The article argues that Gender expresses a multitude of meanings including individuation, collectivity, abstractness, quantity, size, evaluation, perspectivization, in addition to the most known sex-animacy. In contrast to the dominant view in the literature, which sees Gender as essentially (a) a nominal class marking device, (b) semantically sex-based, and (c) syntactically reflected in gender agreement through sexed-animate controllers, we propose a constructional multi-layered architecture that takes into account its polysemous nature, and provides room for more ‘unorthodox’ syntactic distributions. The analysis is implemented in a Minimalist Distributed Morphology model of Grammar.

Parallel Computation in Word Formation

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis López
Keyword(s):  
Parallel Computation ◽  
Parallel Computations ◽  
Event Structure ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Formation Processes ◽  
Testing Ground ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Morphology Model ◽  
The Way

Taking the Distributed Morphology model as a starting point, this article presents and develops the hypothesis that parallel computations drive some word formation processes. Along the way, some Distributed Morphology assumptions, particularly those concerning contextual allomorphy, are revised. It is argued that event structure is a syntactic head independent of the presence of a vP. Nominalizations in Spanish, which often exhibit verbal thematic vowels between the root and the nominalizing affix, turn out to be an ideal testing ground for theoretical hypotheses.

ɸ-Features at the Syntax-Semantics Interface: Evidence from Nominal Inflection

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivona Kučerová
Keyword(s):  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Syntactic Feature ◽  
Morphology Model ◽  
Nominal Inflection ◽  
Feature Values ◽  
Novel Model

I argue for a novel model of feature valuation in the CI interface and explore under what circumstances a syntactic feature is semantically interpretable. As the groundwork for the investigation, I propose an explicit Distributed Morphology model of Italian nouns of profession. The data provide evidence that the morphology accesses the narrow-syntax representation at two different temporal points within a phase: the earlier point (Spell-Out) returns a morphological realization faithful to feature values present in narrow syntax, while the later point (Transfer) allows for a narrow-syntax representation to be enriched by the CI component. Thus, there is no syntactic distinction between interpretable and uninterpretable features: a syntactic feature appears to be interpretable only if it has been licensed by the CI interface.

Roots, their structure and consequences for derivational timing

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-387
Author(s):  
Ivona Kučerová ◽  
Adam Szczegielniak
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Precise Nature ◽  
Methodological Question ◽  
Syntactic Feature ◽  
Syntactic Features

Abstract Recent work in Distributed Morphology, most prominently Harley (2014), argues for roots being able to take syntactic complements, which opens the door for the possibility of having syntactic features within a root’s representation – something most DM literature rejects (Embick 2015). Upon a closer inspection of the arguments presented in the literature, it is not clear whether the disagreement has an empirical underpinning, or whether it stems from the lack of methodological clarity as far as the identification of the precise nature of what constitutes a syntactic feature. This paper takes this methodological question seriously and investigates a type of derivational behavior that, in our view, provides a decisive argument for the presence of syntactic features on roots. We argue that the presence of a syntactic feature on the root can be conclusively established based on a feature’s impact on specific properties within a larger syntactic structure. Based on empirical evidence form gender agreement phenomena, we introduce a model of grammar that distinguishes roots with syntactic features from those which do not have them. We propose that such a distinction between roots will manifest itself in the timing of root insertion – roots without syntactic features are late inserted, while roots with syntactic features must be early inserted.

scholarly journals Nominalizing evaluative suffixes in Russian: The interaction of declension class, gender, and animacy

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 18-44
Author(s):  
Olga Steriopolo
Keyword(s):  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Discourse Referent ◽  
Biological Gender ◽  
Mixed Gender ◽  
Gender Features

This is a study of Russian nominalizing evaluative suffixes that form nouns of the -a-declension. Such suffixes are very interesting to investigate because they can consistently change the animacy, declension class, and grammatical gender of the base to which they attach. However, the resulting nominalizations belong to different grammatical genders that seem to depend on the biological gender of a discourse referent. This work investigates morphosyntactic properties of such evaluative suffixes and proposes an account for the differences in grammatical gender.Nominalizing evaluative suffixes in Russian are drastically understudied. However, they contribute significantly to many important and much-debated questions in the current linguistic literature concerning the interaction between grammatical gender and declension class, mixed gender agreement, interpretability of gender features, and default gender.This research is done in the framework of Distributed Morphology (Halle and Marantz 1993; Halle 1997; Marantz 1997, among many others) and contributes to our understanding of the process of nominalization. 

Fit and Congruency

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-156
Author(s):  
Mary Hogue ◽  
Lee Fox-Cardamone ◽  
Deborah Erdos Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Job Fit ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Working Adults ◽  
Role Congruity ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract. Applicant job pursuit intentions impact the composition of an organization’s applicant pool, thereby influencing selection outcomes. An example is the self-selection of women and men into gender-congruent jobs. Such self-selection contributes to a lack of gender diversity across a variety of occupations. We use person-job fit and the role congruity perspective of social role theory to explore job pursuit intentions. We present research from two cross-sectional survey studies (520 students, 174 working adults) indicating that at different points in their careers women and men choose to pursue gender-congruent jobs. For students, the choice was mediated by value placed on the job’s associated gender-congruent outcomes, but for working adults it was not. We offer suggestions for practitioners and researchers.

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