Suppletion

Some Theoretical Implications

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5776014
AutoresJonathan David Bobaljik (0000-0002-7897-1857, University of Connecticut, autor de correspondencia)
Año2014
Volumen1
Número1
Páginas1-18
Fecha de publicación2014-10-23
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAnnual Review of Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2333-9683 • E-ISSN: 2333-9691
EditorialAnnual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1146/annurev-linguist-030514-125157
OpenAlexW2164577048
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas27

Suppletion (wholly unpredictable alternations such as good∼better or go∼went) stands as the epitome of morphological irregularity. In the formal theoretical tradition, with a few exceptions, suppletion has long languished in obscurity, widely considered unlikely to be informative of deeper properties of grammar. This article reviews recent studies that find, as it were, order in chaos-robust patterns of regularity that emerge as significant, arguably universal generalizations in large, cross-linguistic samples. These patterns are indicative of the nature of abstract grammatical representation and, in particular, of constraints that regulate the interaction among the atomic elements that build these representations. Far from sitting in an obscure corner of the grammar and representing nothing more than the detritus of history, suppletive alternations may yet shed light on the nature of the mental representations that constitute grammars, thus providing indirect evidence for aspects of Universal Grammar in the broad sense

Epitome · Nothing · Representation · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation