Morphological reversals

Bibliographic Data

ID10141396
AuthorsMatthew Baerman (0000-0002-3060-0643, University of Surrey, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume43
Issue1
Pages33-61
Publication date2007-02-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2267 • E-ISSN: 1469-7742
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022226706004440
OpenAlexW4212854533
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited8

The term morphological reversal describes the situation where the members of a morphological opposition switch their functions in some context (as with Hebrew gender marking, where -Ø~- a marks masculine~feminine with adjectives but feminine~masculine with numerals). There is a long tradition of polemic against the notion that morphology can encode systematic reversals, and an equally long tradition of reintroducing them under different names (e.g. polarity, exchange rules or morphosyntactic toggles). An examination of some unjustly neglected examples (number in Nehan, aspect in Tübatulabal, tense in Trique and argument marking in Neo-Aramaic) confirms the existence of morphological reversal, particularly as a mechanism of language change. This is strong evidence for the separateness of morphological paradigms from the features that they encode

Argument (complex analysis · Arithmetic · Art · Context (archaeology · Linguistics · Literature · Morpheme · Numeral system · Opposition (politics · Variation (astronomy · Ancient Near East History · History · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation