Agreement features in the nominal domain as classifiers

Theoretical and experimental perspectives

Bibliographic Data

ID19595995
AuthorsPaolo Lorusso (0000-0001-9600-074X, University of Udine, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume4
Publication date2025-09-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Language Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2813-4605 • E-ISSN: 2813-4605
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/flang.2025.1662944
OpenAlexW4414262266
LanguageEN
References cited19

Number and gender features are often assumed to differ in agreement processing, yet psycholinguistic evidence does not consistently support this distinction. This paper examines optional agreement in complex NPs (e.g., Italian Un centinaio di senatori si è dimesso / si sono dimessi , “A hundred senators has/have resigned”), where verbs may agree with either the singular head noun or the plural embedded noun. We argue that number and gender operate similarly as feature bundles, functioning like nominal classifiers. Crosslinguistic data show that optional agreement arises from nominal class valuation rather than from inherent gender/number differences. Psycholinguistic experiments further reveal that speakers' choices reflect structural prominence and processing ease, rather than morphological categorical distinctions. Our analysis unifies gender and number within a classifier-based framework, challenging traditional divisions and offering a streamlined account of agreement variability

Agreement · Categorical variable · Noun · Plural · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Speech and dialogue systems · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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