Abstract
Which factors determine the choice of a plural allomorph for a new singular form? Are regular mappings stored differently from irregular mappings? Do native speakers only rely on analogical mappings to inflect novel word forms or do they use rules? To answer these questions we used data from Maltese, a language with a split morphology, which has a rich and variable set of concatenative and non-concatenative plural patterns.We conducted a production experiment, in which we investigated the mapping of a singular onto a plural. We show that this is driven by an interplay between the similarity of novel singular forms with existing singular words and their corresponding plural forms. Moreover, knowledge of the frequency of the plural patterns in the mental lexicon serves as a basis for generalization to novel words. Our results support an analogical model of morphological processing. We do not find evidence that native speakers use default rules.
Highlights
A central question of morphology is concerned with the processing and representation of new word forms in the mental lexicon: How are they represented and how is knowledge about them used to inflect novel word forms? The data that answers these questions often involves so-called regular and irregular inflection
– Analogical Mechanism Theory: – If Maltese native speakers build the plural of nonce words on the basis of their similarity to existing words and their plurals, we expect that the proportions of plural patterns in the lexicon will correlate positively with the proportions of plural patterns in the inflection of nonce words
The experiment has shown that Maltese native speakers are more certain about sound plural forms and, in general, use these forms more frequently
Summary
A central question of morphology is concerned with the processing and representation of new word forms in the mental lexicon: How are they represented and how is knowledge about them used to inflect novel word forms? The data that answers these questions often involves so-called regular and irregular inflection. Irregular word forms are not formed by means of rules, but are stored holistically in the mental lexicon According to this view, rules are used when memory fails to provide an inflected word form (Pinker and Prince 1988). Rules are used when memory fails to provide an inflected word form (Pinker and Prince 1988) This account can be contrasted with analogy-based theories in which new words forms are generated on the basis of similarity with existing word forms (Albright and Hayes 2003; Daelemans 2002; Skousen 1992; and the papers collected in Blevins and Blevins 2009). Speakers generalize from stored items to new similar word forms by means of analogy, that is new word forms are deduced exclusively by searching the mental lexicon for analogue items and mapping their structure onto the new word forms
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
