Lexical Irregularity and the Typology of Contrast

This paper(1) addresses the proper balance between the lexicon and grammar. Particularly, it takes a fresh look into lexical phonological irregularity and its implications for the lexicon-grammar interface, integrating insights from three domains: the use of prespecification in blocking alternations (Kiparsky 1993, Inkelas 1995, Inkelas, Orgun & Zoll 1997), phonologically driven allomorphy (Mester 1994, Burzio 1996, Kager 1996, Steriade 1997), and Richness of the Base (Prince & Smolensky 1993, Smolensky 1996, Prince 1998). I propose that irregular alternations involve listed allomorphs, whose surface distribution is conditioned by markedness constraints. My allomorphic model strongly reduces the use of morpheme-specific features for lexical irregularity, thus constraining the factorial typology of contrast.

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