TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. v
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xi
List of Figures ................................................................................................................. xiv
Glossary .......................................................................................................................... xvi
Chapters
1. What is (and is not) a paradigmatic gap? ....................................................................... 1
1.1. The term paradigmatic gap, broadly defined
1.2. The term paradigmatic gap as used in this dissertation
1.3. Paradigmatic gaps as probabilistic phenomena
1.4. Summary
2. Why gaps? Important questions .................................................................................. 20
2.1. More than idiosyncratic exceptions
2.1.1. Spanish: Gaps that parallel morphophonological alternations (based on
Albright 2003)
2.1.2. Icelandic: Gaps that parallel paradigmatic dependencies (based on
Hansson 1999)
2.2. Major themes in the recent literature on paradigmatic gaps
2.3. Questions for this dissertation
2.4. Summary
3. Theoretical foundations: The paradigm ....................................................................... 38
3.1. The paradigm in traditional Word and Paradigm models
3.2. The (lack of a) paradigm in most generative, morphemic theories
3.2.1. Classic generative grammar
3.2.2. Modern theories
3.3. The rebirth of Word and Paradigm models
3.3.1. Similarities to traditional Word and Paradigm models
3.3.2. Differences from traditional Word and Paradigm models
3.4. The structure of modern Word and Paradigm models
3.4.1. Separation Hypothesis: A conceptual distinction between morphosyntactic
properties and morphophonological form
3.4.2. Default inheritance: Paradigms as nodes in tree structure
3.5. A hypothesis regarding the role of the paradigm in defining and structuring rule
competition
3.6. Summary
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4. The paradigmatic structure of Modern Greek genitive plural gaps ............................. 72
4.1. Overview of genitive plural stress
4.2. The distribution of genitive plural gaps
4.3. Avoidance strategies in the genitive plural
4.3.1. Factors influencing use of periphrastic constructions
4.3.2. Predictions
4.3.3. Methodology
4.3.3.1. Target words
4.3.3.2. Questionnaire composition
4.3.3.3. Questionnaire administration and subjects
4.3.4. Results and discussion
4.4. A formal analysis of (the distribution of) the Greek genitive plural gaps: A
paradigm predictability model
4.4.1. A multidimensional inheritance hierarchy of Greek nominal classes
4.4.1.1. The stress inheritance hierarchy
4.4.1.2. The plural inheritance hierarchy
4.4.2. The paradigmatic structure of paradigmatic gaps
4.5. Conclusions and summary
5. The Modern Greek genitive plural revisited: On the possibility of synchronic
motivation for inflectional defectiveness ....................................................................... 122
5.1. Gaps as epiphenomena: Predictions
5.2. A production and ratings task
5.2.1. Methodology
5.2.1.1. Target words
5.2.1.2. Tasks
5.2.1.3. Participants
5.2.2. Results
5.2.2.1. Variability in rating genitive plurals
5.2.2.2. Subject confidence: A bimodal distribution
5.2.2.3. Effects for intersubject agreement... and for defectiveness
5.2.2.4. No effect for lexeme familiarity
5.2.2.5. Summary and analysis of interactions
5.2.3. Conclusions
5.3. Reconciling opposing conclusions through principles of language change
5.4. Summary
6. The classic mystery of the Russian first person singular non-past gaps .................... 154
6.1. Overview of verbal inflection
6.2. The distribution of first person singular gaps
6.3. Questions
6.4. An experiment on speaker confidence and unexpected non-alternation
6.4.1. Predictions
6.4.2. Methodology
6.4.2.1. Experiment structure
6.4.2.2. Stimuli
ix
6.4.2.3. Types of data collected
6.4.2.4. Predictions
6.4.3. Results
6.4.3.1. First person singular gaps confirmed
6.4.3.2. Correlation between intersubject agreement and confidence
6.4.3.3. No correlation between variation and confidence
6.4.3.4. Analysis by subject: No correlation between alternation and
confidence
6.4.3.5. Analysis of responses: Paradigmatic connections
6.4.4. Conclusions
6.5. The development of the standard language as a historical source of paradigmatic
competition and sociolinguistic motivation for avoidance
6.6. Summary
7. Concluding thoughts .................................................................................................. 204
7.1. A review of the important points from this work
7.2. Questions for the future
7.2.1. What processes lead gaps to be lexicalized?
7.2.2. Why are lexicalized gaps generationally stable (i.e., how are they
learned)?
7.2.3. The implicational structure of the paradigm
Appendices
Appendix A. Genitive plural gaps in Modern Greek ..................................................... 213
A.1. Feminine nouns with nominative singular –α and plural –ες
A.2. Feminine nouns with nominative singular –η and plural –ες
A.3. Masculine nouns with nominative singular –ας and plural –ες
A.4. Neuter nouns with nominative singular –ι
A.5. Neuter nouns with nominative singular –ος
A.6. Masculine nouns with nominative singular –ης and plural –ες
A.7. Neuter nouns with nominative singular –ο
A.8. Masculine nouns with nominative singular –ας and nominative plural –αδες
A.9. Neuter nouns with nominative singular –µα
Appendix B. Survey instrument: Greek periphrasis ...................................................... 258
Appendix C. Survey instrument: Greek genitive plural gaps ........................................ 269
Appendix D. Russian first person singular non-past gaps ............................................. 284
Appendix E. Survey instructions and stimuli: Russian verbal gaps .............................. 288
List of References .......................................................................................................... 298
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