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Do We Need Features for Morphosyntax?

Graf, Thomas

Abstract Bobaljik & Sauerland’s *ABA and the Combinatorics of Morphological Features attempts to explain the absence of ABA patterns across languages in terms of feature combinatorics. Their approach marks a step in the right direction by focusing on the algebra underlying the feature calculus, rather than the features themselves. I argue, however, that one can go even further and adapt a strategy that talks directly about cells in a morphological paradigm. In support of this argument, I present results from my MOL paper Graph Transductions and Typological Gaps in Morphological Paradigms. This approach has a lot in common with Bobaljik & Sauerland’s, but the two also differ in some important respects. Their respective insights may eventually be synthesized into a unified account.

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@Misc{Graf17ZAStalk,
    author = {Graf, Thomas},
    title = {Do We Need Features for Morphosyntax?},
    year = {2017},
    note = {Invited talk, {J}une 26, Workshop on Morphomathematics, {L}eibniz-{Z}entrum für {A}llgemeine {S}prachwissenschaft, {B}erlin, {G}ermany}
}

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