The Semantics of Gender in Mayali: Partially Parallel Systems and Formal Implementation

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Abstract

Mayali has four genders and five morphological classes, with formal identity between the gender prefixes and four of the morphological class prefixes. Gender and morphological class are assigned according to different but largely overlapping semantic principles. We analyze these partially overlapping systems within the network morphology framework; an implemented model demonstrates that the analysis gives the correct forms for the majority of nouns in a basic lexicon, and further extends to understanding assignment in the avoidance register. Our account depends on recognizing two different types of default: normal case default, the expected outcome in a given domain, and exceptional case default, the last resort short of full lexical specification.

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