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In:Morphology by Serial Optimization
Edited by Gereon Müller
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 289] 2025
► pp. 116–147

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Additive deponency

Tripartition in Western Keres intransitives

Published online: 27 November 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/la.289.04gle
Abstract
Western Keresan intransitives fall into three categories, which mark their only subject like subjects of transitive verbs, objects of transitive verbs and a mixture of the two respectively. These three surface types are reducible to two underlying structures, corresponding to whether the subject is an internal or external argument. The third, mixed, type results from the lexically induced addition of a deponent morphosyntactic feature to either of the other types without deleting or suppressing a potentially conflicting feature (additive deponency). The surface forms are derived with Serial Distributed Optimality (SDO), where (if present) number agreement is inserted before person agreement. Number agreement crucially influences the competition for insertion between adequate person agreement prefixes. On the other hand, the selection of the person prefix counterbleeds the insertion of number agreement, which is taken as an argument against a fully parallel approach.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The data
    • 2.1Transitive verbs
    • 2.2Intransitive verbs: Singular and dual
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1The analysis in a nutshell
    • 3.2Additive deponency
    • 3.3Serial distributed optimality
    • 3.4Assumptions on features and vocabulary items
    • 3.5Derivation of P and A alignment patterns
    • 3.6Deponent verbs in the singular
    • 3.7Deponent verbs in the dual
  • 4.Plural
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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