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Syncretism
Author(s) -
Baerman Matthew
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
language and linguistics compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.619
H-Index - 44
ISSN - 1749-818X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-818x.2007.00024.x
Subject(s) - syncretism (linguistics) , linguistics , feature (linguistics) , warrant , philosophy , computer science , epistemology , economics , financial economics
Abstract Syncretism occurs where two or more distinct morphosyntactic values are collapsed in a single inflected word form. In the current literature, instances of syncretism are being increasingly cited to support particular models of morphology and feature structure. This article takes a critical look at the sorts of analyses that the data actually warrant, in particular showing the limitations of an approach that treats syncretism as dependent on morphosyntactic feature structure.