Open AccessMore on the origin of the Indo-European feminine gender : a reply to Ledo-Lemos
Author(s) -
Kenneth Shields
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
linguistica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.134
H-Index - 1
eISSN - 2350-420X
pISSN - 0024-3922
DOI - 10.4312/linguistica.50.1.241-248
Subject(s) - anaphora (linguistics) , attributive , demonstrative , psychology , linguistics , humanities , sociology , philosophy , resolution (logic) , artificial intelligence , computer science
This brief paper has two related purposes. First, it represents a response to Ledo-Lemos' criticisms (2003) of the theory of the origin of the Indo-European feminine gender presented in Shields (1995 and elsewhere) - a theory based on the established typological principle that demonstratives (in this case, a demonstrative in *a) are key in the emergence of gender systems because of their dual role as anaphora and attributive modifiers. Second, this paper includes critical commentary about Ledo-Lemos' own hypothesis regarding the origin of this Indo-European grammatical category, grounded in the specialization of "relational adjectives." Objections to the latter involve his reliance on unmotivated analogical reanalysis and paradigmatic specialization