A note on ‘shared’ allomorphs

Abstract

The paper first questions the traditional assumption that all derivations are in fact ‘derived’ from more basic forms. Examples of such ‘shared allomorphy’ are examined from diverse areas of Modern Greek morphology, such as de-verbal Nominals, plural-extensions, loss of voiced spirants in Cypriot, and initial vowel-loss. We conclude that allomorphs have independent status, but are (as in Burzio 1998) more or less closely/distantly interrelated, so that there is no need for the notion ‘derived from’ or even the prime ‘paradigm’. The paper goes on to ask how semantic ambiguities arise in complex verbs, comparing the idiosyncratic vs. cumulative readings provoked by one and the same prefix. To answer the question we adopt a syntax-based analysis (as in Marantz 2001) for all complex forms, extending this approach to so-called ‘incorporation’ for Greek.

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