O’Neill, P. (2015) The origin and spread of velar allomorphy in the Spanish verb : a morphomic approach. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 92 (5). pp. 489-518. ISSN 1475-3839
Abstract
This article examines the origin and spread of the verbs which display a velar allomorph in Spanish and, in particular, the paradigmatic pattern which this allomorphy exhibits. I draw upon Maiden’s studies (1992, 2001b) of velar allomorphy in Italian and Spanish which define the different cells that display this allomorphy as an autonomous morphological structure, or morphome (Aronoff 1994) and I argue that the theoretical construct of the morphome offers a more convincing, rigorous and theoretically motivated account for the origin and spread of velar allomorphy in Spanish, as opposed to recourse to the word ‘analogy’. However, I maintain that Maiden’s conclusions for the spread of the velar in Italian are not entirely valid for Spanish since they predict the wrong result. I argue that the explanations offered by Maiden need to be nuanced, along with the concept of the morphome itself. More specifically, I argue that in Spanish the velar allomorph should not be considered as part of the lexical root but rather a semantically vacuous formative which is an allomorph of the verbal ‘endings’. I present evidence from within the history of Spanish to support this hypothesis.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Liverpool University Press. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > School of Languages and Cultures (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Jan 2021 11:55 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2021 11:55 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Liverpool University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3828/bhs.2015.29 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:170089 |