Realizational Morphosemantics in LrFG

Abstract

Lexical-Realizational Functional Grammar (L_RFG) is a theoretical framework that couples Lexical-Functional Grammar with the realizational, morpheme-based approach to word-formation of Distributed Morphology (DM). L_RFG has been developed to take advantage of LFG’s strengths in modelling nonconfigurationality and DM’s strengths in modelling complex non-fusional morphology and polysynthesis. We present some initial attempts at an L_RFG theory and formalization of morphosemantics, i.e. the morphology–
semantics interface. We distinguish the domain of morphosemantics from the more general domain of lexical semantics: morphosemantics encompasses all and only aspects of meaning that affect the mapping from a semantic representation to a phonological representation. We focus on the phenomenon of blocking and, in particular, where blocking fails and a regular and irregular form are both possible. Modern approaches to this type of blocking face the following challenge: certain approaches essentially predict blocking to always happen, while others predict it to never happen. We focus on the former case: contemporary realizational approaches predict blocking to occur in situations where it does not, yielding a potential undergeneration of forms.
We claim that the correct realizational approach to blocking requires reference to compositional semantics and show how this can be done in L_RFG. This correctly accounts for the distribution of four putative irregular/regular pairs that we take as case studies: divinity/divineness, unkempt/uncombed, people/persons, and brethren/brothers.