Irreguar
SuffixesAnalysis and Rules of Grammar III
Linguistics 323
Irreguar
Suffixes
Next consider the plural of ox, child, and the ecclesiatical form of brother: oxen, children, and brethren. Let us start with the plural oxen. The ending marking the plural here is obviously "-en": ox+en. The ending is irregular. There is no way to predict that the ending is "-en" here except to list it in the lexical entry of "ox." Recall, that the function of the lexicon is store unpredictable information. The spelling out of [+Plural] is regular via Rule 1. However, Rule 2 does not apply, which spells out {S} as some form of an alveolar sibilant. The ending must be spelled out as "-en."
The information that the ending is spelled out as '-en' must be located in the lexical entry of ox.
Lexical Entry
| OX | |
| /aks/ | Phonological form |
| N | Category |
| Plural Value | |
| 'en' | Plural Form |
| + | Count |
| - | Personal |
| + | GS |
| - | Fem |
| - | Proper |
First, it must be understood that a default rule such as Rule 2 applies last. All rules dealing with exceptions must apply before the default rule. The listed entry for the Plural Form is one such exceptional rule. If 'en' were the default, it would not be listed here. Thus, the Plural Form must be spelled out as 'en' taking precedence over the default rule. Once a rule is spelled out, the default rule cannot replace the exceptional form.
This page last updated 30 DE 2003
