An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”)
In Spanish, feminine singular nouns beginning with a stressed /a/, such as arma ‘weapon’ and asa ‘handle’, do not take the standard article forms la and una, but el and un. This paper examines the non-standard uses of el and un observed in morphologically complex words, such as prefixed nouns (el m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Catalan |
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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Catalan Journal of Linguistics |
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| Online Access: | https://revistes.uab.cat/catjl/article/view/483 |
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| _version_ | 1849717184619610112 |
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| author | Bárbara Marqueta Gracia |
| author_facet | Bárbara Marqueta Gracia |
| author_sort | Bárbara Marqueta Gracia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In Spanish, feminine singular nouns beginning with a stressed /a/, such as arma ‘weapon’ and asa ‘handle’, do not take the standard article forms la and una, but el and un. This paper examines the non-standard uses of el and un observed in morphologically complex words, such as prefixed nouns (el microalga) and diminutives (un alita). The hypothesis is that what makes these variants possible is the adjunct status of prefixes and diminutive suffixes. It is claimed that adjuncts do not obligatorily trigger the reassignment of standard forms la and una, like a head would, because they can be late-merged.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9c17fa414cd1428a9d23a8ef3543bd51 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1695-6885 2014-9719 |
| language | Catalan |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Catalan Journal of Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj-art-9c17fa414cd1428a9d23a8ef3543bd512025-08-20T03:12:46ZcatUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaCatalan Journal of Linguistics1695-68852014-97192025-07-0110.5565/rev/catjl.483An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”)Bárbara Marqueta Gracia0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2199-1689Universidad de Zaragoza In Spanish, feminine singular nouns beginning with a stressed /a/, such as arma ‘weapon’ and asa ‘handle’, do not take the standard article forms la and una, but el and un. This paper examines the non-standard uses of el and un observed in morphologically complex words, such as prefixed nouns (el microalga) and diminutives (un alita). The hypothesis is that what makes these variants possible is the adjunct status of prefixes and diminutive suffixes. It is claimed that adjuncts do not obligatorily trigger the reassignment of standard forms la and una, like a head would, because they can be late-merged. https://revistes.uab.cat/catjl/article/view/483articlelate-mergegendermorphologyadjunct |
| spellingShingle | Bárbara Marqueta Gracia An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”) Catalan Journal of Linguistics article late-merge gender morphology adjunct |
| title | An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”) |
| title_full | An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”) |
| title_fullStr | An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”) |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”) |
| title_short | An Adjunction-Based Approach to Non-Standard Variation (“el microalga”, “un alita”) |
| title_sort | adjunction based approach to non standard variation el microalga un alita |
| topic | article late-merge gender morphology adjunct |
| url | https://revistes.uab.cat/catjl/article/view/483 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT barbaramarquetagracia anadjunctionbasedapproachtononstandardvariationelmicroalgaunalita AT barbaramarquetagracia adjunctionbasedapproachtononstandardvariationelmicroalgaunalita |