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Linglib.Theories.Morphology.DM.Allosemy

Allosemy: Contextual Meaning Variation of Functional Heads #

@cite{benz-2025} @cite{wood-2023} @cite{kratzer-1996}

@cite{benz-2025} "Structure and Interpretation Across Categories" examines allosemy — the meaning-side analog of allomorphy in Distributed Morphology. Where allomorphy concerns contextually conditioned variation in form (PF), allosemy concerns contextually conditioned variation in meaning (LF).

The key claim: several functional heads (v, n, Voice, α) systematically receive different interpretations depending on their syntactic context, and these meaning alternations are not tracked by morphosyntactic features. The syntax does not distinguish Voice_Agent from Voice_Holder featurally; the distinction is resolved at LF by the semantics of the VP complement.

Existing infrastructure as allosemy instances #

linglib already formalizes several cases of allosemy without naming them:

This module provides the general abstraction: AllosemicEntry and AllosemicHead capture the pattern that a single morpheme has multiple context-dependent meanings. The module then instantiates this for v (critical for @cite{benz-2025} Ch. 3 on nominalizations) and retroactively classifies existing n and Voice types as allosemy.

A syntactic context that conditions alloseme selection.

§2.4: allosemy is conditioned by the semantics of a previously interpreted domain (below) or the syntactic features of the next higher head (above). Both cyclic locality and linear adjacency play a role, but the exact locality conditions are an open question.

We represent context minimally as what is structurally below and above the allosemic head.

  • belowCat : Option Categorizer

    Category of the complement (below). none = no complement.

  • aboveCat : Option Categorizer

    Category of the embedding head (above). none = root context.

  • complementIsEventive : Bool

    Does the complement denote an event?

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          A single alloseme: a labeled meaning available in a particular context.

          • label : String

            Human-readable label for this alloseme.

          • denotation : Sem

            The semantic contribution.

          • The conditioning context.

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                An allosemic head: a functional morpheme with multiple context-dependent meanings.

                §2.6: "This dissertation is about examining the principal promise of allosemy as a tool in syntactic theory."

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                    Number of distinct meanings available for this head.

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                      Allosemes of the verbal categorizer v.

                      @cite{benz-2025} §2.2 / @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5: v can be semantically null (identity function) or contribute eventive semantics, depending on its syntactic context. This distinction drives the nominalization reading typology:

                      • eventive: v introduces an event variable and contributes the normal verbal interpretation. Yields CEN reading in nominalizations ("the frequent observation of the sky").
                      • zero: v is semantically Ø (identity function). The root combines directly with n, yielding SEN or RN readings depending on n's alloseme. @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5: "When n is semantically zero and v gets its ordinary verbal interpretation" (CEN); "when the v head is Ø" the root interacts directly with n (SEN/RN).

                      In nominalization contexts, both allosemes are available for the same root — the ambiguity between CEN and RN/SEN readings arises from v's alloseme varying, not from the root changing.

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                          v allosemy as an AllosemicHead.

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                            Root change-type conditions v alloseme selection.

                            Result roots (entailing prior change) yield eventive v — the change entailed by the root requires an event variable in v. Property concept roots yield stative v — no inherent change event.

                            This connects @cite{beavers-etal-2021}'s root typology to v allosemy: the root's lexical semantics determines which v alloseme is selected.

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                              The bridge preserves the change entailment information: eventive v iff the root entails change.

                              n allosemy: the three semantic types from CategorizerSemantics are allosemes of n conditioned by morphosyntactic features.

                              @cite{benz-2025} Ch. 3 adds a content possibility for content nominalizations. @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5 adds zero (identity function, yielding CEN reading) and simpleEvent (yielding SEN).

                              The full inventory:

                              • relational: introduces a relation (body-part-of); type ⟨e,⟨e,t⟩⟩
                              • sortal: bare categorization; type ⟨e,t⟩
                              • alienator: existentially closes possessor; type ⟨e,t⟩
                              • content: selects CP complement (CCN reading, @cite{benz-2025})
                              • zero: semantically Ø (identity), noun = verb meaning (CEN, @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5 (5.4e))
                              • simpleEvent: λP⟨e,t⟩λx∃e. P(x) & x = e — picks out entities equal to an event (SEN, @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5 (5.4c))
                              • result: λP⟨s,t⟩λx∃e. P(e) & result(x)(e) — picks out entity created as result of event (@cite{wood-2023} Ch. 6 (6.30))
                              • state: λP⟨e,t⟩λx∃e. P(x) & x = e — picks out states (@cite{wood-2023} Ch. 1 (1.18), Ch. 6 §6.2)
                              • entity: λP⟨e,t⟩λx. P(x) — picks out entities described by the root, no event connection (@cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5 (5.4d))
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                                  The content alloseme is genuinely new — it has no pre-existing NSemanticType counterpart.

                                  n has nine allosemes (extending the three from CategorizerSemantics with content from @cite{benz-2025} and zero/simpleEvent/result/state/ entity from @cite{wood-2023}).

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                                    Voice allosemy: the thematic interpretation of the external argument depends on the semantics of the VP it combines with.

                                    @cite{kratzer-1996}: "What we cannot do, however, is combine the holder function with the denotation of an action predicate or the agent function with the denotation of a stative predicate."

                                    §2.3: while Voice_{D} must introduce a DP argument, the thematic interpretation of that argument can be left to allosemy. The denotations in @cite{kratzer-1996} correspond not to separate syntactic heads, but to allosemes of a single Voice head.

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                                        Bridge: both Voice allosemes map to VoiceFlavor.agentive.

                                        This is intentionally lossy: VoiceFlavor is a syntactic classification (Voice_D introduces a DP specifier), while VoiceAlloseme captures a purely semantic distinction (agent vs. holder thematic role). Both agent and holder are syntactically Voice_D; the thematic interpretation is resolved at LF by the semantics of the VP complement, not in the syntax.

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                                          Both Voice allosemes map to the same syntactic Voice flavor: the distinction is purely semantic, invisible to syntax.

                                          Reading types for deverbal nominalizations.

                                          @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 1 (1.18) identifies five terminal reading types; @cite{benz-2025} Ch. 3 adds the CCN for German, yielding six:

                                          • CEN (Complex Event Nominal): v eventive + n zero. Noun inherits full verb meaning including event variable and argument structure.
                                          • SEN (Simple Event Nominal): v zero + n simpleEvent. Event reading without full argument structure; event comes from n's alloseme.
                                          • Result/Product Nominal: v eventive + n result. Entity whose existence is the result of an event (e.g. prentun 'printing' = the printed object). Built off verbal meaning, retains event variable.
                                          • Simple State Nominal: v zero + n state. State reading (e.g. aðdáun 'admiration' as a lasting state, þrælkun 'slavery').
                                          • Simple Entity Nominal: v zero + n entity. Entity reading with no event connection (e.g. þvottur 'laundry' = the clothes).
                                          • CCN (Complex Content Nominal): v eventive + n content. Takes CP complement (@cite{benz-2025}).
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                                              Derive the nominalization reading from the allosemes of v and n.

                                              Integrates @cite{benz-2025} Ch. 3 and @cite{wood-2023} Ch. 5–6:

                                              • v_eventive + n_zero → CEN (n is identity, noun = verb meaning)
                                              • v_eventive + n_sortal → CEN (@cite{benz-2025} mapping)
                                              • v_eventive + n_result → result/product RN (entity from event)
                                              • v_zero + n_simpleEvent → SEN (v absent, n picks out event-entity)
                                              • v_zero + n_state → simple state (v absent, n picks out state)
                                              • v_zero + n_entity → simple entity RN (no event connection)
                                              • v_zero + n_sortal → simple entity RN (@cite{benz-2025} mapping)
                                              • v_eventive + n_content → CCN (content requires eventive v)
                                              • v_zero + n_content → impossible (content requires eventive v)
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                                                Result/product RN from eventive v + result n (@cite{wood-2023} Ch. 6 (6.30)).

                                                Ch. 2 evaluates three positions on the relationship between allosemy and allomorphy:

                                                1. The allomorphy analogy is deeply flawed and should be abandoned.
                                                2. Only phenomena that closely mirror allomorphy count as allosemy.
                                                3. The analogy holds in some respects but the relationship is fundamentally different.

                                                Benz favors position 3: allosemy shares locality properties with allomorphy (cyclic domains, adjacency effects) but Roots are far more flexible in meaning than in form.

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