Kramer 2020: Grammatical Gender — A Close Look at Gender Assignment #
@cite{kramer-2020} @cite{kramer-2015} @cite{corbett-1991} @cite{harris-1991}
Formalizes the core contributions of @cite{kramer-2020}, a review article that sharpens and extends @cite{kramer-2015}'s structural approach to gender assignment. Three main results:
The Semantic Core Generalization (ex. 2/28): every language with grammatical gender assigns gender semantically to at least some nouns, based on animacy, humanness, and/or social gender/biological sex.
Lexical vs structural gender assignment (§3): a comparison of @cite{harris-1991}'s lexical rules with @cite{kramer-2015}'s structural n-based approach, identifying three phenomena that differentiate them: phonological assignment (§3.3.1), hybrid nouns (§3.3.2), and the Semantic Core (§3.3.3).
Cross-linguistic variation in arbitrary assignment (Table 2): remainder nouns vary along two dimensions — same vs different gender(s), recycled vs novel vs both.
Integration #
Typology ↔ DM bridge:
SemanticBasis.toGenderDimensionconnects the typologicalSemanticBasis(fromPhenomena/Gender/Typology.lean) to the DMGenderDimension(fromTheories/Morphology/DM/Categorizer.lean), making explicit that the semantic core properties are the same things parameterized as feature dimensions in the structural approach.DM → Minimalism bridge:
GenderFeature.toGramFeature(inCategorizer.lean) maps DM gender features to MinimalistGramFeature, with interpretable gender → valued and uninterpretable → unvalued.Semantic Core verified:
semantic_core_holdsproves the generalization over the existing 21-language sample fromTypology.lean.
The typological SemanticBasis and the DM GenderDimension describe the
same underlying distinction from different perspectives: typology asks what
semantic property organizes the system, while DM asks what binary feature
sits on n. @cite{kramer-2020} makes this connection explicit by analyzing
sex-based systems as [±FEM] or [±MASC], and animacy-based systems as [±ANIM].
The mapping is partial in two ways:
SemanticBasis.shapeand.rationalityhave no standard DM feature dimension (no [±SHAPE] or [±RATIONAL] in the literature).SemanticBasis.humannessmaps to.animbecause @cite{kramer-2015} does not posit a [±HUMAN] dimension — the closest is [±ANIM]. This is a limitation of the current DM feature inventory, not a claim that humanness is a subset of animacy (e.g. Akɔɔse distinguishes human vs nonhuman, which is orthogonal to animate vs inanimate).
Whether a SemanticBasis falls within the semantic core.
@cite{kramer-2020} ex. 3 identifies three core properties; shape and
rationality are additional semantic bases (§2.2.1) that go beyond
the core but never constitute the only basis for a gender system.
Equations
Instances For
The Semantic Core Generalization: a gender profile satisfies it iff it either has no gender system, or at least one of its semantic bases falls within the core {animacy, humanness, social gender/sex}.
Equations
Instances For
Map a typological semantic basis to its corresponding DM gender dimension, when one exists. (@cite{kramer-2020} §3)
The .humanness → .anim mapping reflects a gap in @cite{kramer-2015}'s
feature inventory: no [±HUMAN] dimension is posited, so humanness-based
systems are approximated by [±ANIM].
Equations
- Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis.sex.toGenderDimension = some Morphology.DM.GenderDimension.fem
- Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis.animacy.toGenderDimension = some Morphology.DM.GenderDimension.anim
- Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis.humanness.toGenderDimension = some Morphology.DM.GenderDimension.anim
- Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis.shape.toGenderDimension = none
- Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis.rationality.toGenderDimension = none
Instances For
Inverse direction: map a DM gender dimension to its typological basis. (@cite{kramer-2020} §3)
Equations
Instances For
Semantic Core Generalization (@cite{kramer-2020} ex. 2/28): every language in the sample satisfies the semantic core.
No language has gender without at least one core semantic basis.
Core semantic properties correspond to DM feature dimensions:
every core basis has a toGenderDimension target.
Non-core properties lack a standard DM dimension.
Round-trip: .sex → .fem (the default parameterization).
Round-trip: .anim → .animacy → .anim.
Whether remainder nouns use recycled genders, novel genders, or both. (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 2)
- recycled : RemainderGenderSource
- novel : RemainderGenderSource
- both : RemainderGenderSource
Instances For
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.instDecidableEqRemainderGenderSource x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
How remainder nouns (those not assigned gender by the semantic core) are distributed across genders (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 2).
Two independent parameters:
- Are all remainder nouns in the same gender, or spread across genders?
- Is the remainder gender recycled, novel, or a mix of both?
- sameGender : Bool
Are all remainder nouns assigned to a single gender?
- genderSource : RemainderGenderSource
Source of the remainder gender(s).
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Dieri (Pama-Nyungan): all remainder nouns are masculine (= same gender used for male humans). Same gender, recycled. (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 2)
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.dieri = { sameGender := true, genderSource := Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RemainderGenderSource.recycled }
Instances For
Tamil (Dravidian): remainder nouns go to neuter — a novel gender not used for the male/female semantic core. Same gender, novel. (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 2; Asher 1982)
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.tamil = { sameGender := true, genderSource := Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RemainderGenderSource.novel }
Instances For
Spanish: remainder nouns are split arbitrarily across masculine and feminine — both recycled genders. Different genders, recycled. (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 1, Table 2; @cite{harris-1991})
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.spanishRemainder = { sameGender := false, genderSource := Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RemainderGenderSource.recycled }
Instances For
Akɔɔse (Niger-Congo: Bantu): remainder nouns spread across at least 7 noun classes — novel genders. Different genders, novel. (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 2; Hedinger 2008)
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.akoose = { sameGender := false, genderSource := Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RemainderGenderSource.novel }
Instances For
Blackfoot (Algic: Algonquian): inanimate nouns are assigned either a novel inanimate gender or a recycled animate gender. Different genders, both recycled and novel. (@cite{kramer-2020} Table 2; Frantz 2017)
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.blackfoot = { sameGender := false, genderSource := Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RemainderGenderSource.both }
Instances For
All five attested cells of Table 2 are distinct patterns.
@cite{kramer-2020} §3.2 contrasts two theoretical approaches:
Lexical (@cite{harris-1991}): gender assigned via lexical rules that map semantic features (e.g. [FEMALE]) to grammatical gender features (e.g. [F]). Each noun is listed with its gender feature in the lexicon. Gender is a property of the lexical entry.
Structural (@cite{kramer-2015}): gender is a phi-feature on the categorizing head n. A root combines with an n bearing gender features via syntactic Merge. Gender is a property of the syntactic structure.
Three phenomena differentiate them (§3.3):
- Phonological gender assignment
- Hybrid nouns (e.g. Russian vrač)
- The Semantic Core Generalization
A lexical gender rule: maps a semantic feature to a grammatical gender feature in a specified context. (@cite{harris-1991})
The semanticBasis identifies which semantic property triggers the
rule; targetDimension identifies which DM gender dimension is
assigned; context describes the conditioning environment.
- semanticBasis : Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis
Semantic trigger (e.g. sex → social gender triggers the rule)
- targetDimension : Morphology.DM.GenderDimension
DM gender dimension assigned (e.g. fem)
- context : Typology.Gender.SemanticBasis
Context restriction (e.g. humanness)
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Harris's Human Gender rule for Spanish: [FEMALE] → [F] / __ [HUMAN] The semantic feature [FEMALE] triggers assignment of the grammatical gender feature [F] (feminine) in the context of [HUMAN] nouns. (@cite{harris-1991}; @cite{kramer-2020} ex. 23)
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Harris's rule connects two core semantic bases: assignment is triggered by social gender/sex and conditioned on humanness.
The status of a diagnostic phenomenon for a theoretical approach. @cite{kramer-2020} §3.3 argues that some phenomena are genuinely diagnostic while others are inconclusive.
- handled : DiagnosticStatus
- problematic : DiagnosticStatus
- inconclusive : DiagnosticStatus
Instances For
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.instDecidableEqDiagnosticStatus x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
A gender assignment approach, characterized by how it handles each of the three diagnostic phenomena from §3.3.
- phonologicalAssignment : DiagnosticStatus
§3.3.1: phonological gender assignment
- hybridAgreement : DiagnosticStatus
§3.3.2: hybrid nouns (simultaneous dual agreement)
- predictsSemanticCore : DiagnosticStatus
§3.3.3: the Semantic Core Generalization
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The lexical approach (@cite{harris-1991}).
- Phonological assignment: handled (lexical rules can reference phonology), but @cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.1 argues the phenomenon may not exist — Hausa -ā is morphophonological realization, not assignment.
- Hybrid agreement: problematic — a lexical entry has one gender feature; a single entry cannot be both [M] and [F] (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.2)
- Semantic Core: problematic — nothing prevents a language from having only arbitrary gender rules without any semantic connection (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.3)
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The structural approach (@cite{kramer-2015}).
- Phonological assignment: inconclusive — syntax cannot see phonology, but @cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.1 argues the phenomenon is better analyzed as morphophonological realization of a gender feature on n, so the structural approach is not genuinely challenged.
- Hybrid agreement: handled — a root can combine with different n heads, or a social-gender projection can override morphosyntactic gender (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.2)
- Semantic Core: handled — via the Thesis of Radical Interpretability: if a language has gender features, at least some must be interpretable, which forces semantic assignment for at least some nouns (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.3)
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The approaches differ on all three diagnostic phenomena.
The structural approach handles 2 of the 3 diagnostic phenomena; the lexical approach handles 1. Phonological assignment is inconclusive for both (the structural approach because syntax can't see phonology; the lexical approach because Kramer argues the phenomenon doesn't exist as described). This is the basis for @cite{kramer-2020} §3.4's conclusion that "structural gender assignment has a slight edge."
Radical Interpretability (Brody 1997; Pesetsky & Torrego 2001, 2007): each syntactic feature must receive a semantic interpretation in some syntactic location.
In formal terms: if a feature F has an uninterpretable instantiation in a language, then F also has an interpretable instantiation in that language. The converse need not hold.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Amharic's n types satisfy Radical Interpretability: the uninterpretable u[+FEM] is accompanied by interpretable i[+FEM] and i[−FEM] in the same dimension.
Spanish's n types (Set 1) satisfy Radical Interpretability: u[+FEM] is accompanied by i[+FEM] in the same dimension.
Russian's n types (5-n) satisfy Radical Interpretability: both u[+FEM] and u[−FEM] are paired with i[+FEM] and i[−FEM].
The Semantic Core follows from Radical Interpretability + structural assignment: if a language has any gender feature (even uninterpretable), it must have an interpretable one in the same dimension, which forces at least some nouns to be assigned gender semantically.
Contrapositively: a language with only uninterpretable gender (pure arbitrary assignment, no semantic core) violates Radical Interpretability.
Positive direction of the RI → Semantic Core derivation: if a language has gender features and satisfies Radical Interpretability, then it has at least one interpretable gender feature (which, being interpretable, forces semantic gender assignment for at least some nouns). (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.3)
Same-root nominals: nouns that can be assigned different grammatical genders depending on the social gender of their referent. (@cite{kramer-2020} §2.2.3; @cite{kramer-2015}; @cite{corbett-1991})
In the structural approach, the root itself is ungendered; gender depends on which n head it merges with. Same-root nominals combine with alternative n heads depending on the referent.
Examples: Amharic hakim 'doctor' (ex. 13), Spanish estudiante 'student', Greek odigós 'driver'.
- form : String
The noun form
- language : String
Language
- possibleNHeads : List Morphology.DM.CatHead
Possible gender assignments (> 1 for same-root nominals)
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Whether this is a genuine same-root nominal (multiple n options).
Equations
- n.isSameRoot = decide (n.possibleNHeads.length > 1)
Instances For
Amharic hakim 'doctor': combines with either i[+FEM] or i[−FEM] depending on the referent. (@cite{kramer-2020} ex. 13)
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.amharicHakim = { form := "hakim", language := "Amharic", possibleNHeads := [Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_iFem, Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_iMasc] }
Instances For
Same-root nominals pose a challenge for lexical approaches: a single lexical entry cannot carry both [M] and [F]. The structural approach handles them by allowing the same root to merge with different n heads.
The two n heads for hakim are distinct gender features.
Hybrid nouns are distinct from same-root nominals. Where same-root nominals alternate gender depending on the referent (Amharic hakim is EITHER masculine OR feminine), hybrid nouns trigger BOTH genders SIMULTANEOUSLY on different agreement targets in the same sentence.
@cite{kramer-2020} ex. 16/27: Russian vrač 'doctor' očen' xoroš-aja glavn-yj vrač very good-F head-M doctor 'a very good head doctor'
Here xoroš-aja shows feminine agreement and glavn-yj shows masculine agreement with the SAME noun vrač in the SAME clause.
@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.2 argues this is problematic for lexical approaches (a lexical entry has one gender feature) but handled by structural approaches (a social-gender projection can coexist with morphosyntactic gender on n).
A hybrid noun: a single lexical item that triggers different genders on different agreement targets simultaneously. (@cite{kramer-2020} §2.2.3, §3.3.2; @cite{corbett-1991})
- form : String
The noun form
- language : String
Language
- morphGender : Morphology.DM.GenderVal
Morphosyntactic gender (from n head)
- semGender : Morphology.DM.GenderVal
Semantic gender (from social-gender projection, triggered by referent)
- distinct : self.morphGender ≠ self.semGender
The two genders must differ for hybrid agreement to arise.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Russian vrač 'doctor': morphologically masculine (from n), but can trigger feminine agreement when referring to a female doctor. (@cite{kramer-2020} ex. 15-16/27; @cite{corbett-1991})
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Hybrid nouns are problematic for lexical approaches: a lexical entry can bear only one gender feature, but hybrid nouns need two genders simultaneously. The structural approach handles this via separate projections for morphosyntactic and social gender. (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.2)
An inventory of n heads for a language, with the number of surface genders that result from VI (@cite{kramer-2015} Chs 5-7).
The key insight: surface gender count is determined by VI rules, not directly by the n inventory. Two languages can have the SAME set of n heads but different numbers of surface genders (e.g., Dieri 2 vs Mangarayi 3).
- language : String
- nHeads : List Morphology.DM.CatHead
- surfaceGenders : ℕ
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Does this inventory include any arbitrary (uninterpretable) gender?
Equations
- inv.hasArbitraryGender = inv.nHeads.any fun (ch : Morphology.DM.CatHead) => match ch.phi.gender with | some gf => decide gf.IsArbitrary | none => false
Instances For
Is this a purely semantic gender system (no u-features)?
Equations
- inv.purelySemanticGender = !inv.hasArbitraryGender
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Same n inventory, different surface genders: Dieri (2) vs Mangarayi (3). This demonstrates that surface gender count depends on VI, not the inventory itself.
3-n languages have purely semantic gender (no u-features). (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 5)
Lealao Chinantec is also purely semantic (animacy-based, Ch 5).
Ojibwe is a 4-n animacy language with arbitrary animate assignment (u[+ANIM]). (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 6, §6.4)
Ojibwe has the same structure as Set 1 sex-based languages (Amharic, Spanish) but in the animacy dimension: i[+ANIM], i[−ANIM], plain n, u[+ANIM].
Lavukaleve is maximal: 5 n heads (both u[+FEM] and u[−FEM]).
More n heads does not entail more surface genders: Amharic has 4 ns but only 2 surface genders.
DM Set-1 categorizing-head projection from the theory-neutral
Spanish Fragment fields. Same Set-1 partition as Hausa.nHead
(Spanish is the canonical Set 1 language per @cite{kramer-2015}
Ch. 6, alongside Amharic). The four cells of (attestedGender ×
isNaturalGender) cover the four Set-1 n-heads.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Same-root nominals project to BOTH possible n-heads (the polymorphic same-root pattern @cite{kramer-2015} §3.4 / @cite{kramer-2020} §2.2.3). The framework decision lives here, not in the Fragment.
Equations
Instances For
DM 5-n categorizing-head projection from theory-neutral Russian Fragment fields. Russian uses 3-gender VI (vs Spanish's Set 1 binary), so the (attestedGender × isNaturalGender) cells project to five n-heads: i[+FEM], i[−FEM], u[+FEM], u[−FEM], plain n. Verified against @cite{kramer-2015} Ch. 7.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Derive from fragment via Spanish.nHead projection: hombre 'man' has natural masculine gender (i[−FEM]).
mujer 'woman' has natural feminine gender (i[+FEM]).
mesa 'table' has arbitrary feminine gender (u[+FEM]).
libro 'book' has default masculine (plain n).
Bridge: convert a Spanish SameRootEntry to the cross-linguistic
SameRootNominal type. The possibleNHeads come from the Studies
projection Spanish.sameRootNHeads.
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.spanishSameRoot e = { form := e.form, language := "Spanish", possibleNHeads := Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.Spanish.sameRootNHeads e }
Instances For
Spanish soldado 'soldier' as a same-root nominal: the root √SOLDAD can combine with i[+FEM] or i[−FEM]. The two licensed n-heads are distinct.
Spanish same-root nominals are genuine same-root nominals (they have two possible n heads).
Spanish has the full Set 1 inventory: 4 n types.
The fragment inventory covers all four Set-1 n-types via projection.
@cite{kramer-2015} §3.4 identifies four classes of roots, distinguished by which n heads they are licensed to combine with:
- Female-denoting roots (√WOMAN, √QUEEN): semantic licensing (List 3) requires n i[+FEM]. The Encyclopedia entry only provides a denotation in the context of an n head bearing [+FEM].
- Male-denoting roots (√MAN, √KING): semantic licensing requires n i[−FEM].
- Arbitrarily feminine roots (√TABLE, √CHAIR): PF licensing (List 2) requires n u[+FEM]. A VI rule specifies the exponent in the context of [+FEM] on n.
- Default roots (√BOOK, √CAR): no licensing requirement. Combine with plain n (the elsewhere case).
This classification generates the licensing tables found in Tables 3.1 (Amharic, 3 ns) and 6.2 (Spanish, 4 ns).
Root classes from @cite{kramer-2015} §3.4, parameterized by which n head the root is licensed to combine with.
The first four classes are from Tables 3.1/6.2 (3-n and Set 1 4-n systems).
arbitraryMasc extends the typology to 5-n systems (Russian, Lavukaleve)
and Set 2 4-n systems (Maa, Wari'), where u[−FEM] is also attested.
- femaleReferent : RootClass
- maleReferent : RootClass
- arbitraryFem : RootClass
- arbitraryMasc : RootClass
- default : RootClass
Instances For
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.instDecidableEqRootClass x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
Equations
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
The n head each root class is licensed to combine with.
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.femaleReferent.licensedNHead = Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_iFem
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.maleReferent.licensedNHead = Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_iMasc
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.arbitraryFem.licensedNHead = Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_uFem
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.arbitraryMasc.licensedNHead = Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_uNegFem
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.default.licensedNHead = Morphology.DM.CatHead.n_plain
Instances For
The licensing type for each root class.
Equations
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.femaleReferent.licensing = Morphology.DM.LicensingType.semantic
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.maleReferent.licensing = Morphology.DM.LicensingType.semantic
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.arbitraryFem.licensing = Morphology.DM.LicensingType.arbitrary
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.arbitraryMasc.licensing = Morphology.DM.LicensingType.arbitrary
- Phenomena.Gender.Studies.Kramer2020.RootClass.default.licensing = Morphology.DM.LicensingType.arbitrary
Instances For
Natural-gender roots are semantically licensed.
Arbitrary and default roots are PF-licensed.
Each root class maps to a distinct n head.
Verify that the Spanish fragment's nouns project to their expected
root classes via Spanish.nHead.
Bridge: the licensing type of a root class agrees with the licensing
type derived from its n head's gender feature. For gendered root classes,
the GenderFeature.licensingType (defined in Categorizer.lean) produces
the same result as RootClass.licensing.
Russian fragment nouns project to their root classes via Russian.nHead.
persona is human-denoting but has u[+FEM] (arbitrary feminine), not i[+FEM] (natural feminine). This is the key exception to the pattern that human-denoting nouns get interpretable gender features. (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.2, p. 59; @cite{kramer-2015} §6.2)
In root-class terms: persona's root is licensed as arbitraryFem
despite denoting humans — its root is only licensed to combine with
n u[+FEM], never n i[+FEM] or n i[−FEM].
The NInventory (from the DM analysis of n heads, @cite{kramer-2015}) and
the GenderProfile (from WALS typology, @cite{corbett-2013}) describe the
same languages from different theoretical perspectives. The key bridge:
the NInventory.surfaceGenders count should match GenderProfile.rawGenderCount
for the same language.
Spanish: the DM n-inventory predicts the same number of surface genders as the WALS typological profile.
Spanish surface genders are consistent with the WALS gender count bin.
For Spanish, the n-inventory has 4 structural heads mapping to 2 surface genders — a many-to-one mapping mediated by VI (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 6). This is the central insight: structural richness (4 n types) does not imply surface richness (only 2 genders).
NInventory ↔ AssignmentSystem bridge: having arbitrary (u) features
in the n-inventory corresponds to semanticAndFormal assignment in
the WALS typology. 3-n languages with no u-features are semanticOnly.
(@cite{kramer-2020} §2.3; @cite{corbett-2013} Ch 32)
In Set 1 languages (Spanish, Amharic), masculine is the DEFAULT gender: nouns with plain n (no gender feature) surface as masculine. The derivation:
- The root combines with plain n (no gender feature on n).
- At PF, Vocabulary Insertion looks for a matching exponent.
- The [+FEM] exponent requires [+FEM] on n — it does NOT match.
- The elsewhere/default exponent (masculine) is inserted.
In Set 2 languages (Maa, Wari'), the same logic yields feminine as default:
- The root combines with plain n (no gender feature on n).
- The [−FEM] exponent requires [−FEM] on n — it does NOT match.
- The elsewhere/default exponent (feminine) is inserted.
The polarity of the u-feature determines which gender is arbitrary vs default.
Plain n → masculine (the default).
i[+FEM] → feminine (natural female).
i[−FEM] → masculine (natural male).
u[+FEM] → feminine (arbitrary feminine).
Plain n → feminine (the default in Set 2).
u[−FEM] → masculine (arbitrary masculine in Set 2).
i[−FEM] → masculine (natural male, same in both sets).
i[+FEM] → feminine (natural female, same in both sets).
Verify the full derivation chain for Spanish fragment nouns: the
surface gender computed via Spanish.nHead projection then Set 1 VI
matches the entry's attestedGender.
Stronger meta-theorem: for every Spanish entry, the projection
composed with Set 1 VI recovers the entry's attestedGender. The
Fragment-side empirical fact (attestedGender) and the Studies-side
structural derivation (Spanish.nHead + Set 1 VI) agree.
Fixed-gender nouns: persona surfaces as feminine despite denoting persons of any sex; ángel surfaces as masculine.
Russian is a 5-n language with 3 surface genders — the same inventory as Lavukaleve, supporting @cite{kramer-2015}'s prediction that n-inventory size and surface gender count are independent (mediated by VI).
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Russian and Lavukaleve share the same n-inventory (5 heads).
Both have 3 surface genders despite the 5-n inventory.
Russian has 5 structural heads mapping to 3 surface genders.
Russian: the DM n-inventory predicts the same number of surface genders as the WALS typological profile.
Russian n-inventory matches the WALS gender count bin.
Russian has u-features → semanticAndFormal assignment, consistent
with the WALS profile.
Projection-derived: vrač has morphological masculine (u[−FEM]).
vrač is a hybrid noun: its morphological gender (u[−FEM] = masculine)
differs from the semantic gender triggered by a female referent
([+FEM]). This matches the russianVrac definition from §7.
Projection-derived: zakon (Class I) surfaces as masculine via 3-gender VI.
Projection-derived: vino (default) surfaces as neuter via 3-gender VI.
Russian projection round-trip: every Russian entry's projection,
composed with 3-gender VI, recovers the entry's attestedGender.
Projection-derived: Russian Fragment covers all 5 n-types.
The NInventory.surfaceGenders field is currently stipulated. Here we
derive the surface gender count from VI rules applied to each n-head,
verifying that the computed count matches the stipulated count.
The key VI patterns from @cite{kramer-2015}:
- Set 1 (Spanish, Amharic): [+FEM] → feminine, else → masculine (2)
- Set 2 (Maa): [−FEM] → masculine, else → feminine (2)
- 3-gender (Russian, Mangarayi, Lavukaleve): [+FEM] → fem, [−FEM] → masc, no feature → neuter (3)
A VI gender-class assignment: maps each n-head to a surface gender class (encoded as Nat). Two n-heads yielding the same Nat surface as the same gender.
Equations
- inv.computeSurfaceGenders viMap = (List.map viMap inv.nHeads).eraseDups.length
Instances For
Set 1 VI: [+FEM] → 0 (feminine), everything else → 1 (masculine).
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Set 2 VI: [−FEM] → 1 (masculine), everything else → 0 (feminine).
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
3-gender VI: [+FEM] → 0, [−FEM] → 1, no feature → 2.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Dieri: same 3-n inventory as Mangarayi but 2 surface genders under Set 1 VI (where plain n → masculine, not neuter).
The Dieri vs Mangarayi contrast: same n-heads, different VI → different surface gender counts. This is now DERIVED, not stipulated.
@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.1 (pp. 60–61) responds to the apparent challenge from "phonological gender assignment."
Empirical pattern (described in §2.3.2, pp. 54–55, citing @cite{newman-2000}): Hausa nonhuman feminines mostly end in -ā, but @cite{newman-2000} p. 209 documents 250+ ā-final masculines (out of ~3000 masculine nouns), partitioned into native exceptions (kadā 'crocodile', ùbā 'father', zàkarā 'rooster'), loanwords, and erstwhile plurals (gidā 'house', ruwā 'water'). The correlation feminine→-ā is unidirectional (@cite{kramer-2020} p. 55): "If a noun has feminine gender, then it likely ends in -ā. However, not every noun that ends in -ā has feminine gender."
Three framings:
@cite{newman-2000} p. 213 ("overt characterization"): synchronically the {-ā} suffix is a morphological feminine marker (not a phonological rule). Diachronically, feminine nouns acquired -ā via overt characterization (@cite{newman-1979a}).
@cite{corbett-1991} §3.2.2 (pp. 52–53): synchronic phonological assignment with exceptions ("nouns ending in -aa are feminine"). Diachronic origin in §4.5 (pp. 102–103, citing Newman 1979).
@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.1 (pp. 60–61): the -ā suffix "is probably best analyzed as the realization of a feminine gender feature" — morphophonological realization of [+FEM] on n, NOT phonological assignment.
The Newman/Kramer synchronic view is opposed to the Corbett phonological-assignment view; Newman's source grammar favors Kramer's re-analysis.
Hausa Fragment is theory-neutral (carries attestedGender +
isNaturalGender, no DM commitment). This section projects those fields
onto Set-1 DM categorizers via Hausa.nHead, then formalizes the
§3.3.1 diagnostic and encodes the three-way Newman/Corbett/Kramer
disagreement at theorem level.
DM Set-1 categorizing-head projection from the theory-neutral Fragment fields. The four cells of (attestedGender × isNaturalGender) project to the four Set-1 n-heads (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch. 6). Non-binary surface genders (.neuter, .common, .animate, .inanimate) fall through to .n_plain — irrelevant for Hausa.
UNVERIFIED: Hausa is not classified by @cite{kramer-2015} (it appears only in introductory data examples in Ch. 1). The Set-1 placement extrapolates from @cite{kramer-2020} Table 3 (p. 56).
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Naive Corbett-style phonological-assignment rule (@cite{corbett-1991} §3.2.2): nouns ending in -ā are feminine, others are masculine. This is what Kramer's §3.3.1 refutes.
Equations
Instances For
Newman/Kramer structural rule: the noun's surface gender is the morphosyntactically encoded fact (Newman: lexical+overt-char; Kramer: VI realization on n head). At the empirical level, both reduce to the attested agreement-trigger fact.
Equations
Instances For
Every Hausa Fragment entry projects to the expected Set-1 n-head.
decide checks all 12 entries by structural reduction.
yārinyā 'girl' projects to natural feminine (i[+FEM]).
Parallels spanish_licensing_mujer (§10).
yārō 'boy' projects to natural masculine (i[−FEM]).
kāzā 'hen' projects to natural feminine — Newman lists kāzā paired with zàkarā 'rooster' as a sex-paired entry, satisfying Kramer's "honoris causa" criterion (@cite{kramer-2020} p. 57).
rīgā 'gown' projects to arbitrary feminine (u[+FEM]).
gidā 'house' projects to default masculine (plain n). @cite{newman-2000} p. 209 erstwhile-plural class (c).
kadā̀ 'crocodile' projects to default masculine (plain n). @cite{newman-2000} p. 209 native ā-final masculine class (a).
ùbā 'father' projects to natural masculine (i[−FEM]). @cite{newman-2000} p. 209 native ā-final masculine class (a), cited in @cite{kramer-2015} Ch. 1.
The Hausa Fragment covers all four Set-1 n-heads via its projection.
Parallels fragment_covers_inventory for Spanish.
§3.3.1 forward refutation (@cite{kramer-2020} ex. 22, p. 55): the naive phonological rule "ends-in--ā ⇒ feminine" is falsified. Witness: kadā̀ 'crocodile' (Kramer's cited example, attributed to @cite{newman-2000} p. 209): ends in -ā but masculine.
§3.3.1 converse, Newman-anchored (@cite{newman-2000} p. 208 footnote [i]): the converse "feminine ⇒ ends-in--ā" is also falsified. Witness: mācè 'woman' — feminine but ends in -è. Newman explicitly flags this as the canonical exception. (Not part of Kramer's argument; @cite{kramer-2020} p. 55 only argues the forward direction. The converse failure is empirically real and well-anchored on Newman.)
ùbā 'father' is a second masculine -ā witness, beyond Kramer's kadā̀. @cite{newman-2000} p. 209 lists ùbā in native masculine class (a); @cite{kramer-2015} Ch. 1 cites it as a Hausa introductory example.
gidā 'house' is a third masculine -ā witness, in Newman's erstwhile-plural class (c) — distinct historical class from kadā/ùbā.
The naive Corbett-style phonological rule and the Newman/Kramer structural rule diverge on Kramer's witness kadā̀: phonological predicts feminine (kadā̀ ends in -ā), structural predicts the actual fact (masculine).
The two rules diverge on EXACTLY four Fragment entries (mācè, gidā, kadā̀, ùbā), agreeing on the other 8. Quantifies the dispute: the structural account differs from naive phonology on 4/12 ≈ 33% of entries — a third of the Fragment load-bears the disagreement.
The four divergent entries are exactly mācè (converse direction), gidā / kadā̀ / ùbā (forward direction).
Hausa shares the Set-1 inventory with Spanish and Amharic
(the cross-cutting set1_shared theorem at §8 already covers
Hausa↔Amharic↔Spanish; this theorem completes Hausa↔Spanish
explicitly for downstream convenience).
Hausa satisfies Radical Interpretability on the same Set-1 inventory as Spanish and Amharic (@cite{kramer-2020} §3.3.3).
Bridge: the Hausa DM n-inventory predicts the same surface gender count as the WALS-style typological profile from Corbett1991.
Hausa surface genders fall in the WALS 2-gender bin.
Hausa has u-features → semanticAndFormal assignment, consistent
with the Corbett1991/WALS profile.