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Linglib.Theories.Morphology.DM.Categorizer

Categorizing Heads (Distributed Morphology) @cite{harley-2014} #

@cite{embick-2004} @cite{marantz-1997} @cite{kramer-2015}

@cite{harley-2014} "On the identity of roots" addresses three questions about roots in DM:

  1. What are roots? (§2) Root terminal nodes are individuated by arbitrary indices, not by phonological or semantic content. The Categorization Assumption holds: roots must merge with a categorizing head (n, v, a) to enter the syntax.

  2. Can roots take complements? (§3) Yes — roots can Merge directly with internal arguments without mediation by a functional head. Evidence: one-replacement in argument structure nominals, verb-object idioms, Hiaki suppletive verbs conditioned by the root's complement.

  3. What delimits the domain of special interpretation? (§4) VoiceP, not the first categorizing head. Idiosyncratic interpretation can extend past the first categorizer (evidence: multiply derived words like editorial, classifieds, nationalize). Voice is the phase head.

DM Three-Lists Architecture (@cite{marantz-1997}, @cite{harley-2014} §5) #

Phi-Features on n (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 3) #

@cite{kramer-2015} argues that grammatical gender is a phi-feature located on the nominalizing head n, not on roots. The feature system is parameterized across languages by dimension (what binary feature is used):

LanguageDimensionFour types of n
Amharic[±FEM]n i[+FEM], n i[−FEM], n, n u[+FEM]
Spanish[±FEM]n i[+FEM], n i[−FEM], n, n u[+FEM]
Maa[±FEM]n i[+FEM], n i[−FEM], n, n u[−FEM]
Algonquian[±ANIM]n i[+ANIM], n i[−ANIM], n, n u[+ANIM]

(@cite{kramer-2015} Chs 3, 5-7; @cite{adamson-2024} extends this to Teop [±ANIM] and Jarawara [±MASC])

This module formalizes the categorization layer, its phi-feature content, and its relationship to Voice. List 2 (Vocabulary Insertion) is formalized in VocabularyInsertion.lean.

A categorizing head that merges with an acategorial root to project syntactic structure. The three options correspond to the functional heads n, v, a in Distributed Morphology (@cite{marantz-1997}, @cite{harley-2014} §2).

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      Gender feature dimension. Different languages locate different binary features on n (@cite{kramer-2015} Chs 3, 5-7):

      • FEM: [±FEM] dimension (Amharic, Spanish, Maa, Dieri, Wari', Lavukaleve)
      • MASC: [±MASC] dimension (Jarawara; @cite{adamson-2024})
      • ANIM: [±ANIM] dimension (Algonquian, Teop, Lealao Chinantec)
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          Polarity of a gender feature value. The binary [±VAL] system from @cite{kramer-2015} Ch 3.

          Note: polarity is about the feature value (+/−), not about markedness. In Set 1 languages, u[+FEM] is the arbitrary gender; in Set 2, u[−FEM] is. Neither polarity is inherently "marked."

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            def Morphology.DM.instReprPolarity.repr :
            PolarityStd.Format
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              A gender feature value: a dimension (what kind of feature) combined with a polarity (positive or negative).

              Examples:

              • ⟨.fem, .pos⟩ = [+FEM] (female, as in Amharic innat 'mother')
              • ⟨.fem, .neg⟩ = [−FEM] (male, as in Amharic abbat 'father')
              • ⟨.anim, .pos⟩ = [+ANIM] (animate, as in Teop body-part nouns)
              • ⟨.masc, .pos⟩ = [+MASC] (masculine, as in Jarawara)
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                def Morphology.DM.instDecidableEqGenderVal.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : GenderVal) :
                Decidable (x✝ = x✝¹)
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                    Feature interpretability (@cite{kramer-2015} §3.4.2).

                    • Interpretable (natural gender): legible at LF, restricts the denotation to male/female referents. Licensed by Encyclopedia (List 3).
                    • Uninterpretable (arbitrary gender): invisible at LF, visible only at PF. Licensed by Vocabulary Insertion (List 2).
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                        Feature contrastivity (@cite{konnelly-cowper-2020} §4, following @cite{wiltschko-2008}).

                        Orthogonal to Interpretability. A feature can be both interpretable (visible at LF when present) and non-contrastive (its absence carries no semantic content).

                        • Contrastive: absence is meaningful — "not [F]" is distinct from having no specification. In a context where [F] could appear, its absence is interpreted as ¬F. Gender features at K&C Stage 1.
                        • NonContrastive: a modifier/adjunct whose presence adds meaning but whose absence is vacuous — it simply doesn't restrict the denotation. Gender features at K&C Stage 3.
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                            Whether a contrastive feature's presence is obligatory for referents with known values.

                            A contrastive feature whose absence is meaningful (¬F) must be present when the referent has a known value — otherwise absence would wrongly convey ¬F. A non-contrastive feature is an optional modifier whose absence is vacuous, so it need not be present even for known values.

                            @cite{wiltschko-2008}; applied to gender by @cite{konnelly-cowper-2020}.

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                              A gender feature annotated for interpretability.

                              @cite{kramer-2015} Ch 3 identifies four attested combinations on n (per dimension):

                              • i[+VAL]: natural gender, positive polarity (e.g. female)
                              • i[−VAL]: natural gender, negative polarity (e.g. male)
                              • u[+VAL]: arbitrary gender, positive polarity (Set 1: Amharic, Spanish)
                              • u[−VAL]: arbitrary gender, negative polarity (Set 2: Maa, Wari')

                              A fifth option is plain n with no gender feature at all (the default).

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                                def Morphology.DM.instDecidableEqGenderFeature.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : GenderFeature) :
                                Decidable (x✝ = x✝¹)
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                                    Whether a gender feature is interpretable (natural).

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                                      Whether a gender feature is uninterpretable (arbitrary).

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                                        Number feature on the n head (@cite{kramer-2015} §3.5).

                                        Split plurality: irregular plurals are marked on n (within the categorization domain), while regular plurals are marked on Num (outside nP). Only irregular number lives on the categorizer.

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                                            Phi-features hosted on a categorizing head.

                                            Following @cite{kramer-2015} Ch 3, the n head is the locus of gender features and (for irregular nouns) number features. The v and a heads do not host phi-features in the standard analysis.

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                                              def Morphology.DM.instDecidableEqPhiBundle.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : PhiBundle) :
                                              Decidable (x✝ = x✝¹)
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                                                  A categorizing head enriched with phi-features and selectional properties.

                                                  This extends the basic three-way Categorizer distinction with the feature content that @cite{kramer-2015} argues sits on the categorizer head. For n heads, this includes gender and (for irregular nouns) number. For v and a heads, the phi-bundle is typically empty.

                                                  The selectsD field captures the selectional feature {D} from @cite{adamson-2024} (following Myler 2016): when true, the n head creates a specifier position for an iPossessor DP in Spec,nP.

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                                                    def Morphology.DM.instDecidableEqCatHead.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : CatHead) :
                                                    Decidable (x✝ = x✝¹)
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                                                      def Morphology.DM.instReprCatHead.repr :
                                                      CatHeadStd.Format
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                                                        The syntactic category of a phi-enriched categorizer head.

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                                                          An iPossessable n head: has {D} (selectsD = true) by construction. Use this for any n that licenses an iPossessor in Spec,nP. The phi-bundle determines gender; selectsD is not a free parameter.

                                                          Examples:

                                                          • Teop body-part n: .iPoss { gender := some ⟨.u, ⟨.anim, .pos⟩⟩ }
                                                          • Jarawara iPossessable n: .iPoss (no gender feature → feminine)
                                                          • Inherited-gender n: .iPoss (gender comes from iPossessor via Agree)
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                                                            iPossessable n-heads always have selectsD = true, by construction.

                                                            FEM dimension (Amharic, Spanish, Romance; @cite{kramer-2015} Chs 3, 6) #

                                                            n with interpretable [+FEM]: female natural gender. Examples: Amharic -it suffix on animate female nouns.

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                                                              n with interpretable [−FEM]: male natural gender. Examples: Amharic animate male nouns.

                                                              Note: iMasc is a mnemonic for the gender this n yields (masculine), not the feature dimension. The feature is i[−FEM] — negative polarity in the FEM dimension. For the separate MASC dimension used in Jarawara (@cite{adamson-2024}), see n_uMasc.

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                                                                Plain n: no gender feature. Default nominal categorizer. Examples: inanimate nouns with no gender marking.

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                                                                  n with uninterpretable [+FEM]: feminine arbitrary gender. Examples: Amharic nouns arbitrarily assigned to feminine class (door, lip, sun, ear, eye). In Set 1 languages (@cite{kramer-2015} Chs 5-6), the u-feature has positive polarity, making feminine the arbitrary gender and masculine the default. Languages: Amharic, Spanish.

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                                                                    n with uninterpretable [−FEM]: masculine arbitrary gender in the FEM dimension. In Set 2 languages (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 6), the u-feature has negative polarity, making masculine the arbitrary gender and feminine the default. Languages: Maa, Wari' (@cite{kramer-2015} Chs 6-7).

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                                                                      u[+FEM] and u[−FEM] are distinct n heads: Set 1 vs Set 2.

                                                                      ANIM dimension (Teop, Algonquian, Lealao Chinantec; #

                                                                      @cite{kramer-2015} Chs 5-6; @cite{adamson-2024} §3.1) 
                                                                      

                                                                      n with interpretable [+ANIM]: animate natural gender. Examples: Teop gender I nouns (article a).

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                                                                        n with interpretable [−ANIM]: inanimate natural gender. Examples: Teop gender II nouns (article o).

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                                                                          n with uninterpretable [+ANIM]: animate arbitrary gender. Examples: Teop body-part n when iPossessed (@cite{adamson-2024} §3.1).

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                                                                            MASC dimension (Jarawara; @cite{adamson-2024} §3.2) #

                                                                            Note: Maa uses the FEM dimension (Set 2: u[−FEM]), not the MASC
                                                                            dimension. The MASC dimension is used only by Jarawara in our
                                                                            current coverage (@cite{adamson-2024} §3.2). 
                                                                            

                                                                            n with uninterpretable [+MASC]: masculine arbitrary gender. In Jarawara, masculine is the marked gender; feminine is unmarked (plain n).

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                                                                              Verbal categorizer (no phi-features).

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                                                                                Adjectival categorizer (no phi-features).

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                                                                                  Two types of root–n licensing condition (@cite{kramer-2015} §3.4.1).

                                                                                  • Semantic licensing (Encyclopedia / List 3): restricts interpretation. A root with a female natural gender referent must combine with n i[+FEM] because the Encyclopedia entry is only defined in that context.
                                                                                  • Arbitrary licensing (PF / List 2): restricts exponence. A root is listed in a VI rule's context as requiring [+FEM] on n, even though there is no semantic motivation.
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                                                                                      structure Morphology.DM.RootLicense (RootIdx : Type) :

                                                                                      A root–n licensing condition: specifies that a particular root (identified by index) is licensed to combine with an n head bearing specific features, and the type of licensing (semantic or arbitrary).

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                                                                                        Whether a CatHead satisfies a licensing condition's gender requirement.

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                                                                                          Whether a categorizer head licenses templatic [t]-intrusion in the sense of @cite{faust-2026} (11). The intruder is the exponent of n[+gen] (Kramer's n_uFem and similar): only nominal categorizers bearing a gender feature can host the bound-root /t/ exponent (@cite{lowenstamm-2014} sister-bound-root analysis). Verbal stems are blocked because gender is realized on the higher Agr head (@cite{kramer-2020}; @cite{faust-2026} (11)).

                                                                                          The predicate is cat = .n ∧ phi.gender ≠ none. Used by Phonology.Templates.RootTemplateMatch.intrusionLicensed to filter RootTemplateMatch candidates with intruder-source associations.

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                                                                                            Which canonical CatHeads license intrusion #

                                                                                            Per-head verification of licensesIntrusion against Kramer's taxonomy. Each theorem breaks if the corresponding canonical CatHead's cat or phi.gender field ever changes — making the licensing predictions of @cite{faust-2026} (11) sensitive to the upstream Kramer-2015 data.

                                                                                            u[+FEM] n licenses intrusion (canonical Set 1 feminine — Hebrew /t/ exponent of taQTiL nouns, Amharic /t/ exponent of gerunds and INFs).

                                                                                            i[+FEM] n licenses intrusion (interpretable feminine).

                                                                                            i[−FEM] n licenses intrusion (interpretable masculine — Faust's argument is feature-symmetric: any [+gen] specification on n licenses an inherent exponent).

                                                                                            Plain n (no gender feature) does NOT license intrusion.

                                                                                            Verbal categorizer: never licenses intrusion (gender lives on Agr, not on v — @cite{faust-2026} (11)).

                                                                                            Adjectival categorizer: no inherent gender exponent.

                                                                                            Faust's central morphological prediction: intrusion is well-formed iff the categorizer is n AND carries a gender feature. The iff reduces to a Boolean computation on CatHead.cat and CatHead.phi.gender.

                                                                                            Natural gender features are interpretable.

                                                                                            Arbitrary gender features are uninterpretable.

                                                                                            Plain n has no gender feature — it is the default/unmarked case.

                                                                                            Natural and arbitrary gender are mutually exclusive on any feature.

                                                                                            Interpretable gender is semantically licensed; uninterpretable gender is arbitrarily licensed (@cite{kramer-2015} §3.4.1).

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                                                                                              Natural gender → semantic licensing.

                                                                                              Arbitrary gender → arbitrary licensing.

                                                                                              Canonical encoding of gender values as natural numbers for the Minimalism PhiFeature.gender constructor. Each dimension × polarity pair maps to a unique Nat.

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                                                                                                theorem Morphology.DM.genderVal_toNat_injective (v1 v2 : GenderVal) (h : v1.toNat = v2.toNat) :
                                                                                                v1 = v2

                                                                                                The encoding is injective: distinct gender values get distinct Nats.

                                                                                                Map a DM gender feature to a Minimalist phi-feature.

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                                                                                                  Map a DM gender feature to a valued or unvalued grammatical feature, determined by interpretability: interpretable gender is valued (legible at LF), uninterpretable gender is unvalued (probe).

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                                                                                                    Cross-dimensional verification #

                                                                                                    Animacy-dimension n types are distinct from FEM-dimension types.

                                                                                                    Animacy-dimension n types are distinct from plain n.

                                                                                                    A morphosyntactic context that can trigger impoverishment.

                                                                                                    @cite{adamson-2024} ex. 63: [MASC] → ∅ in context of [PL] or [PARTICIPANT]. Each context is a separate impoverishment rule.

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                                                                                                        Impoverishment: postsyntactic deletion of morphosyntactic features.

                                                                                                        In DM, impoverishment rules apply after syntax but before Vocabulary Insertion, deleting features from terminal nodes. This can neutralize gender distinctions in certain contexts.

                                                                                                        @cite{adamson-2024} ex. 63: Jarawara [MASC] → ∅ in the context of [PL] or [PARTICIPANT].

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                                                                                                          def Morphology.DM.instDecidableEqImpoverishmentRule.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : ImpoverishmentRule) :
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                                                                                                              Apply impoverishment: if the rule matches, delete the gender feature.

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                                                                                                                A root that has been merged with a categorizing head, yielding a syntactically projectable unit (@cite{harley-2014} §2).

                                                                                                                • The acategorial root (arity, change-type, etc.)

                                                                                                                • categorizer : Categorizer

                                                                                                                  The categorizing head that gives it syntactic category

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                                                                                                                      The syntactic category of a categorized root, derived from its categorizer.

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                                                                                                                        theorem Morphology.DM.same_root_different_category (r : RootClassification) (c1 c2 : Categorizer) (h : c1 c2) :
                                                                                                                        { root := r, categorizer := c1 }.category { root := r, categorizer := c2 }.category

                                                                                                                        Same root + different categorizer → different syntactic category. This is the formal content of the claim that √HAMMER can surface as either a noun (hammer) or a verb (to hammer) — same root, different category, determined entirely by the categorizer (@cite{harley-2014} §2).

                                                                                                                        theorem Morphology.DM.complement_selection_at_root_level (r : RootClassification) (c1 c2 : Categorizer) :
                                                                                                                        { root := r, categorizer := c1 }.root.arity = { root := r, categorizer := c2 }.root.arity

                                                                                                                        Complement arity (c-selection) is a root-level property, not contributed by the categorizer (@cite{harley-2014} §3). The root determines whether it takes an internal argument (selectsTheme vs noTheme); the categorizer does not alter this.

                                                                                                                        Note: This theorem covers arity, not l-selection (which specific preposition heads the PP complement). @cite{hewett-2026} shows that l-selection in Semitic can vary by verbal template, falsifying any theory locating l-selection entirely at the root level. See Hewett2026.

                                                                                                                        Evidence for root-level arity:

                                                                                                                        1. one-replacement in argument structure nominals: "the proud owner of a large dog" → "the proud one" — one replaces nP including √OWN + complement, showing the root took its complement directly.
                                                                                                                        2. Verb-object idioms: kick the bucket — √KICK selects the bucket directly under vP, not via mediation by v.
                                                                                                                        3. Hiaki suppletive verbs: suppletive forms are conditioned by the root's complement (singular vs. plural object), showing locality between root and argument below the categorizer.

                                                                                                                        A theme-selecting root maintains its complement requirement regardless of whether it surfaces as a noun, verb, or adjective (@cite{harley-2014} §3).

                                                                                                                        Layered derivational morphology: a root categorized by one head can be further categorized by another, yielding derived forms. For example, √SHELF + n → shelf, then + v → to shelve (denominal verb).

                                                                                                                        Harley (2014 §4) uses multiply derived words (editor-ial, class-ifi-eds, national-ize) to argue that idiosyncratic interpretation can extend past the first categorizer — the phase boundary is at Voice, not at the inner categorizer.

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                                                                                                                            Apply a re-categorization to a categorized root. Returns none if the root's current categorizer doesn't match the expected source.

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                                                                                                                              Denominal verbs start from n-categorized roots.

                                                                                                                              Re-categorization yields the target categorizer.

                                                                                                                              A denominal verb and a directly verbal root yield the same syntactic category (V), but have different internal structure. √HAMMER + v gives V directly; √HAMMER + n + v also gives V but via layered derivation. This structural ambiguity is invisible at the category level (@cite{harley-2014} §2).

                                                                                                                              Deadjectival derivation (a → v) connects to @cite{embick-2004}'s resultStative structure: what RootTypology calls AdjectivalStructure.resultStative is, in DM terms, a root first categorized by a, then further categorized by v.

                                                                                                                              Categorizers are never phase heads (@cite{harley-2014} §4).

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                                                                                                                                No categorizer is a phase head (@cite{harley-2014} §4).

                                                                                                                                Agentive Voice IS a phase head — it demarcates the boundary above which interpretation must be compositional (@cite{harley-2014} §4).

                                                                                                                                The phase-boundary asymmetry: Voice can be a phase head while categorizers never are. This is why idiosyncratic interpretation extends past categorizers but not past Voice (@cite{harley-2014} §4).

                                                                                                                                Voice introduces the external argument (@cite{harley-2014} §4, following @cite{kratzer-1996}). The categorizer does NOT introduce arguments — complement selection is a root property (§3).

                                                                                                                                The bridge between DM phi-features on n and descriptive SurfaceGender is mediated by Vocabulary Insertion (VI). Different VI systems yield different surface genders from the same underlying features.

                                                                                                                                Three VI patterns are attested (@cite{kramer-2015} Chs 5-7):

                                                                                                                                For animacy-based systems (Teop, Algonquian), [+ANIM] → animate, [−ANIM]/none → inanimate (2 genders).

                                                                                                                                Set 1 VI: [+FEM] → feminine, else → masculine. Default gender: masculine (plain n has no [+FEM]). Languages: Amharic, Spanish. (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 6)

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                                                                                                                                  Set 2 VI: [−FEM] → masculine, else → feminine. Default gender: feminine (plain n has no [−FEM]). Languages: Maa, Wari'. (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 6)

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                                                                                                                                    Three-gender VI: [+FEM] → feminine, [−FEM] → masculine, none → neuter. Languages: Russian, Mangarayi, Lavukaleve. (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 7)

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                                                                                                                                      Animacy VI: [+ANIM] → animate, else → inanimate. Languages: Teop, Algonquian, Lealao Chinantec. (@cite{kramer-2015} Ch 5)

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                                                                                                                                        Set 1 and Set 2 agree on natural gender (i[+FEM] → feminine, i[−FEM] → masculine) but differ on the default (plain n). @cite{kramer-2015} Ch 6: the polarity of u determines which gender is arbitrary vs default.

                                                                                                                                        Composed morphism: DM categorizer → discourse-level gender knowledge.

                                                                                                                                        The chain CatHead → SurfaceGender → GenderInfo composes the structural mechanism (how gender is encoded on n) with the discourse layer (what participants know about a referent's gender). A noun whose categorizer head determines a surface gender always yields .known g at the discourse level.

                                                                                                                                        This is parameterized over a VI schema (Set 1, Set 2, Three, Animacy) because the structural → surface mapping is language-specific.

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                                                                                                                                          The composition always yields .known _ — a DM categorizer head always determines a concrete surface gender, so gender is never unspecified at the discourse level when the morphosyntax is fully resolved. Gender underspecification (@cite{arnold-2026}) arises from the discourse, not from the grammar.