Actes du congrès annuel de l’Association canadienne de linguistique 2007. Proceedings of the 2007 annual conference of the Canadian Linguistic Association. © 2007 Paul Arsenault MARKING THE UNMARKED: EXCEPTIONAL PATTERNS OF SYNCRETISM IN ENGLISH AND HINDI * Paul Arsenault University of Toronto 1. Introduction This paper addresses a particular approach to morphosyntactic feature geometry represented in works such as Harley & Ritter (2002), Cowper (2005) and Béjar & Hall (1999). In this approach, the ‘least marked’ feature in a morphosyntactic dimension (e.g., person, number, case, etc.) is equated with the ‘least specified’ feature structure. As a result, unmarked features are always underspecified in relation to marked features and lack unique feature representations. In response to this I argue that the least marked feature is not necessarily the least specified in every instance, and that languages must have the option of uniquely specifying unmarked features. The unique specification of unmarked features is what I call ‘marking the unmarked’. I sketch an alternative approach to morphosyntactic feature geometry that makes this option available. The proposed analysis is motivated by exceptional patterns of syncretism in which unmarked features behave as though they are uniquely specified. For the purpose of this paper I focus on examples from English and Hindi. 2. Theoretical Background: Distributed Morphology The theoretical background for this discussion is the framework of Distributed Morphology (Halle & Marantz 1993, Halle 1997, Harley & Noyer 2003). Distributed Morphology draws a distinction between morphemes and vocabulary items. The syntactic component manipulates abstract morphemes consisting of morphosyntactic features, but lacking phonological content. By contrast, vocabulary items are specified for both morphosyntactic features and phonological content. They are inserted after syntax to provide a phonological spell-out of morphemes at PF. (1) (morphemes) D-Structure (DS) vocabulary insertion Logical Form (LF) Phonological Form (PF) (vocabulary items) * I am grateful to Susana Béjar, Elizabeth Cowper and Elan Dresher for helpful comments and discussion of the issues addressed in this paper. Any errors are my own.