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Gender categories in Polish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Alexander M. Schenker
Alexander M. Schenker*
Affiliation:
Yale University
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Extract

In determining Polish inflectional categories it is not enough to consider the differences in shape between paradigmatic forms. On the one hand, some phonemically different endings have the same function; e.g. the endings of list-u letter', kot-a ‘cat’, ćeśl-i ‘carpenter’, seńź-ego ‘judge’ all have the function of the Gen. Sg. On the other hand, some phonemically similar endings have different functions; e.g. dom-u ‘house’ functions as both Gen. and Loc. Sg., miš-i ‘mouse’ functions as Gen., Dat., and Loc. Sg. and as Nom., Gen., and Acc. Pl. It is obvious therefore that the factors determining the function of an inflectional ending must be sought outside the form itself.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 31 , Issue 3-Part1: July-September , September 1955 , pp. 402 - 408
Copyright
Copyright © 1955 by the Linguistic Society of America

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References

1 This is an expanded version of a paper read at the meeting of the Modern Language Association in New York, 29 December 1954.

Inflectional forms are transcribed phonemically; components of inflectional forms are shown in a morphophonemic transcription.

2 Cf. Leonard Bloomfield's remarks about over-differentiated paradigms, Language 224 (New York, 1933).

3 The vocative is not included in the paradigm because it is not considered a nominal form. For a justification of this view see Schenker, Polish nominal inflection (MS) 59-62 (Yale University dissertation, 1953).

4 A less frequent form dvu occurs besides dvux in the Gen., Acc., and Loc.

5 Cf. for instance Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński and Roman Kubiński, Gramatyka języka polskiego 6 55 (Wrocław, 1952).