Defaults in linguistics

The notion of default and override can serve linguistic analysis in different ways. In the lexicon defaults are used for the resolution of rule competition, to capture lexical blocking, to select the right stem where there are choices, and when used in inheritance systems to provide for instances that do not meet every characteristic of their class allowing exceptionality to be expressed as semi-regularity. Defaults in syntax and semantics play a more organizational, ontological role, expressing markedness in lists of features and their possible values and resolving conflicts that may arise when two sub-systems intersect. The chapters discuss how defaults and overrides can address specific linguistic phenomena, suggest an architecture of the grammar, and assess the role of morphology in language and cognition.