Optimizing gender

This paper develops optimal gender assignment theory, an approach to gender assignment couched within the formalism of Optimality Theory [Prince, Alan, Smolensky, Paul, 1993. Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar. Rutgers University and University of Colorado, Boulder] and drawing on Steinmetz’ [Steinmetz, Donald, 1985. Gender in German and Icelandic: inanimate nouns. In: Faarlund, J.T. (Ed.), Germanic Linguistics. Papers from a Symposium at the University of Chicago. IULC, Bloomington, IN, pp. 10–28; Steinmetz, Donald, 1986. Two principles and some rules for gender in German: inanimate nouns. Word 37, 189–217] insights into the nature of gender assignment. We focus on cases of gender assignment conflict, i.e., cases in which a noun is within the domain of competing gender assignment principles. A typological of such conflicts is proposed, distinguishing balanced from imbalanced conflicts, and a formalism is developed. We argue that features relevant for gender assignment contribute equally to that process, such that there is no priority of principles sensitive to semantic features, contra Corbett [Corbett, Greville, 1991. Gender. CUP, Cambridge]. In the context of Optimality Theory, optimal gender assignment theory provides an example of crucial equal ranking, a formal option allowed but unexplored by Prince and Smolensky (1993).