Lexical Blending and the Morpho-Phonological Interface: Towards an Integrated System for Non-Concatenative Morphology

Abstract

The present study examines lexical blending, a word formation process that consists of the combination or overlapping of two bases, in such a way that the resulting unit brings together an initial segment from the first base and a final segment from the second base (almuerzo + cena> almuercena; tarado + estúpido> tarúpido). We will determine the descriptively appropriate structure for these words, and we will also specify how lexical blending is carried out within a constructionist framework, such as that of Distributed Morphology. Our initial hypothesis posits that blending occurs as a result of a specific structural configuration, the presence of evaluative features, and a series of readjustment processes at the morpho-phonological interface, which specifically involve the elimination of a part of the phonological structure based on stress patterns. We do not consider blending to be a strictly morphological (in contrast to Nóbrega, 2023) nor a strictly phonological (in contrast to Bauer 1983) process, but rather one that involves the articulation of both aspects at the morpho-phonological interface.