Partitioning the nominal domain

Class qua gender is a mechanism for introducing a partition, i.e. noun classes, into the nominal domain. Treating class/gender as a partition function—a function that exhaustively and non-intersectively assigns all members of a set to a subset—provides insight into the range of variation attested in natural languages relative to the realization of class/gender. This set-theoretic analysis is embedded in a model of interface syntax that allows a given feature’s modus and locus of association to vary. Specifically, the locus of association of class/gender varies such that it can associate with any position in the nominal spine—including Root, n , Number, and D—with concomitant differences in morphology, syntax, and semantics. Also, the modus of association of class/gender can vary, such that it can associate with the nominal spine as a feature of a functional category, e.g. D CLASS , Number CLASS , n CLASS , ROOT CLASS , or as an independent F-category in the nominal spine. In the latter case, it hosts a distinct F-head (Class), which can be positioned anywhere in the nominal spine. The model is assessed relative to two data sets: (i) the animacy-based gender partition of Plains Cree (central Algonquian): (ii) the classificatory gender (traditionally described as a noun-class system) of Shona (southern Bantu).