Suppletion in a Three-Way Number System: Evidence from Creek

Abstract

Suppletion is central to the debate on the nature of roots: whether roots are characterized by their phonology or are phonologically abstract. Borer (2014) holds that so-called suppletive verbs consist of different phonologically constant roots with overlapping semantics. Harley (2014), however, argues that suppletive verbs instantiate root suppletion: one abstract root with distinct phonological realizations dependent on grammatical environment. This squib presents additional evidence from verbal suppletion in Creek (Muskogean) that supports the view that roots are abstract. Creek suppletive verbs are part of a larger three-way number-marking paradigm and their distribution is dependent on the formal number features of their first argument.