An argument for process-based morphology: subtractive morphology in Tohono O’odham (Uto-Aztecan)

Subtractive morphology (SM) has been an important form of evidence for process-based theories of morphology. The evidence in the literature consists of broad surveys of plausible examples, but lacks either theoretical justification for selected examples or rigorous investigation of SM in the context of grammars of particular languages. Focusing on Tohono O’odham (TO, Uto-Aztecan), the aim is to determine (i) if the native rules alone can account for SM, (ii) if concatenative theories of morphology can account for all the facts without unmotivated assumptions. This study investigates options that make use of TO phonological and morphophonemic processes, as well as a number of approaches to SM intended to avoid process-based morphology. It concludes that all of these concatenative approaches lead to unnecessary stipulations or predictions of TO that are untrue. Finally, this study provides a process-based analysis of TO subtractive morphology in Antifaithfulness Theory to address criticisms to process-based morphology.