Flexionsmorphologie des Substantivs im Ostfränkischen und Nordbairischen : zur ‚Reaktivie-rung‘ der Daten aus Projekten des Bayerischen Sprachatlas für neue Fragestellungen

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Large collections of dialect data have been gathered in research projects such as dialect atlases. This paper evaluates the usability of data from the linguistic atlas of Bavaria (Bayerischer Sprachatlas) for a new research question: What is the structure of declension classes, specifically concern-ing the inventory of markers and assignment principles? The question is connected to central morphological theories, which is exemplified by Bybee’s Principle of Relevance as well as Natural Morphology. An exemplary study of three dialects in neighboring dialect areas of Northern Bavaria (East Franconian, North Bavarian, and the transitional zone in between) reveals both parallels and divergences between the dialects and the standard language regarding the inventory of plural markers and gender and semantics as assignment criteria. Furthermore, a considerable number of zero plurals provides a challenge for the principle of relevance and to the principles of Natural Morphology. In evaluating the data’s suitability for the research question, we show that they provide a solid basis, but we also identify some restrictions for in-depth analyses of dialectal declension classes.