Sound change, paradigmatic relations, and analogy produce suppletion in Catalan verbs

Abstract

The development of stem-final /g/ in several parts of Catalan verb paradigms via sound change and analogy has created suppletion in a large number of verbs. In this paper I present evidence against viewing these developments as teleological or driven by factors of markedness or naturalness. I also argue that appeal to morphomes must be tempered by the recognition of the highly variable nature of the patterns displayed by the verbs in question and contextualized in mechanisms that do not merely model change but explain how speakers create change.