Former gender: Some syntactic and semantic implications of the trans* experience

Abstract

This research investigates the impact of the adjective ‘former’ on the interpretation of the gendered features of words such as ‘daughter’ through the syntactic distance created by the modifier. In the context of trans* individuals, the modifier has the potential to create polysemy due to ambiguities around whether the former is applying to gender or other semantic content in the noun (Hunter 2025; Kramer 2014, 2020, 2024; Steriopolo 2023). This work builds on that of Partee who examined ‘former’ modifying professions (Partee 1981: 111-128) and ‘former’ as applied to genitive relations (Partee & Borschev 1998: 10-12). Partee & Borschev (1998) argue that there is a three-way ambiguity with the phrase ‘Mary’s former mansion.’ I utilize Distributed Morphology to propose an analysis of ways that the word ‘former’ can apply to only the gendered content of a noun, rather than the entirety of the semantic or syntactic content. As such, this piece showcases not only the preliminary work on the varied positions of a gendered feature beneath a Distributed Morphology lens and in relation to the interaction of that feature across a phrase, but also the importance of varying perspectives in theoretical study.