Gender features and interpretation
Orin Percus
Are features on nouns associated with an interpretation? This is debated in the case of
number, where some say that number features on nouns are interpreted, and others say
that they are a mere reflex of an interpreted feature located elsewhere. This paper
looks at gender features. I argue that gender features on Italian nouns are associated
with an interpretation. At the same time, there is a special interpretive rule, subject to
various conditions, that allows their contribution to be ignored in certain contexts.