Suppletion and affix selection in Nanosyntax

Abstract The Nanosyntactic Lexicalization Algorithm (LA) predicts a complementarity relation between affix rivalry and base suppletion: given identical structures, whichever material cannot be lexicalized by the base exponent will be lexicalized by affix(es). This chapter explores this prediction through an analysis of cardinal and ordinal Spanish numerals, examining their suppletion patterns and how they correlate with the different affixes used for each numeral. Through this analysis, the chapter shows that the LA not only allows an elegant account of affix rivalry without the use of diacritics, but also that it is analytically superior because it provides principled explanations for the different distribution of items, and makes it possible to relate their distribution with the non-numeral uses that they have without having to duplicate homophonous lexical entries.