Significance of absence: The case of zero and empty morphs

Abstract

The morpheme is generally understood as a unit which has form as well as content, i.e. a physical substance (phonological and phonetic) and a meaning or function within a grammatical system. With reference to examples from Northern Sotho and Zulu, this article demonstrates that zero morphs and empty morphs, as realizations of morphemes, fail to comply in one way or another with the above-mentioned characteristics posited for morphemes. Zero morphs lack a physical form, while empty morphs lack a meaning. These facts render the recognition of zero morphs and empty morphs somewhat controversial, but many linguists nevertheless find it convenient to identify such morphs in their analyses.