Synonymy blocking and the elsewhere condition: lexical morphology and the speaker

This article investigates the extent to which synonymy blocking occurs in the synchronic derivation and, more controversially, whether it is predicted by the Elsewhere Condition (EC). It argues that in current Lexical Morphology, EC accurately predicts the presence of ‘token blocking’ and the absence of ‘type blocking’, that apparent token‐blocking failure is due either to non‐synonymy or to overregularization, and that apparent type‐blocking is due to an informal tendency of synonymy avoidance rather than to EC. A revised version of EC is proposed which brings to light a number of patterns in the behaviour of ‘rival’ processes including the Strict Cyclicity Effect in phonology.