Identity and differentiation

From Apics

Quite a few of the features ask whether the forms corresponding to two different meanings are identical or differentiated in the language. We usually distinguish the four different situations described below. It may be helpful to visualize these four cases with the picture on the right.

Identity

A single form a expresses both X and Y.

Differentiation

Two forms a and b express the two meanings X and Y, respectively.

(Semantic) overlap

One form a expresses only X, and another form b expresses both X and Y.

Identity and differentiation

A form a expresses only X, a form b expresses X and Y, and a form c expresses only Y.

In all these cases, two forms a and b count as different even if they are not completely different (i.e. if they overlap formally).