Paradigm structure and predictability in derivational morphology

In this paper we address the usefulness of the notion of a paradigm in the context of derivational morphology. We first define a notion of paradigmatic system that extends conservatively the notion as it is used in inflection so as to be applicable to collections of structured families of derivationally-related words. We then build on this definition in an empirical quantitative study of derivational families of verbs in French. We apply information-theoretic measures of predictability initially designed by Ackerman, Blevins and Malouf (2009) in the context of inflection. We conclude that key quantitative properties are common to inflectional and derivational paradigmatic systems, and hence that (partial) paradigms are an important ingredient of the study of derivation.