Much ado about nothing: Features and zeroes in Germanic noun phrases

In this paper, we argue for a severely restricted use of zero morphemes and against the use of features which are not strictly motivated by the distri bution of the element with which the feature is assumed to be associated. W e consider an element to have a particular value for a feature only if the element in question can occur exclusively in environments where that featur e value is present on some other element and never in environments where th at feature has another value. We apply this definition of features and feat ure values to noun phrases in Germanic, particularly to Dutch and Danish. W e use Optimality Theory in conjunction with our approach to features and va lues and show that in this way, the distribution of features relating to de finiteness, number and gender can be correctly predicted for these language s. We then consider the consequences this view of features has for the choi ce of an approach to morphology.