Reconstructing multifunctionality

In this article, the author comments on the views of author Sandra Chung on multifunctionality in Chamorro. She argues that multifunctionality can be understood as a phenomenon distinct from conversion as well as from zero-coded derivation from a common root. According to her, languages that have figured conspicuously in discussions of monolithic category systems show both conversion and real multifunctionality. She discusses the data from Oceanic language Teop spoken in the north-east of the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It shows the same conversion patterns as English language in combination with real multifunctionality.