The fact that we have to state the environment in order to know the form of our discontinuous morpheme in each particular occurrence, means that the environment functions as an independent factor in determining the variant of our new morpheme. Therefore it is possible to generalize the present method, and to take any two morphemes, and treat any factor which determines their coexistence as part of their environment. However, it is descriptively advantageous to do so only if the environment or the variation is of a general character, or correlates with other features of the language.
- Harris (1945a), a pag.127, n.23