Alternation (linguistics)

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In linguistics, an alternation is the phenomenon of a phoneme or morpheme exhibiting variation in its phonological realization. Each of the various realizations is called an alternant. The variation may be conditioned by the phonological, morphological, and/or syntactic environment in which the morpheme finds itself.

Alternations provide linguists with data that allow them to determine the allophones and allomorphs of a language's phonemes and morphemes and to develop analyses determining the distribution of those allophones and allomorphs.

Contents

Phonologically conditioned alternation

See also: Allomorph

An example of a phonologically conditioned alternation is the English plural marker commonly spelled s or es.[1] This morpheme is pronounced [s], [z], or [ɪz], depending on the nature of the preceding sound.

  1. If the preceding sound is a sibilant consonant (one of /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, or /dʒ/), the plural marker takes the form [ɪz]. Examples:
    • mass [mæs], plural masses [ˈmæsɪz]
    • fez [fɛz], plural fezzes [ˈfɛzɪz]
    • mesh [mɛʃ], plural meshes [ˈmɛʃɪz]
    • mirage [mɪˈrɑʒ], plural mirages [mɪˈrɑʒɪz]
    • church [tʃɝtʃ], plural churches [ˈtʃɝtʃɪz]
    • bridge [brɪdʒ], plural bridges [ˈbrɪdʒɪz]
  2. Otherwise, if the preceding sound is voiceless, the plural marker takes the form [s]. Examples:
    • mop [mɑp], plural mops [mɑps]
    • mat [mæt], plural mats [mæts]
    • pack [pæk], plural packs [pæks]
    • cough [kɔf], plural coughs [kɔfs]
    • myth [mɪθ], plural myths [mɪθs]
  3. Otherwise, the plural marker takes the form [z].
    • dog [dɔg], plural dogs [dɔgz]
    • glove [glʌv], plural gloves [glʌvz]
    • ram [ræm], plural rams [ræmz]
    • doll [dɑl], plural dolls [dɑlz]
    • toe [toʊ], plural toes [toʊz]

Alternation related to meaning

Main article: Apophony

Morphologically conditioned alternation

An example of a morphologically conditioned alternation is found in French, where many adjectives have a consonant at the end in the feminine gender that is missing in the masculine:[2]

  • masculine petit [pəti], feminine petite [pətit] "small"
  • masculine grand [gʁɑ̃], feminine grande [gʁɑ̃d] "big"
  • masculine gros [gʁo], feminine grosse [gʁos] "tall"
  • masculine joyeux [ʒwajø], feminine joyeuse [ʒwajøz] "merry"
  • masculine franc [fʁɑ̃], feminine franche [fʁɑ̃ʃ] "sincere"
  • masculine bon [bɔ̃], feminine bonne [bɔn] "good"

Syntactically conditioned alternation

Syntactically conditioned alternations can be found in the Insular Celtic languages, where words undergo various initial consonant mutations depending on their syntactic position.[3] For example, in Irish, an adjective undergoes lenition after a feminine singular noun:

  • unmutated mór [mˠoːɾˠ] "big", mutated in bean mhór [bʲan woːɾˠ] "a big woman"

In Welsh, a noun undergoes soft mutation when it is the direct object of a finite verb:

  • unmutated beic [bəik] "bike", mutated in Prynodd y ddynes feic [ˈprənoð ə ˈðənɛs vəik] "The woman bought a bike"

See also

References

  1. ^ Cohn, Abigail (2001). "Phonology". in in Mark Aronoff and Janie Rees-Miller (eds.),. The Handbook of Linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. pp. 202–203. ISBN 0-631-20497-0. 
  2. ^ Steriade, Donca (1999). "Lexical conservatism in French adjectival liaison". in in Jean-Marc Authier, Barbara E. Bullock and Lisa A. Reed (eds.),. Formal Perspectives in Romance Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 243–70. ISBN 90-272-3691-3. 
  3. ^ Green, Antony D. (2006). "The independence of phonology and morphology: The Celtic mutations". Lingua 116: 1946–85. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2004.09.002. ISSN 0024-3841, http://roa.rutgers.edu/files/652-0404/652-GREEN-0-0.PDF. 
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