In linguistics, an alternation is the phenomenon of a 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.
Phonologically conditioned alternation
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 /?z/,[note 1] depending on the nature of the preceding sound.
- If the preceding sound is a sibilant consonant (one of /s/, /z/, /?/, /?/), or an affricate (one of /t?/, /d?/), the plural marker takes the form /?z/. Examples:
- mass /'mæs/, plural masses /'mæs?z/
- fez /'f?z/, plural fezzes /'f?z?z/
- mesh /'m/, plural meshes /'m?z/
- mirage /m?'r?:?/, plural mirages /m?'r?:??z/
- church /'t:rt?/, plural churches /'t:rt??z/
- bridge /'br?d?/, plural bridges /'br?d??z/
- Otherwise, if the preceding sound is voiceless, the plural marker takes the likewise voiceless form /s/. Examples:
- mop /'m?p/, plural mops /'m?ps/
- mat /'mæt/, plural mats /'mæts/
- pack /'pæk/, plural packs /'pæks/
- cough /'k?f/, plural coughs /'k?fs/
- myth /'m/, plural myths /'ms/
- Otherwise, the preceding sound is voiced, and the plural marker takes the likewise voiced form /z/.
- dog /'d/, plural dogs /'dz/
- glove /'?l?v/, plural gloves /'?l?vz/
- ram /'ræm/, plural rams /'ræmz/
- doll /'d?l/, plural dolls /'d?lz/
- toe /'to?/, plural toes /'to?z/
Morphologically conditioned alternation
French has an example of morphologically conditioned alternation. The feminine form of many adjectives ends in a consonant sound that is missing in the masculine form. In spelling, the feminine ends in a silent e, while the masculine ends in a silent consonant letter:[2]
- masculine petit [p?ti], feminine petite [p?tit] "small"
- masculine grand [?], feminine grande [?d] "tall"
- masculine gros [o], feminine grosse [os] "big"
- masculine joyeux [?wajø], feminine joyeuse [?wajøz] "merry"
- masculine franc [f], feminine franche [f?] "sincere"
- masculine bon [b], feminine bonne [b?n] "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 [m?o:] "big", mutated in bean mhór [b?an wo:] "a big woman"
In Welsh, a noun undergoes soft mutation when it is the direct object of a finite verb:
- unmutated beic [b?ik] "bike", mutated in Prynodd y ddynes feic ['pr?noð ? 'ð?n?s v?ik] "The woman bought a bike"
See also
Notes
- ^ The vowel of the inflectional suffix -⟨es⟩ may belong to the phoneme of either /?/ or /?/ depending on dialect, and ⟨?⟩ is a shorthand for "either /?/ or /?/". This usage of the symbol is borrowed from the Oxford English Dictionary.
References
- ^ Cohn, Abigail (2001). "Phonology". In Mark Aronoff; Janie Rees-Miller (eds.). The Handbook of Linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. pp. 202-203. ISBN 0-631-20497-0.
- ^ Steriade, Donca (1999). "Lexical conservatism in French adjectival liaison" (PDF). In Jean-Marc Authier; Barbara E. Bullock; Lisa A. Reed (eds.). Formal Perspectives in Romance Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 243-70. ISBN 90-272-3691-7.
- ^ Green, Antony D. (2006). "The independence of phonology and morphology: The Celtic mutations" (PDF). Lingua. 116 (11): 1946-1985. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2004.09.002.
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