4

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO MORPHOLOGY

1.4

Phonology for morphologists

How much phonology do you have to know in order to do morphology?

Often, rules for morphological alternations in a paradigm are conditioned by phonological rules. Sometimes
these even make sense from a phonetic (articulatory, acoustic, or perceptual) point of view. These are called
NATURAL rules or alternations.
Observe the following data from Georgian:
Table 1.2: Some Georgian plurals.
singular
mindori
monazoni
niori

plural
mindvrebi
monazvnebi
nivrebi

gloss
field
nun
garlic

Does [o] just happen to alternate with [v] or is there something about these two sounds that makes them
likely to pattern together in a morphological process? To figure this out, you must know something about
phonetics and various places of articulation. Is [o]-+[v] a natural alternation?

1.5
1.5.1

Morphological analysis
So I've got a problem set. What next?

Compare two forms that differ minimally; whatever differs both phonologically and semantically is
probably a morpheme (possible complication: allomorphy, i.e. when a morpheme has two different
shapes depending on its context, e.g. plurals in English.) 4
Factor the first hypothesized morpheme out of all other words in the set that seem to contain it
Move on to a second pair and hypothesize a second morpheme
If possible, find a word with both of the morphemes to help you figure out the rest of that word

Continue doing this until you have figured out every morpheme in every word

1.5.2

Practice
Table 1.3: Turkish locatives.
lokanta
kapi
randevu

koltuk
taraf

'a restaurant'
door
'an
'a head'
book'
'an armchair'
side'

forms of the affix

lokantada

a restaurant'
door

randevuda

koltukta
tarafta

1.3? What

How

the

1.5. MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

(12) a. ev 'a house'

b. ev-de 'in/at a house'

Does this help? What new complication does this form introduce?

Table 1.4: Some Pulaar verbs.

yam
'oolcfa
fi6a
nyaamda
6ila
hnlna
fi6ta
yarda

'healthy'
'be yellow'
'tie'
'eat up completely'
'hang up'
'frighten'
'untie'
'drink up completely'

fur cfa
yam cfa
woyna
taarta
6ilta
nyaama
hula
nyaamna

'be grey'
'be healthy'
'cause to cry'
'unwind'
'take down'
'eat'
'fear'
'feed'

Pulaar

What morphemes are present in Table 1.4? What do they mean?

1.5.3

Tips for writing up a morphological analysis

Double-check your analysis by applying it to all the examples involving each morpheme
Be systematic, and thorough
Type or print neatly

1.5.4
Samoan

More practice
What is the form of the affix in Table 1.5? What does it mean? Where does it go?

Table 1.5: Reduplication in Samoan.

mate
nofo
tanu
alofa
tao to

'he
'he
'he
'he
'he
'he

dies'
works'
buries'
loves'
lies'

rnamate
nonofo
tatanu
alolofa
taooto

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO MORPHOLOGY

Ga What morphemes appear in Table 1.6? What do they mean? Which are the portmanteau morphemes
(one morpheme expresses more than one morphological property)?
Table 1.6: Portmanteau morphemes in Gii.
mffokJ
ebaadu
obaala
mfdukJ
madu
w::if61J
olab

Tohono O'odham

'I have not wept'

'he will cultivate'
'you will sing'
'I have not cultivated'
'I will cultivate'
'we will not weep'
'you have not sung'

'I will not weep'

'we will sing'
'he has not recognized'
'you will worry'
'he will not sing'
'you will not cultivate'
'I will weep'

mff61J
w::ibaala
eyookJ
obaahao
ela!J
odu!J
mafo

How would you describe the process involved in Table 1.7 (Bat-El 2002)?
Table 1.7: Truncation in Tohono O'odham.
Imperfective
hi:nk
pisalt
gatwid
he:edkad
cicwi
wacwi

Perfective
hi:n
pisal
gatwi
he:edka
cicwi
wacwi

'to
'to
'to
'to
'to
'to

bark'
weigh'
shoot'
smile'
play'
bathe'

Mixtepec Mixtec A floating feature is a phonological feature not associated to a segment; it can
function as a morpheme by 'docking' to segment(s) of the stem.
Table 1.8: Floating features in Mixtepec Mixtec.
a

la'la
ve'e
t'a'a
x'a'nu
nama
kwflf
xfoH
vflu
cha'a
cha!
tutu
soko

'mucus'
'house'
'relative'
'cigarette'
'soap'
'narrow /thin
'hat'
'short'
'chair'
'shoulder'

la'la
ve'e
t'a'a
x'a'nu
namaa
kw fl fl
xinlfl
villil1

'my mucus'
'my house'
'my relative'
'my cigarette
'my soap'
'I am narrow/thin'
hat'
cat'