DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS

• ACCOUNTING FOR
MORPHOPHONEMIC
MODIFICATIONS
• ASSIMILATION
• OTHER MORPHOPHONEMIC
PROCESSES
• JAPANESE VERB FORMS
 Accounting for Morphophonemic Modifications

 Distinguishing phonological features of morphemes

of different classes
For example; inflections, as distinct from
roots/suffixes
 Transforming morphemes in morphemic
combinations
 Morphological sound alternation
 A frequent negative prefix in English, for
example, is in as in inactive. Before labials,
however, a labial nasal is used , as in impenitent.
The nasal has been modified in accordance with
the following sound. Sanskrit grammarian refers to
sandhi ‘together + binding’ pronounced as
[s∂ndiy]; the term is widely used today for
modification.
In pre-old English, on the other hand, vowels
of endings influenced the vowels of stem; reflexes
are still evident, for example, men-man & feet-foot.
 ASSIMILATION
One/more sounds come to be articulated like
another sound. The variation of [ Z3 ] provides a
simple example; when the base ends in a voiceless
element other than a sibilant, /s/ is the allomorph;
when the voice ends in in a voiced element, /z/ is the
allomorph.
PROGRESSIVE; assimilation in which the
preceding element modifies a following. For example,
past of Japanese verbs; the suffix is [TA]. When the
base ends in n like shinu the past is shinda. The t is
voiced, in accordance with the preceding voiced sound
[n].
 REGRESSIVE; assimilation in which a
following element modifies a preceding.
When the base ends in r, for example,
toru ‘take’, the past is totta. The r is
devoiced in accordance with the following
voiceless stop and is modified to a stop.
RECIPROCAL; assimilation in which
both elements are affected. When the
voice ends in m, as in the sumu ‘live,’ the
place of articulation of m is modified to that
of the t, and the t is voiced like m, yielding
sunda.
 Assimilation may be made in place
of articulation as when the base sum
becomes sun in sunda ‘lived’.
Assimilation may be made in the
manner of articulation, as when the
resonant r, becomes a stop in
tor>totta ‘took’. Assimilation may be
made in the manner of articulation of
the vocal cords, as when t becomes
voiced in shinda ‘died’.
OTHER MORPHOPHONEMIC PROCESSES

DISSIMILATION – is a type of substitution in

which two phonemes become less like each other.
HAPLOLOGY – when dissimilation leads to loss
of an entire syllable.
METATHESIS – is change in the order of
phonemes.
ADDITION&DELETION- example: mosu
‘speak’-moshita (u is deleted and is added
with –shita)
 JAPANESE VERB FORMS
There are two subclasses of u verbs in Japanese:
those whose bases end in vowels (ne-’sleep’) and
those whose bases end in consonants (tor-’take’).

INDICATIVE INFINITIVE HYPOTHETI CONJECTURAL IMPERATIVE PAST PAST CONDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE

/ADVERBIAL CAL PARTICIPL
E

NE- NE NE- NE-YÕ NE-YÕ; NE- NE- NE- NA-TARI

RU REBA NE-RO TA TE TARA

TOR-U TOR-I TOR- TOR-EYO TOR-E TO- TOT- TOT- TOT-

EBA TTA TE TARA TARI
Roots t n b m k g s w
Ending
in

indicative matsu shinu tobu nomu kika kagu mosu Kau

machi shini tobi nomi kiki kagi moshi Kai

matta shinda tonda nonda kiita kaida moshita katta

matanai shinamai tobanai nomanai kikanai kaganai mosanai kawanai