Transcript AC2_Les21_WordBreaks

Morpho-phonology Assignment Answersː
Yoruba Continuous Aspect Morpheme and Allomorphsː
m̩ 101.
[ḿ̩bì]
‘vomitinɡ’ before bilabials
ɱ ̩68.
[ɱ̄ ̩fɔ̀] ‘washinɡ’ before labio-dentals
n̩ 73.
[n̩̄rà]
‘buyinɡ’
before alveolars and pre-palatals
ɲ ̩124.
[ɲ́ ̩dʲ ī ] ‘stealinɡ’ before palatalized plosives
ŋ ̩66.
[ ŋ̄ ̩ɡɛ̄] ‘cuttinɡ’ before velars
Assimilation to place of articulation
Continuous  [m̩] before + bilabials
or / ___ + bilabials
Aspect
[ɱ ̩] before + labio-dentals
/ ___ + labio-dentals
Morpheme [n̩] before + alveolars
/ ___ + alveolars
/N̩/
& pre-palatal
& pre-palatals
[ɲ ̩] before + palatalized plosives
/ ___ + palatalized plosives
[ŋ ̩] before + velars
/ ___ + velars
Morpho-phonology Assignment Answersː
Assimilation to place of articulation
Continuous  [m̩] before + bilabials
[N̩-bì]  [ḿ̩bì]
‘vomitinɡ’
Aspect
[ɱ ̩] before + labio-dentals
[N̩-fɔ̀]  [ɱ̄ ̩fɔ̀] ‘washinɡ’
Morpheme [n̩] before + alveolars
[N̩-rà]  [n̩̄rà]
‘buyinɡ’
/N̩/
& pre-palatal
[ɲ ̩] before + palatalized
[N̩-dʲ ī ]  [ɲ́ ̩dʲ ī ] ‘stealinɡ’
plosives
[ŋ ̩] before + velars[N̩-ɡɛ̄]  [ŋ̄ ̩ɡɛ̄]
‘cuttinɡ’
The continuous aspect morpheme is not found before vowel-initial verbs which might show us clearly the
real morpheme. The nasal phonemes /m/, /n/ or another nasal could equally be the continuous
aspect morpheme. Since we don’t know which it is, we list it as /N̩/.
Morpho-phonology Review
What is the difference between a phonological process and a
morphological process?
PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS:
common sound change in a
particular environment in
roots
MORPHOLOGICAL PROCESS:
common sound change in a
particular environment where
words or morphemes come
together.
Voicing and weakening assimilation
LUMUN Sudan
/k/  [ɣ] in-between vowels
 [k] elsewhere
Complete assimilation
CAIRO ARABIC
/l/  /d/ before + d
 /n/ before + n
/kakɛk/  [kaɣɛk] ‘tree type’
 /s/ before + s
/il-dars/  /iddars/ ‘the lesson’
/il-nimra/  /innimra/ ‘the grade’
/il-satr/  /issatr/ ‘the line’
How does phonology help literacy development?
2. Sometimes sounds change when words
or parts of words are joined in various
ways. Phonology helps us find the best
spelling rules for these difficult
situations. (Steps 18-19)
Steps for finding spelling rules when words or morphemes come
together (2 of 2)
18. Identify Morphophonological Changes
19. Identify Word Boundary Changes
PHONEME: the smallest
contrastive sound in a
language
LUMUN
[kaβɪk] ‘rain’
MORPHEME: the smallest MUNDARI
part of a word with
/pɪɟa/ ‘Don’t askǃ’
meaning
WORD: the smallest unit
of language that can be
pronounced by itself and
have meaning for
speakers
ENGLISH
day, days
A Word
•
•
•
•
can be pronounced in isolation.
is always pronounced the same (in the same
dialect) (in isolation or slow speech).
has meaning.
has 1 or more morphemes.
Morphological Processes Across Word Boundaries
Weakening
Voicing
Assimilation to the place of articulation
Deletion (Elision)
[+ATR] spreading (rare)
These processes also occur across morpheme boundaries.
LUMUN Sudan
Weakening & Voicing
/c/  [j] in-between vowels
Original
Sound
In roots
/pɪcɔk/
 [pɪjɔk]
‘tree type’
Across morpheme
boundary
/ɪ-carak/
 [ɪjarak]
‘in-stomach’
Across word boundary /ana/ /caɽɪ/ /cɛn/  [anajaɽɪjɛn]
‘and that day’
Sound can change across word boundaries. So, SOUND CHANGE IS NOT A GOOD ENOUGH REASON
FOR CONNECTING MORPHEMES. Morphemes with sound changes could be separate words.
EJAGHAM
Vowel Deletion (Elision) ( = nothinɡ)
V   before + V
Original
Across morpheme
boundary
/apini-a/ 
/akɔɛ-a/ 
Sound
[apina] ‘he.tumbles-always’
[akɔa] ‘he.coughs-always’
Across word boundary /ka/ /eti/ 
[keti]
/ka/ /oso/ 
‘in tree’
[keso]
‘in sky’
Sound can change across word boundaries. So, SOUND CHANGE IS NOT A GOOD ENOUGH REASON
FOR CONNECTING MORPHEMES. Morphemes with sound changes could be separate words.
How do we decide if there is a word break?
Consider the following important factorsː
•
•
•
Semantic (Rules 1-2)
Grammatical (Rules 3-6)
Psychological (Rules 7-8)
Strong evidence
Medium strength evidence
Weak evidence
These rules are only a starting point for deciding word breaks in
the orthography. After discussion and testing, speakers
should have the final say about word breaks.
Semantic (strong evidence for separate words)
Rule 1: If the morpheme said by itself has meaning
for speakers, it can be written as a separate word .
hair
brush
hairbrush
day
Monday
Tuesday
Not *Mon
Not *Tues
Semantic (strong evidence for connected words)
Rule 2: Two morphemes should be written as one
word when their combination has a different
meaning than when they are separate.
blackboard
wildcat
greenhouse
hairbrush
black board
wild cat
green house
hair brush (no meaning)
Grammatical (medium strength evidence for separate words)
Rule 3: If another morpheme can sometimes come
between 2 morphemes, they should be written
separately
LUMUN Sudan
Since the word cik ‘up’ can be separated from the verb pathuttet ‘vomited’ in (a), the
word cik should not be written attached to the verb in (b)
(a)
(b)
pathuttet oIunan cik ‘vomited Jonah up’
pathuttet cik
‘vomited up’
[paðʊttɛccik]
Grammatical (medium strength evidence for connnected words)
Rule 4: Morphemes that can have changes in sound
when next to more than one part of speech can be
connected with each of the words.
GAAHMG Sudan
Relative clause marker =ɛ (becomes =i when attached to [+ATR] words)
Nouns
ná àgááɾɛ́
‘who is a hunter’
ná mə̄ī d̪í
‘who is an elder’
Adjectives ná àgááɾ bánd̪ā lɛ́
‘who is a weak hunter’
ná àgááɾ ə́ní
‘who is a bad hunter’
Verbs
ná ŋā ɲɛ́
‘who files’
ná cū d̪í
‘who climbs’
Adverbs ná cū d̪ cā bɛ́
‘who climbs up’
ná ŋā ɲ ə̄nd̪ə́gí
‘who files with force’
Grammatical (medium strength evidence for separate words)
Rule 5: If the morpheme can be moved to a different
place within the sentence, it should be written as
a separate word.
He will go.
Will he go?
He did go.
Did he go?
Grammatical (medium strength evidence for separate words)
Rule 6: If a morpheme is clearly a separate word in
one construction, it is best to write it as a
separate word in other constructions.
The preposition to is definitely a separate word in (a); therefore,
it is considered a separate word elsewhere.
(a) Where did you go to?
(b) I went to town.
Psychological (weak evidence for connnected words)
Rule 7: If speakers are not comfortable about
pronouncing a morpheme by itself, it should
probably be written connected to another
morpheme.
English speakers are not comfortable pronouncing the following
by themselves; they are not words:
re-, un-, -able, -ness
English speakers are comfortable pronouncing the following by
themselves; they are words (even though there is little
meaning by themselves)
to, at, not
Psychological (weak evidence for connnected words)
Rule 8: Follow the natural word length in the
language as much as possible
If the language tends to have short words, such as in
Gbaya (Kresh) of Sudan, there may be no need to
join morphemes. If the language tends to have
long words, such as in Swahili, joining may be
more acceptable to the people.
‘BELI Sudan Should the prepositions and pronouns be separate words or connnected?
Indepenedent pronouns Factors to considerː
ma
‘I,me’
1. The prepositions and pronouns can be pronounced by
ji
‘you SG’
themselves and have meaning for speakers.
nɛ
‘he/she, him/her’2. The same pronouns occur before or after verbs
jɛ
‘you PL’
3. Short words are very common in ‘Beli.
Prepositional pronouns
Ama nɪ ga ŋɛrɛ
/Ama nɪ ga-ma/
/Ama nɪ ga-ji/
/Ama nɪ ga-nɛ/
/Ama nɪ ga-jɛ/
Prepositional pronouns
‘They go to the chief’
‘They go to me’
‘They go to you SG’
‘They go to him/her’
‘They go to you PL’
(ga ‘to’)
[Ama nɪ gama]
[Ama nɪ geji]
[Ama nɪ gɛnɛ]
[Ama nɪ gɛjɛ]
Ama nɪ nɪ ŋɛrɛ
/Ama nɪ nɪ-ma/
/Ama nɪ nɪ-ji/
/Ama nɪ nɪ-nɛ/
/Ama nɪ nɪ-jɛ/
‘They go with the chief’ (nɪ ‘with’)
[Ama nɪ nɪma]
‘They go with me’
[Ama nɪ niji] ‘They go with you SG’
[Ama nɪ nɪnɛ]
‘They go with him/her’
[Ama nɪ nɪjɛ]
‘They go with you PL’
‘BELI Sudan Should the prepositions and pronouns be separate words or connnected?
Factor 1. The prepositions and pronouns can be pronounced by themselves and have meaning for speakers.
(Semantic) Rule 1: If the morpheme said by itself has meaning for speakers, it can be
written as a separate word
According to rule 1 (semantic rules are strong evidence), the prepositions and pronouns are all separate words.
ga ‘to’
nɪ ‘with’
ma ‘I, me’ ji ‘you SG’ nɛ ‘he, him’ jɛ ‘you PL’
Factor 2. The same pronouns occur before or after verbs.
(Grammatical) Rule 5: If the morpheme can be moved to a different place within the
sentence, it should be written as a separate word.
According to rule 5 (grammatical rules are medium strength evidence), the pronouns are
separate words since they have the same form when before or after verbs.
Factor 3. Short words are very common in ‘Beli.
(Psychological) Rule 8: Follow the natural word length in the language as much as
possible
According to rule 8 (psycological rules are weak evidence), the prepositions and
pronouns are separate words.
LUMUN Sudan
Should the object pronouns be separate words or connnected?
Independent pronouns 1. No words come between verbs and object pronouns.
/ɔ-ʊŋ/
[ɔʊŋ] ‘you SG’
/ɔ-ɔk/
[ɔɔk] ‘he/she’
/ɔ-nɔn/ [ɔnɔn] ‘you PL’
/ɔ-kɪn/
[ɔɣɪn] ‘they’
Object pronouns
kʷɔkkɔðɛ caman
/kʷɔkkɔt̪ɛ-ʊŋ/
/kʷɔkkɔt̪ɛ-ɔk/
/kʷɔkkɔt̪ɛ-nɔn/
/kʷɔkkɔt̪ɛ-kɪn/
Object pronouns
kʷɪmmat caman
/kʷɪmmat-ʊŋ/
/kʷɪmmat-ɔk/
/kʷɪmmat-nɔn/
/kʷɪmmat-kɪn/
2. Object pronouns cannot occur in other positions
of the sentence. Only independent pronouns
have the ɔ- prefix.
3. Long verbs are common in Lumun.
[kʷɔkkɔðʊŋ]
[kʷɔkkɔðɔk]
[kʷɔkkɔðɛnɔn]
[kʷɔkkɔðɛɣɪn]
‘He made fruit’
‘He made you SG.’
‘He made him.’
‘He made you PL.’
‘He made them.’
[kʷɪmmaɾʊŋ]
[kʷɪmmaɾɔk]
[kʷɪmmannɔn]
[kʷɪmmakkɪn]
‘He saw fruit’
‘He saw you SG’
‘He saw him’
‘He saw you PL’
‘He saw them’
LUMUN Sudan
Should the object pronouns be separate words or connnected?
Factor 1. No words come between verbs and object pronouns.
(Grammnatical) Rule 3: If another morpheme can sometimes come between 2
morphemes, they should be written separately
Since no words come between verbs such as /kʷɔkkɔt̪ɛ/ ‘he made’ and object pronouns such as /ʊŋ/ ‘you SG’, there is
no evidence from rule 3 for the object pronouns to be written separately.
/kʷɔkkɔt̪ɛ-ʊŋ/ ‘he.madeyouSG’
Factor 2. Object pronouns cannot occur in other positions of the sentence. Only independent pronouns have the
prefix -ɔ.
(Grammatical) Rule 5: If the morpheme can be moved to a different place within the
sentence, it should be written as a separate word.
Since the object pronouns cannot be moved to another place in the sentence without
changing forms, there is no evidence from rule 5 for the object pronouns to be
written separately.
Factor 3. Long words are common in Lumun.
(Psychological) Rule 8: Follow the natural word length in the language as much as
possible
According to rule 8 (psycological rules are weak evidence), the object pronouns can be
written connected to verbs.
Class Assignmentː
1. Write 3 morphological rules for the sound changes when Lumun object
pronouns are connected to verbs (deletion, voicing and weakening, complete
assimilation). Give examples for each.
Reading Assignment
You can have your cake and eat it, too . . . pg 1-7