Difference between revisions of "S alternations"

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The consonant ''s'' behaves unexpectedly with regard to the consonant mutation processes in Sereer, for two reasons. First, it is the only consonant that mutates variably for a given mutation process. Second, it is the only mutating consonant that does not maintain its place of articulation, moving from an alveolar to a palatal place of articulation.
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The consonants '''/s/''' and '''/x/''' behave unexpectedly with regard to the consonant mutation processes in Sereer: they are the only mutating consonants that do not consistently maintain their original place of articulation when mutated, moving (in the case of /s/) from an alveolar to a palatal place of articulation
   
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==S alternations==
==[[Phonological Alternations#Standard nominal mutation|Standard nominal mutation]]==
 
   
The sole exception to the regularity of the standard nominal mutation, ''s'' is sometimes invariant and sometimes not. When it alternates (on a lexically-determined basis), it does so with the voiceless palatal stop ''c''.
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A major exception to the regularity of the standard nominal mutation, ''s'' is sometimes invariant and sometimes not. When it alternates under the [[Phonological Alternations#Standard nominal mutation|standard nominal mutation]], it does so with the voiceless palatal stop ''c'' in certain lexemes and is invariant in others.
   
 
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Parallel to this, the [[Phonological Alternations#Prenasalized nominal mutation|prenasalized nominal mutation]] produces diminutive and augmentative noun stems in '''nj''' (e.g. '''suukar''' 'sugar'; '''njuukar''' 'sugar-DIM, a bit of sugar').
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==X alternations==
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The segment ''x'' is never invariant, but mutates to either '''nq''' or '''ng''' depending on the lexeme along essentially the same lines of variation as '''/s/'''.
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'''Table with examples forthcoming [[User:Faytak|Faytak]] 23:14, 14 December 2012 (UTC)'''
   
 
==Historical conjecture==
 
==Historical conjecture==
   
 
It is possible that the present-day Sereer phoneme ''s'' represents a convergence of two historical fricatives, <nonwiki>*</nonwiki>''s'' and <nonwiki>*</nonwiki>''ʃ''. The lexical items beginning with ''s'' that now undergo standard nominal mutation may have originally been a palatal segment, explaining the changing place of articulation. Comparison of related languages will no doubt indicate the veracity of this conjecture.
 
It is possible that the present-day Sereer phoneme ''s'' represents a convergence of two historical fricatives, <nonwiki>*</nonwiki>''s'' and <nonwiki>*</nonwiki>''ʃ''. The lexical items beginning with ''s'' that now undergo standard nominal mutation may have originally been a palatal segment, explaining the changing place of articulation. Comparison of related languages will no doubt indicate the veracity of this conjecture.
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Similarly, it is possible that modern Sereer /x/ is a merger of two historical phonemes, one of which formerly had a regular mutation to '''nq''' and the other to '''ng'''. Obvious candidates for these merged segments are suggested by the two guttural phonemes in Sereer Siin, /x/ and /h/, which have merged to /x/ in Sereer Salum.

Latest revision as of 15:14, 14 December 2012

The consonants /s/ and /x/ behave unexpectedly with regard to the consonant mutation processes in Sereer: they are the only mutating consonants that do not consistently maintain their original place of articulation when mutated, moving (in the case of /s/) from an alveolar to a palatal place of articulation

S alternations

A major exception to the regularity of the standard nominal mutation, s is sometimes invariant and sometimes not. When it alternates under the standard nominal mutation, it does so with the voiceless palatal stop c in certain lexemes and is invariant in others.

English gloss Singular Plural
pile of millet husks soxon coxon
village saate caate
onion soble' soble'
boat suk suk

Parallel to this, the prenasalized nominal mutation produces diminutive and augmentative noun stems in nj (e.g. suukar 'sugar'; njuukar 'sugar-DIM, a bit of sugar').

X alternations

The segment x is never invariant, but mutates to either nq or ng depending on the lexeme along essentially the same lines of variation as /s/.

Table with examples forthcoming Faytak 23:14, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

Historical conjecture

It is possible that the present-day Sereer phoneme s represents a convergence of two historical fricatives, <nonwiki>*</nonwiki>s and <nonwiki>*</nonwiki>ʃ. The lexical items beginning with s that now undergo standard nominal mutation may have originally been a palatal segment, explaining the changing place of articulation. Comparison of related languages will no doubt indicate the veracity of this conjecture.

Similarly, it is possible that modern Sereer /x/ is a merger of two historical phonemes, one of which formerly had a regular mutation to nq and the other to ng. Obvious candidates for these merged segments are suggested by the two guttural phonemes in Sereer Siin, /x/ and /h/, which have merged to /x/ in Sereer Salum.