Difference between revisions of "Phonological Alternations"
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==Nouns== |
==Nouns== |
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+ | (discussion on sg./pl. alternations here) |
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+ | Deverbal nouns: |
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+ | A noun can be formed from (any?) verb by affixing a prefix ''a-'' to the verb root, and altering the initial consonant of the root. |
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+ | {| class="" |
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+ | ! verb !! meaning !! noun !! meaning |
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+ | |- |
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+ | | ret || go || atet || a trip, "going" |
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+ | |} |
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==Verbs== |
==Verbs== |
Revision as of 12:21, 4 October 2012
Phonological Alternations
Morphophonology
Sereer has salient alternations in the initial consonants of noun and verb stems. These alternations appear to be morphologically conditioned in a lexically specified manner, since they occur in several different segmental contexts whose only common element is being within a morphologically derived environment (e.g. plurality in both nouns and verbs; addition of apparent nominalizing suffixes to verbs).
Nouns
(discussion on sg./pl. alternations here)
Deverbal nouns: A noun can be formed from (any?) verb by affixing a prefix a- to the verb root, and altering the initial consonant of the root.
verb | meaning | noun | meaning |
---|---|---|---|
ret | go | atet | a trip, "going" |
Verbs
The initial consonant of verb roots can vary based on whether the subject is singular or plural. Non-implosives alternate with prenasalized stops, and implosives alternate with their voiceless counterparts. So far, these alternations appear to be completely predictable.
sg.~pl.
f~mb
b~mb
w~mb
ɉ~ɲɉ
χ~ɴɢ
ɗ~ƭ
ɓ~ƥ
ʄ~ƈ
r~nd
d~nd
g~ng
Invariant:
j~j
l~l
m~m
n~n
ŋ~ŋ
ɲ~ɲ
p~p
t~t
k~k
c~c
s~s
We still need to get the sg vs. pl. forms of verbs starting with:
q
ʔ, or vowel initial
It seems that verb roots (as seen with singular subjects) cannot start with voiceless implosives or prenasalized stops.