Morphology Cross-linguistic variation in word formation Linguistics 400

Morphology: Cross-linguistic variation in word formation Linguistics 400 Winter 2010

Overview • More word formation types • • • Infixation Compounding Reduplication Vowel or consonant substitution Simultaneous morphemes • For further learning about morphology • LING 481

Affixation Suffixation: root-affix n deliver-able Prefixation: affix-root n un-certain Infixation: ro-affix-ot n n a-whole-nother fan-freakin’-tastic

Infixation Ulwa, a. k. a. Sumo Tawahka, Sumo-Mayangna

Ulwa infixation [ bɑs] [ su: lu] [si wɑnɑk] [ɑ nɑ: lɑ: kɑ] -kɑ(-) ‘his/her’ ‘hair’ ‘dog’ ‘root’ ‘chin’ ‘his/her. . . ’ [ bɑskɑ] [ su: kɑlu] [si wɑkɑnɑk] [ɑ nɑ: kɑlɑ: kɑ]

Compounding [root] n n n machine gun land line snail mail Predictability of meaning n n n ’roid rage (< 1987; ‘road rage’ < 1988) football (< 1486; ‘American football’ 1879) soap opera (< 1939)

Compounding and lexical category noun verb noun tray table friend request skin-deep verb thinktank stir-fry adjective high school dry-clean adjective ? red-hot Righthand head rule n Lexical category of entire compound = lex. cat. of rightmost member

Compound stress Green Lake bluebird fast lane Bigfoot bad boy old school hotline Myspace

Compounds in Mandarin Chinese Mandarin—very little affixation n -/ɤ ɹ/ ‘little’ (diminutive) (also means ‘son’) Some compounds n n [wàŋ ʨhjɔ w] ‘net’ ‘ball’ ‘tennis’ [kwàn ʨjá] ‘manage’ ‘housekeeper’

Reduplication Chukchee, a. k. a. Chukot

Reduplication Chukchee (Russia) [jil e] [jil ejil] [nutenut] ‘gopher’ (absolutive singular) ‘earth, ground’ (absolutive singular) /jil e-RED/, RED = reduplicant

Reduplication English n n red home meaning: ‘real, true, really’

Vowel substitution = Ablaut present past participle sing sang have sung ring rang have rung drink drank have drunk [i] [e] [ʌ]

Consonant substitution Sahaptin Meanings larger – smaller more important less important Forms q – k n l ɬ ʃ s tɬ ʧ ts

Uvular place of articulation [q] = voiceless uvular stop [ qɨp] ‘shoot, fire’ n [wɑ qit] ‘search for’ n velar compare [k] [ kɨtu] ‘fast’ n [wiljɑ ki] ‘chaps’ n uvular

Related pairs of words q q’tɑɑt – ‘thick’ (cardboard, biscuit, helmet) thicker and/or more solid k k’tɑɑt ‘thick’ (canvas, bread, tile)

n ʔɨ niit ‘house’ n, ʃ mjɑnɑʃ ‘child’ l ʔɨ liit ‘shack, shed’ l, s mjɑlɑs ‘baby’

ɬ χ ɑ ɬ jɑ ‘sunflower’ [χ] = voiceless uvular fricative - s χɑsjɑ ‘wild celery’

Modern Standard Arabic verbal morphology Some forms of ‘write’ /ktb/ perfective active III kutib ‘was written’ kattab kuttib ‘made write’ II katab ‘wrote’ I passive ‘was made to write’ kaatab kuutib ‘corresponded with’ ‘was corresponded with’

Simultaneous morphology [kuutib] ‘was corresponded with’ u i perfective passive CVVCVC III wazn: ‘to direct, strive to, act in conjunction with’ ktb ‘write’ ‘correspond’

Verb root (consonants) # of Cs 3 2 1 example /ktb/ /sm/ /j/ ‘to write’ ‘to poison’ ‘to write the letter y’

Morphology summary Morphemes Morphological analysis Lexical category Types of word formation

Question Think of a compound in your native language (if English, use an example different from those provided above). Give the meaning of the whole compound as well the meaning of its parts (if different).