This article is about the concept in linguistics. For the concept in geology, see Allomorph (geology).
In linguistics, an allomorph is a variant phonetic form of a morpheme, or, a unit of meaning that varies in sound and spelling without changing the meaning.[1] The term allomorph describes the realization of phonological variations for a specific morpheme.[1] The different allomorphs that a morpheme can become are governed by morphophonemic rules. These phonological rules determine what phonetic form, or specific pronunciation, a morpheme will take based on the phonological or morphological context in which they appear.[2]
English has several morphemes that vary in sound but not in meaning, such as past tense morphemes, plural morphemes, and negative morphemes.
Past tense allomorphsEdit
For example, an English past tense morpheme is -ed, which occurs in several allomorphs depending on its phonological environment by assimilating the voicing of the previous segment or the insertion of a schwa after an alveolar stop:[1]
as [əd] or [ɪd] in verbs whose stem ends with the alveolar stops [t] or [d], such as 'hunted' [hʌntɪd] or 'banded' [bændɪd]
as [t] in verbs whose stem ends with voiceless phonemes other than [t], such as 'fished' [fɪʃt]
as [d] in verbs whose stem ends with voiced phonemes other than [d], such as 'buzzed' [bʌzd]
The "other than" restrictions above are typical for allomorphy. If the allomorphy conditions are ordered from most restrictive (in this case, after an alveolar stop) to least restrictive, the first matching case usually has precedence. Thus, the above conditions could be rewritten as follows:
as [əd] or [ɪd] when the stem ends with the alveolar stops [t] or [d]
as [t] when the stem ends with voiceless phonemes
as [d] elsewhere
The [t] allomorph does not appear after stem-final /t/ although the latter is voiceless, which is then explained by [əd] appearing in that environment, together with the fact that the environments are ordered. Likewise, the [d] allomorph does not appear after stem-final [d] because the earlier clause for the /əd/ allomorph has priority. The /d/ allomorph does not appear after stem-final voiceless phoneme because the preceding clause for the [t] comes first.
Irregular past tense forms, such as "broke" or "was/were," can be seen as still more specific cases since they are confined to certain lexical items, such as the verb "break," which take priority over the general cases listed above.[1]
Plural allomorphsEdit
The plural morpheme for regular nouns in English is typically realized by adding an s or es to the end of the noun. However, the plural morpheme actually has three different allomorphs: [s], [z], and [əz]. The specific pronunciation that a plural morpheme takes on is determined by the following morphological rules:[2]
Assume that the basic form of the plural morpheme, /z/, is [z] ("bags" /bægz/)
The morpheme /z/ becomes [əz] by inserting an [ə] before [z] when a noun ends in a sibilant ("buses" /bʌsəz/)
Change the morpheme /z/ to a voiceless [s] when a noun ends in a voiceless sound ("caps" /kæps/)
Negative allomorphsEdit
In English, the negative prefix in has three allomorphs: [ɪn], [ɪŋ], and [ɪm]. The phonetic form that the negative morpheme /ɪn/ uses is determined by the following morphological rules:[3]
the negative morpheme /ɪn/ becomes [ɪn] when preceding an alveolar consonant ("intolerant"/ɪn'tɔlərənt/)
the morpheme /ɪn/ becomes [ɪŋ] before a velar consonant ("incongruous" /ɪŋ'kɔŋgruəs/)
the morpheme /ɪn/ becomes [ɪm] before a bilabial consonant ("improper" /ɪm'prɔpər/)
In Sami languagesEdit
The Sami languages have a trochaic pattern of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables. The vowels and consonants that are allowed in an unstressed syllable differ from those that are allowed in a stressed syllable. Consequently, every suffix and inflectional ending has two forms, and the form that is used depends on the stress pattern of the word to which it is attached. For example, Northern Sami has the causative verb suffix -hit/-ahttit in which -hit is selected when it would be the third syllable (and the preceding verb has two syllables), and -ahttit is selected when it would be the third and the fourth syllables (and the preceding verb has three syllables):
goar·rut has two syllables and so when suffixed, the result is goa·ru·hit.
na·nos·mit has three syllables and so when suffixed, the result is na·nos·mah·ttit.
The same applies to inflectional patterns in the Sami languages as well, which are divided into even stems and odd stems.[4][5]
There are three allomorphs of the stem, /vaːk/, /vaːt͡ʃ/, and /vaːɡ/, which are conditioned by the particular case-marking suffixes.
The form of the stem /vaːk/, found in the nominative singular and locative plural, is the etymological form of the morpheme. Pre-Indic palatalization of velars resulted in the variant form /vaːt͡ʃ/, which was initially phonologically conditioned. The conditioning can still be seen in the locative singular form, for which the /t͡ʃ/ is followed by the high front vowel /i/.
However, the subsequent merging of /e/ and /o/ into /a/ made the alternation unpredictable on phonetic grounds in the genitive case (both singular and plural) as well as the nominative plural and the instrumental singular. Thus, allomorphy was no longer directly relatable to phonological processes.
Phonological conditioning also accounts for the /vaːɡ/ form in the instrumental plural, in which the /ɡ/ assimilates in voicing to the following /bʱ/.[1]
HistoryEdit
The term was originally used to describe variations in chemical structure. It was first applied to language (in writing) in 1948, by Fatih Şat and Sibel Merve in Language XXIV.[6]
^Oxford English Dictionary Online: Entry 50006103. Accessed: 2006-09-05
October 05, 2023
allomorph, this, article, about, concept, linguistics, concept, geology, geology, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, f. This article is about the concept in linguistics For the concept in geology see Allomorph geology This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Allomorph news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message In linguistics an allomorph is a variant phonetic form of a morpheme or a unit of meaning that varies in sound and spelling without changing the meaning 1 The term allomorph describes the realization of phonological variations for a specific morpheme 1 The different allomorphs that a morpheme can become are governed by morphophonemic rules These phonological rules determine what phonetic form or specific pronunciation a morpheme will take based on the phonological or morphological context in which they appear 2 Contents 1 In English 1 1 Past tense allomorphs 1 2 Plural allomorphs 1 3 Negative allomorphs 2 In Sami languages 3 Stem allomorphy 4 History 5 See also 6 ReferencesIn English EditEnglish has several morphemes that vary in sound but not in meaning such as past tense morphemes plural morphemes and negative morphemes Past tense allomorphs Edit For example an English past tense morpheme is ed which occurs in several allomorphs depending on its phonological environment by assimilating the voicing of the previous segment or the insertion of a schwa after an alveolar stop 1 as ed or ɪd in verbs whose stem ends with the alveolar stops t or d such as hunted hʌntɪd or banded baendɪd as t in verbs whose stem ends with voiceless phonemes other than t such as fished fɪʃt as d in verbs whose stem ends with voiced phonemes other than d such as buzzed bʌzd The other than restrictions above are typical for allomorphy If the allomorphy conditions are ordered from most restrictive in this case after an alveolar stop to least restrictive the first matching case usually has precedence Thus the above conditions could be rewritten as follows as ed or ɪd when the stem ends with the alveolar stops t or d as t when the stem ends with voiceless phonemes as d elsewhereThe t allomorph does not appear after stem final t although the latter is voiceless which is then explained by ed appearing in that environment together with the fact that the environments are ordered Likewise the d allomorph does not appear after stem final d because the earlier clause for the ed allomorph has priority The d allomorph does not appear after stem final voiceless phoneme because the preceding clause for the t comes first Irregular past tense forms such as broke or was were can be seen as still more specific cases since they are confined to certain lexical items such as the verb break which take priority over the general cases listed above 1 Plural allomorphs Edit The plural morpheme for regular nouns in English is typically realized by adding an s or es to the end of the noun However the plural morpheme actually has three different allomorphs s z and ez The specific pronunciation that a plural morpheme takes on is determined by the following morphological rules 2 Assume that the basic form of the plural morpheme z is z bags baegz The morpheme z becomes ez by inserting an e before z when a noun ends in a sibilant buses bʌsez Change the morpheme z to a voiceless s when a noun ends in a voiceless sound caps kaeps Negative allomorphs Edit In English the negative prefix in has three allomorphs ɪn ɪŋ and ɪm The phonetic form that the negative morpheme ɪn uses is determined by the following morphological rules 3 the negative morpheme ɪn becomes ɪn when preceding an alveolar consonant intolerant ɪn tɔlerent the morpheme ɪn becomes ɪŋ before a velar consonant incongruous ɪŋ kɔŋgrues the morpheme ɪn becomes ɪm before a bilabial consonant improper ɪm prɔper In Sami languages EditThe Sami languages have a trochaic pattern of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables The vowels and consonants that are allowed in an unstressed syllable differ from those that are allowed in a stressed syllable Consequently every suffix and inflectional ending has two forms and the form that is used depends on the stress pattern of the word to which it is attached For example Northern Sami has the causative verb suffix hit ahttit in which hit is selected when it would be the third syllable and the preceding verb has two syllables and ahttit is selected when it would be the third and the fourth syllables and the preceding verb has three syllables goar rut has two syllables and so when suffixed the result is goa ru hit na nos mit has three syllables and so when suffixed the result is na nos mah ttit The same applies to inflectional patterns in the Sami languages as well which are divided into even stems and odd stems 4 5 Stem allomorphy EditAllomorphy can also exist in stems or roots as in Classical Sanskrit 1 Vak voice Singular PluralNominative vaːk vaːt ʃ as Genitive vaːt ʃ as vaːt ʃ aːm Instrumental vaːt ʃ aː vaːɡ bʱis Locative vaːt ʃ i vaːk ʂi There are three allomorphs of the stem vaːk vaːt ʃ and vaːɡ which are conditioned by the particular case marking suffixes The form of the stem vaːk found in the nominative singular and locative plural is the etymological form of the morpheme Pre Indic palatalization of velars resulted in the variant form vaːt ʃ which was initially phonologically conditioned The conditioning can still be seen in the locative singular form for which the t ʃ is followed by the high front vowel i However the subsequent merging of e and o into a made the alternation unpredictable on phonetic grounds in the genitive case both singular and plural as well as the nominative plural and the instrumental singular Thus allomorphy was no longer directly relatable to phonological processes Phonological conditioning also accounts for the vaːɡ form in the instrumental plural in which the ɡ assimilates in voicing to the following bʱ 1 History EditThe term was originally used to describe variations in chemical structure It was first applied to language in writing in 1948 by Fatih Sat and Sibel Merve in Language XXIV 6 See also EditNull allomorph Alternation linguistics Allophone Consonant mutation Grassmann s law SuppletionReferences Edit a b c d e f Tarni Prasad 2019 07 01 A Course in Linguistics Third Edition PHI Learning Pvt Ltd ISBN 978 93 88028 96 7 a b Fromkin Victoria Rodman Robert Hyams Nina 2018 An Introduction to Language 11th ed Cengage Learning pp 218 220 ISBN 9781337559577 Moravcsik Edith 2019 11 11 Accounting for Variation in Language Open Linguistics 5 1 369 382 doi 10 1515 opli 2019 0020 S2CID 208141142 Jeffers Robert Lehiste Ilse 1982 Principles and Methods for Historical Linguistics The MIT Press ISBN 9780262600118 Fromkin Victoria Rodman Robert Hyams Nina 2003 An Introduction to Language 9th ed Wadsworth Cengage Learning pp 268 272 ISBN 9781439082416 Oxford English Dictionary Online Entry 50006103 Accessed 2006 09 05 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