Linguistics 001 Homework 2: Phonology

All the data for this problem come from a conservative dialect of Vneto, a Romance language spoken in northern Italy near the city of Padua. Since the language is related to Spanish, French and Italian, if you have studied or speak one of these languages the data will not be completely unfamiliar looking. But naturally this language has a dierent grammar, so your answers must be based only on the data provided. The symbols used in the data should be familiar to you from the transcription of English, with the following exceptions: 1. Stress if a vowel is stressed it is shown in the data with an acute accent mark, e.g. [] is a stressed [a], [] is a stressed [], etc. 2. In addition to the post-alveolar aricates [t d] which are like those of English, this language also has apical alveolar aricates [ts dz]. These are pronounced like [ts] and [dz] but, being aricates, they behave like single segments. 3. For convenience and ease of reading, in the data below the ap symbol [] has been replaced by an ordinary letter [r] (which normally represents a trilled [r]). Since the language does not have trilled [r] this substitution does not lead to any ambiguity. Part I: Distribution Problem 1. On the basis of the words in Data Set A, defend one of the two hypotheses below: a. [n] and [] are both underlying segments in Vneto (i.e. they are separate phonemes) b. [n] and [] are not both underlying segments; instead [n] and [] are allophones of a single phoneme. If you choose (a), show why a speaker of Vneto would need to store the dierence between [n] and [] in memory; in other words, show that [n] is not a surface variant of [], nor is [] a surface variant of [n]. Put dierently, show that [n] and [] are not in complementary distribution but in contrastive distribution. If you choose (b), explain how it could be possible that speaker of Vneto could store only one of [n ] and their grammar could automatically derive the other. In other words, show that [n] and [] are in complementary distribution and that one of them could simply be a variant of the other in surface forms.

2. Answer the same questions as in question 1, but looking at the pairs [e ] and [o ]. Are [e] and [] in complementary or contrastive distibution? What about [o ]? Provide specic examples from the data to support your conclusions.

page 2 of 8 Data Set A

lna dom ben ankra dna bta zeno f kanbjr bnka nve smo tro kants u benedto brusk b lngwa kam kanl informatsj kanpanl

wool tomorrow really well already, still woman hit, punch (noun) donkey fine msg. to change bank snow we are clear song one blessed brush well language road, way canal, channel information church tower

nvola nozla nno nto f me nzo industtsja lndzi vel vj nin dznte lim invelen mndo mzena nis lna bta bto smo lont

cloud hazelnut grandfather clean m.sg. hay amen nose injustice Monday poison comes little bit people lemon poisoned world grinder not a single, no moon barrel explosion stupid m.sg. far away

page 3 of 8 Part II: Alternation Problem Like most Romance languages, Veneto has both masculine and feminine gender and singular and plural number categories. Verbs also change according to the person and number of the verbs subject. Conventional abbreviations for these grammatical properties are:
m. f. sg. pl. msg. fsg. mpl. fpl. masculine feminine singular plural masculine singular feminine singular masculine plural feminine plural 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 1 3 rst person (I or we) second person (you) third person (he, she, it, they) rst person singular (I) second person singular (you, one addressee) third person singular (he, she, or it) second person plural (you more than 1 addressee) rst person plural (we) third person plural (they)

sg sg sg pl pl pl

In data set B below, a sux is separated from the rest of the word (the base or stem of the word) by a hyphen. The sux that is used depends on what person, number and/or gender is being expressed. For example, [mr-o] dark, black has the sux [-o] because it is msg., and [mr-i] dark, black has the sux [-i] because it is mpl. Note that [mr-o] and [mr-i] both share the same stem morpheme [mr-], but the suxes [-o] and [-i] are dierent morphemes, with dierent underlying forms. The choice of sux is not phonologically determined; you do not have to explain which sux a stem has (a part of the grammar which is not phonology is responsible for this). Specically, the sux a stem has reects the grammatical properties of the word as a whole. Nouns and adjectives which have sg. forms with the sux [-o] have pl. forms with [-i], and those with sg. forms with [-a] have pl. forms with [e]. Nouns and adjectives that have [-e] in the sg. have [-i] in the plural, regardless of gender. Nouns with no suxes in the singular (relevant only for Part C, extra credit) have plurals with [-e] when feminine and [-i] when masculine. Nouns: 5 types sg. pl. -o -i -e -i -a -e - (m.) -i - (f.) -e

Adjectives: 2 types msg. mpl. fsg. fpl. -o -i -a -e -e -e -i -i

page 4 of 8 In some examples in data set B, however, the same stem morpheme has variant surface forms. For example I touch is [tok-o] and [tok-a] is he or she touches, but you touch is [tuk-i]. In these examples the verb stem alternates [tok ~ tuk]. If you examine the data it is easy to see that [-o] is the sux used for 1 sg, [-i] for 2 sg, and [a] for 3 sg or 3 pl. Questions 1. What phonological properties characterize the stems that alternate vs. those that do not? (You can make a list of the alternating stems for your own use, but your answer should be stated as a generalization referring to a phonological feature or a set of features that all the alternating stems have, but the non-alternating stems do not have). 2. Where a stem alternates, what phonological features distinguish one stem alternant from another? 3. What properties of the context determine which alternant is used? State your conclusion in the most general terms possible, referrring to phonological features, and not to categories like 1st person, 2nd person, singular, plural etc. 4. Assume that speakers of Vneto do not store in memory both alternants of an alternating stem. This implies that one alternant has to be created (derived) by some phonological rule call it Rule M in the grammar. What change does Rule M make?

5. Which of the two types of alternants should be the underlying one? Why? State briey what considerations lead you to prefer one type of UR over another in this case. Bear in mind that whatever you choose to hypothesize for the UR will have consequences for what you hypothesize that Rule M does. For example, thinking about the problem abstractly, suppose we call the two alternants X and Y. If X is underlying and Y is derived, then Rule M must change X to Y in some context. But if we think instead that Y is underlying, then Rule M must do basically the opposite, namely change Y to X, in a dierent context. The correct answer to this question can only be deduced by trying both possible answers and seeing which one will work better as a possible model for all the data. Dont forget to think about how the non-alternating stems will be aected (or unaected) by the grammar you propose!

page 5 of 8 Data Set B The phenomenon in question is a general one and can be observed in nouns, adjectives and verbs. Examples are provided in each category. 1. Nouns sg.

pl.

gloss (= approximate meaning, briey stated)

bt-a fng-o bt-o bk-o msk-a tnp-o gt-o bk-o stl-a stl-a rz-o spt-o tl-a brts-o pm-o stk-o fg-o mnt-e dzg-o dnt-e tsst-o dts-a

bt-e fng-i bt-i bk-i msk-e tnp-i gt-i bk-i stl-e stl-e rz-i spt-i tl-e brts-i pm-i stk-i fg-i mnt-i dzg-i dnt-i tsst-i dts-i

barrel mushroom explosion beak fly time cat billy goat piece of firewood star rice mirror table arm apple cracking sound fire mountain game tooth big basket drop

page 6 of 8 2. Adjectives gloss msg. fsg. mpl. fpl.

ugly, awful hard lame dead yellow large deep fresh smart true

brt-o dr-o tst-o mrt-o dzl-o grs-o fnd-o frsk-o zvj-o vr-o

brt-a dr-a tst-a mrt-a dzl-a grs-a fnd-a frsk-a zvj-a vr-a

brt-i dr-i tst-i mrt-i dzl-i grs-i fnd-i frsk-i zvj-i vr-i

brt-e dr-e tst-e mrt-e dzl-e grs-e fnd-e frsk-e zvj-e vr-e

3. Verbs gloss 1 sg 2 sg 3 sg or pl

taste touch wait dip cook destroy poke try crush kill think listen

tst-o tk-o spt-o tt-o kg-o dsf-o stts-o prv-o skts-o kp-o pns-o sklt-o

tst-i tk-i spt-i tt-i kg-i dsf-i stts-i prv-i skts-i kp-i pns-i sklt-i

tst-a tk-a spt-a tt-a kg-a dsf-a stts-a prv-a skts-a kp-a pns-a sklt-a

page 7 of 8 Part III Extra Credit Section Questions in this section are optional answers to part III do not have to be submitted. Take a look at this more complicated data. Extra points will be awarded for excellent responses in this section. Note rst that all the examples in Data Set B above consist of two syllable words. The data below includes some words with more than two syllables. Data Set C has words which have stress on the last or second-to-last syllable. In Data Set D there are words which have stress on the third-to-last syllable. Data Set C Nouns and Adjectives sg. pl.

gloss

motr kuz favr bast dotr bog tsivl-e fatsl-e dornl-e bot mel tsukl-o argomnt-o tservl-o famz-o famz-a terts-a batdz-o
Verbs gloss

mutr-i kuzn-i favr-i bastn-i dutr-i bugn-i tsivl-i fatsl-i dornl-i butn-i meln-i tsukl-i argumnt-i tservl-i famz-i famz-e terts-e batdz-i

motor cousin favor stick, club doctor snail civil easy newspaper button melon zucchini plant topic, theme, plot brain famous m. famous f. terrace baptism

1 sg

2 sg

3 sg or pl

advise move (imperfect) baptize

konsj-o movv-o batdz-o

kunsj-i muvv-i batdz-i

konsj-a movv-a batdz-a

page 8 of 8 Data Set D Nouns and Adjectives sg. pl.

gloss

dzven-o tseg-o trkol-o strpol-o zen-o

Verb gloss

dzven-i tseg-i trkol-i strpol-i zen-i

young man poison press (machine) bottle stopper donkey

1 sg

2 sg

3 sg or pl

baptize

batdzem-o

batdzem-i

batdzem-a

The verb to baptize in Data Set D is an alternative form of the verb with the same meaning in Data Set C. It will be helpful to compare the behavior of the segments in the two forms. Questions 1. What new sorts of alternations are observed in Data Set C? In what way will your rule derive the alternations in Data Set B be insucient to derive these new alternations? 2. Give the simplest statement you can of the new rule or rules required to derive the alternations in Data Set C. Your rule does not have to be stated in formal notation (which you have not practiced using very much anyway). But keep in mind that whenever a rule is hypothesized it needs to give precise characterizations of four things: (a) the target segment(s) the type of segments which the rules changes; (b) the change itself: what features are changed by the rule; (c) the trigger segments: which sorts of segments cause a change, and (d) the locations where the trigger must be relative to the target, if the rule is to apply 3. Data Set D adds a new twist to the phenomenon. Would you expect your rule from the immediately preceding question (question 2) to apply in these words? Does your rule work properly? Why or why not? If not, how could it be changed so that it does work properly? To work properly the rule must make all and only the changes that in fact occur. If it changes forms that it should not, it is said to overapply. If it neglects to change forms that should change it is said to underapply.