Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter argues for a morpheme-based alternative to the version of the Generalized Template Theory (GTT) of prosodic morpheme shapes critiqued in Chapter 2. In this approach (MBT), canonical ...
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This chapter argues for a morpheme-based alternative to the version of the Generalized Template Theory (GTT) of prosodic morpheme shapes critiqued in Chapter 2. In this approach (MBT), canonical shapes do not fall out from the Prosodic Hierarchy. Instead, the basic prosody-morpheme correlation is between the morpheme (Root or Affix) and the syllable. Lexical morphemes (Roots) tend to be branching syllables while affixes tend to be simplex syllables because lexical morphemes license more complex structure than non-lexical morphemes. Derived morphological constructions (Stems) tend to be minimally longer than single morphemes, as morphological branching is optimally matched by (disyllabic) prosodic branching. The first section of the chapter presents the general theoretical motivations for this alternative. The remaining sections provide detailed analyses of processes like reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, and hypocoristics, showing how the approach works and how it solves the problems discussed in Chapter 2.Less
This chapter argues for a morpheme-based alternative to the version of the Generalized Template Theory (GTT) of prosodic morpheme shapes critiqued in Chapter 2. In this approach (MBT), canonical shapes do not fall out from the Prosodic Hierarchy. Instead, the basic prosody-morpheme correlation is between the morpheme (Root or Affix) and the syllable. Lexical morphemes (Roots) tend to be branching syllables while affixes tend to be simplex syllables because lexical morphemes license more complex structure than non-lexical morphemes. Derived morphological constructions (Stems) tend to be minimally longer than single morphemes, as morphological branching is optimally matched by (disyllabic) prosodic branching. The first section of the chapter presents the general theoretical motivations for this alternative. The remaining sections provide detailed analyses of processes like reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, and hypocoristics, showing how the approach works and how it solves the problems discussed in Chapter 2.
Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter provides a critical evaluation of Generalized Template Theory (GTT), developed within Optimality Theory, to explain canonical morpheme shape. The central proposal of GTT is that prosodic ...
More
This chapter provides a critical evaluation of Generalized Template Theory (GTT), developed within Optimality Theory, to explain canonical morpheme shape. The central proposal of GTT is that prosodic morphemes have a restricted repertoire of prosodic shapes because they draw on the canonical shapes of a restricted repertoire of morphological categories. General theoretical principles correlate particular morphological categories (Stem, Root, Affix) with particular prosodic constituents. The central prosody-morphology correlation in this approach is between the stress foot and the morphological Stem (via the Prosodic Word in the Prosodic Hierarchy: the Stem=Prosodic Word Homology). The first two sections of this chapter define GTT and illustrate its strengths with examples showing the processes of reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, and hypocoristics drawn from a variety of languages. The third and final section discusses the empirical problems with the GTT, which motivate the alternative approach developed from Chapter 3.Less
This chapter provides a critical evaluation of Generalized Template Theory (GTT), developed within Optimality Theory, to explain canonical morpheme shape. The central proposal of GTT is that prosodic morphemes have a restricted repertoire of prosodic shapes because they draw on the canonical shapes of a restricted repertoire of morphological categories. General theoretical principles correlate particular morphological categories (Stem, Root, Affix) with particular prosodic constituents. The central prosody-morphology correlation in this approach is between the stress foot and the morphological Stem (via the Prosodic Word in the Prosodic Hierarchy: the Stem=Prosodic Word Homology). The first two sections of this chapter define GTT and illustrate its strengths with examples showing the processes of reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, and hypocoristics drawn from a variety of languages. The third and final section discusses the empirical problems with the GTT, which motivate the alternative approach developed from Chapter 3.
Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The MBT approach developed in Chapter 3 defines the optimal minimal Root as a branching monosyllable. However, it is not difficult to find Roots which are either larger or smaller than this. The most ...
More
The MBT approach developed in Chapter 3 defines the optimal minimal Root as a branching monosyllable. However, it is not difficult to find Roots which are either larger or smaller than this. The most common minimal word size is actually a non-branching CV syllable, even though a Root optimally branches. Roots in Diyari and other Australian languages are minimally disyllabic, rather than a branching monosyllable. This chapter shows that many of these exceptions can be straightforwardly accounted for in the MBT approach through the standard OT technique of variable constraint ranking. Syllable phonotactics can mask the morphologically-motivated branching requirements if phonotactic constraints are highly ranked. This can lead to ambiguity in the category of the canonical morpheme (is a non-branching monosyllable a Root? An Affix?), motivating further diachronic reduction.Less
The MBT approach developed in Chapter 3 defines the optimal minimal Root as a branching monosyllable. However, it is not difficult to find Roots which are either larger or smaller than this. The most common minimal word size is actually a non-branching CV syllable, even though a Root optimally branches. Roots in Diyari and other Australian languages are minimally disyllabic, rather than a branching monosyllable. This chapter shows that many of these exceptions can be straightforwardly accounted for in the MBT approach through the standard OT technique of variable constraint ranking. Syllable phonotactics can mask the morphologically-motivated branching requirements if phonotactic constraints are highly ranked. This can lead to ambiguity in the category of the canonical morpheme (is a non-branching monosyllable a Root? An Affix?), motivating further diachronic reduction.
Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This introductory chapter provides essential background for the analyses developed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The first section defines the scope of the book, introducing the types of ...
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This introductory chapter provides essential background for the analyses developed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The first section defines the scope of the book, introducing the types of prosodic morphemes to be discussed (reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, hypocoristics). The next two sections discuss how prosodic morphology has been of interest to recent theories of phonology and morphology. In phonology, prosodic morphology illustrates theories of segmental and prosodic shape markedness. In morphology, prosodic morphology challenges the Item-and-Arrangement approach that is most easily modeled in constituency trees. The final sections present a critical overview of recent work on prosodic morphology within Optimality Theory and outline the new theory developed in the book.Less
This introductory chapter provides essential background for the analyses developed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The first section defines the scope of the book, introducing the types of prosodic morphemes to be discussed (reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, hypocoristics). The next two sections discuss how prosodic morphology has been of interest to recent theories of phonology and morphology. In phonology, prosodic morphology illustrates theories of segmental and prosodic shape markedness. In morphology, prosodic morphology challenges the Item-and-Arrangement approach that is most easily modeled in constituency trees. The final sections present a critical overview of recent work on prosodic morphology within Optimality Theory and outline the new theory developed in the book.
Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Prosodic morphology concerns the interaction of morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form and the degree to which one determines the other. Although prosodic morphology has been ...
More
Prosodic morphology concerns the interaction of morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form and the degree to which one determines the other. Although prosodic morphology has been the testing ground for theoretical developments in phonology over the past twenty years, from autosegmental theory to optimality theory, this is the first book devoted to understanding the definition and operation of canonical forms — fixed shaped prosody — which are the defining characteristic of prosodic morphology. This book discusses past research in the field and provides a critical evaluation of the current leading theory, the Generalized Template Hypothesis, showing that it is empirically inadequate. The leading theory proposes that canonical shape of morphemes in processes like reduplication, templatic morphology, hypocoristics, and word minimality follows from the canonical shape of stress feet. The central problem with this proposal is that many of the world’s languages do not have word stress. Even in those that do, there is often a mismatch between the canonical stress foot and canonical morpheme shape. The book sets out an alternative approach, namely, that the basic prosody-morphology correlation is between the syllable and the morpheme. This new approach is tested in a cross-linguistic analysis of phonological and morphological forms over a wide range of languages, including several not previously studied from this perspective.Less
Prosodic morphology concerns the interaction of morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form and the degree to which one determines the other. Although prosodic morphology has been the testing ground for theoretical developments in phonology over the past twenty years, from autosegmental theory to optimality theory, this is the first book devoted to understanding the definition and operation of canonical forms — fixed shaped prosody — which are the defining characteristic of prosodic morphology. This book discusses past research in the field and provides a critical evaluation of the current leading theory, the Generalized Template Hypothesis, showing that it is empirically inadequate. The leading theory proposes that canonical shape of morphemes in processes like reduplication, templatic morphology, hypocoristics, and word minimality follows from the canonical shape of stress feet. The central problem with this proposal is that many of the world’s languages do not have word stress. Even in those that do, there is often a mismatch between the canonical stress foot and canonical morpheme shape. The book sets out an alternative approach, namely, that the basic prosody-morphology correlation is between the syllable and the morpheme. This new approach is tested in a cross-linguistic analysis of phonological and morphological forms over a wide range of languages, including several not previously studied from this perspective.
Laura J. Downing and Al Mtenje
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- July 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198724742
- eISBN:
- 9780191792281
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198724742.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Phonetics / Phonology, Language Families
Studies of Bantu languages like Chichewa have contributed to two core areas of prosodic morphology: minimality and reduplication. The first section of this chapter provides evidence for a disyllabic ...
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Studies of Bantu languages like Chichewa have contributed to two core areas of prosodic morphology: minimality and reduplication. The first section of this chapter provides evidence for a disyllabic minimality constraint on Prosodic Words in Chichewa. The next sections turn to nominal and verbal reduplication. The reduplication patterns are illustrated in detail. As they have received some attention in the theoretical literature, issues raised by the reduplication patterns are reviewed, including a discussion of the reduplicative tone patterns. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the disyllabic syndrome in Chichewa.Less
Studies of Bantu languages like Chichewa have contributed to two core areas of prosodic morphology: minimality and reduplication. The first section of this chapter provides evidence for a disyllabic minimality constraint on Prosodic Words in Chichewa. The next sections turn to nominal and verbal reduplication. The reduplication patterns are illustrated in detail. As they have received some attention in the theoretical literature, issues raised by the reduplication patterns are reviewed, including a discussion of the reduplicative tone patterns. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the disyllabic syndrome in Chichewa.