Allomorph: Difference between revisions
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===Examples=== | ===Examples=== | ||
The plural morpheme in English is regularly represented | The [[plural]] morpheme in English is regularly represented by the allomorphs [s], [z] and [iz]. | ||
The rule is as follows: | The rule is as follows: | ||
(i) kicks | (i) ''kicks'' [kiks]; | ||
(ii) if the morph ends in one of the voiced phonemes (including the | (ii) if the morph ends in one of the voiced phonemes (including the [[vowel]]s), /s/ is represented by [z] (''cats'' [kats]); | ||
(iii) if the morph representing the noun morpheme with which s is combined to form the plural ends with a [[sibilant]] ( | (iii) if the morph representing the noun morpheme with which /s/ is combined to form the plural ends with a [[sibilant]] ([s], [z] etc.), /s/ is represented by [iz] (''sizes'' [saiziz]). | ||
===Other languages=== | ===Other languages=== | ||
Revision as of 18:34, 15 June 2008
A particular morpheme is not represented everywhere by the same morph, but by different morphs in different environments. These alternative representation of a morpheme is called allomorphs.
Examples
The plural morpheme in English is regularly represented by the allomorphs [s], [z] and [iz]. The rule is as follows:
(i) kicks [kiks];
(ii) if the morph ends in one of the voiced phonemes (including the vowels), /s/ is represented by [z] (cats [kats]);
(iii) if the morph representing the noun morpheme with which /s/ is combined to form the plural ends with a sibilant ([s], [z] etc.), /s/ is represented by [iz] (sizes [saiziz]).
Other languages
German Allomorphe Chinese 语素变体
Reference
Lyons, John. 1968. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.