Difference between revisions of "Allomorph"

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===Examples===
 
===Examples===
The plural morpheme in English is regularly represented bz the allomorphs /s/, /z/ and /iz/.
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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 /kiks/;
+
(i) ''kicks'' [kiks];
  
(ii) if the morph ends in one of the voiced phonemes (including the vowels), s is represented by /z/ (cats /kats/);
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(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]] (/s/, /z/ etc.), s is represented by /iz/ (sazis /saiziz/).
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(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.