Re: Igassik Morphophonology

Basilius wrote:

> >The following are possible onsets: pt-, kt-, fs-, xT-, etc.
> >The following are possible codas: -tp, -tk, -sf, -Thx, etc.
> >Anything that is a permissible onset cannot be a coda and vice versa.
>
>Do you have any restrictions for combining voiced/voiceless?
Thank you. I had forgotten to say that. Yes! Obstruents in a cluster must
have the same voicing.

>I tried to check if I can pronounce -utbktu- differently from -utpgtu-,
>and the result wasn't unequivocal ;)
It's hard enough to pronounce them at all without worrying about voicing
differences. :)

><...>
> >counted [CVCV/vcC];[n,v,p],[t];[a,o],[a] -> navatp
> >will count [CVCV/vccC];[n,v,p],[l,n];[a,o],[i] -> navulp
> >make count [CV/vcCVC];[n,v,p],[s];[a,o],[i] -> nosvop
>
>Can't get it where the vowels are taken from in this example.
count [CVCVC];[n,v,p];[a,o]
PAST [-vc];[t];[a]
FUT [-vcc];[l,n];[i]
CAUSE [vc-];[s];[i]

navatp: the /o/ of the stem assimilates in height toward the /a/ of the
affix, yielding [a]
navulp: the /o/ of the stem assimilates in height toward the /i/ of the
affix, yielding [u]
nosvop: the /a/ of the stem assimilates in height toward the /i/ of the
affix, yielding [o]


> >The future tense word [navulp] had a merged structure including -ccC, which
> >is too many consonants for a real word. Therefore, the segment of the affix
> >furthest away from the vowel is deleted. If both the root and the affix had
> >contained consonant clusters, then both of the affix consonants would have
> >been deleted.
>
>Which may produce a lot of homonyms... :(
That is why I have a large phoneme inventory. 10 vowels, 23 consonants. It
really reduces the amount of homophony. I've been trying out random forms
to see how often  different tenses are the same: not as often as I had
expected.

Also, context will help disambiguate things when they are in actual sentences.




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Marcus Smith
AIM:  Anaakoot
"When you lose a language, it's like
dropping a bomb on a museum."
   -- Kenneth Hale
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