Re: question: Arabic morphology

On Sun, 20 Aug 2000, Thomas R. Wier wrote:

> Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
>
> > Arabic uses three-consonant verbs, correct?  I borrowed this for
> > Chevraqis (which is a compound, I haven't figured out for what yet, and
> > the name is subject to change anyway).
> >
> > I was trying to use the SAC and ran into a problem.
> > How does the morphology evolve?
>
> This is a big, big question you're asking here.  I wouldn't even know
> how to begin to address it.  I can, however, suggest a book you could
> read:   _Grammaticalization_, in the Cambridge linguistics series. (I haven't
> read it, but all the others I've read seem to be pretty good).   Also, for
> a somewhat more iconoclastic look at language change, look at Dixon's
> _The Rise and Fall of Languages_, where he introduces the notion of
> punctuated equilibria into linguistics (at least, I think he's the first to discuss
> that idea in linguistics).
I'll keep those in mind.  Until I get some more money I may have to
settle for raiding Cornell's libraries.  :-)

> > imperative: aCCaCu -> CiCaCu
> > causative: CiCoCu -> CiCoCu
> > generic: CaCaCu -> CeCaCu
>
> [What is 'generic' here?]
Used in making general statements, e.g. Daggers are sharp.  You're
talking about a class of items, not a particular instance--making a
generalization.  I don't know if it's legit, but hey, it tickled my fancy.

> > Now that I look at essays on how sound change happens, a wholesale shift
> > like this seems unlikely.  My question is, as far as this morphology
> > business goes, do I apply sound change across a pattern (what I have
> > above) or per individual word?
>
> Well, the thing is, phonology and morphology usually operate autonomously
> from one another.  This is one of the reasons we have the distinction between
Okay.  I get confused too easily.  <wry look>

> What soundchange really is is mapping the distribution of one class onto
> another, and then shifting the relevant segments of words to the new class.  So, for
> example, the most famous such shift was Grimm's Law, which governs the behavior
> of the shift of Indo-European consonants:
>
> (a) voiceless stops to voiceless fricatives:   [p t k] --> [f T x]  (--> [f T h])
>         [No change in place or voicing; change in manner of articulation]
> (b) voiced stops to voiceless stops:           [b d g] --> [p t k]
>         [change in voicing but not place or manner]
> (c) 'voiced aspirates'* to voiced stops:        [b_h d_h g_h] --> [b d g]
>         [complicated, but a change in voicing, not place or manner]
>
> *(I use quotes here because voiced aspirates technically cannot exist, but that is
> the label used for them.)
>
> Vowels shift in the same way:  they also have natural classes (like [+high], [-back] etc.).
> Once you get this principle of regular sound change, you can then easily apply
> that to your own language.  In your case, I would say you should consider what
> kind of consonant inventory you have as well.  The quality of the vowels adjacent
> consonants can affect how shifts occur, and vice-versa.
Okay.  I'm trying to stay away from Indo-European examples simply because
the language isn't going to look very Indo-European (I hope), but the
book I had with lots of neat Austronesian examples is being borrowed by a
friend.

> So, my suggestion is, if I understand your problem correctly, would be to read up
> on articulatory phonetics first (assuming you haven't already done this), so that you
> can get a feel for precisely what changes are more likely to occur.
>
> (Please excuse me if I seem to be going into detail about stuff you already know;
> I have little idea of where you're coming from, so I just go through a bit of
> everything.  I hope this has been helpful.)
No, no, it's very helpful, and if I ask a question, I really oughtn't be
offended by people who are kind enough to help me!  :-)  I think at this
point what I need are more books, which will happen slowly.

YHL