Re: Different types of roots; temporary/permanent stative verbs?

From: "Eric Christopherson" <rakko@...>
> After only a few years <g>, I think I'm getting close to working out a
> framework for roots and derivations in Dhak. But I'm wondering what kinds of
> constraints natlangs have for roots (by which I mean the fundamental
> morphemes that actual usable words are made of, but which do not necessarily
> form usable words by themselves). I've decided there should be 3 or 4 kinds
> of roots: noun, stative, eventive, and maybe pronoun. So, the question is:
> Are there any natlangs in which different types of roots have different
> phonotactic constraints? For example, noun roots would be CVCVC, and verb
> roots CVCCV? Or do all roots generally have the same phonotactics?
Well, I know a sort-of rule in English [probably not a rule so much as an
accident probably] in that given an initial dental fricative, the voiced [D]
only appears in pronouns (the, that, they...) and the voiceless [T] in all other
parts of speech (thin, thigh, think...).

Anyway, your CVCVC-noun/CVCCV-verb constraints seem entirely plausible...
Especially if you reconstruct that as originally CVC roots with fossilized -VC
nominalizing suffices and -CV verbalizing suffices, say.


     *Muke!

Reply