Issues in the Phonology-Morphology Interface in African languages

✍ Scribed by Hyman Larry M.

• Leaves: 13
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Berkeley: University of California, 2012. - 12 p. - (UC Berkeley Phonology Lab Annual Report)

Tonal morphology is like other morphology.
Determining internal structure in tonal paradigms.
Phrasal tonal morphology.

A major issue in the study of interfaces concerns the difficulties in disentangling morphology from other parts of the grammar.

The focus of this paper has been on the exploitation of tone as an exponent of what is traditionally referred to as grammatical morphemes. Although we have already witnessed a tremendous richness, tone provides numerous additional areas open for further exploration, especially in African languages.

Tonal morphology is quite varied. As in the case of tone in general, tonal morphology can do everything that non-tonal morphology can do. In so doing, tonal morphology more greatly obscures the phonology/morphology and morphology/syntax boundaries, as we saw in Kikuria, Chimwiini, and other cases. The question is why should tone should provide so many more possibilities than other expressions of morphology. The answer has to do with the greater versatility of tone in general.

✦ Subjects

Языки и языкознание;Африканские языки