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Co-occurrence restrictions and vocalic patterns in Afroasiatic plurals Mohamed Lahrouchi UMR7023-CNRS-Université Paris 8
[email protected]
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In Afroasiatic languages, vocalic patterns are associated with grammatical contrasts: o Perfective vs. Imperfective o Active vs. Passive o verb vs. noun…etc. - Autosegmental phonology: multitired representations, vowels and consonants are segregated. - Co-occurrence restrictions on the distribution of segments and autosegments: o Tones (Leben 1973, Goldsmith 1976) , consonants (McCarthy 1979), features (Clements 1996). o Vowels? Aims Account for: - Co-occurrence restrictions in the vocalic patterns of Afroasiatic internal plurals o Semitic (Classical Arabic), Berber (Tashlhiyt), Chadic (Hausa) and Cuchitic (Afar) - Language games and onomatopoeias vocalism. - Tone-vowel correlation in Hausa 1. Consonants, features 1.1.
Consonants Semitic (McCarthy 1979, 1981, 1986) [1] Obligatory Contour Principle “At the melodic level, adjacent identical elements are prohibited” Classical Arabic: OCP + left-to-right direction of association disallow *sasam. samam ⇐ √sm + /m/ spreading to the right. - Adjacent homorganic consonants are prohibited in Classical Arabic triconsonantal roots: e.g. gutturals *√C//, *√÷÷C, *√C Couchitic In Afar, a couchitic language, syncope triggers the penultimate non-stressed vowel. [2] Afar e.g. ÷agar@ a ⇒ ÷agr-i@ « scabies » (accusative /nominative-genitive) But, « reason » sababa@ not *sabba Syncope fails to apply if it yields adjacent identical consonants in the word. 1.2. Features Clements (1996:263): prohibited co-occurrence of certain consonantal features in the same word. [3] e.g. *dbt is disallowed because the feature [coronal] occurs twice. 1
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Berber [4] Dissimilation /m/ ⇒ [n] The reciprocal prefix /m-/ dissimilates into [n] when followed by a labial consonant in the stem. e.g. m-÷iwin « to help each other » vs. n-gibil « to face » input
output
m-gibil
n– gi bil dor
dor
lab
lab
> dissimilation >
lab
English [5] avoidance of adjacent coronal sibilants by means of [I] epenthesis: e.g. taxes, brushes, matches…etc. 2. Vowels Semitic Kurylowicz (1962:21): incompatibility of /u/ with /i/ in the same stem. Assimilation: u-i and i-u sequences turn into [uu] or [ii]. [6] Classical Arabic “turn” daara, yaduuru, *muduirun > mudiirun “say” qaala, yaquulu, *quila > qiila “day” jawm, *ajwaam > ajjaam Tashlhiyt Berber [7]
singular
plural
a. « room »
aanu asaru asafu agadir amzwaru agajju agru
iuna isura isufa igudar imzwura igwjja igwra
u-a
ul ilm ixf udm imi almmuS
ulawn ilmawn ixfawn udmawn imawn ilmSawn
a-u
« pipe » « torch » « fortress » « first » « head » « frog »
b. « hart »
« skin » « soul » « face » « mouth » « peeling »
plural vocalism
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c.
« country » « fortress » « pear » « tomato »
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tamazirt agadir tafirast tamit÷aSt
timizar igidar tifiras timit÷aS
i-a
Forms listed in [7a] show a regular vowel alternation between singulars and plurals. The vocalic pattern in the singular is inversed in the plural: a-u ⇒ u-a.. Plurals in [7b] are derived by suffixation of –awn to the stem. The suffix –awn contains the vocalic melody a-u. Forms in [7c] are similar to those in [7a] in that their vocalic pattern in the singular is inversed in the plural: a-i ⇒ i-a. Singular and plural vocalic patterns show a systematic height contrast. A low vowel contrasts with a high vowel in the stem: a-u, u-a, a-i, i-a are attested patterns but not *u-i, *i-u, *i-i, *u-u.
Classical Arabic [8]
singular
plural
a. « worker »
÷aamil t÷aalib saakin raakib qadiim safiir insaan
÷ummaal t÷ullaab sukkaan rukkaab qudamaa/ sufaraa/ unaas
u-a
dimaa/ rimaa kiraam Ziiraan Zimaal
i-a
« spear » « generous » « neighbor » « camel »
dam rum kariim Zaar Zamal
« book » « meat » « circumstance » « treasure » « arrow »
kitaab lam d÷arf kanz sahm
kutub luuum d÷uruuf kunuuz suhuum
u
« student » « inhabitant » « passenger » « old, ancient » « ambassador » « human being »
b. « blood »
c.
-
-
plural vocalism
The vocalic patterns used in Classical Arabic internal plurals are similar to those used in Tashlhiyt Berber plurals. Some of the plurals use the vowel /a/ with /u/ [8a] while others use it with /i/[8b]; the principle being the same as in Tashlhiyt Berber: vowels contrast in height. Plurals in [8c] use a single vowel which spreads into two vocalic slots.
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Many vocalic alternations between singulars and plurals follow the apophonic path as stated in Guerssel & Lowenstamm (1996). /i/ in the singular corresponds to /a/ in the plural, and /a/ in the singular corresponds to /u/ in the plural (e.g. raakib > rukkaab).
[9]
noun raZul kalb ÷abd kitaab Saa÷ir ÷aalim
« man » « dog » « slave » « book » « poet » « expert »
diminutive ruZayl kulayb ÷ubayd kutayyib Suway÷ir ÷uwaylim
vocalism u-a
Counterexample!!!: Passive Perfective vocalism u-i. Afar (Parker & Hayward 1985) [10] i/ii e/ee
o/oo
u/uu
a/aa singular
[11]
plural
plural vocalism ( last 2 syllables)
a.
« vein » « grave » « skin » « half » « head » « management » « piece of rag” «young female camel» « elder brother » « nape of the neck »
rama@d maga@÷ ara@b gara@b amo@ gexso@ alago@ addo@ sa@÷al a@lal
ramooda@ magoo÷a@ arooba@ garooba@ amooma@ gexsoosa@ alooga@ addooda@ sa÷oo@la aloo@la
oo-a
b.
« hand » « tradition » « bone » « moon » « can » « generation » « time » « door, orifice »
gaba@ qaada@ lafa@ alsa@ birasso@ aado@ adda@ afa@
gaboobi@ qadoodi@ lafoofi@ alsoosi@ birassosi@ aadoodi@ addoodi@ afoofi@
oo-i
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« bandage »
fassa@
fassoosi@
c.
« mother » « hill » « hiding-place » « back » « fire, weapon »
ina@ kooma@ gona@ gudda@ gira@
inaani@ koomaami@ gonaani@ guddaadi@ giraari@
a-i
d.
« milk container » « ear » « eye » « substitute »
ajni@ ajti@ inti@ fida@
ajniina@ ajtiita@ intiita@ fidiida@/ fidaadi@
i-a
e.
« quantity » « froth » « insane person” « middle » « revenge » « wound » « jaw »
gide@ girre@ abulé gude@ ane@ dale@ quxe@
gideeda@ girreera@ abuleela@ gudeeda@ aneena@ daleela@ quxeexa@
e-a
Newman (2001:408): “Although CVC is a normal syllable type in the language, it is very uncommon at the end of a word, i.e. most words end in a vowel.” - Consider the last two vowels in the plural forms. - Plurals in [11a] and [11b] show a dialectal variation. Parker & Hayward (1985) have mentioned this variation; our informant uses only the vocalism [oo-a] for both classes. - Mid long vowel: i+a ⇒ [ee], u+a ⇒[oo]. - The last two vowels contrast on the basis of the feature [high]: a-i, i-a, e-a, o-a are attested patterns BUT NOT *i-u, *u-i, *i-i, *u-u. - The final vowel is predictable on the basis of the penultimate vowel. [12]
penultimate vowel ii uu oo ee aa
final vowel a#
i#
If V-penultimate is [+high] then V# is [-high]. If V-penultimate is [-high] then V# is [+high].
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[13] singular i#
plural iiCa
e# u# o#
eeCa uuCa ooCa / ooCi
a#
aaCi Hausa (Newman 2001)
[14] a.
« house » « earth » « enclosure » «grass bracelet » « old cow » « white » «kind of drum» « itinerant tradesmen »
b.
« cripple » « member » « stone » « jungle » « hollow place » « den, lair »
c.
« bicycle » « dog » « stream » « pit » « spoon » « axis »
singular
plural
gidaa kasaa garkaa tafaa guzumaa farii taushìi farkée
gidàayée ka@sàashée garàakee tafaafee guzàarée faraaree tafàashée fatàakée
gurgùu gaàa du@utsèe ku@rmìi gu@rbìi ku@rfìi
guràaguu gaàauu du@wàatsu@u ku@ràamu@u gu@ràabu@u ku@ràafu@u
kèeke@e kàrée
kéekunàa ka@rnukàa
ràafìi ràamìi co@okàli@i
raafukàa ra@amu@kàa co@oku@làa
tone patterns plural vocalism (last 2 syllables)1 (plural) HLH a-e
HLH
HHL
a-u
u-a
gàatarii gaaturàa According to Hellwig & Mcintyre (2000), plurals of this kind belong to the “suffix system”, the youngest and most productive system as opposed to the “semantic system” which is based on changes in tone patterns and vowel sequences and the “prosodic system” which is transitional. The last two syllables in the plural refer to the morphologically active portion of the word. This portion is filled by means of reduplication or suffixation.
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The suffix system yields plurals which all contain either three consonants or two consonants with a reduplicated C2. A default consonant /k/, /n/ or /y/ is suffixed to the plural when the stem contains fewer than three consonants. V2 in plural forms is /a/: internal plurals morpheme marker. Internal -a- phonetically changes into [u] when preceded or followed by a velar consonant.
Pilszczikowa-Chodak (1972) has pointed out a regular tone-vowel height correlation in Hausa plurals. A low tone is assigned to a low vowel while a high vowel has a high tone (see Newman (1975) for a replay to Pilszczikowa-Chodak’s proposals). Tone-vowel correlation actually involves the last two vowels: -
The last two tones are never similar (HL or LH) the same as the last two vowels never agree in height.
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The quality of the final vowel is predicable on the basis of the penultimate vowel.
[15] penultimate a u
If If
final then u or e then a
When the internal /a/ changes into [u] because of a neighboring velar consonant: i. ii.
The tone changes into a high tone. The following vowel changes into a low vowel so that it contrasts with [u]. Thereafter, it takes a low tone. Vowel combinations, Summary
[16] The last two vowels in Tashlhiyt Berber, Classical Arabic, Afar and Hausa plurals
i e o a u
i (+) + -
e + + -
o -
a + + + +
u + (+) 3. The apophonic theory
The apophonic theory (Guerssel & Lowenstamm 1993, 1996) was initially stated to account for the regularities that vocalic alternations in Classical Arabic show between Perfective and Imperfective conjugations. Examples from Guerssel & Lowenstamm (1996) are in [17]:
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[17] « dress » « write » « hit » « be great »
Perfective labis katab d÷arab kabur
Imperfective ya-lbas ya-ktub ya-d÷rib ya-kbur
iDa aDu ODi uDu
Guerssel & Lowenstamm (1996) have claimed that the alternations which vowels between C2 and C3 (in bold) show are regular as the follow a unique path where each output vowel of an apophony is the input to another. [18] Apophonic path
OBiBaBuBu
The theory has been generalized to many other Afroasiatic and non-Afroasiatic languages, among which are Ge’ez, Akkadian (Ségéral 1996, 2000), Kabyle Berber (Bendjaballah 1995, 2001) and German (Ségéral 1995, Ségéral & Scheer 1996). The apophonic path governs grammatically-based vocalic alternations. Except for one noticeable case, the apophonic path outputs a grammatically non-motivated vocalic pattern; a kind of default vocalism which is widely attested in onomatopoeias and word games. [19] a. Onomatopoeias: French : bim bam boum, pif paf pouf, ding dang dong, tic-tac, zigzag, zazou, cacou, badaboum, patapouf German : rirarutsch, pimpampum, flickflack, mischmasch, ripsraps, wirrwarr Spanish : pimpampum, chischás, cataplun *a-u-i, *u-i-a sequences are not attested in these formations. b. Taqjmit, a Berber language game: Tashlhiyt Berber kSm “enter” fr “be happy” xadiZ proper noun proper noun “plough”
kltum krz
Taqjmit tikkaSmjuSm tiffarjur tixxadZjudZ tikkatmjutm tikkarzjurz
One question arises: -
Is there any external motivation for the aphonic path to be structured in such a way?
More particularly, -
Why does –u- follow –a- and not –i- in the vocalism used in onomatopoeias and language games.
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Why do those formations use i-a-u and not *a-i-u, *a-u-i, *i-u-a, *u-i-a?
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Why does the apophonic path involve the portion i ⇒ a ⇒ u and not *i ⇒ u ⇒ a, *a ⇒ i ⇒ u or *u ⇒ i ⇒ a?
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[20] i high
a low
u high
- Alternative account: Markedness theory According to this theory, i ⇒ a ⇒ u is more natural than u ⇒ a⇒ i since it begins with the unmarked vowel /i/ and ends with the marked vowel /u/ going through the less-marked vowel /a/. One may still object that in certain cases such as in Classical Arabic diminutive formations, the vocalism u-a-i contradicts Markedness theory as it begins with the marked vowel /u/ instead of the unmarked /i/. Some of the examples given previously in [9] illustrate the issue: « book » « poet » « expert »
kitaab Saa÷ir ÷aalim
kutayyib Suway÷ir ÷uwaylim
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Ségéral, Philippe. 1996. L’apophonie en ge’ez. Studies in Afroasiatic Grammar. Edited by J. Lecarme, J. Lowenstamm & U. Shlonsky: 360-391. The hague. Ségéral, Philippe. 2000. Théorie de l’apophonie et organisation des schemes en sémitique. Research in Afroasiatic Grammar. Edited by J. Lecarme, J. Lowenstamm & U. Shlonsky: 263-299. J. Benjamins. Ségéral, Philippe & Tobias Scheer 1998. A Generalized Theory of Ablaut: the Case of Modern German Strong Verbs. Models of Inflection, edited by Albert Ortmann, Ray Fabri & Teresa Parodi, 28-59. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
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