Alternation (linguistics) explained

pronounced as /notice/

In linguistics, an alternation is the phenomenon of a morpheme exhibiting variation in its phonological realization. Each of the various realizations is called an alternant. The variation may be conditioned by the phonological, morphological, and/or syntactic environment in which the morpheme finds itself.

Alternations provide linguists with data that allow them to determine the allophones and allomorphs of a language's phonemes and morphemes and to develop analyses determining the distribution of those allophones and allomorphs.

The term "sound change" refers to diachronic changes, which occur in a language's sound system. On the other hand, "alternation" refers to changes that happen synchronically (within the language of an individual speaker, depending on the neighbouring sounds) and do not change the language's underlying system.

Phonologically conditioned alternation

See also: Allomorph.

An example of a phonologically conditioned alternation is the English plural marker commonly spelled s or es.^[1] This morpheme is pronounced pronounced as //s//, pronounced as //z//, or pronounced as //ᵻz//,^[2] depending on the nature of the preceding sound.

1. If the preceding sound is a sibilant consonant (one of pronounced as //s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ//), or an affricate (one of pronounced as //tʃ/, /dʒ//), the plural marker takes the form pronounced as //ᵻz//. Examples:
   • mass pronounced as //ˈmæs//, plural masses pronounced as //ˈmæsᵻz//
   • fez pronounced as //ˈfɛz//, plural fezzes pronounced as //ˈfɛzᵻz//
   • mesh pronounced as //ˈmɛʃ//, plural meshes pronounced as //ˈmɛʃᵻz//
   • mirage pronounced as //mɪˈrɑːʒ//, plural mirages pronounced as //mɪˈrɑːʒᵻz//
   • church pronounced as //ˈtʃɜːrtʃ//, plural churches pronounced as //ˈtʃɜːrtʃᵻz//
   • bridge pronounced as //ˈbrɪdʒ//, plural bridges pronounced as //ˈbrɪdʒᵻz//
2. Otherwise, if the preceding sound is voiceless, the plural marker takes the likewise voiceless form pronounced as //s//. Examples:
   • mop pronounced as //ˈmɒp//, plural mops pronounced as //ˈmɒps//
   • mat pronounced as //ˈmæt//, plural mats pronounced as //ˈmæts//
   • pack pronounced as //ˈpæk//, plural packs pronounced as //ˈpæks//
   • cough pronounced as //ˈkɒf//, plural coughs pronounced as //ˈkɒfs//
   • myth pronounced as //ˈmɪθ//, plural myths pronounced as //ˈmɪθs//
3. Otherwise, the preceding sound is voiced, and the plural marker takes the likewise voiced form pronounced as //z//.
   • dog pronounced as //ˈdɒɡ//, plural dogs pronounced as //ˈdɒɡz//
   • glove pronounced as //ˈɡlʌv//, plural gloves pronounced as //ˈɡlʌvz//
   • ram pronounced as //ˈræm//, plural rams pronounced as //ˈræmz//
   • doll pronounced as //ˈdɒl//, plural dolls pronounced as //ˈdɒlz//
   • toe pronounced as //ˈtoʊ//, plural toes pronounced as //ˈtoʊz//

Alternation related to meaning

See main article: Apophony.

Morphologically conditioned alternation

French has an example of morphologically conditioned alternation. The feminine form of many adjectives ends in a consonant sound that is missing in the masculine form. In spelling, the feminine ends in a silent e, while the masculine ends in a silent consonant letter:^[3]

• masculine French: petit pronounced as /[pəti]/, feminine French: petite pronounced as /[pəti'''t''']/
• masculine French: grand pronounced as /[ɡʁɑ̃]/, feminine French: grande pronounced as /[ɡʁɑ̃'''d''']/
• masculine French: gros pronounced as /[ɡʁo]/, feminine French: grosse pronounced as /[ɡʁo'''s''']/
• masculine French: joyeux pronounced as /[ʒwajø]/, feminine French: joyeuse pronounced as /[ʒwajø'''z''']/
• masculine French: franc pronounced as /[fʁɑ̃]/, feminine French: franche pronounced as /[fʁɑ̃'''ʃ''']/
• masculine French: bon pronounced as /[bɔ̃]/, feminine French: bonne pronounced as /[bɔ'''n''']/

Syntactically conditioned alternation

Syntactically conditioned alternations can be found in the Insular Celtic languages, where words undergo various initial consonant mutations depending on their syntactic position.^[4] For example, in Irish, an adjective undergoes lenition after a feminine singular noun:

• unmutated Irish: mór pronounced as /['''mˠ'''oːɾˠ]/, mutated in Irish: bean mhór pronounced as /[bʲan '''w'''oːɾˠ]/

In Welsh, a noun undergoes soft mutation when it is the direct object of a finite verb:

• unmutated Welsh: beic pronounced as /['''b'''əik]/ "bike", mutated in Welsh: Prynodd y ddynes feic. pronounced as /[ˈprənoð ə ˈðənɛs '''v'''əik]/

See also

• Phonological rule
• Sound change
• Apophony
• Sandhi
• Allophone

Notes and References

1. Book: Cohn, Abigail . Phonology . 202–203 . The Handbook of Linguistics . limited . Mark Aronoff. Janie Rees-Miller . 2001 . Blackwell Publishers . Oxford . 0-631-20497-0.
2. The vowel of the inflectional suffix -(es) may belong to the phoneme of either pronounced as //ɪ// or pronounced as //ə// depending on dialect, and (IPA|ᵻ) is a shorthand for "either pronounced as //ɪ// or pronounced as //ə//". This usage of the symbol is borrowed from the Oxford English Dictionary.
3. Book: Steriade, Donca . 1999 . Lexical conservatism in French adjectival liaison . Jean-Marc Authier. Barbara E. Bullock. Lisa A. Reed . Formal Perspectives in Romance Linguistics . John Benjamins . 243–70 . http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/steriade/papers/FrenchLiaison.pdf . Amsterdam . 90-272-3691-7.
4. Green . Antony D. . 2006 . The independence of phonology and morphology: The Celtic mutations . Lingua . 116 . 1946–1985 . 10.1016/j.lingua.2004.09.002 . 11.