Phonological Word and Grammatical Word

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Vowel Harmony ◽  
Phonological Word ◽  
Fiji Islands ◽  
Syntactic Function ◽  
Morphological Processes ◽  
Southern Amazonia ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Phonological Unit

‘Word’ is a cornerstone for the understanding of every language. It is a pronounceable phonological unit. It will also have a meaning, and a grammatical characterization-a morphological structure and a syntactic function. And it will be an entry in a dictionary and an orthographic item. ‘Word’ has ‘psychological reality’ for speakers, enabling them to talk about the meaning of a word, its appropriateness for use in a certain social context, and so on. This volume investigates ‘word’ in its phonological and grammatical guises, and how this concept can be applied to languages of distinct typological make-up-from highly synthetic to highly analytic. Criteria for phonological word often include stress, tone, and vowel harmony. Grammatical word is recognized based on its conventionalized coherence and meaning, and consists of a root to which morphological processes will apply. In most instances, ‘grammatical word’ and ‘phonological word’ coincide. In some instances, a phonological word may consist of more than one grammatical word. Or a grammatical word can consist of more than one phonological word, or there may be more complex relationships. The volume starts with a typological introduction summarizing the main issues. It is followed by eight chapters each dealing with ‘word’ in an individual language—Yidiñ from Australia, Fijian from the Fiji Islands, Jarawara from southern Amazonia, Japanese, Chamacoco from Paraguay, Murui from Colombia, Yalaku from New Guinea, Hmong from Laos and a number of diasporic communities, Lao, and Makary Kotoko from Cameroon. The final chapter contains a summary of our findings.

Wordhood in Chamacoco

2020 ◽  
pp. 78-120
Author(s):  
Luca Ciucci
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Vowel Harmony ◽  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Complex Predicates ◽  
Phonological Word ◽  
Word Classes ◽  
Concept Of Word ◽  
Phonological Rules

This chapter investigates ‘wordhood’ in Chamacoco, a Zamucoan language with about 2,000 speakers who traditionally inhabit the department of Alto Paraguay in Paraguay. After having examined the concept of ‘word’ in Chamacoco culture and the phonological inventory of the language, this chapter defines the phonological word according to its phonological rules, segmental features, and prosodic features (stress, nasal harmony and vowel harmony). Then, the morphological structure of the main word classes (verbs, nouns and adjectives) is outlined in order to identify the grammatical word and the mismatches between phonological and grammatical word. The latter can consist of one or more phonological words, as for compound subordinators, complex predicates, and instances of reduplication. By contrast, owing to cliticization, one phonological word can comprise two or more grammatical words. Finally, the chapter describes the properties of regular clitics and distinguishes them from morphemes which are independent phonological words frequently undergoing cliticization.

The phonological and grammatical status of Murui ‘word’

2020 ◽  
pp. 121-146
Author(s):  
Katarzyna I. Wojtylak
Keyword(s):  
Vowel Length ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Phonological Word ◽  
Segmental Phonology ◽  
Word Boundaries ◽  
Nominal Compounds ◽  
Fixed Order ◽  
Morphological Processes ◽  
Key Indicators

Different sorts of phonological and grammatical criteria can be used to identify wordhood in Murui, a Witotoan language from Northwest Amazonia. A phonological word is determined on entirely phonological principles. Its key indicators include prosody (stress) and segmental phonology (vowel length). A phonological word is further produced by applying relevant phonological processes within it and not across its word boundaries. The further criterion is moraicity which requires that the minimal phonological word contains at least two moras. A grammatical word, determined entirely on grammatical principles, consists of one lexical root to which morphological processes (affixation, cliticization, and reduplication) are applied. The components of a grammatical word are cohesive and occur in a relatively fixed order. Although Murui grammatical and phonological words mostly coincide, the ‘mismatches’ include nominal compounds (that is, one phonological word consisting of two grammatical words), verbal root reduplication (one grammatical but two phonological words), and clitics.

Relating application frequency to morphological structure: the case of Tommo So vowel harmony

Phonology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura McPherson ◽  
Bruce Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Linear Order ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Vowel Harmony ◽  
Alternative Models ◽  
Harmonic Grammar ◽  
Application Frequency ◽  
Close Fit ◽  
Do So

We describe three vowel-harmony processes in Tommo So and their interaction with morphological structure. The verbal suffixes of Tommo So occur in a strict linear order, establishing a Kiparskian hierarchy of distance from the root. This distance is respected by all three harmony processes; they ‘peter out’, applying with lower frequency as distance from the root increases. The function relating application rate to distance is well fitted by families of sigmoid curves, declining in frequency from one to zero. We show that, assuming appropriate constraints, such functions are a direct consequence of Harmonic Grammar. The crucially conflicting constraints areIdent(violated just once by harmonised candidates) and a scalar version ofAgree(violated one to seven times, based on closeness of the target to the root). We show that our model achieves a close fit to the data, while a variety of alternative models fail to do so.

Decomposition in a non-concatenated morphological structure involves more than just the roots: Evidence from fast priming

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avital Deutsch ◽  
Hadas Velan ◽  
Tamar Michaly
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Facilitatory Effect ◽  
Sentence Reading ◽  
Priming Paradigm ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Phonological Unit ◽  
Word Pattern

Complex words in Hebrew are composed of two non-concatenated morphemes: a consonantal root embedded in a nominal or verbal word-pattern morpho-phonological unit made up of vowels or vowels and consonants. Research on written-word recognition has revealed a robust effect of the roots and the verbal-patterns, but not of the nominal-patterns, on word recognition. These findings suggest that the Hebrew lexicon is organized and accessed via roots. We explored the hypothesis that the absence of a nominal-pattern effect reflects methodological limitations of the experimental paradigms used in previous studies. Specifically, the potential facilitative effect induced by a shared nominal-pattern was counteracted by an interference effect induced by the competition between the roots of two words derived from different roots but with the same nominal-pattern. In the current study, a fast-priming paradigm for sentence reading and a “delayed-letters” procedure were used to isolate the initial effect of nominal-patterns on lexical access. The results, based on eye-fixation latency, demonstrated a facilitatory effect induced by nominal-pattern primes relative to orthographic control primes when presented for 33 or 42 ms. The results are discussed in relation to the role of the word-pattern as an organizing principle of the Hebrew lexicon, together with the roots.

scholarly journals Does morphological structure modulate access to embedded word meaning in child readers?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Hasenäcker ◽  
Olga Solaja ◽  
Davide Crepaldi
Keyword(s):  
Word Meaning ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Semantic Level ◽  
Developing Readers ◽  
Semantic Access ◽  
Morphological Processes

AbstractBeginning readers have been shown to be sensitive to the meaning of embedded neighbors (e.g., CROW in CROWN). Moreover, developing readers are sensitive to the morphological structure of words (TEACH-ER). However, the interaction between orthographic and morphological processes in meaning activation during reading is not well established. What determines semantic access to orthographically embedded words? What is the role of suffixes in this process? And how does this change throughout development? To address these questions, we asked 80 Italian elementary school children (third, fourth, and fifth grade) to make category decisions on words (e.g., is CARROT a type of food?). Critically, some target words for no-answers (e.g., is CORNER a type of food?) contained category-congruent embedded stems (i.e., CORN). To gauge the role of morphology in this process, half of the embedded stems were accompanied by a pseudosuffix (CORN-ER) and half by a non-morphological ending (PEA-CE). Results revealed that words were harder to reject as members of a category when the embedded stem was category-congruent. This effect held both with and without a pseudosuffix, but was larger for pseudosuffixed words in the error rates. These results suggest that orthographic stems are activated and activation is fed forward to the semantic level regardless of morphological structure, followed by a decision-making process that might strategically use suffix-like endings.

The essence of  ‘word’

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald ◽  
R. M. W. Dixon ◽  
Nathan M. White
Keyword(s):  
Complex Predicates ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Orthographic Representation ◽  
Phonological Word ◽  
Minimal Word ◽  
Suprasegmental Features ◽  
Serial Verbs ◽  
Phonological Unit ◽  
Phonological Units

This chapter offers general background for the analysis of ‘phonological word’ and ‘grammatical word’ in a cross-linguistic perspective. It outlines the defining characteristics of phonological word (including segmental and suprasegmental features and phonological processes), formulates restrictions on the length of a minimal word, and places ‘word’ within a hierarchy of phonological units. Defining features of grammatical word are outlined next. In most instances phonological words and grammatical words coincide. In some cases a grammatical word can consist of a number of phonological words, and vice versa. Typical instances of mismatches involve reduplication, compounding, and complex predicates, including serial verbs. Clitics—morphological units which form a phonological unit with a word preceding or following them—account for further mismatches. The reality of word and the nature of its orthographic representation are discussed next. The chapter concludes with an overview of the volume, and an appendix containing points to be addressed by fieldworkers.

scholarly journals Morphosyntactic Analysis of Onitsha Personal Names

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-418
Author(s):  
Chika Obiageli Ezeudo ◽  
Sopuruchi Christian Aboh ◽  
Kalu Mba Idika
Keyword(s):  
Women Religious ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Personal Names ◽  
Internal Structures ◽  
Religious Associations ◽  
Descriptive Approach ◽  
Morphological Processes ◽  
Morphosyntactic Analysis

This study examines Onitsha personal names (OPN) from a morphosyntactic perspective. The major objective of this study is to examine the syntactic and morphological structure of some OPN. Specifically, the study seeks to ascertain the morphological processes and the relation in the internal structures of the morpheme that are combined to form the names. A sample of 250 names for both male and female were used for the analysis. The data were obtained from a list of names in schools, men and women religious associations. Oral interviews were conducted with native speakers in order to get clarifications as it concerns the meaning of the names. The roots, stems, and affixes of the names were analysed using the descriptive approach and applying the word formation rules. The findings reveal the following: that most of the morphological processes in the formation of OPN are predominantly clipping, prefixing and suffixing in a hierarchical manner, such that the meaning of the names are predictable from their structural components and most of these names are derived from clauses by desententialisation process; the philosophy behind the names are often lost due to clipping; OPN at sentential level can function as statements, interrogatives, or imperatives, commands; the morphological components in terms of size, length or shape can be monomorphemic, dimorphemic, trimorphemic and polymorphemic. Structurally, they can be single stem, compound or complex.

scholarly journals Morphosyntactic Structure of Phonological Words

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kobey Shwayder
Keyword(s):  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Phonological Word ◽  
Phonological Unit

<p>Many theories of phonology use some notion of ``word'' as a unit of representation or as a domain for application of phonological processes. However, the determination of when a phonological unit counts as a word is not tied to any outside structure or definition, it is simply assumed as a primitive unit of the calculation. The assumption that the word is a primitive unit, however, is questioned by the theory of Distributed Morphology (Halle &amp; Marantz 1993, et seq.). If the word is not a unit on the syntactic side of the derivation, however, then there is the question of where the unit of the phonological word comes from.</p><p>The goal of this paper is to present an overview of a theory which calculates the correspondences between the information from the morphosyntax and the phonological domain of the word. This paper highlights a number of correspondences between morphosyntactic structures and phonological words and posits some possible operations on the PF derivation for creating phonological words from these structures.</p>

scholarly journals Vowel Harmony and Other Morphological Processes in Turkish

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Eyüp Bacanlı ◽  
Darin Flynn ◽  
Amanda Pounder
Keyword(s):  
Vowel Harmony ◽  
Phonological Process ◽  
Complex Word ◽  
Modular Model ◽  
Morphological Processes

Vowel harmony appears to be a regular phonological process in Turkish, but nevertheless is not exceptionless. Due to these exceptions, it cannot be considered as part of the active phonology of Turkish. An analysis is proposed in which morphology and lexicon control vowel harmony and other processes similar in this regard. Morphology is unlike other modules of grammar in requiring access to all of syntactic, semantic, and phonological properties to function. One of the roles of morphology is to give commands to the phonology during formation of a complex word, such as "Carry out vowel harmony!" The phonology need not account for why such a command does not accompany certain suffixes, why it does not apply to all roots, nor why other commands only accompany a few suffixes. More generally, there is no need for phonology to access morphological information in a modular model of grammar.

scholarly journals A Morphosyntactic Analysis of Some Asante Weed Names

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Abdulai Akuamah
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Language Family ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Morphological Processes ◽  
Morphosyntactic Analysis ◽  
Southern Ghana

This paper investigates the morphosyntactic features of some indigenous weed names identified among the Asante people of Ghana. Asante is a dialect of Akan and belongs to the Kwa (Congo-Niger) language family spoken mainly in Southern Ghana.  This paper discusses some forty-four (44) weed names in Asante. All the data used were collected from primary sources. The data were collected from twenty (20) native speakers of Asante through unstructured interviews. The study has revealed various morphological processes in the language that include affixation, reduplication, and compounding in terms of morphological structure. The weed names were morphologically structured as single words, di-morphemic, phrases and clauses reduced to weed names. Syntactically, these sentential names can be simple, compound, and complex sentences which can function as declarative and imperative sentences.

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