Word structure in Ngalakgan / Brett J. Baker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baker, Brett J. (Brett Joseph), 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ngalakan language--Morphology.

Ngalakan language.

Ngalakan language--Phonology.

Morphology.

Physical Description:

xvi, 332 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : CSLI Pub., [2008]

Summary:

Word Structure in Ngalakgan is the first major theoretical work on the phonology and morphology of an Australian language in 20 years. Ngalakgan is a non-configurational, polysynthetic, and agglutinative language of the Gunwinyguan family. The morphological structures of Ngalakgan require a two-level analysis: root-level and word-level. Only the word-level shows regular phonologically conditioned alternations. The root-level is entirely frozen. Baker demonstrates that Optimality Theory must take account of differences in the productivity of morphological relations in the input, in order to maintain the simplest analysis. Ngalakgan has a quantity-sensitive stress system which is hitherto undescribed and which contradicts the predictions of current Moraic Theory. Syllables closed by codas which share place with a following onset do not count as heavy even though heterorganic codas do. The same system is found in neighbouring languages. This and other patterns suggest that syllabification in these languages is gesture-, rather than timing-, based.

Contents:

1.1 The Ngalakgan people and their language 2

1.1.1 Linguistic situation 3

1.1.2 Features of the language 5

1.1.3 The speakers, their social environment, and the fieldwork 5

1.1.4 Informants 6

1.1.5 Fieldwork 6

1.1.6 Data and methodology 7

1.2 Previous work on Ngalakgan 9

1.2.1 Differences from previous work 9

1.2.2 The book in the current Australian linguistic context 10

1.3 Optimality Theory 12

1.3.1 The basic apparatus 12

2 Issues in the segmental inventory of Ngalakgan 19

2.1 Segment inventory 19

2.1.1 Place of articulation 20

2.1.2 Manner 21

2.1.3 Vowels 22

2.1.4 The stop contrast and the glottal stop 24

2.2 Syllabification and phonotactics 24

2.2.1 Phonotactic positions 25

2.2.2 Neutralisation of the apical contrast 30

2.2.3 Analysis of place phonotactics 32

2.3 The phonology of the stop contrast 37

2.3.1 Phonetics of the stop contrast 37

2.3.2 Distribution of geminates in syllable structure 39

2.3.3 Geminates as onsets 45

2.4 The glottal stop 47

2.4.1 The distribution of the glottal stop 49

2.4.2 The morpho-phonology of the open class Future and Irrealis inflection 52

2.4.3 The phonological representation of glottal stop 56

2.4.4 The timing of laryngealisation 59

2.5 The syllabification of glides 61

2.6 Inter-morphemic clusters and assimilation 64

2.7 Orthography 67

3 Root and Word 69

3.1 Simplex words 70

3.1.1 Analysis of simplex forms 71

3.1.2 Monosyllabic words 75

3.1.3 Analysis of monosyllabic words 78

3.1.4 Words with four or more syllables 82

3.2 Word-compounds 84

3.2.1 Examples-of WORD-compounds 84

3.2.2 Compounding morphology 86

3.2.3 Prosodic characteristics of WORD-compounds 87

3.3 ROOT-morphology and proposdy 95

3.3.1 ROOT-level morphology 95

3.3.2 ROOT-compounds 99

3.3.3 Prosodic characteristics of ROOT-morphology 101

3.3.4 WORD-reduplication and ROOT-reduplication 104

3.4 The Ngalakgan lexicon 108

3.4.1 The elements of the lexicon 111

3.5 Structure in complex words 114

3.6 The analysis of ROOT-complex forms 123

3.7 Phonological correlates of compounding: the distribution of apical distinctions in words 125

3.8 Implications 129

3.8.1 The two-level theory applied to OT 131

4 Affixation and prosodic domains 133

4.1 The morphology of affixes and bound stems 134

4.1.1 Distinguishing bound stems and affixes 138

4.2 Prosodic characteristics of affixes and bound stems 148

4.2.1 General patterns: disyllabic suffixes and bound stems 148

4.2.2 Monosyllabic suffixes and bound stems 150

4.3 Morphemes as prosodic domains 152

4.3.1 Analysis of metrical patterns 155

4.4 Further applications of [lambda] [approximate] PRWD 157

4.4.1 Warlpiri and Diyari stress 157

4.4.2 Against ALIGN 159

4.5 The pre-head string 164

4.5.1 Prosody of right-binding stems 165

4.5.2 Prosody of inflectional prefixes 166

4.5.3 Analysis of prefix prosodic structure 169

4.5.4 Analysis of right-binding stems 173

5 Weight 177

5.1 The nature of weight in Ngalakgan 178

5.2 Geminates in Moraic Theory 185

5.3 Timing vs gesture in metrical systems 190

5.4 Syllabification in OT 192

5.4.1 The organisation of feet in Ngalakgan words 196

5.4.2 Heavy syllables elsewhere in the word 199

5.4.3 Word-final consonants 199

5.4.4 NO CLASH 203

5.4.5 Other indications of weight 204

5.4.6 Monogestural clusters and weight in other languages 205

5.4.7 Further implications: the representation of monogestural clusters and weight 211

5.5 The interaction of glottal stop with weight 219

5.5.1 Glottal stops are weightless 220

5.5.2 Glottal stops as placeless segments 221

5.6 Prominence-based stress in Ngalakgan 225

6 Geminates and other boundary signals 229

6.1 Phonetic correlates of the stop contrast 230

6.1.1 Duration 230

6.1.2 Voicing 233

6.1.3 The phonological representation of geminates 237

6.1.4 Assignment of [spread glottis] 239

6.2 Gemination and laryngealisation at morpheme boundaries 246

6.2.1 Reasons for boundary gemination and laryngealisation 248

6.3 Geminate alternation 251

6.3.1 Geminate alteration is prosodically-conditioned 256

6.3.2 Analysis 260

6.3.3 Faithfulness to laryngeal features 268

6.3.4 Faithfulness to Morphological Words 270

6.4 CV? WORD-reduplication 271

6.4.1 Morphology of CV?-reduplication 272

6.4.2 Prosodic characteristics of CV?-reduplication 274

6.5 Prosodic effects on margins in other languages 278

6.5.1 Glottal stop alternations in Yolngu 278

6.5.2 Pre-tonic gemination in Ndjebbana 284

6.5.3 Implications for other languages 288

6.6 Geminates and morpheme structure constraints 291

7.1 Word structure in Ngalakgan 295

7.2 Syllable structure, onsets and prosody 296

7.3 Further evidence for words as phrases: compound interpretation in Ngalakgan and Wubuy 297

7.4 Morphology in Optimality Theory 302.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-320) and indexes.

ISBN:

9781575865621

1575865629

OCLC:

213358196

Publisher Number:

99939677451

Online:

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