considering a number of specific instantiations of the morpheme. Exercises. 1 A.
xininca Campa ... imperative, which you do not need to be concerned with.} ·.
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Establishing the correct underlying representation for a morpheme is the most important first step in giving a phonological analysis of data. A correct underlying representation unifies surface variants of a morpheme, giving recognition of the basic "sameness" of a morpheme, regardless of variations in pronunciation which arise because phonological rules have applied . The underlying form and the system of rules are thus connected: by malting the right choice of underlying form, and given the right system of rules, the rules will correctly operate on just those segments which participate in the alternation . The key to making the right decision about underlying forms is to carefully consider different hypotheses: if a segment in a morpheme has two or more surface realisations, it is often necessary to consider two or more possibilities for what is underlying - is variant [a], [b] or [c] the right choice? The main issue relevant to answering this question is knowing which variant preserves important distinctions and which neutralizes distinctions.. The underlying form may not even be seen directly in any one pronunciation of a morpheme: it may be a form inferred from considering a number of specific instantiations of the morpheme.
Exercises 1 A.xininca Campa Provide underlying representations and a phonological rule which will account for the following alternations: · toniro yaarato kanari kosiri pisiro porita
'my palm' 'my black bee' 'my wild turkey' 'my white monkey' 'my small toucan' 'my small hen'
2 Kikuyu What is the. underlying form of the infinitive prefix in Kikuyu 7 Give a rule that explains the nonunderlying pronunciation of the prefix: )'OteJJera J'Okoora kooria koh;"Jta koyeera koniina )'OCUUka kol'aya
3 Give the underlying representations of each of the verb stems found below; state what phonological rule applies to these data. (Note: there is a vowel
harmony rule which explains the variation between final aand ~ In the imperative, which you do not need to be concerned with.} · ·
