Constraints on two types of nonconcatenative morphology in signed languages
نویسندگان
چکیده
Signed languages strongly favor nonconcatenative morphology (Aronoff, Meir and Sandler 2005, Fernald and Napoli 2000). This type of morphology includes processes that change at least one of the parameters of the stem, such as handshape, orientation, location or movement. It is argued that there are two types of nonconcatenative morphology in signed languages. In one type, exemplified by numeral incorporation, all the morphemes in a sign have a fixed realization. In the other type, exemplified by verb agreement, one of the morphemes in a sign does not have a fixed realization in the lexicon and requires interaction with gestural space. This type is modality-specific. Using the framework of Optimality Theory, the paper argues for the distinctiveness of these two types on the basis of phonological constraints that apply to them in data from a cross-linguistic survey of German (DGS) and American (ASL) Sign
منابع مشابه
On the Proper Characterization of ‘Nonconcatenative’ Languages
Nonconcatenative languages have been claimed to employ a special type of phonological spreading of a consonant over a vowel, which assumes a representation that segregates consonants and vowels on different planes. I argue that this type of spreading can and must be eliminated from the theory, by reducing it to segmental copying as in reduplication. Crucial to this reduction is the notion of gr...
متن کاملKnow When to Hold 'Em: Shuffling Deterministically in a Parser for Nonconcatenative Grammars
Nonconcatenative constraints, such as the shuffle relation, are frequently employed in grammatical analyses of languages that have more flexible ordering of constituents than English. We show how it is possible to avoid searching the large space of permutations that results from a nondeterministic application of shuffle constraints. The results of our implementation demonstrate that determinist...
متن کاملKnow When to Hold 'Em: Shu ing Deterministically in a Parser for Nonconcatenative Grammars
Nonconcatenative constraints, such as the shuue relation , are frequently employed in grammatical analyses of languages that have more exible ordering of constituents than English. We show how it is possible to avoid searching the large space of permutations that results from a nondeterministic application of shuue constraints. The results of our implementation demonstrate that deterministic ap...
متن کاملGreenberg’s Asymmetry in Arabic: a Consequence of Stems in Paradigms
How different is the phonology and morphology of nontemplatic (concatenative) word formation from that of templatic (nonconcatenative) word formation? In this article, I focus on the Arabic verbal system, the prototypical example of templatic morphology, with the aim of deriving some of its distinctly special traits from basic principles. The key novel aspect of the approach is its focus on par...
متن کاملThe Fate of the Consonantal Root and the Binyan in Optimality Theory
The paper provides an Optimality Theoretic account to Modern Hebrew nonconcatenative morphology. It argues that the base of derivation is the word/stem, modified by constraints assigning the prosodic structure, the vocalic pattern, and the affixes (if any). The notion of the binyan is viewed as a configuration of the structures assigned by these constraints. The consonantal root is entirely eli...
متن کامل