160 3 Phonologyconnection between loss (or desyllabification) of a stem V and χ-Erasure. In
addition, we would have to recognize a different rule ordering for the cases in
(137.d-e), with Default Accentuation following VV-Contraction.
For more examples and discussion of these Sg/Pl pairs, see §4.1.2.13. The
erasure rule is formulated as (139).
(139) Lexical Accent Erasure
A lexical penultimate accent on a Sg noun is erased if a vowel in
the Sg stem is desyllabified or syncopated, and (in some cases) if a
stem-final V (overt in the Sg, or deletable) is deleted.Of course it would be reasonable to combine (136.a) with (139).
To conclude this larger discussion (all of §3.5.3), the most interesting
phenomenon is the existence of special rules that apply only in definite relative
clauses, where the targeted verb (or participle) directly follows a demonstrative
head. These rules have a general similarity to others involving the
characteristic Tamashek microsyntactic figure [X+Y...] constructions dealt
with throughout §3.5. χ-pcl Erasure is clearly a phonological reduction (in
V-length), like Prefix Reduction in nouns and some of the post-particle
adjustments in inflected verbs. However, the details do not match. In definite
relative clauses, while the length formative χ-pcl is erased, the parallel accent
formative χ-pcl is only erased under very limited conditions (involving loss of
a V), so the erasures do not work the same way in definite relatives as for the
(non-relative) LoImpfN (i.e. LoImpfP following Neg), where χ-pcl is
systematically erased. Rightward Accent Shift is likewise confined to verbs or
participles in definite relative clauses, and has no parallel in inflected verbs
following a particle like Neg or Future.
In conclusion, while there is a recurrent pattern of [X+Y...] phrasal
groupings in which the Y word undergoes morphophonological changes not
observed in phrase-initial position, the precise changes are different from one
specific construction to another.