jeff_l
(Jeff_L)
#1
3.1 Segments 39
(29) Stem-Final i/A-Deletion (Verbs)
Stem-final underspecified vowels III (high) and /A/ (low) are
deleted when not followed by a nonzero subject suffix
The nonzero suffixes expressing imperative subject (MaPl -aet, FePl -maet)
do not count as "subject suffixes" for this purpose and do not block the
deletion (§7.2.3.2).
When deletion of hi produces a word-final CC cluster, depending on
which C's are involved it may be necessary to resyllabify by inserting a schwa
between the two. In T-ka this also entails an accent shift onto the schwa. See
§3.2.4 and §3.3.2 for details.
3.1.2.5 Phonological status of final [u] and [i]
Because word-final (or preconsonantal) u and aw (phonetic [u]) are
indistinguishable, as are i and ay (phonetic [i]), clues from suffixation and
ablaut may be relevant to determining the correct phonological representation.
For nouns, a true final u or i will become α in a nonsuffixal ablaut plural,
since PI ablaut replaces the last V of the stem by a. By the same token, a stem-
final aw will become aw in an ablauted PI, and ay will become ay.
We observe u to a in ee-karfu 'rope' (<Songhay), PI l-kurfa, and
t-a-damu-t-t 'millet beverage', PI t-"i-dama. I know of no example where Sg
stem-final u corresponds to PI aw, though the irregular compound initial massi
'owner of, PI maessaw- 'owners of (§4.1.2.26), is suggestive. Examples
where final HI is replaced by PI α include: t-a-tbaqqi-t-t 'dot', PI t-l-tbaqqa,
and t-a-Yimi-t-t 'sitting' (VblN, Vrym), PI t-Wima (A-grm). Examples where
the PI has ay include t-a-s-ass-awi-t-t 'package' (A-grm), PI t-i-s-ass-iway,
and t-a-s-anji-t-t 'channel', PI t-i-s-anjay. These PI forms justify e.g.
/-tbaqqi-/ for 'dot' with final i, and /-s-ass-away-/ for 'package' with final ay,
as the representations to which PI ablaut applies. Further examples of ablaut
plurals can be gleaned from the lists in the sections beginning §4.1.2.15. Many
of the relevant nouns are derivatives of verbs, where the difference between
final diphthong (vy or vw) and final vowel (υ) is clearly expressed in verbal
inflection. Thus t-a-s-ass-awi-t-t 'package' is a derivative of the Causative of
-uwvy- 'bring' (PerfP -sewwaey-).
While the plural-ablaut test suggests singular representations for 'package'
and 'channel' (preceding paragraph) ending in /...ay-/, the Sg forms end in -t-t,
including inner Fe suffix -t-. This suffixal pattern is otherwise confined to
V-final stems, so the different pieces of evidence conflict. One might conclude
from this that ablaut applies at an early (lexical) stage, while FeSg suffixation
applies to later (post-lexical) representations.
Suffixal plurals (without ablaut) also provide evidence for the status of
final [u] and [i] in singular noun stems. If the noun ends in a true V, we
