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Language Structure Problems

Witches p4

Here are your data:

1. namkum - lightning bolt

2. hu - wind

3. zetop - potion

4. bluon - human

5. namkumi - lightning bolts

6. hui - winds

7. zetopi - potions

8. bluoni - humans

9. azam - failure

10. klar - child

11. namfet - goddess

12. zenit - spell

13. twiN - victory

14. aS - wine

15. muta - plan

16. oel - choice

17. namaS - poison

18. azemi - failures

19. kleri - children

20. zeniti - spells

21. namfiti - goddesses

22. twiNi victories

23. eSi - wines

24. mutei - plans

25. oili - choices

26. namESi - poisons


1. If you have not done so before, determine the plural morpheme.
The plural morpheme is -i. (Notice the hyphen: the plural is a suffix.

2. Each word in the list 9-26 above has two allomorphs: one that occurs regularly and the other that occurs when you add the plural. For each word, list its two forms.

9. azam azem- failure/s

10. klar kler- - child/ren

11. namfet namfit- - goddess/es

12. zenit zenit- - spell/s (No change)

13. twiN twiN - victory/ies

14. aS eS- - wine/s

15. muta mute- - plan/s

16. oel oil- - choice/s

17. namaS nameS- - poison/s

Notice that any form I've seen as a free form (witout anything necessarily attached), I write as a stand-alone word. If I see a form that I have never seen standing alone as its own word, then I use a hyphen to indicate that it should be attached to a suffix.


3. If a word has two vowels in it in the singular, which vowel will change when the plural is added?
The second vowel: see list above.

4. Describe the pattern. How does adding that plural suffix impact the root of the noun?
Front vowels [a] and [e] raise one step to [e] and [i] respectively when the suffix -i is added. [i] vowels to not change.

5. Now describe the pattern again, taking these new forms into account. The raising pattern works only with front vowels: back vowels do not change.


Updated: Sept 22, 2012