Exercises

1. Catalan. Account for the alternations in the following adjectives and nouns, paying particular
attention to the ordering relations between the rules. Characterize each ordering relation in terms
of the notions of feeding, counterfeeding, bleeding, and counterbleeding.
In order to account for the alternations found in the data, we will stablish the order of our
analysis.
• First, we will show the alternations and rule formulation.
• Second, rule derivation.
• Finally, rule ordering relationship and some exceptional cases.

➢ Alternations: examples of suffixation

Masc. sg. Masc. pl. Fem. sg. Fem. pl. gloss
Ultim Ultim-s ultim-ə ultim-es ‘last’
Petit petit-s petit-ə petit-es ‘small’
sek sek-s sek-ə sek-es ‘dry’
We can see a morphological process with the following suffixes:
/-s/ suffixation for Masculine plural.
/-ə/ suffixation for Feminine singular.
/-es/ suffixation for Feminine plural.
We can say that masculine singular form in these data is unsuffixed since there is not a consistent
and specific pattern followed. It is worth to mention that the suffix in Feminine Plural may not be
/-es/ for one reason: if /-es/ is the real suffix, we would expect to see the schwa in Feminine
Plural too, but it is not the case. Therefore, it seems there is a stress shift where the schwa has
received stressed and thus has been realized as /-e/ and afterward is attached to /s/ becoming in
/-es/ suffix.
➢ Rules
Rule 1: /n/ deletion
Masc. pl. Masc. sg. gloss
bons Bo ‘good’
plens Ple ‘full’
sans Sa ‘sane’
If we analyze the data starting from masculine plural, we would expect to have ‘bon’ in the
masculine singular form instead of [bo] therefore, we can say that /n/ was part of the underlying
form but got deleted in masculine singular.
/n/ ➔ ∅ / __#
/n/ undergoes deletion in the environment of word final.

Rule 2: /r/ deletion

Fem. sg. Fem. pl. Masc. sg. gloss
klarə klares kla ‘plain’
durə dures du ‘hard’
seγurə seγures seγu ‘safe’
Following the same logic, we would expect to see /r/ in the word final of masculine singular
form but this is not the case. We observe another case of deletion where:
/r/ ➔ ∅ / __ #

/r/ undergoes deletion in the environment of word final.

Rule 3: plosive deletion

Fem. sg. Fem. pl. Masc. Pl. Masc. sg. gloss
profundə profundes profuns profun ‘deep’
fortə fortes fors for ‘strong’
blaŋkə blaŋkes blaŋs blaŋ ‘white’
kamp-amen kams kam ‘field’
Unlike the previous examples, in here we can claim that there were two consonants in the
underlying form but they have been reduced, we call this a cluster reduction where one of the
two clusters gets deleted when they share the same place of articulation. As a manner of contrast,
we have a few examples where there is not cluster reduction because they differ in their place of
articulation e.g. /kork/, /kalk/ and /serp/. Thus, we can posit the rule as follows:
-son ➔∅/ +son ___ #
-cont +cont +son
α place α place +cont

Plosive /d,t,k,p/ undergo deletion when it follows a sonorant consonant that shares the same
place of articulation in word final position.
Before continue, we can do some rule derivation to find out the relationship between these three
rules.
➢ Rule derivation
Order A
Masculine singular
UR: /bon/ /fort/ /klar/
R1 /n/ ➔ ∅ bo ---- ----
R2 /r/ ➔ ∅ ---- ---- kla
R3 plosive ➔ ∅ ---- for ----
SR [bo] [for] [kla]

We can see that the surface representation we get is the same as the underlying representation we
have in the data which means the order is correct. Let us try a different order now.
Order B
Masculine singular
UR: /bon/ /fort/ /klar/
R3 plosive ➔ ∅ ---- for ----
R2 /r/ ➔ ∅ ---- fo kla
R1 /n/ ➔ ∅ bo ---- ----
SR [bo] *[fo] [kla]
*means ungrammatical

Now that we have tried a different order, we see that the result for /fort/ does not match the
underlying representation. Since Rule 3 applied first, the plosive /t/ gets deleted leaving the /r/
exposed in final position so Rule 2 applies, therefore we end up with *fo which is a wrong
outcome.
➢ Rule relationship I

Once we have done the rule derivation, we can conclude that R1 and R2 must precede R3. If R3
applies first, it destroys the environment for the other two rules and we get incorrect results.
Therefore, R3 counterfeeds R1 and R2.
Rule 4: /o/ epenthesis
Masc. sg. Masc. pl. gloss
depaʧ depaʧos ‘office’
kalaʃ kalaʃos ‘drawer’
gros grosos ‘big’

∅ ➔ O / [+strident]__[+strident]
Epenthesis of vowel /o/ between two strident consonants.

Rule 5: Devoicing
Fem. Sg. Masc. sg. gloss
grizə gris ‘grey’
ʎeʤə ʎeʧ ‘ugly’

-son ➔ [-voice] / __ #
+voice

Voiced consonants become their voiceless counterpart in word final position.

We can view this alternation as devoicing where the final consonant is voiced in the underlying
form and due to the lack of a suffix it is realized voiceless. This is evident if we compare the
feminine form where there is a suffix, therefore the root-final consonant keeps its voicing.
Nevertheless, we found some exceptions that are complicated to explain because we see a
change in the manner of articulation where a voiced fricative goes to voiceless affricate but we
are not sure why this happens, see the examples below.

➢ Exceptional cases
Rule 6: voiced fricative to voiceless affricate

Masc. pl. Fem. Sg. Fem. Pl. Masc. sg. gloss

boʒos boʒə boʒes boʧ ‘crazy’
roʒos roʒə roʒes roʧ ‘red’
/-DR, +voice/ ➔ [+DR, -voice] / __#

Voiced postalveolar fricative is realized voiceless affricate in word final position.

Rule 7: Spirantization
Additionally, we found a peculiar case which we may take it as Spirantization.

-voice ➔ +voice / V__V

-cont +cont
-son

Masc. sg. Fem. sg gloss

Kazat kazaðə ‘married’
Sek seɣə ‘blind’

A voiceless plosive becomes voiced dental fricative when it occurs between vowels.

However, taking this approach is troublesome because first, it would be difficult to come up with
a rule to explain the alternation of some fricatives to affricates e.g. /ʒ/ → /ʧ/ and fricatives to
stops e.g. /ð/ → /t/. Second, we have other words that share the same environment but they do
not show any alternation. E.g.
Masc. sg. Fem. sg gloss
Petit petitə ‘small’
Sek sekə ‘dry’
We can conclude that these words alternate with zero but we cannot predict when this will
happen.

➢ Rule relationship II
Conclusion: Given that rules 4 and 5 have their specific environment for application, we see no
interaction between them. Rule 6 and 7 showed some exception cases therefore, we cannot
assign any specific order. For the reasons just mentioned, we consider there is no rule
relationship for the rules presented in this section.
2. Javanese (Dudas 1976). Account for the alternations in the following data, paying particular
attention to the ordering relations between the rules. Characterize each ordering relation in terms
of the notions feeding, counterfeeding, bleeding, counterbleeding. The vowels [I, u, ε, ɔ] are the
lax counterparts of tense [i, e, u, o]. Assume that all lax vowels are derived by rule from
underlying tense vowels.
In order to account for the alternations found in the data, we will stablish the order of our
analysis.
• First, we will show the alternations and rule formulation.
• Second, rule derivation.
• Rule relationship and some exceptional cases.

➢ Alternations and rule formulation

Suffixation Alternation I: examples

Nouns
Noun ‘My’ + N ‘This’+N gloss
səbap səbap-ku səbab-e ‘reason’
ʧukʊr ʧukʊr-ku ʧukur-e ‘haircut’
murIt murIt-ku murid-e ‘student’

/-ku/ suffixation for ‘My’ + noun.

/-e/ suffixation for ‘This’ + noun.
We will be looking at the “nouns” column to come up with the URs.

Adjectives, Demonstrative, Causative

➢ Suffixation Alternation II: examples
Adjective Demons. Causative gloss
risi risin-e ŋrisɛʔ-ake ‘uncomfortable’
geɖe geɖen-e ŋgɛɖɛʔ-ake ‘big’
garIŋ gariŋ-e ŋgarIŋ-ake ‘dry’
/-e/ suffixation for ‘Demonstrative’.
/-ake/ suffixation for ‘Causative’.
We assume the above suffixations because they hold true throughout the data. In the next rule we
explain why we take /-e/ as the suffix for demonstratives instead of /-ne/. Additionally, there are
alternations in vowels and consonants too which we will be discussing on the following pages.
Rule 1:/n/ epenthesis
Noun ‘This’+N gloss
babi babi-n-e ‘pig’
ibu ibu-n-e ‘mother’
ɖeje ɖeje-n-e ‘insect’

Adjective Demons. gloss

risi risi-n-e ‘uncomfortable’
geɖe geɖe-n-e ‘big’

∅ ➔ n / V__V
/n/ is inserted between vowels.
If we look at the Noun column we realize that all words are open syllable ending, i.e. all of them
end in vowel. We found out that whenever we have a closed syllable ending (cvc) e.g. ʧukʊr →
ʧukure ‘haircut’, the /n/ is not inserted. This is why we claim that the suffixation for ‘This’+N
and for demonstrative is /-e/ where /n/ is the result of insertion. Examples like these drive us to
the conclusion that Javanese does not allow the sequence of two vowels /CVV/ in the same
word.
There are some words that seem to be opaque since apparently, they do not abide the rule
mentioned above e.g. omah→omae ‘house’, butʊh → butue ‘need’, siIh→ sisie ‘side’. As we can
see, there is no /n/ insertion even though they are open syllable ending. We are not sure why this
happen but our hypothesis is that the /h/ despite of being considered a weak consonant compared
to other consonants and even though we cannot see it represented in the data, it still holds its
position between the vowels, not allowing the /n/ epenthesis to take place.
Rule 2:/ ʔ/ glottal stop epenthesis in Causative form /CVCV
Adjective Causative gloss
risi ŋrisɛ-ʔ-ake ‘uncomfortable’
geɖe ŋgɛɖɛ-ʔ-ake ‘big’
boɖo mbɔɖɔ-ʔ-ake ‘stupid’

∅ ➔ ʔ / V__V
/ʔ/ is inserted between vowels.
If we compare the Causative form with the case of /n/ insertion in nouns and demonstratives we
discussed in R1, we see that the /ʔ/ glottal stop has the same motivations for insertion since it
happens in the same environment as /n/ epenthesis. We also have similar exception cases to this
rule, e.g. garIŋ→ ŋgarIŋake ‘dry’, lirIh→ ŋlirihake ‘soft sounding’. In the first example, we see
that the syllable boundary is CVC so no need to insert the glottal stop since it ends in consonant.
In the second example, we also see a close syllable and unlike the previous case related to /h/
discussed in /n/ insertion, the /h/ is not deleted in the causative form keeping the glottal stop
from being inserted. This last case may be evidence for our hypothesis for /h/ cases mentioned in
the /n/ insertion rule, see Rule 1.
Rule 3: Nasal epenthesis in Causative form
Adjective Causative gloss
risi ŋ-risɛʔake ‘uncomfortable’
ʤəro ṉ-ʤərɔʔake ‘deep’
boɖo m-bɔɖɔʔake ‘stupid’
apIʔ ŋ-apIʔake ‘nice’
geɖe ŋ-gɛɖɛʔake ‘big’
∅ ➔ nasal / #__
Nasal insertion in word initial position.
By looking at the data in the Causative column, it is evident that there is a prefixation of nasal in
onset consonant position. The nasal inserted seems to be selected according to the features it
shares with the onset consonant. For example, in words like mbɔɖɔʔake ‘stupid’, the onset
consonant is a voiced bilabial stop so a bilabial nasal is inserted. For the word ŋgɛɖɛʔake ‘big’,
we have a voiced velar stop as the onset consonant, thus a velar nasal gets inserted. Therefore,
we can argue that the /n/ epenthesis includes place of assimilation process. It is worth to notice
that if the following sound is a sonorant, there is not place of assimilation, most of them take
velar nasal /ŋ/ insertion instead.
Vowel alternation rules discovered in the whole data
Vowels in Javanese
High i, I u, ʊ
-high e, ɛ, ə o, ɔ
Low a

Rule 1: high vowel laxing

‘This’+N Noun gloss
ʧaŋkire ʧaŋkIr ‘cup’
ʧukure ʧukʊr ‘haircut’
kulite kulIt ‘skin’
beɗuge beɗʊk ‘mosque drum’

+syllable ➔ [-tense] / C__C

+high

High vowels are realized lax when they occur between consonants in close syllable (CVC).

As we observe high tense vowels [i,u] in ‘This’+N column have open syllable structure VCV but
in the Noun column where we have close syllable CVC, they become lax.
Rule 2: vowel raising

‘This’+N Noun gloss

ʤarwa-ne ʤarwɔ ‘meaning’
darma-ne darmɔ ‘duty’
/a/ → [ɔ] / __ #
Low front vowel /a/ is raised to [ɔ] in word final position.
Rule 3: vowel harmony
In the following examples we can see how V1=V2 i.e. vowel copy.
Vowel harmony Example Gloss
/a/→ [a] kanʧa ‘friend’
/ɔ/→ [ɔ] ɔɳɖɔ ‘ladder’
/e/→ [e] ɖeje ‘insect’
/ɛ/→ [ɛ] nɛʤɛ ‘different’
/o/→ [o] boɖo ‘stupid’
/ɔ/→ [ɔ] lɔrɔ ‘sick’

➢ Rule derivation
Let us first look at the vowel reduction process in the charts below.
Chart A.
Vowel reduction
processes -back, -low, -
high
UR e→e geɖe
1st process lax e→ ɛ geɖɛ
2nd process copy ɛ→ ɛ ŋgɛɖɛʔake

We can think of the process for vowel laxing as: Mid vowel laxing→copy. We take the tense
mid vowel as the UR which undergoes the first process (laxing) and becomes /ɛ/, afterwards, it
undergoes copy (second process). We concluded that vowel laxing precedes vowel
copy/harmony therefore: V1= V2 as shown in /ŋgɛɖɛ-ʔake/.
Chart B
Vowel reduction +back
processes ±low
UR a→a kaʤa
1st process raising a→ɔ kaʤɔ
2nd process copy ɔ →ɔ kɔʤɔ

We can think of the process for vowel raising as: tense low vowel →raising→copy. Again, we
take the tense low vowel as the UR which undergoes raising in word final position (first
process), so /a/ is raised to /ɔ/. Afterwards, it undergoes copy (second process). We concluded
that vowel raising precedes vowel copy/harmony therefore: V1= V2 as shown in / kɔʤɔ/.
 ➢ Rule relationship
We can identify a rule relationship for chart A as: tense mid vowel laxing feeds vowel
harmony/copy. While for chart B, tense low vowel raising feeds vowel harmony/copy.
After we have described the vowel reduction process, we can move on to rule derivation and see
rule interaction.

Rule derivation I
UR /geɖe/ /aɳɖa/
R1 vowel raising ---- aɳɖɔ
R2 vowel laxing geɖɛ -----
R3 vowel copy gɛɖɛ ɔɳɖɔ
SR *[gɛɖɛ] *[ɔɳɖɔ]

Rule derivation II
UR /geɖe/ /aɳɖa/
R3 vowel copy geɖe aɳɖa
R2 vowel laxing geɖɛ ------
R1 vowel raising N/A aɳɖɔ
SR *[geɖɛ] *[aɳɖɔ]

Judging by the output we get from the rule derivation I and II, we conclude that these rules are in
a counterbleeding relationship because there is an over application of rules. Therefore, we say
that Rule 3 counterbleeds R1 and R2.

Exceptional cases
My+noun noun
darma-ku darmɔ - vowel raising only, no vowel copy even though it suits the environment.
Adj. causative
risi →ŋrisɛʔake - vowel lowering and laxing

Conclusion: After all the results we found out, we can say that vowel laxing and vowel raising
should apply before vowel copy with the exception of few cases like the ones described above.