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ROA:766
Title:Morphological structure and phonological domains in Spanish denominal derivation
Authors:Ricardo Bermudez-Otero
Comment:Forthcoming in: Colina, Sonia & Fernando Martinez-Gil (eds) _Optimality-theoretic studies in Spanish phonology_. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Length:31
Abstract:In Spanish denominal derivation, the stem formative of the base typically disappears before the derivational suffix: e.g. man-o ‘hand’, man-az-a ‘hand.AUG’, *man-o-az-a. This pattern can be analysed in two ways: as driven by a morphotactic restriction, or as created by a morphologically sensitive phonological process of stem-final vowel deletion. Following James Harris, most generative linguists have consistently assumed the former; Stratal Optimality Theory, however, requires the latter, for otherwise the interaction between diphthongization and depalatalization gives rise to a stratification paradox. This paper adduces independent morphological evidence to confirm the existence of stem-final vowel deletion in Spanish, as predicted by Stratal Optimality Theory. Our data reveal a previously unrecognized contrast between pseudoplural nouns and nouns with athematic stems ending in /s/, and cast light on the relative rôles of suffixes and infixes in diminutive formation.
Type:Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords:Phonology, Morphology
Article:Version 1