Subgrammatical variation in Sipakapense phonology
Rusty Barrett
University of Chicago

Subgrammatical variation in Sipakapense phonology


        This paper outlines the lexical phonology of Sipakapense
(Maya), focusing on the implications of the data for handling
subgrammatical variation in OT. The data are used to compare models
employing indexed faithfulness constraints (McCarthy & Prince 1995;
Ito & Mester 1999) with models involving co-phonologies (Orgun 1996,
Inkelas and Zoll 2003).

The Sipakapense verbal template is as follows:

1) [Inflectional prefixes [ [root] stem derivation ] mode/voice ]
directional clitics ]

In roots, suffixes and clitics, unstressed vowels are deleted, as
long as the resulting string does not contain a geminate or an onset
containing more than two consonants (stress always falls on the final
syllable):

2) root: /wor/  "to sleep"  inflected: /k+at+wor+oq/ --> [katwroq]
"Sleep!"

If an unstressed vowel is part of an inflectional prefix, it never
deletes:

3) root: /taa?/ "to listen"    inflected: /tS+i+taa?/ [tSitaa?]
"Listen!"  (*tStaa?)

In addition, inflectional prefixes may produce onset clusters
containing up to six consonants, including geminates:

4) root: /pSoX/ "to smash"  inflected: /St+q+pSoX/ --> [StqpSoX] "we
will smash it"

5) root: /keem/ "to weave" inflected: /k+keem/ --> [kkem] "she is
weaving"

Possessive prefixes on nouns pattern with inflectional verbal
prefixes, allowing geminates and CCC onsets:

6) root: /qoom/  "marimba":  possessed /q+qoom/ [qqoom] "our marimba"
7) root: /mlob'/ "egg": possessed /n+mlob'/ [nmlob'] "my egg"

Using indexed faithfulness constraints, the data may be analyzed as
having affix faithfulness ranked above the syllable markedness
constraints that dominate root faithfulness:

Affix-Faithfulness >> Syllable-Markedness >> Root-Faithfulness

Within prepositional phrases, the vowels of CV prepositions delete,
joining with the following noun to form a phonological word:

8) /tSi/ "in" +  /Xaay/ "house" --> [tSXaay]

As with roots, vowel deletion in phonological words is blocked if the
result would produce a geminate or CCC onset.  Although CV
prepositions regularly undergo vowel deletion, the vowels in CV
determiners never delete:

9) /ri/ "the" + /Xaay/ "house" --> [ri Xaay] (*rXaay)

The alternations found in roots also occur at the level of the
phonological word. However, these alternations do not occur with
possessive prefixes or determiners that fall at intermediate levels.
For example, in 10) below, the vowel in the preposition deletes,
skipping over the determiner vowel (which falls in the expected
position for deletion):

10)  Syntax [tSi [ri [Xaay]N]NP]PP
       Surface form [tSriXaay]  (*tSirXaay)

The data are problematic for models involving co-phonologies because
the alternations skip over specific morphemes. In models using a
phonological cycle, for example, constraints applying to a
phonological word must apply across the entire domain (including
inflectional prefixes). In contrast, indexed faithfulness constraints
offer a straight-forward analysis of the data simply by ranking
prepositional faithfulness even with root faithfulness so that both
are dominated by the syllable markedness constraints. 



 








 

1) [Inflectional prefixes [ [root] stem derivation ] mode/voice ]
directional clitics ]

 

In roots, suffixes and clitics, unstressed vowels are deleted, as
long as the resulting string does not contain a geminate or an onset
containing more than two consonants (stress always falls on the final
syllable):

 

2) root: /wor/  to sleep  inflected: /k+at+wor+oq/ à [katwroq] Sleep!

 

If an unstressed vowel is part of an inflectional prefix, it never
deletes:

 

3) root: /taa?/ to listen    inflected: /tS+i+taa?/ [tSitaa?]
Listen!  (*tStaa?)

 

In addition, inflectional prefixes may produce onset clusters
containing up to six consonants, including geminates:

 

4) root: /pSoX/ to smash  inflected: /St+q+pSoX/ à StqpSoX           
we will smash it

 

5) root: /keem/ to weaveinflected: /k+keem/ à kkem she is weaving

 

Possessive prefixes on nouns pattern with inflectional verbal
prefixes, allowing geminates and CCC onsets:

 

6) root: /qoom/  marimba:  possessed /q+qoom/ [qqoom] our marimba

7) root: /mlob/ egg: possessed /n+mlob/ [nmlob] my egg

 

Using indexed faithfulness constraints, the data may be analyzed as
having affix faithfulness ranked above the syllable markedness
constraints that dominate root faithfulness:

 

Affix-Faithfulness >> Syllable-Markedness >> Root-Faithfulness

 

Within prepositional phrases, the vowels of CV prepositions delete,
joining with the following noun to form a phonological word:

 

8) /tSi/ in+  /Xaay/ houseà [tSXaay]

 

Vowel deletion in phonological words is also blocked if the result
would produce a geminate or CCC onset.  Although CV prepositions
regularly undergo vowel deletion, the vowels in CV determiners never
delete:

 

9) /ri/ the+ /Xaay/ houseà [ri Xaay] (*rXaay)

 

The alternations found in roots also occur at the level of the
phonological word. However, these alternations do not occur with
possessive prefixes or determiners that fall at intermediate levels.
For example, in 10) below, the vowel in the preposition deletes,
skipping over the determiner vowel (which falls in the expected
position for deletion):

 

10)  Syntax [tSi [ri [Xaay]N]NP]PP

       Surface form [tSriXaay]  (*tSirXaay)

 

The data are problematic for models involving co-phonologies because
the alternations skip over specific morphemes. In models using a
phonological cycle, for example, constraints applying to a
phonological word must apply across the entire domain (including
inflectional prefixes). In contrast, indexed faithfulness constraints
offer a straight-forward analysis of the data simply by ranking
prepositional faithfulness even with root faithfulness so that both
are dominated by the syllable markedness constraints.