The morphology and phonology of English noun-verb stress doublets : base-driven lexical stratification, prefixes and nominalisation
In this thesis I analyse the English âstress doubletsâ - bisyllabic words which are nouns with initial primary stress, and verbs with final primary stress - in a model of lexical phonology with base-driven stratification (BDLP; Giegerich 1999). The work has two main aims: to give a detailed exploration of this morphological pattern and compare it with related processes; and to test BDLP to see how well it accounts for the data. BDLP is a derivational model which uses rules and constraints. I argue that such models should be explored alongside Optimality Theory, since OT itself must admit the use of rules (LaCharite & Paradis 2000, McMahon 2000b), and does have shortcomings as a morpho-phonological model. I show that the stress doublets are almost all prefixal, and their internal complexity forms a cline from obscurity to compositional transparency. Phonologically, a line can be drawn across this continuum separating forms in which the verbâs initial syllable is stressless from those in which it has secondary stress. This line coincides with a division between the obscured or unproductive prefixations and the most transparent ones. Analysis of the semantic relationships between the nouns and verbs (cf.
Hurrell, Esther
The morphology and phonology of English noun-verb stress doublets : base-driven lexical stratification, prefixes and nominalisation. In this thesis I analyse the English âstress doubletsâ - bisyllabic words which are nouns with initial primary stress, and verbs with final primary stress - in a model of lexical phonology with base-driven stratification (BDLP; Giegerich 1999). The work has two main aims: to give a detailed exploration of this morphological pattern and compare it with related processes; and to test BDLP to see how well it accounts for the data. BDLP is a derivational model which uses rules and constraints. I argue that such models should be explored alongside Optimality Theory, since OT itself must admit the use of rules (LaCharite & Paradis 2000, McMahon 2000b), and does have shortcomings as a morpho-phonological model. I show that the stress doublets are almost all prefixal, and their internal complexity forms a cline from obscurity to compositional transparency. Phonologically, a line can be drawn across this continuum separating forms in which the verbâs initial syllable is stressless from those in which it has secondary stress. This line coincides with a division between the obscured or unproductive prefixations and the most transparent ones. Analysis of the semantic relationships between the nouns and verbs (cf.
morphology phonology english noun verb stress base driven lexical stratification analyse english stress word nouns initial primary stress verbs final primary stress model_lexical phonology base driven stratification work two_main aim give_detailed exploration morphological_pattern compare related process test see well account_data derivational model use rule constraint argue model explore alongside optimality_theory since must admit use rule and morpho phonological model show stress almost internal complexity form obscurity compositional transparency phonologically line draw across continuum separate form verb initial syllable secondary stress line coincides division obscure transparent analysis semantic relationship noun verb