CLASS TASK - ENG 211 - WEEK 2
📌WEEK TWO
📑 Individual Task: Exploring Morphophonemic Change
Identify five English words that demonstrate morphophonemic change. For each word:
-
State the base form.
-
Describe the change that occurs.
-
Explain the reason or rule behind the change.
SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS AS COMMENTS ON THIS POST.
🌍 Team Task: Regular and Irregular Patterns
In your group, select a set of English verbs and nouns.
-
Classify them as regular or irregular based on their inflectional forms.
-
Provide examples to illustrate each category.
-
Prepare to present your findings briefly in the next class session.
MORPHOPHONEMIC CHANGE
ReplyDelete1. Word: Produce → Production
Base Form: Produce
Change: The final sound /s/ in produce changes to /ʃ/ in production.
Explanation: When the suffix -ion is added, the /s/ sound changes to /ʃ/ for smoother pronunciation. This is called palatalization, a common morphophonemic process in English.
2. Word: Deep → Depth
Base Form: Deep
Change: The vowel /iː/ in deep changes to /ɛ/ in depth, and the final /p/ changes to /θ/.
Explanation: The vowel is shortened, and the consonant changes to form a noun. This results from historical vowel shortening and consonant alternation when forming abstract nouns.
3. Word: Strong → Strength
Base Form: Strong
Change: The vowel /ɒ/ changes to /e/, and -ng becomes -ŋθ.
Explanation: When forming the noun strength, there is both vowel modification and consonant addition. This change is due to historical phonological shifts in noun formation.
4. Word: Describe → Description
Base Form: Describe
Change: The final /b/ changes to /p/, and -ion causes a shift in stress and vowel quality.
Explanation: The change from -b- to -p- is an example of voicing alternation, where a voiced sound becomes voiceless before certain suffixes.
5. Word: Wide → Width
Base Form: Wide
Change: The vowel /aɪ/ changes to /ɪ/, and the final /d/ becomes /θ/.
Explanation: This is both a vowel shortening and consonant alternation that occurs when turning an adjective into a noun, to maintain smooth pronunciation and follow English morphological rules.
GRADED
Delete1. Knife (base form: knife /naɪf/) → Knives (plural form: /naɪvz/)
ReplyDeleteChange: /f/ → /vz/
Reason: Voicing assimilation; the voiceless /f/ becomes voiced /v/ before the plural suffix /z/.
2. Sign (base form: sign /saɪn/) → Signal (derived form: /sɪɡnəl/)
Change: /n/ → /ɡn/
Reason: The /n/ sound shifts to /ɡn/ when followed by the suffix /-al/.
3. Electric (base form: electric /ɪlɛktrɪk/) → Electricity (derived form: /ɛlɛktrɪsɪti/)
Change: /k/ → /s/
Reason: The /k/ sound shifts to /s/ before the suffix /-ity/, which starts with a high front vowel sound.
4. Nation (base form: nation /neɪʃən/) → National (derived form: /næʃənl/)
Change: /ˈneɪʃən/ → /næʃənl/
Reason: Vowel shift; the diphthong /eɪ/ in "nation" changes to the short vowel /æ/ in "national" due to stress shift.
5. Decide (base form: decide /dɪsaɪd/) → Decision (derived form: /dɪsɪʒən/)
Change: /d/ → /ʒ/
Reason: The /d/ sound shifts to /ʒ/ before the suffix /-ion/, which triggers a change in the preceding consonant sound.
These changes illustrate how English words adapt phonologically when modified through inflection or derivation.
1.Knife (base form: knife /naɪf/) → Knives (plural form: /naɪvz/)
ReplyDeleteChange: /f/ → /vz/
Reason: Voicing assimilation; the voiceless /f/ becomes voiced /v/ before the plural suffix /z/.
2. Sign (base form: sign /saɪn/) → Signal (derived form: /sɪɡnəl/)
Change: /n/ → /ɡn/
Reason: The /n/ sound shifts to /ɡn/ when followed by the suffix /-al/.
3. Electric (base form: electric /ɪlɛktrɪk/) → Electricity (derived form: /ɛlɛktrɪsɪti/)
Change: /k/ → /s/
Reason: The /k/ sound shifts to /s/ before the suffix /-ity/, which starts with a high front vowel sound.
4. Nation (base form: nation /neɪʃən/) → National (derived form: /næʃənl/)
Change: /ˈneɪʃən/ → /næʃənl/
Reason: Vowel shift; the diphthong /eɪ/ in "nation" changes to the short vowel /æ/ in "national" due to stress shift.
5. Decide (base form: decide /dɪsaɪd/) → Decision (derived form: /dɪsɪʒən/)
Change: /d/ → /ʒ/
Reason: The /d/ sound shifts to /ʒ/ before the suffix /-ion/, which triggers a change in the preceding consonant sound.
These changes shows how English words adapt phonologically when modified through inflection or derivation
NAME?
DeleteAshaolu Ajemide Victoria
Delete1. Basic form: Electric
ReplyDeleteChanged form: Electricity
Change: /k/ → /s/
Rule: Palatalization (Velar Softening) - The /k/ sound changes to /s/ before the suffix -ity, due to the influence of the following high front vowel.
2. Basic form: Photograph
Changed form: Photography
Change: /f/ → /v/ (in some pronunciations)
Rule: Spirantization - The /f/ sound may change to /v/ due to the influence of the following vowel and the rhythmic pattern of the word.
3. Basic form: Sign
Changed form: Signal
Change: /ai/ → /i/
Rule: Alternation of diphthong and monophthong - The diphthong /ai/ in "sign" changes to the monophthong /i/ in "signal", reflecting a historical change in pronunciation.
4. Basic form: Receive
Changed form: Reception
Change: /iː/ → /ɛ/
Rule: Vowel shift - The long vowel /iː/ in "receive" changes to /ɛ/ in "reception", illustrating a morphophonemic alternation.
5. Basic form: Divine
Changed form: Divinity
Change: /ai/ → /i/
Rule: Trisyllabic laxing - The diphthong /ai/ in "divine" changes to the short vowel /i/ in "divinity", due to the addition of the suffix -ity, which causes the vowel to become shorter.
GRADED
Delete
ReplyDelete1. Electric → Electricity
- Base form: Electric
- Change: "c" becomes "ci" (pronounced /s/)
- Explanation: When the suffix -ity is added, the final consonant sound softens to fit English phonological patterns.
---
2. Divide → Division
- Base form: Divide
- Change: "d" becomes "s" in pronunciation (/ʒ/)
- Explanation: The suffix -sion causes a morphophonemic shift for smoother pronunciation.
---
3. Produce → Production
- Base form: Produce
- Change: The stress shifts from the second syllable to the first
- Explanation: Adding -tion changes the word from a verb to a noun, which alters stress placement.
---
4. Please → Pleasant
- Base form: Please
- Change: The vowel sound changes from /iː/ to /ɛ/
- Explanation: The suffix -ant triggers a vowel shift for morphological consistency.
---
5. Sign → Signature
- Base form: Sign
- Change: The silent "g" in “sign” becomes pronounced in “signature”
- Explanation: Morphological extension of the root reveals the historical phoneme that is usually silent.
1. leaf → leaves
ReplyDelete- Base form: leaf
- Change: /f/ → /v/ (voicing) + plural suffix ‑s realized as /z/.
- Reason: This is a regular voicing alternation in English. Historically, the plural suffix ‑(e)s was voiced /‑əz/ after sibilants and voiced after vowels and voiced consonants. Although the vowel disappeared, the voicing rule persisted for certain nouns ending in a voiceless fricative, so the /f/ becomes its voiced counterpart /v/ to match the following voiced /z/.
2. knife → knives
- Base form: knife
- Change: /f/ → /v/ (voicing) + plural ‑s realized as /z/.
- Reason: Same voicing rule as above. The base ends in a voiceless fricative /f/. In the plural, the fricative becomes voiced /v/ to accommodate the voiced plural morpheme /‑z/.
3. house (noun) → house /haʊs/ → houses /ˈhaʊzɪz/ (verb: house /haʊz/)
- Base form: house /haʊs/ (noun)
- Change: /s/ → /z/ (voicing) when the verb suffix ‑es is added.
- Reason: Intervocalic voicing (between two vowel sounds) historically caused the voiceless /s/ to become voiced /z/. The same pattern appears in noun‑verb pairs like _use_ /juːs/ → _use_ /juːz/.
4. wife → wives
- Base form:wife
- Change:/f/ → /v/ (voicing) + plural ‑s realized as /z/.
- Reason: Another instance of the regular voicing alternation rule for nouns ending in a voiceless fricative /f/. The plural morpheme ‑(e)s surfaces as voiced /‑z/, triggering the voicing of /f/ to /v/.
5. bath /bæθ/ → bathe /beɪð/ (verb)
- Base form: bath /bæθ/ (noun)
- Change: /θ/ → /ð/ (voicing) and vowel shift /æ/ → /eɪ/.
- Reason: This illustrates two morphophonemic processes:
a. Voicing of the final fricative /θ/ to /ð/ in the derived verb (a common pattern for forming verbs from nouns, e.g., _breath_ → _breathe_).
b. Vowel shift (Great Vowel Shift remnants) where the short /æ/ in the noun shifts to a long /eɪ/ in the verb.
GRADED
Delete