Alternation (linguistics)

In linguistics, an alternation is the phenomenon of a morpheme exhibiting variation in its phonological realization. Each of the various realizations is called an alternant. The variation may be conditioned by the phonological, morphological, and/or syntactic environment in which the morpheme finds itself. Alternations provide linguists with data that allow them to determine the allophones and allomorphs of a language's phonemes and morphemes and to develop analyses determining the distribution of those allophones and allomorphs. Allomorph An example of a phonologically conditioned alternation is the English plural marker commonly spelled s or es. This morpheme is pronounced /s/, /z/, or /ᵻz/, depending on the nature of the preceding sound. If the preceding sound is a sibilant consonant (one of /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/), or an affricate (one of /tʃ/, /dʒ/), the plural marker takes the form /ᵻz/. Examples: mass /ˈmæs/, plural masses /ˈmæsᵻz/ fez /ˈfɛz/, plural fezzes /ˈfɛzᵻz/ mesh /ˈmɛʃ/, plural meshes /ˈmɛʃᵻz/ mirage /mɪˈrɑːʒ/, plural mirages /mɪˈrɑːʒᵻz/ church /ˈtʃɜːrtʃ/, plural churches /ˈtʃɜːrtʃᵻz/ bridge /ˈbrɪdʒ/, plural bridges /ˈbrɪdʒᵻz/ Otherwise, if the preceding sound is voiceless, the plural marker takes the likewise voiceless form /s/. Examples: mop /ˈmɒp/, plural mops /ˈmɒps/ mat /ˈmæt/, plural mats /ˈmæts/ pack /ˈpæk/, plural packs /ˈpæks/ cough /ˈkɒf/, plural coughs /ˈkɒfs/ myth /ˈmɪθ/, plural myths /ˈmɪθs/ Otherwise, the preceding sound is voiced, and the plural marker takes the likewise voiced form /z/. dog /ˈdɒɡ/, plural dogs /ˈdɒɡz/ glove /ˈɡlʌv/, plural gloves /ˈɡlʌvz/ ram /ˈræm/, plural rams /ˈræmz/ doll /ˈdɒl/, plural dolls /ˈdɒlz/ toe /ˈtoʊ/, plural toes /ˈtoʊz/ Apophony French has an example of morphologically conditioned alternation. The feminine form of many adjectives ends in a consonant sound that is missing in the masculine form.