The syllable structure of Bangla in Optimality Theory and its application to the analysis of verbal inflectional paradigms in Distributed Morphology (original) (raw)
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Role of Prosody in the Variable Realization of -ɪt̪ e Infinitival in Bangla
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CREATIVE RESEARCH THOUGHTS - IJCRT (IJCRT.ORG), 2021
In the Sadhu Bangla there are three verbal infinitive suffixes:-ɪa,-ɪt̪ e and-ɪle. Semantically,-ɪa is perfective adding to the verbal base a sense of 'having V-en'. The canonical infinitival in Bangla is-ɪt̪ e whose English equivalent is 'to'.-ɪle converts the verbal base into a conditional when suffixed to the latter. This paper attempts to project a comparative picture of the morphophonemic alterations that take place consequent upon suffixation of-ɪt̪ e to verbal roots in the three dialects Bangla: Noakhali Bangla (NKB), Tripura Bangla (TB) and Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB).-ɪt̪ e has a V.CV shape. It undergoes various changes in its affixed state with the root primarily because of the varying treatments meted out to its initial high vowel ɪ: the three dialects are guided by their varied prosodic grammar. 1.0 Introduction Dialectal variation within a language is predominantly a consequence of variations at the levels of morphology and phonology. But such variations are not arbitrary deviations motivated by the difference-for-difference-sake principle. This is because it can be shown that there are some invisible principles of prosodic regularities to which each of the individual dialects subscribes and that such covert rules are the factors that determine dialectal variations. Additionally, some, not all though, of these prosodic principles pertaining as they do to the Universal Grammar, rein in the digressions within a certain morpho-prosodic limit which can be predicted. One such overarching controlling principle is the need for a trochaic foot as a prosodic template to organize the segmental inputs from the lexicon. To ensure this common goal, the three dialects of Bangla under study namely Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB), Tripura Bangla (TB) and Noakhali dialect of Bangla (NKB) adopt varying strategies explainable in terms of their respective syllable form, coda moracity, moraic structure and allowable geminates. The study formally begins by presenting a set of comparative data (section 2) taken from the three dialects and assumes, as is the convention, the Sadhu variety or SB as the common source for the dialectal cognates. Section 3 initiates a detailed discussion on the issues at stake i.e., the justification for assuming binary trochee as one of the core metrical units of Bangla, the reasons behind variable stress distribution noted in the three dialects, and the various strategies adopted by the respective dialects resulting in surface variations amongst lexical cognates. The discussion is built up around-ɪt̪ e suffixation. Section 4 offers a comparative picture of the strategies adopted by the three dialects to ensure a trochee of one form or the other. 5 summarizes the major findings of the paper. 2.0 Facts There are three verbal infinitive suffixes in Sadhu Bangla (now on SB):-ɪa,-ɪt̪ e and-ɪle. Semantically,-ɪa is perfective or aspectual adding to the verbal base a sense of 'having V-en'. The canonical infinitival in Bangla is-ɪt̪ e whose English equivalent is 'to'.-ɪle converts the verbal base into a conditional when suffixed to the latter. There is scope for a potential debate on the exact phonological shape of each of the three suffixes and the morphophonemic alterations that take place consequent upon their concatenation to the verb root. The issue will be addressed in due course. In this article morphophonemics of-ɪt̪ e suffixation is taken up for investigation. Let us first look at the relevant data.
Variable realization of -ɪa infinitival in Bangla: A study in morphophonemics
International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), 2021
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This paper examines the occurrence of epenthetic vowels before and between the initial consonant clusters in Bengali speakers of English, and provides an Optimality Theory (OT) analysis to account for this phenomenon. Native Bengali words disallow initial consonant clusters, and many word-initial consonant clusters in loan words are simplified according to these phonotactics. The maximum syllabic structure is CVC in Bengali and speakers often carry this restriction over to loan words. For example, geram (CV.CVC) instead of gram (CCVC) for the Sanskrit loan word "village", or iskul (VC.CVC) instead of skul (CCVC) for the English word "school " (Kar, 2009). I argue that in rising sonority clusters, a vowel is inserted between the two consonants and in falling sonority clusters (i.e., [s]-stop clusters) the vowel is inserted before the consonant cluster. I also explain that the sonority sequencing constraint SYLLABLE CONTACT treats [s]-stop clusters differently from...
This study looked into the different onset patterns of the syllables allowed in Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB), and Jessore Bangla (JB), two of the major dialects of Bangla. Using the framework of Optimality Theory (OT) it captured how the same loan words with complex onsets are accommodated both in SCB and JB. The study found that SCB adopted the loan words with complex onsets as they are while JB adapted them using some repairs. SCB allows both simple and complex onsets but JB allows only simple onsets; complex onset is highly marked here. Two repair strategies, internal and external vowel epenthesis were found to be used in JB to simplify the complex onsets of the loan words. Hence, this study deployed relevant OT constraints and presented their rankings to explain the internal and external epenthesis contexts and the quality of the epenthetic vowel.
A Comparative Study of the Morphophonemics of -ɪle Suffixation in Three Dialects of Bangla
International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), 2021
The infinitival inflectional suffix-ɪle undergoes various alterations in the three dialects of Banglaviz Noakhali Bangla (NKB), Tripura Bangla (TB) and Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB). This is caused by the varied treatment the suffix initial high vowel ɪ receives in the respective dialects. Within the suffix, it forms a syllable, without an onset and coda. But universally a medial vowel without an onset cannot form a syllable by itself. Hence, it is either relocated to get an onset or else it is deleted. The former is the case in NKB and TB, while the latter is attested in SCB. In consequence, the entire affixed form including the verbal base undergoes multiple reconfigurations as dictated by the prosodic grammar of the dialect concerned. Investigation into these prosodic processes helps in a) determining the metrical pattern prevailing at the word level in each of these dialects, and b) unearthing the clandestine interaction between morphology and phonology active in each dialect. This paper attempts to project a comparative picture of these morphophonemic processes in the three dialects of Bangla under study.