It’s Complicated:The Relationship between Syllabification &

Morphology in PIE

Andrew Miles ByrdUniversity of Kentuckyandrewbyrd@uky.edu

October 27th, 2012

General Overview

œ Ellen Kaisse : “The relation between word formation andphonology is complex.” (2005:45)

œ Dieter Gunkel: analysis of innovative Greek formations in-ma(t)-, many of which started to be formed to the weak stemallomorph as early as Pindar (2011).

œ Motivated by Trochaic Shortening (HL ! LL), though only ifa weak root allomorph existed elsewhere in the root’sparadigm (cf. kequmai ‘I poured’).qeuma ‘stuff poured’ ! qumageuma ‘meal’ 9 g‘ma

œ Such examples of morphology influencing a phonologicalprocess abound throughout the world’s languages, bothIndo-European and non.

Morphology & Syllabification

œ Today we’ll be investigating a problem of sonorantsyllabification in Proto-Indo-European (PIE), whose“exceptions” I also believe to be also driven by morphology.

œ First things first : what exactly do we know about PIEsyllabification?

History of the Problem : Meillet

œ First significant steps in the understanding of sonorantsyllabification: Meillet 1934.

œ Four easy principles that describe the distribution of sonorantsin PIE.

First Principle

œ “If a sequence of two sonorants follows a vowel or is in the firstsyllable of a word : the first is consonantal, the secondsyllabic.”

VRR ! VRR˚

#RR ! #RR˚

Examples

œ PIE *sru“-tó-s ‘flowed (masc.nom.sg.)’ ! *srutós

> Skt. *srutáh. , Gk. rhutós

Second Principle

œ “If a sequence of two sonorants follows a single consonant andprecedes a vowel : the first is syllabic, the secondconsonantal.”

CRRV ! CRR˚V

Examples

œ PIE *“ku“nés ‘dog (gen.sg.)’ ! *“kunés

⇢ Skt. śúnah. , Gk. kunós

Third Principle

œ “If a sequence of two sonorants follows a vowel and precedeseither a consonant or the end of the word: the first isconsonantal, the second syllabic."

VRRC ! VRR˚C

VRR# ! VRR˚#

Examples

œ PIE *néu“n ‘nine’ ! *néu

“n˚

> Skt. náva, Lat. novem, Gk. enné(w)a;œ PIE *neu

“nti“- ‘90’ ! *neu

“n˚

ti-> Skt. navatí-, Av. navaiti-

Fourth Principle

œ “If a sequence of two sonorants stands between two vowels :the first forms the second half of a diphthong, the second isconsonantal.”

VRRV ! VRRV

Examples

œ PIE *oi“u“os ‘one’ ! *oi

“u“os

> Av. aiva, Cyp. oiwos ‘only’

History of the Problem : Schindler

œ Schindler (1977:56) recognized a broader pattern withinMeillet’s rules of PIE syllabification and very elegantlycollapsed all four observations into one phonological rule.

Schindler’s Rule of Syllabification

œ When given two adjacent sonorants, the rightmost one alwaysbecame the syllable nucleus, if that sonorant was not adjacentto a ‘true’ vowel (*e, *a, *o, etc.).

∑+sonorant°syllabic

∏! [+syllabic] /

Ω°syllabic ,

#

æ Ω°syllabic ,

#

æ

(iterative from right to left)

History of the Problem : Schindler

œ Since publication, Schindler’s ‘right-to-left’ formulation hasbeen widely accepted by nearly all scholars to date and hasbecome the standard view of PIE syllabification.

œ But: five instances where Schindler’s rule does not correctlypredict the syllabification reconstructable for PIE!

Schindler’s Exceptions

(1) Roots of the shape *#R“R“-.

a. *u“i“eth2-, not *ui

“eth2-

> Ved. vyathate ’rolls’b. *u

“reg-, not *ureg-

> Ved. vrájant- ‘going’c. *mneh2-, not *m

˚neh2-

> Gk. Ímnhsa ‘remembered’

Schindler’s Exceptions

(2) Word-Medial *æ[mn- ! *m- or *n- (Asno Gesetz).

a. *“ghei“mno- ! *[“ghei

“]æ[mno]æ ! *[“ghei

“]æ[mo]æ

> Lith. žiemìnis ‘winter’

b. *h2a“kmnés ! *[h2a“k]æ[mnés]æ ! *[h2a“k]æ[nés]æ> Skt. aśnah. ‘stone (gen.sg.)’

Expected: **[“ghe][i“m˚

]æ[no]æ, **[h2a][“km˚

]æ[nés]æ

Schindler’s Exceptions

(3) /CR1R2V/ ! [CR1R˚

2]æ[V]æ,

iff /CR1R2C/ (! [CR1R˚

2]æ[C-]æ)

a. *[tri][(i“)om] ‘three (gen.)’; cf. * [tri][bhis]

b. Skt. -[vyas], -[vi][yas]; cf. -[vı]

Expected: **[tr˚]æ[i

“om]æ, **[u]æ[yas]æ

Schindler’s Exceptions

(4) Accusatives in *-im, *-um(s), *-r˚

m(s).

a. PIE *ménti“m ! *[mén]æ[tim]æ ‘mind (acc.sg.)’

b. PIE *suhx

num(s) ! *[suhx

]æ[num(s)]æ ‘son(s) (acc.)’

c. PIE *p@h2tr˚

ms ! *[p@h2]æ[tr˚ms]æ ‘fathers (acc.)’

Expected: **ménti“m˚

, **s(e)uhx

nu“m˚

(s), **p(@h2)trm˚

s

Schindler’s Exceptions

(5) Nasal-infixed presents.

a. PIE *i“u“ngénti

“!*[i

“un]æ[gén]æ[ti]æ

> Lat. iungunt ‘they join’b. PIE *bhi

“ndénti

“! [bhin]æ[dén]æ[ti]æ

> Lat. findunt ‘they split’

Expected: **[i]æ[u“n˚]æ[gén]æ[ti]æ, *[bhi

“n˚]æ[dén]æ[ti]æ

First Fix : Kobayashi 2004.

œ In his 2004 book, Kobayashi was able to account for nearly allof the exceptions in (1), (2) and (3) by assuming the followingtypologically-common principle of syllabification:

Onset MaximizationSyllabify as many consonants as possible within the onset.

Onset Maximization

œ Thus:

a. PIE *[u“i“et]æ[h2- : PIE *-[u

“i“eh2s]æ

b. PIE *[mneh2-]æ : PIE [*h2a“k]æ[mnés]æ

œ If a consonant cluster could be syllabified as an onset, it was.

*u“i“- and *mn- were licit onsets in PIE.

Second Fix : Keydana 2008

œ In 2008 Keydana suggested handling the exceptions in (4) –exceptions of the type *[mén]æ[tim]æ – in a very innovativefashion.

œ He assumed that there was a general tendency within PIE forcoronal codas to be avoided in PIE, formalized through thereconstruction of a constraint *R/C ‘Coronal sonorants areblocked in coda position’.

œ Through the constraint ranking *R/C ¿ *ComplexOnset, weget:

*[“ku“n˚]æ[bhis]æ

*[mén]æ[tim]æ

Second Fix : Keydana 2008

œ But what about...

a. *[sru]æ[tós]æ ‘flowed’b. *[“kli][æ[tós]æ ‘leaned’c. *[“klu]æ[tós]æ ‘famous’

œ If simple codas were preferred over complex onsets, we’dexpect:

a. *[sr˚u“]æ[tós]æ ‘flowed’

b. *[“kli“][æ[tós]æ ‘leaned’

c. *[“kl˚u“]æ[tós]æ ‘famous’

œ Also, assumption = ad hoc!

Third Fix : Cooper 2011:199ff.

œ To address exceptions of the type *[mén]æ[tim]æ *-m, Coopervery cogently argued that *m was different from all of theother sonorants.

œ New Sonority Hierarchy:

a, e, o ¿ i“, u

“, r, l, n ¿ m ¿ obstruents

œ *m : *menti“m :: *d : *i

“d ‘it’

To Review

œ Exceptions 1 - 4 have good explanations.

œ Despite the efforts of a number of scholars, the nasal-infixpresent is handled poorly by everyone’s rules of syllabification.

œ Question for today:

Why is */i“u“ngénti

“/ syllabified as *[i

“un]æ[gén]æ[ti]æ?

Current Explanation : Syllabification as Analogical

œ Fortson (2010:71) : “(M)orphological analogy surely played arole, since the root that this form comes from is *i

“eug- or

*i“ug-, and *i

“ung- is closer to the root in shape and sound than

*iu“n˚

g-.”

œ But why were alternating syllabifications of the type R˚

ª Rtolerated everywhere else in the proto-language?

*“ku“on- ª *“ku

“n˚

- ª *“kun- ‘dog’

œ Hayes (2009:251): “In most languages, syllabification ispredictable: starting out from the string of segments, one canpredict the syllabification.” ’

Syllabification must be derived through phonological rules.

Hypothesis 1 : Syllabification as Underlying

œ Hayes : “In most languages..."?

œ Can syllabification be underlying within the forms themselves?

œ There is at least one reconstructable instance of lexicalizedsyllabification in PIE: *kur-, not expected **ku

“r

˚- (Forssman

1980)

a. Hitt. kurkaš ‘foal’b. Pahl. /kurrag/, Fars. kurra ‘foal’c. Gk. kurnoc ‘bastard’

Hypothesis 1 : Syllabification as Underlying

œ Barra Gaelic (Borgstrøm 1937)

ar.an ‘bread’ s aL.@g ‘spectacle’a.ram ‘army’ s a.Lak ‘hunt’

œ Bosch & de Jong 1997, Green 1997 : these are differences instress, not differences in syllabification!

PIE *kur- must be explained otherwise!

Hypothesis 2 : the Prosodic Word

œ English -mpl- cluster:

a. camp leader [khæmp][li:][dr"]

b. employ [Em][phloI]

œ Word-initial sub-:

a. sublunar [s@b][lu][nr"]

b. subliminal [s@][blI][mI][nl"].

Hypothesis 2 : the Prosodic Word

œ These differences in syllabification are due to the prosodicword (pword).

œ Pword (!):the prosodic category universally accepted to be the domain ofsyllabification (Booij 1995)

œ The prefix sub- is typically a distinct pword: [s@b][lu][nr"]

non-cohering affix

œ In subliminal it is not: [s@][blI][mI][nl"]

(cohering affix)

Hypothesis 2 : the Prosodic Word

œ Were one to analyze certain affixes in PIE as beingnon-cohering, they would syllabified independently.

œ Perhaps our exceptions could be explained accordingly?

œ So, for example, perhaps the previous cited exceptions mentimand bhindénti were actually parsed as two separate pwords inPIE:

a. (men.ti)! + (m)!

b. (bhi.den.ti)! + (n)!

Two Problems

1. Invariably evolves into a circular argument:

This suffix is non-cohering because it syllabifies strangely, andvice versa.

2. More seriously: under this analysis we actually expect:

a. **[mén]æ[ti]æ[m˚

]æ

b. **[bhi]æ[n˚]æ[dén]æ[ti]æ

Hypothesis 3 : Let’s Generativize!

What Would English Do?

A Curious Pair from English

œ lantern & apron

apron /"eIprAn/ ! ["eI]æ[p(h)rn"]æ

lantern /"læntErn/ ! ["læn]æ[t(h)r"n]æ

œ If syllabification is an automatic process and affects allsequences equally, how can the sequence [Crn] be syllabified as[Crn

"] in one instance but [Cr

"n] in the other?

A Curious Pair from English

œ Answer: the position of the underlying vowel of the secondsyllable (/prAn/ vs. /tErn/)!

œ This makes good diachronic sense, as syllabic sonorants usuallyderive from an intermediate stage of reduced vowel + R:

["eIp(h)r@n] > ["eIp(h)rn"]

["lænt(h)@rn] > ["lænt(h)r"n]

Back to PIE

œ Ablaut: a form with an underlying full vowel was reduced tozero when unaccented.

œ Like English, if that vowel was immediately followed by asonorant, that sonorant was subsequently made the nucleus ofthe syllable.

œ Thus,

*/h1éi“men/ ‘way’ ! [h1éi

“]æ[mn

˚]æ, just like apron

*/méntei“m/ ‘mind (acc.)’ ! *[mén]æ[tim]æ, just like lantern

How do we know?

œ How exactly do we know that these are truly the underlyingforms?

œ These are proterokinetic nouns!

*/h1ei“ménes/ ’way (gen.)’ ! *[h1i]æ[méns]æ

*/mentéi“es / ’mind (gen.)’ ! *[mn

˚]æ[téi

“s]æ

The crux of the matter

œ In short, it appears that these unexpected syllabifications – aswell as expected ones – are to be viewed as the direct result ofa preference for nucleification of a segment that was moraicearlier in the derivation before processes of syncope took place.

œ This preference may be formalized for Optimality Theorythrough the constraint Max-µ (’Do not delete a mora (µ).’)

A Principled Approach

Indo-European syllabification should now be re-envisioned asobeying three straightforward and typologically grounded principles.

Principle 1

Syllabification is persistent throughout the phonological derivation.It occurs pre-syncope, as well as post-syncope.

Persistant Syllabification

Underlying Form: */h1éi“men/ */méntei

“m/

Syllabification : *[h1éµi“µ][meµnµ] *[méµnµ][tei

“µmµ]

Syncope: *[h1éµi“µ][mnµ] *[méµnµ][ti

“µmµ]

Resyllabification : *[h1éµi“µ][mn

˚µ] *[méµnµ][tiµmµ]

Surface Form: *[h1éi“]æ[mn

˚]æ *[mén]æ[tim]æ

Note that mora assignment is persistent, too.

Persistant Syllabification

Underlying Form: */h1éi“men/ */méntei

“m/

Syllabification : *[h1éµi“µ][meµnµ] *[méµnµ][tei

“µmµ]

Syncope: *[h1éµi“µ][mnµ] *[méµnµ][ti

“µmµ]

Resyllabification : *[h1éµi“µ][mn

˚µ] *[méµnµ][tiµmµ]

Surface Form: *[h1éi“]æ[mn

˚]æ *[mén]æ[tim]æ

Note that mora assignment is persistent, too.

Principle 2

Sonorants that were moraic earlier in the derivation, remain as suchpost-syncope.

Moraic Sonorants

Underlying Form: */sreu“tós/ */“ku

“onbhi

“s/

Syllabification : *[sreµu“µ][tóµsµ] *[“ku

“oµnµ][bhiµsµ]

Syncope: *[sru“µ][tóµsµ] *[“ku

“nµ][bhiµsµ]

Resyllabification : *[sruµ][tóµsµ] *[“ku“n˚µ][bhiµsµ]

Surface Form: *[sru]æ[tós]æ *[“ku“n˚]æ[bhis]æ

Further Evidence: Compensatory Lengthening

Principle 3

Non-moraic sonorants occupy the syllable nucleus if and only ifmore important constraints are violated.

1. Onset: Syllables must have onsets.

2. MaxST: No syllable may violate the Maximum SyllableTemplate.

Obeying Onset

œ PIE */“ku“onés/ ‘dog (gen.sg.)’ ! *[“ku][nés]

6! *[“ku“n˚][és]

œ PIE */kwetu“ores/ ‘four (nom.pl.)’ ! *[kwe][tu][res]

6! *[kwe][tu“r˚][es]

Obeying the Maximum Syllable Template (MaxST)

œ PIE */“ku“onés/ ‘dog (gen.sg.)’ ! *[“ku][nés]

6! *[“ku“nés]

œ PIE */kwetu“ores/ ‘four (nom.pl.)’ ! *[kwe][tu][res]

6! *[kwe][tu“res]æ

æ[“ku“n- and æ[tu

“r- are not licit onsets in PIE.

Parallels

It’s my prerogative!

Its maI pr"rAg@tIv

Returning to the Final Exception

Underlying Form: */bhei“nedénti

“/ ’they split’

Syllabification: *[bheµi“µ][neµ][déµnµ][tiµ]

Syncope: *[bhi“µ][n][déµnµ][tiµ]

Resyllabification: *[bhiµnµ][déµnµ][tiµ]

Surface Form: *[bhin]æ[dén]æ[ti]æ

Schindler

œ So what does this mean for Schindler’s theory of right-to-leftsyllabification, and every subsequent theory of IE syllabificationthat is based off it?

œ Each of these theories reflects an epiphenomenon, a patterninferred by linguists from the surface reconstructions, and*not* the actual underlying forms.

œ But there is a straightforward reason why Schindler’s theoryworks so well...

Why does Schindler’s rule seem so right?

œ In a survey of athematic suffixes containing two sonorants,each is of the shape *-RVR :

a. *-u“er

b. *-u“en

c. *-ter

d. *-men

e. *-sel

Why does Schindler’s rule seem so right?

œ In a survey of PIE verbal roots containing two sonorants, allbut one is of the shape *(C)RVR(C)- :

a. *h2u“ers- ‘rain’

b. *dhreu“gh- ‘deceive’

c. *tu“er“k- ‘cut’

d. *u“el- ‘roll’

Why did Schindler’s rule seem so right?

œ This entails that in the zero-grade of both types, *-RR and*(C)RR(C)-, respectively, the rightmost sonorant will alwayssyllabify, given that it had been moraic before syncope tookplace

Hence *-RR˚

and *(C)RR˚(C)-!

A New Approach

Note that the additional machinery, which Keydana & Cooper bothassume to explain Schindler’s 4th exception, is rendered unnecessaryby our current analysis of Indo-European syllabification.

œ *-m may or may not be less sonorous than the othersonorants.

œ But “exceptions” like mentim no longer need to explained assuch.

A New Approach

œ To conclude, our new theory makes three well-foundedassumptions:

a. Syllabification is persistant.b. The underlying form is changed via syncope, whose

derived form continues the original moraicity ofsonorants.

c. Syllabification respects phonotactic constraints.

A New Approach

œ This new theory of syllabification is better for two simplereasons:

a. Schindler’s exceptions almost completely disappear.

b. Even better : the regular outcomes and the exceptionsare driven by the same principles.

A New Approach

œ For those paying close attention – what to do with*[tri]æ[om]æ?

œ Perhaps in this isolated instance we may explain theanomalous syllabification by invoking a pword boundary.

Dutch: [ro:d]![Axt@x]! ! [ro:t]æ[Ax]æ[t@x]æ ‘reddish’

English: [2n]![Eksklusıv]! ! [2n]æ[Ek(s)]æ["sklu]æ[sıv]æPIE: [trei

“]![´om]! ! [tri]![´om]!

œ The genitive plural suffix -´om would thus be a non-coheringaffix.

Thanks!

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