Summary
An exponent is a phonological manifestation of a morphosyntactic property. In non-technical language, it is the expression of one or more grammatical properties by sound. There are several kinds of exponents:
- Identity
- Affixation
- Reduplication
- Internal modification
- Subtraction
Identity
editThe identity exponent is both simple and common: it has no phonological manifestation at all.
An example in English:
- DEER + PLURAL → deer
Affixation
editAffixation is the addition of an affix (such as a prefix, suffix or infix) to a word.
Example in English:
- want + PAST → wanted
Reduplication
editReduplication is the repetition of part of a word.
An example in Sanskrit:
- दा dā ("give") + PRESENT + ACTIVE + INDICATIVE + FIRST PERSON + SINGULAR → ददामि dadāmi (the da at the beginning is from reduplication of dā that involves a vowel change, a characteristic of class 3 verbs in Sanskrit)
Internal modification
editThere are several types of internal modification. An internal modification may be segmental, meaning it changes a sound in the root.
An example in English:
- STINK + PAST = stank (i becomes a)
An internal modification might be a suprasegmental modification. An example would be a change in pitch or stress.
An example of the latter in English (acute accent indicates stress):
- RECÓRD + NOUN = récord
Subtraction
editSubtraction is the removal of a sound or a group of sounds.
An example in French:
- OEUF /œf/ ("egg") + PLURAL = œufs /ø/ (final f is lost)