{"id":29,"date":"2014-12-12T14:17:39","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T14:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/transparency.humanities.uva.nl\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2014-12-23T12:29:48","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T12:29:48","slug":"form-based-form","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/transparency.humanities.uva.nl\/form-based-form\/","title":{"rendered":"Form-based form (1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Form-based form (1)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\t \n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\n\t \t\t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t\n\t \t \t\t
id<\/th>\n\t \t\tLanguage<\/th>\n\t \t\tGrammatical gender<\/th>\n\t \t\tNominal expletive elements<\/th>\n\t \t\tSyntactic functions<\/th>\n\t \t\tMorphosyntactic complexity influences word order<\/th>\n\t \t\tPredominantly head-marking<\/th>\n\t \t\tMorphophonologically conditioned stem alternation<\/th>\n\t \t\tMorphologically and\/or morphophonologically conditioned affix alternation<\/th>\n\t \t\tPhonologically conditioned stem alternation<\/th>\n\t \t\tPhonologically conditioned affix alternation<\/th>\n\t \t\t\t<\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n\t
\n\t\t\t1\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tBantawa\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tBantawa does not display grammatical gender. There is nominal classification (Doornenbal 2009: 66ff.), but this involves a defective, semantically conditioned classification that is purely marked by means of suffixes on specific nouns, while it has no repercussions for agreement.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere are no nominal expletives in Bantawa, as proven by example (10).Doornenbal (2009: 469)(10)\twa\t\t\tta\twater\t\tcomes\t\u2018It is raining.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tIn transitive clauses in Bantawa, an Actor receives ergative case and an Undergoer is marked for absolutive case. Undergoers are almost always cross-referenced on the predicate. Actors can be marked on the predicate as well, as in (11), but this is infrequent. Doornenbal (2009: 122)(11)\tna\u014bsi-\u0294a\t\t\t\t\u0268-catt-a-\u014b\thailstone-ERG\t3.A-hit-PST-1SG\t\u2018The hailstone hit me.\u2019In intransitive clauses, independent Actor arguments, if expressed, get absolutive case marking (Doornenbal 2009: 213) and, as example (12) shows, so do Undergoers. Furthermore, examples (12) and (13) show that it is optional to cross-reference an Actor or an Undergoer on the predicate in intransitives.Doornenbal (2009: 213)(12)\tsamba\t\t\t\tker-a\tbamboo.ABS\tbreak-PST\t\u2018The bamboo snapped.\u2019Doornenbal (2009: 122)(13)\tm\u0268km\u0268km\u0268kwa\tkhaw-a\tprofusely\t\t\t\tcry-PST\t\u2018He cried profusely.\u2019In sum, semantic role is expressed in transitive clauses by means of case-marking, and optionally by means of predicate markers. In intransitive clauses, semantic role is neutralised, since both Actors and Undergoers receive absolutive case. Predicate marking is also not informative on semantic roles of arguments. Therefore, a syntactic function Subject must be postulated. \tFurthermore, there is an antipassive construction in Bantawa (Doornenbal 2009: 225ff.), so that there is a second reason to assume a syntactic function Subject. An example is given in (14).Doornenbal (2009: 226)(14)\ta.\t\tnam-\u0294a\t\t\tm\u0268-h\u0268t-ya\u014b\t\t\tsun-ERG\t\t3PL-scorch-PROG\t\t\t\u2018The sun is scorching us.\u2019\tb.\t\tkho-ci-\u0294a\t\tkha\t\t\tm\u0268-h\u0268t\t\t\t3-PL-ERG\t\tANTIP\t3PL-scorch\t\t\t\u2018They burn.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWord order is quite consistently based on pragmatic considerations (Doornenbal 2009: 13). I have not found evidence for an influence of complexity on morphosyntactic placement. M. Doornenbal (personal communication, September 18, 2013) also suspects that it does not play a role.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tBantawa is an agglutinative language, as it has extensive affixation (Doornenbal 2009: 12), but few clitics and particles (Doornenbal 2009: 306ff.). Therefore, I consider it a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAll Bantawa verb stems have two allomorphs. The first phoneme of the attached pronominal suffix determines allomorph selection: if this is a consonant, the so-called pre-consonantal stem form is used, if the suffix starts with a vowel, the pre-vocalic stem allomorph is selected (Doornenbal 2009: 126ff.). This stem alternation process is phonologically determined and therefore discussed in Section 2.4.8, but the form that the different stem forms take is morphophonologically determined and should therefore be addressed here.\tVerbs can be divided over three classes on the basis of the way that the stem allomorphs are formed (cf. Doornenbal 2009: 129ff.). In class 1, the pre-vocalic stem can be derived from the pre-consonantal stem by adding a -t, e.g. hek-ma \u2018cut-INF\u2019 vs. hekt-u \u2018cut-3SG\u2019. In class 2, the pre-vocalic stem has an added -s, e.g. nu-ma \u2018heal-INF\u2019 vs. nus-u \u2018heal-3SG\u2019. Class 3 stems do not take an extra consonant; rather, if a consonant-initial suffix is attached to a pre-consonantal stem ends in a consonant, that consonant is either changed or deleted. If a class 3 pre-consonantal stem ends in a vowel, this vowel is retained in the pre-vocalic stem and will coalesce with the suffix-initial vowel. Since it is not possible to predict the precise alternation that occurs on the basis of the phonological shape of the verb stem, this is non-transparent, morphophonologically based alternation (Doornenbal 2009: 131).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tIn some third person pronominals, the pronominal marker -sa~-so has to be inserted, e.g. o-ci \u2018this-PL\u2019, o-sa-\u0294a \u2018this-PRN-ERG\u2019. According to Doornenbal\u2019s informants, this marker has no meaning, but is obligatory in some contexts since it \u2018sounds better\u2019 \u2013 apparently, there is a prosodic motivation (Doornenbal 2009: 101). Furthermore, this syllable undergoes vowel assimilation, e.g. o-sa-\u0294a \u2018this-PRN-ERG\u2019, o-so-\u0294o \u2018this-PRN-GEN\u2019 (Doornenbal 2009: 54). Another case of morphophonologically determined allomorphy is a Bantawa demonstrative that shows vowel assimilation, e.g. mu-ju \u2018that-LOC.low\u2019, mo-ja \u2018that-LOC.level\u2019 (Doornenbal 2009: 54).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere are quite some phonologically conditioned stem alternation processes in Bantawa. I do not have space to go into all of them, so I will discuss the most important ones only. \tFirstly, a syllable in Bantawa must always have an onset. If a vowel-initial suffix attaches to a vowel-final stem, or a vowel-final prefix attaches to a vowel-initial stem, a glottal stop or glide is inserted to fill the onset, e.g. \u0268-uk-n-\u0268\u014b \u2018NEG.NPST-peel-NEG-1SG, I did not peel it\u2019, is pronounced [\u0268\u0294ukn\u0268\u014b] (Doornenbal 2009: 29). Furthermore, as explained, all Bantawa verb stems have two allomorphs: a pre-consonantal and a pre-vocalic form. The choice for one of these depends on the first phoneme of the pronominal suffix selected, e.g. hek-ma \u2018cut-INF\u2019 vs. hekt-u \u2018cut-3SG\u2019, and nu-ma \u2018heal-INF\u2019 vs. nus-u \u2018heal-3SG\u2019 (Doornenbal 2009: 127ff.). Hence, the phonological shape of the suffix determines the phonological shape of the stem.\tA nasal turns into a nasalised vowel before an \/s\/ or a \/j\/, e.g. \/wensi\/ \u2018raspberry\u2019 is pronounced [we\u0129si] (Doornenbal 2009: 47). Geminates arising at morpheme boundaries are realised as long consonants, e.g. *hen \u2018stay\u2019, *kham \u2018place\u2019, *ma \u2018big\u2019 becomes [h\u025bnkham:a] \u2018world\u2019 (Doornenbal 2009: 40). If the first, stem-final consonant is voiceless, it is voiced, resulting in a voiced geminate: bop \u2018round\u2019, bojo\u014b \u2018*termite\u2019, -ma \u2018F\u2019 is pronounced [bobbojo\u014bma] \u2018termite\u2019 (Doornenbal 2009: 41).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tPhonologically based assimilation processes described above apply to stems and affixes alike.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t2\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tBininj Gun-Wok\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is no grammatical gender in Bininj Gun-Wok. There are nominal classes, but these are semantically motivated, as proven by example (9): a modifying unit is nominalised by a noun class prefix, which contributes its semantic content to the nominalised element (Evans 2003: 181ff.).Evans (2003: 186)(9)\tna-gohbanj\t\t\tal-gohbanj\t\t\tan-gohbanj\tI-old\t\t\t\t\t\tII-old\t\t\t\t\t\tIII-old\t\t\t\u2018old man\u2019\t\t\t\t\u2018old woman\u2019\t\t\u2018old tree\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tBininj Gun-Wok does not have pronominal expletives. Weather predicates, as well as other prototypical expletive constructions such as existentials, are all like example (10): an argument is incorporated in the verb and the verb as a whole is marked for third person. Evans (2003: 368) (10)\t\u00d8-dung-mirrhmirrhme-ng\t3.PST-sun-get_sharp-PST.PFV\t\u2018It\u2019s hot.\u2019The third person prefix refers to the semantic argument \u2018sun\u2019 in (10). This means that there is cross-reference between the incorporated noun and the verbal prefix, which is normal in Bininj Gun-Wok, as explained in Section 3.1.1. Thus, the verbal marker is not a fully expletive element, but refers to an overt element.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe main marking of argument relations in Bininj Gun-Wok takes place on the verb. Each verb has slots for pronominal prefixes, in which two arguments can be expressed, and a slot in which a noun can be incorporated (Evans 2003: 318). A transitive predicate, e.g. (11), takes a portmanteau morpheme as pronominal prefix, that marks Actor and Undergoer and their hierarchical relationship. Evans (2003: 417)(11)\tnga-na-ng\t\t\t\tboken\tkornobolo\t1>3-see-PST.PFV\ttwo\t\twallaby\t\u2018I saw two wallabies.\u2019An intransitive predicate is marked by a pronominal prefix, whether the S argument is an Actor, as in (12), or an Undergoer, like (13). The arguments in these examples have different semantic roles, but are marked identically \u2013 therefore we can speak of a syntactic function Subject.Evans (2003: 393)(12)\tgabarri-lobme\t3PL-run.NPST\t\u2018They are running.\u2019Evans (2003: 446)(13)\tnjale\t\u00d8-bakme-ng?\twhat\t3.PST-break-PST.PFV\t\u2018What was broken?\u2019Bininj Gun-Wok does not have a passive construction (Evans 2003: 574).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWord order in Bininj Gun-Wok is predominantly pragmatically determined. For instance, new participants occur in preverbal position, while established participants are post-verbal (Evans 2003: 551ff.). I have not found any examples of an influence of complexity on morphosyntactic placement. N. Evans (personal communication, September 20, 2012) adds that complexity in Bininj Gun-Wok is in fact limited to verbal elements; no unit would really qualify as a heavy NP, or even as a complex noun. Therefore, I conclude that complexity does not play a role in morphosyntactic placement.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tEvans (2003: 258) distinguishes a few clitics in Bininj Gun-Wok, e.g. =wali \u2018in turn\u2019. The overwhelming majority of function markers, however, consists of head-marking units: all verbal morphology is affixing. Hence, Bininj Gun-Wok is a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tSeveral morphophonemic processes exist in Bininj Gun-Wok. For example, when a vowel is followed by a consonant, the vowel is usually short. However, vowels in a small set of nominal roots with the form CV- are pronounced long when used before a third person possessor suffix -no or any other root starting with a consonant, e.g. ga-bo:-yo: \u20183-liquid-lie \u2018there is water\u2019 (Evans 2003: 74).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is no declension in Bininj Gun-Wok, but there are conjugational classes: Evans (2003: 345ff.) distinguishes 11 verb classes on the basis of distinct TAM allomorphy. Verbs in Bininj Gun-Wok are either monosyllabic or bisyllabic. The second syllable of a bisyllabic stems determines which TAM inflection the verb gets, e.g. stems ending in -me (e.g. karrme \u2018have\u2019, karrme-n \u2018have-IPFV\u2019) belong to the first conjugation, and verbs ending in -ke and -we belong to the second (e.g. dowe \u2018die\u2019, dowemen \u2018die-IPFV\u2019; Evans 2003: 359ff.). Since TAM inflection alternations are conditioned by these stem-final syllables, and are not phonologically or semantically predictable, I group this under morphologically conditioned affix alternation. \tFurthermore, in some Bininj dialects, the plural object marker -bani is nasalised after a nasal, e.g. abanbaninang ~ abanmaninang (Evans 2003: 111).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tMorpheme-initial \/d\/ becomes \/r\/ (spelled \u2018rr\u2019) after vowel-final monosyllabic prefixes and after open polysyllables with final stress, e.g. gun-dulk \u2018IV-tree\u2019, gau-rrulk-di \u20183-tree-stand, there is a tree there\u2019 (Evans 2003: 106, 107). The altered morpheme can be a nominal or verbal root, but also a prefix.\tMorpheme-initial \/r\/ may be dropped after apical consonants, e.g. a-bal-re \u20183PL.PST-only-go.PST.IPFV\u2019 is \/abale\/ (Evans 2003: 110).Two successive syllables cannot both contain a glottal stop, so that one of them is deleted or assimilated to a surrounding consonant, e.g. the reduplicated form of bu\u0294me is not bu\u0294-bu\u0294me but bu-bu\u0294me (Evans 2003: 112). \tStems of the form CVrrVng undergo vowel drop when another stem or a CVC-suffix is attached to the right, e.g. gun-murrung \u2018IV-bone\u2019, murrng-wern \u2018bone-many\u2019 (Evans 2003: 114ff.).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe phoneme sequence \/iyi\/ may be pronounced as [i:], e.g. \/gabarriyigan\/ [gabari:gan] \u2018they go for it\u2019, and two short vowels may become one long one when a \/g\/ in between is lost, e.g. \/nagamarrang\/ [na:mara\u014b] \u2018male skin name\u2019 (Evans 2003: 75). In some dialects, \/w\/ is dropped after a nasal, e.g. kan-wo \u2018give it to me\u2019 > \/kano\/ (Evans 2003: 110).\tThere is a tendency for consonants to be voiced in onset position, but voiceless in coda position, e.g. kuk \u2018body\u2019 can be pronounced [k\u0277k] and [g\u0277k] but not [k\u0277g] (Evans 2003: 79).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t3\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tChukchi\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tChukchi has no grammatical gender, but a semantically based nominal classification system only, as highly animate nouns show a different inflectional behaviour from common nouns (Dunn 1999: 64).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere are no expletives in Chukchi, as becomes clear from their absence with the weather predicates in (5) and (6). Chukchi has zero-place predication without dummy insertion.Dunn (1999: 335)(5)\t\u2026\tlo\u014b-k\u0259t\u0259j\u0263at-\u0259-l\u0294-\u0259-n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2026\t\t\tNEG-wind_blow-\u0259-NMLZ-\u0259-ABS\t\u2018There was no wind\u2026\u2019Dunn (1999: 340)(6)\t\u2026\tet\u0294\u0259m\t\t\t\tan\u0259\t\tr-ile-r\u0294u-\u0263\u0294i\t\t\tprobably\t\tso\t\tFUT-rain-INCH-THEMSUF\t\u2018\u2026 probably it will rain.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is reason to assume a syntactic function Subject in Chukchi, as the semantic role of the single argument of an intransitive predicate is neutralised. The Actor argument in (7) and the Undergoer argument in (8) are expressed identically, while example (9) shows that in a transitive context the semantic role distinction is expressed by means of case marking.Dunn (1999: 199)(7)\t\u014beek\u0259k\t\t\t\t\t\twet\u0263ak-w\u0294e\tsister.ABS.3SG\t\tspeak-3SG\t\u2018The sisterA spoke.\u2019Dunn (1999: 202)(8)\t[\u2026] n-\u0259-mk-\u0259-qin\t\t\t\tqejuu-t\t\t\t\t\tn\u0294-\u0259-ja\u0263tal-\u0259-\u014bo-nat \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[\u2026]\t\t\tADJ-\u0259-many-\u0259-3SG\t\tcalf-ABS.3PL\t\tCOND-\u0259-be_preserved-\u0259-INCH-3PL\t\u2018\u2026 many calvesU would be preserved\u2026.\u2019Dunn (1999: 81)(9)\tq\u0259nwer\t\tjara-l\u0263-\u0259-j\u014b-\u0259-n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u014bew-\u0294\u0259tt\u0294-\u0259-qe-e\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfinally\t\thouse-SG-\u0259-AUG-\u0259-ABS.3SG\twoman-dog-\u0259-DIM-ERG\t\ttejk-\u0259-nin\tmake-\u0259-3SG>3SG\t\u2018Finally, the bitchA made a big houseU.\u2019Additionally, Chukchi exhibits an antipassive construction that neutralises semantic roles (Dunn 1999: 216). Clearly, semantic roles can be neutralised in Chukchi, which therefore has a syntactic function subject.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tConstituent order in Chukchi is not fixed (Dunn 1999: 80). Dunn (1999: 344) classifies Chukchi as a pragmatic word order language, that is, pragmatic roles determine constituent ordering. Since constituent order is free to such a high extent \u2013 all possible orderings occur (Dunn 1999: 81) \u2013 it is difficult to establish whether constituent weight really bears an influence. At least, we can say that there is no proof that there is any influence on word order, and therefore, I will assume there is none.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tChukchi is a typical agglutinative language. It possesses a large number of affixes, while Dunn (1999: 76) distinguishes one clitic only, showing that Chukchi is a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tChukchi has, apart from an epenthetic schwa, three underlying vowels, each of which has a default realisation and a non-default realisation that only appears in the presence of a so-called vowel harmony prosody feature. This feature is a covert property of particular morphemes, e.g. the singulative suffix \u2013n+VH, deriving place nouns from action verbs. When such a morpheme combines with a stem in a Phonological Word, that stem\u2019s vowel receives its non-default realisation, e.g. the default stem \/t\u0259\u026ce\/ \u2018path\u2019 becomes \/t\u0259\u026ca-n\/, whereas this is not the case with absolutive case suffix \u2013n-VH (Dunn 1999: 48). This process is not phonologically based, since it is not a specific phonological context that triggers the selection of a certain vowel quality, but the specific morpheme. Note that the term \u2018vowel harmony\u2019 is a bit odd, since the VH feature is abstract and does not necessarily belong to a vowel \u2013 there is no assimilation of the stem\u2019s vowel to another vowel, but to an abstract feature.Dunn (1999: 51ff.) describes several cases of morphophonologically determined allomorphy. One example is that around two dozen verb stems have an alternating onset, where a consonant is dropped in one of the allomorphs, e.g. wa ~ twa \u2018be\u2019. A dozen other verbal stems undergo more extensive deletion, e.g. r\u0259tc ~ tc \u2018AUX\u2019. The full form is used when the morpheme is word-initial, otherwise the shorter form is used. The deletions are phonologically predictable, but it is unpredictable to which verbs the deletions apply (Dunn 1999: 52).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAs explained above, absolutive singular can be marked by means of five different strategies. Dunn (1999: 105) states that the choice for a specific strategy is partly determined by phonology, partly by the morphological origin of the noun stem and partly lexically conditioned. This means that Chukchi has five declension classes: absolutive singular inflection is determined morphologically. I found no other instances of morphophonological affix alternation in Chukchi.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWord-final vowels are almost always reduced or deleted (Dunn 1999: 53). \tFurthermore, as noted above, one strategy to mark a stem for absolutive singulative is by means of a phonologically determined reduction or deletion of the stem-final vowel, e.g. wala-t \u2018knife.ABS-PL\u2019, wal\u0259 \u2018knife.ABS.SG\u2019 (Dunn 1999: 106). Chukchi syllables follow a quite strict (C)V(C) pattern. A coda consonant can be adjacent to a following onset consonant, but it is not possible to have more than one consonant within the onset or within the coda. If this occurs, an epenthetic schwa is added in between (Dunn 1999: 39ff.). For example, when the infinitive suffix -k is attached to a verb stem ending in a consonant, for instance j\u0259lqet \u2018sleep\u2019, the resulting sequence j\u0259lqetk is forbidden: addition of a schwa gives the correct output j\u0259lqet\u0259k (Dunn 1999: 73). \tA phonological alternation rule exists that changes two vowels into one long vowel when an approximant intervenes, e.g. \/\u0294o\u027eacek\/ ~\/\u0294aacek\/ \u2018youth, lad\u2019 (Dunn 1999: 42). Furthermore, anterior stops undergo nasalisation when adjacent to a nasal (Dunn 1999: 44). The voiceless velar stop becomes an approximant before other consonants and becomes a uvular if adjacent to another uvular. There are many more such relatively common assimilation processes, which I will not describe here for reasons of time and space (cf. Dunn 1999: 44ff. and 52ff.).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWord-final vowels are almost always reduced or deleted (Dunn 1999: 53). Since words may end in a suffix, this is an alternation that may affect both stems and affixes. The other alternation processes described in Section 4.4.8 apply to affixes too.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t4\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch nouns are divided over two genders: common and neuter. Even though gender assignment can be shown to be motivated increasingly semantically (cf. Audring 2009a), the basis of the system is still grammatical, as shown in example (6) where a semantically feminine noun has neuter gender agreement. (6)\thet \t\t\t\t\tmeisje, \tdat \u2026\tDEF.SG.N\t\tgirl(N)\t\tREL.SG.N\t\u2018the girl, that\u2026\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch makes use of a dummy pronoun with weather predicates, as in example (7).(7)\thet \t\t\t\tregen-t\t3SG.N\t\t\train-3SG\t\u2018It is raining.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch shows neutralisation of semantic roles. In transitive clauses, pronominal arguments are marked for nominative and accusative case, as in (8). Such case-marking disappears in intransitive clauses, e.g. (9)(8)\tzij \t\t\t\tzag \t\t\thaar\tshe.NOM\tsee.PST\t\tshe.ACC\t\u2018He saw her.\u2019(9)\ta.\t\tzij\t\t\t\t\treed\t\t\tshe.NOM\t\tdrive.PST.SG\t\t\t\t\u2018She drove.\u2019\tb.\t\tzij\t\t\t\t\tviel\t\t\tshe.NOM\t\tfall.PST.SG\t\t\t\u2018She fell.\u2019Furthermore, Dutch has a passive construction, e.g. (10).(10)\ta.\t\tzij \t\t\t\t\t\tbegroet-te \t\t\them\t\t\tNOM.3SG.F\t\tgreet-PST.SG\t\tACC.3SG.M\t\t\t\u2018She greeted him.\u2019\tb.\t\thij \t\t\t\t\t\twerd \t\tdoor \t\thaar \t\t\t\t\tbegroet\t\t\tNOM.3SG.M\twas\t\t\tby\t\t\tACC.3SG.F\t\tgreet.PST.PTCP\t\t\t\u2018He was greeted by her.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWeight of a constituent can influence morphosyntactic placement in Dutch, as in example (4), repeated here as (11).(11)\theb \tje\t\t\tdie \tman\t\tgezien\t[die \tdoor \t\trood \treed]?\thave\tyou\tthat\t\tman\t\tseen\t\tthat\t\tthrough\tred\t\t\tdrove\t\u2018Did you see that man that drove through the red traffic light?\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch has clitics, e.g. predicate markers, and particles, e.g. articles. However, head-marking affixes are much more frequent, rendering Dutch a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tMorphophonological variation occurs in Dutch as the result of the addition of the diminutive suffix -tje (cf. Snow et al. 1980). The stem-final consonant can be deleted or altered under the influence of -tje, e.g. kast \u2018cupboard\u2019 \/k\u0251st\/ becomes kast-je \u2018cupboard-dim\u2019 \/k\u0251\u0283\u0259\/, where the stem-final consonant is deleted, thus obscuring the morpheme boundary.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch shows suppletive affix alternation in the plural affix, which alternates between -en and -s depending on morphophonological properties of the stem. Hence, nouns can be divided over two declension classes, based on their plural inflection. \tVerbs can be divided over conjugation classes depending on the past tense inflection they take. The majority of verbs is inflected for past tense by means of a suffix, while so called strong verbs do so by means of vowel alternation of the stem (cf. Section 5.3.3). Hence, this affix alternation is morphologically motivated.An example of morphophonological affix alternation is the diminutive suffix -tje, which can take the forms -etje, -pje, -kje, -je, -\u0283e, or -tje (cf. Snow et al. 1980). The alternations only occur with the diminutive suffix, so that selection of the appropriate allomorph cannot be explained as purely phonologically conditioned.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tDutch exhibits phoneme deletion in degemination, e.g. krabpaal \u2018scratching post\u2019 \/kr\u0251p\/ + \/ pal\/ becomes [kr\u0251pal]. Furthermore, there is assimilation of place and manner of articulation in Dutch. For example, when tand \u2018tooth\u2019 \/t\u0251nt\/ and pasta \u2018paste\u2019 \/p\u0251sta\/ form a compound, the result is [t\u0251mp\u0251sta], where the stem-final \/t\/ is deleted and the nasal is labialised.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is assimilation of voicing in Dutch affixes, e.g. the past tense singular suffix on weak verbs is -te after a stem-final voiceless consonant, but -de after a voiced consonant or vowel.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t5\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tEgyptian Arabic\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tEgyptian nouns are either masculine or feminine (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 75), as reflected in agreement marking on modifiers and predicates (cf. Section 6.1.2). Femininity is marked on the noun by means of a suffix -a, masculinity is not overtly expressed on nouns. Humans and animals are assigned a gender on the basis of their biological sex, but otherwise there are no semantic assignment rules, so that this qualifies as a grammatical gender system. I have not found examples showing semantic agreement, so that I will assume that gender is grammatical.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere are no nominal expletives in Egyptian Arabic (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 25). An example of a weather predicate is given in (7). The predicate \u2018to rain\u2019 has a semantic argument, i.e. \u2018the world\u2019. This argument can be implicit, in which case the verb will still be inflected for third person feminine, showing that \u2018the world\u2019 is actually invoked (M. Hegazy, personal communication, July 22, 2013). Therefore, we can say that there is no construction in Egyptian involving a semantically empty dummy subject.M. Hegazy (personal communication, July 22, 2013)(7)\t(\u0294id-dunya)\t\tbi-t-mat\u02e4t\u02e4ar\tDEF-world\t\t\tPRS-3SG.F-rain.PFV\t\u2018It is raining.\u2019 (Lit.: \u201cThe world rains.\u201d)\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tIn an Egyptian Arabic transitive clause, the person, gender and number of the Actor are marked on the predicate. In intransitive clauses, semantic role is neutralised, since both Actors, e.g. in (8), and Undergoers, e.g. in (9), are cross-referenced on the predicate. Gary & Gamal-Eldin (1981: 60)(8)\ts[\u0101]mi\t\tgiri-\u00f8\tS.\t\t\t\t\trun.PST.PFV-3SG.M.A\t\u2018Sami ran.\u2019(9)\tmuna\t\tmaat-it\tM.\t\t\tdie.PST.PFV-3SG.F.A\t\u2018Mona died.\u2019There is a passive construction in Egyptian (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 89), in which it is the expression of an Actor argument in a by-phrase is uncommon, but in some cases possible, as illustrated by (10).Gary & Gamal-Eldin (1981: 90)(10)\t \u0294iz-zamaalik\t\t\u0294it-\u0281alab-\u00f8\t\t\t\t\t\tgon-een\t\tmin\t\til[-]\u0294ahli\tDEF-Z.\t\t\t\t\tPASS-beat-3SG.M.A\tgoal-DU\t\tfrom\t\tDEF-A.\t\u2018The Zamalek (club) was beaten two goals by the Ahli (club).\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is heavy shift in Egyptian Arabic, e.g. in example (11). Default word order would place the indirect object (\u2018to Sami\u2019) after the direct object (\u2018the books that \u2026\u2019), but since the direct object is so heavy, this ordering is reversed.Gary & Gamal-Eldin (1981: 54)(11)\t\u0295ali\t\twarra\t(li)\t\ts\u0101mi\t\u0294i[k-]kutub\t\u0294ik-kitiir\t\t\u0294illi\tgab-\u00f8-ha\t\tA.\t\tshow\t\t(to)\t\tS.\t\tDEF-book.PL\tDEF-many\tthat\t\tbring.PST.PFV-3SG.M-3SG.F\u0294il[-]\u0294isbuu\u0295\t\t\u0294illi\tfaat\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmin\t\tma\u0295rad\t\t\t\u0294ik-kitaab\t\tDEF\t-week\t\t\tREL\t\tpass.PST.PFV-3SG.M\t\tfrom\t\tfair\t\t\t\t\tDEF-book\t\u2018Ali showed Sami the books that he brought last week from the bookfair.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tEgyptian Arabic has many affixes, i.e. prefixes, suffixes, circumfixes and transfixes (cf. Section 6.2.4), but only few particles and clitics (cf. Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 59ff.,89ff.). Therefore, it qualifies as a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAs explained above, Egyptian lexical words consist of three consonantal roots or radicals that are inflected by means of a transfix. However, several verbs have one or more \u2018weak radicals\u2019, i.e. glides instead of consonants. The inflection of such verbs is different from that of verbs with three strong radicals, for example, if the second radical is weak, it may appear as a vowel, m\u0101t \u2018to die\u2019, or as a glide, mawwit \u2018die.CAUS, to kill\u2019 (Woidich & Heinen-Nasr 2000: 153). These are phonological changes to the stem, i.e. to the consonantal roots, that only apply to a specific set of verbs, and are therefore morphophonologically based.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe feminine suffix is -it in possessive constructions, but -a in all other contexts, e.g. madrasa kibira \u2018a big school\u2019, madrasit \u0294awlaad \u2018boy\u2019s school\u2019 (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 76).\tThe final consonant of the passive prefix \u0294it- and the determiner prefix \u0294il- is assimilated to the initial consonant of the root it attaches to, but only if this initial consonant is a dental, palatal or velar, e.g. \u0294id-dars \u2018DEF-lesson\u2019 (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 127).\tPlurality is usually marked by means of suffixes, but on some nouns it is marked by means of an exceptional transfix (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 74), which is phonologically unpredictable, e.g. kitaab \u2018book.SG\u2019, kutub \u2018book.PL\u2019 (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 59). Since the vowel qualities are not phonologically predictable, this is counted as morphologically based affix alternation.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tSeveral assimilation and dissimilation processes exist in Egyptian, of which I will name a few here. Firstly, a semi-vowel is introduced to avoid vowel clustering, e.g. li \u2018for' + -i \u2018me\u2019 = lijja (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 128). An epenthetic vowel \/i\/ is inserted between a word-final consonant and a word-initial consonant, e.g. kunt taajih is pronounced [kuntitaajih] (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 129).\tA stem-final dental consonant is deleted when a pronominal suffix -t is attached, e.g. xad \u2018take\u2019 + -t \u20181SG\u2019 becomes xat (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 129).\tLong vowels are shortened when the syllable in which they occur is closed, i.e. when a suffix or part of a circumfix consisting of a consonant attaches that results in a consonant cluster, e.g. gireet \u2018I ran\u2019, ma-grit-\u0283 \u2018I didn\u2019t run\u2019 (Gary & Gamal-Eldin 1981: 128).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAlternations applying to stems apply to affixes alike. For example, the vowel of a suffix can be elided when attached to the vowel of a transfix, e.g. when yi- \u20183SG\u2019 connects to \u0101xud \u2018take\u2019, the result is y\u0101xud (Woidich & Heinen-Nasr 2000: 89).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t6\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tFongbe\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tFongbe does not have grammatical gender (Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 37).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tIn weather predicates, Fongbe does not employ expletives, cf. example (8).Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 245)(8)\tj\u00ec\t\t\tj\u00e0\train\t\tfall\t\u2018It is raining.\u2019Fongbe does exhibit expletives with other verb constructions, translating for instance as \u2018it is good\/convenient\/possible\u2019, \u2018it remains\u2019, \u2018it seems\u2019, \u2018it is not\u2019 (Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 67; E. Aboh, personal communication, July 9, 2014), as demonstrated above in example (6) and additionally in (9). The pronominal element \u00e9 refers to the subordinate clause here and is therefore referential in a different sense than \u2018regular\u2019 pronouns.Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 67)(9)\t\u00e9\t\tny\u0254\u0301\t\t\t\t\t\u0256\u0254\u0300\t\t\tk\u0254\u0301k\u00fa\t\tn\u00ed\t\t\ty\u00ec\tit\t\tbe_good\t\tCOMP\t\tK.\t\t\tSBJV\t\tleave\t\u2018It is good that Koku leaves.This type of expletive elements is not taken into account in this study (cf. Section 4.4.2).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tFongbe has neutral alignment, i.e. in neutral sentences, no pragmatic, semantic or morphosyntactic roles are marked morphosyntactically. For instance, the Actor in example (10) and the Undergoer in (11) are unmarked for their role, nor is pragmatic or semantic information expressed on the predicate.Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 241)(10)\tk\u0254\u0300k\u00fa\t\tl\u0254\u0301n\tK.\t\t\tjump\t\u2018Koku jumped.\u2019Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 242)(11)\tk\u0254\u0300k\u00fa\t\tk\u00fa\tK.\t\t\tdie\t\u2018Koku died.\u2019In (12), the Actor and Undergoer arguments of the transitive predicate are unmarked as well. Hence, we cannot say that there is neutralisation of semantic role in intransitive clauses, but rather that no role is expressed at all.Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 247)(12)\tk\u0254\u0300k\u00fa\t\tx\u00f2\t\t\u00e0s\u00edb\u00e1\tK.\t\t\thit\t\tA.\tKoku hits Asiba.Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 274) state that Fongbe has a verbal passive construction, in which the grammatical object is promoted to subject position. However, it is not possible to express an Actor argument in a by-phrase, since Fongbe lacks a preposition \u2018by\u2019. Therefore, there cannot be a full neutralisation of semantic roles.In sum, semantic roles of constituents appear to follow from word order only, as Actors precede Undergoers by default. If word order is different, this is for a pragmatic reason (cf. Section 7.4.4), for example because an element is focused, in which case a discourse marker is usually obligatory. This shows that in Fongbe, it is possible to distinguish semantic functions on the basis of word order, and pragmatic functions on the basis of word order and discourse markers, but there are no true markers of syntactic functions.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWord order in Fongbe is largely determined by pragmatic considerations (cf. for example Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 306ff., 335ff.). E. Aboh (personal communication, October 17, 2013) stresses that it is in fact impossible to separate influence of complexity from influence of pragmatic considerations, because deviations from default word order always have a pragmatic effect, so that it is not possible to determine whether the deviation was triggered by the complexity of the phrase or to achieve this pragmatic effect. However, what we can say is that there is no proof that complexity does have an influence. Since there are languages in which such an influence is clearly present, Fongbe can in comparison with such languages be classified as transparent with respect to this feature.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tFongbe is an isolating language, as it hardly shows inflectional morphology (Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 183). Function marking is performed by means of morphosyntactically and phonologically independent morphemes. Therefore, Fongbe qualifies as a predominantly phrase-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tI have not found instances of morphophonologically based stem alternations in Fongbe.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe diminutive suffix \u2013i shows vowel assimilation: \u00e0\u010d\u00fa-v\u00ed \u2018rat-DIM\u2019 is pronounced [\u00e0\u010d\u00fav\u00fa] (Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 25).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is tone spreading in Fongbe, meaning that the tone of a unit, whether lexical or grammatical, is influenced by the tone of preceding units (L&B 2002: 22). Lefebvre & Brousseau (idem) say that spreading is limited to the tonal domain, which is a morphosyntactically defined unit. Since I have no reason to believe that morphosyntactic units are not parallel to phonological units, I will see this as a phonological process. Another assimilation process in Fongbe is affrication, a superficial phenomenon that only occurs in rapid speech (Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 25). It involves the affrication of t and d preceding i, sometimes including palatalisation, e.g. t\u00ec \u2018squeeze\u2019 is pronounced [\u010d\u00ec].\tSonorants, as well as \/b\/ and \/\u0256\/, are nasalised in Fongbe when they precede nasal vowels, e.g. \/b\u0254\u0303\u0300\/ > \/m\u0254\u0303\u0300\/ \u2018to see\u2019 (L&B 2002: 27). This is an alternation between phones rather than between phonemes \u2013 it is a phonetic process.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is tone spreading in Fongbe that affects affixes as well, e.g. \u00e0s\u00e1 \u2018thigh\u2019 + m\u025b\u0300 \u2018inside\u2019 > \u00e0s\u00e1-m\u025b\u0302 (Lefebvre & Brousseau 2002: 22). I am not sure whether this is a tonemic or an allotonic alternation but in any case, it concerns a form-based form process.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t7\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tGeorgian\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is no grammatical gender in Georgian (Vamling 1989: 16).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tGeorgian does not make use of a pronominal dummy subject in weather predicates, as demonstrated in (9).Hewitt (1995: 89)(9)\tp\u2019arask\u2019ev-sa-c\ttov-d-a\t\t\t\t\t\t\tda\t\t\tk\u2019vira-sa-c\tfriday-DAT-too\t\tsnow-IPFV-AOR.3\tand\t\t\tSunday-DAT-too\t\u2018It snowed on both Friday and Sunday.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe marking of argument functions in Georgian is extremely complicated, since the way arguments are expressed depends on the conjugation class of the verb (cf. Section 8.4.7) and on the TAM specifications. Regarding the latter: Georgian verbs are marked for tense, aspect and mood by means of a combination of morphological markers (i.e. specific thematic suffixes and the use of person and number inflection from either a set A or a set B affixes), which can be grouped in three series. These different series require different markings of argument relations. For example in (10), the present tense entails a nominative Actor argument and a dative Undergoer, while in (11), the aorist perfective marking requires an ergative Actor and a nominative Undergoer.Vamling (1989: 19)(10)\tis\t\t\t\t\t\txat\u2019-av-s\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsurat-s\tNOM.3SG\t\tpaint-THEMSUF-PRS.3\t\tpicture-DAT\t\u2018He paints a picture.\u2019(11)\tman\t\t\t\tda-xat\u2019-a\t\t\t\t\t\tsurat-i\tERG.3SG\t\tPFV-paint-AOR.3\t\tpicture-NOM\t\u2018He painted a picture.\u2019Apart from the inflections described so far, argument relations can additionally be marked by vocalic prefixes. For example, the prefix u- indicates that there are three semantic roles: an Actor, an Undergoer and a Benificiary (Vamling 1989: 18). Hewitt (1995: 170) calls these different argument scenarios \u2018versions\u2019. \tThe semantic roles of the different arguments that play a role in a clause are hence coded in many different ways. Independently expressed arguments get obligatory case-marking, reflecting their semantic function. Secondly, dependent on the TAM series, some arguments are marked on the predicate by means of pronominal affixes. The TAM series also determine whether arguments are marked by set A or set B affixes (cf. Section 8.4.7), and which semantic role they have (e.g. Actor, Undergoer or Beneficiary). Finally, the vocalic prefixes additionally express the amount of arguments and their configuration. \tThe important question now is whether these markings are fully pragmatically or semantically motivated, or that it is relevant to assume syntactic functions. As it turns out, semantic role can be neutralised, i.e. arguments with different semantic roles can get identical morphosyntactic expression. Consider for example (12), (13) and (14), in which the pastry as Undergoer is marked identically as the Actor Nino. Example (14) proves that the semantic functions are distinguished in transitive clauses, so they can get different case marking.Hewitt (1995: 550)(12)\tk\u2019at\u2019a-m\tmo-\u0161ard-a \tcat-ERG\t\tPFV-urinate-AOR.3\t\u2018The cat urinated.\u2019Harris (1981: 43)(13)\tnamcxvar-i\t\tga-mo-cxv-a\tpastry-NOM\t\tPFV-VEN-bake-AOR.3\t\u2018The pastry baked.\u2019(14)\tnamcxvar-i\t\tga-mo-v-a-cxv-e\tpastry-NOM\t\tPFV-VEN-1SG-PRV-bake-AOR.1\t\t\t\t\u2018I baked pastry.\u2019Georgian furthermore has a passive construction, justifying the postulation of a syntactic function Subject. As shown in (15), the Undergoer argument is expressed in a passive clause in the exact same way as an Actor in an active clause, thus neutralising the semantic distinction.Harris (1981: 103)(15)\ta.\t\t\u0292a\u0263l-i\t\t\tu-k\u2019ben-s\t\t\t\tbav\u0161v-s\t\t\tdog-NOM\t\tPRV-bite-3SG\t\t\tchild-DAT\t\t\t\u2018The dog is biting a child.\u2019\tb.\t\tbav\u0161v-i\t\t\t\tda-k\u2019ben-il-i-a\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u0292a\u0263l-is\t\t\tmier\t\t\tchild-NOM\t\tPFV-bite-PFV.PTCP-NOM-COP.3SG\t\tdog-GEN\t\tby\t\t\t\u2018The child has been bitten by a dog.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tWord order in Georgian is to a large extent free (Hewitt 1995: 528, Vamling 1989: 30). I have no evidence for influence of complexity on morphosyntactic placement and will assume it does not exist in Georgian.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tGeorgian has many bound morphemes, that are in large majority specialised for one type of lexemes: either nouns or verbs. Some clitics are found as well, for example postpositional clitics Hewitt (1995: 69ff.). Since the majority of bound morphemes consist of affixes, Georgian should be seen as a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tParticular verbal stems undergo alternation under the influence of the addition of a particular thematic suffix (see Section 8.4.7), e.g. the stem -rkv- \u2018to name\u2019 becomes -rtv- when the thematic suffix -ev is attached (Hewitt 1995: 27). A second case of morphophonologically induced irregular stem formation in Georgian is the addition of a vowel under the influence of a certain series of TAM inflections (cf. Section 8.4.7), e.g. \u0161l-i \u2018erase-THEMSUF, you erase it\u2019 versus c\u2019a-v-\u0161al-e \u2018PFV-1SG-erase-3SG, I erased it\u2019. In a number of nominal stems, a vowel is dropped when used with specific suffixes, e.g. c\u2019el-i \u2018year-NOM\u2019, c\u2019l-is \u2018year-GEN\u2019 (Hewitt 1995: 35). Hewitt (ibid.) claims that it is not predictable from phonology which stems undergo such syncopation.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tFour classifications play a role in the verbal morphology of Georgian. I will first discuss them and show how they interact, before I go into the question whether they are transparent or not. First of all, three or four verb classes are distinguished on the basis of their inflectional behaviour (cf. for example Vamling 1989: 24). Secondly, there are three so-called \u2018series\u2019 for marking tense and aspect (present, aorist and perfect; cf. Vamling 1989: 20 and Van Valin 1990: 240), each containing three \u2018screeves\u2019, i.e. particular TAM markings (cf. Hewitt 1995: 122). For example, TAM series I is the pattern of inflection of the present indicative screeve, the imperfect indicative screeve, the future indicative screeve, etc. (cf. Hewitt 1995: 217ff.). Thirdly, two sets of pronominal affixes exist, viz. \u2018set A\u2019 or \u2018v-set\u2019 and \u2018set B\u2019 or \u2018m-set\u2019 (Vamling 1989: 22, Hewitt 1995: 128). Finally, Georgian verbs are in some TAM contexts marked by so-called thematic suffixes. Under certain conditions, a verb gets one of the thematic suffixes -av, -ob, -eb, -ev, -am or -i (Vamling 1989: 19). The selection of a particular thematic suffix is not governed by a phonological, morphological or semantic principle \u2013 it is determined lexically. These classifications interact with each other in a complex way. For instance, Vamling\u2019s verb class 1 requires a nominative subject, obligatorily cross-referenced on the verb by means of a v-set affix. It optionally gets a dative object, which has to be cross-referenced on the verb by an affix from the m-series. This is true for all three TAM series. However, a class 3 verb requires a nominative subject and v-set affixation in the present tense TAM-series (called series I), but gets a dative subject and m-set affixation in the perfect TAM-series (called series III). One recognises the enormous complexity of this system, illustrated in examples (16) and (17) with one verb, \u2018to paint\u2019 (verb class 3). In (16), the present tense and imperfective aspect require series I TAM inflection: apart from specific pronominal affixes, this triggers the presence of a thematic suffix, which for \u2018to paint\u2019 happens to be -av. Vamling (1989: 19)(16)\tis\t\t\t\t\t\txat\u2019-av-s\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsurat-s\tNOM.3SG\t\tpaint-THEMSUF-PRS.3\t\tpicture-DAT\t\u2018He paints a picture.\u2019In (17), \u2018to paint\u2019 is used in a series II TAM inflection context (i.e. the aorist perfective screeve). This triggers different case-marking, different pronominal affixes and requires no thematic suffix.Vamling (1989: 19)(17)\tman\t\t\t\tda-xat\u2019-a\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsurat-i\tERG.3SG\t\tPFV-paint-AOR.3\t\t\tpicture-NOM\t\u2018He painted a picture.\u2019A verb from class 2 behaves yet differently, as illustrated by example (18). The subject is now in dative case, the object is marked by a nominative marker, and TAM series I requires no thematic suffix in this verb class.Vamling (1989: 26)(18)\tmas\t\t\t\t\tme\t\t\t\t\tv-u-q\u2019var-var\tDAT.3SG\t\tNOM.1SG\t\t1SG-PRV-love-1 \t\u2018He loves me.\u2019\tThe three verbal classes are clearly opaque conjugations, since they are differentiated on the basis of their inflectional behaviour. The existence of two sets of pronominal affixes is opaque as well, since there is no consistent semantic distinction expressed by this affix alternation \u2013 a semantically identical argument can in some cases be expressed by affixes from the m-set, and in another context by the v-set. This is again a case of morphologically determined affix alternation: suppletive affixes exist for the expression of arguments on predicates in different contexts. As for nominal inflection, Georgian shows no affix alternation.\tThe division of tense and aspect over three TAM series is based on a semantic principle: series I expresses present and future tenses, series II expresses the aorist and series III codes perfect aspect (cf. Van Valin 1990). Even though the series cannot be associated with specific markers, these semantic categories relate in a one-to-one fashion to morphosyntactic marking \u2013 each pattern of case-marking, cross-reference, and the use of a thematic suffix is related to a specific TAM series. Hence, this is transparent, semantically based inflection.There is one more affix alternation process to be mentioned here: the verbal affix h- \u20183.IOBJ\u2019 assimilates to s- when followed by an alveolar, post-alveolar or palatal fricative (Hewitt 1995: 27). Since this does not occur with all h\u2019s in this context, this cannot be seen as a purely phonologically conditioned process.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAdjectives ending in -a or -o get an epenthetic -v- when suffixed, e.g. brma \u2018blind\u2019, a-brma-v-eb \u2018you-blind-v-THEMSUF\u2019 (Hewitt 1995: 22).\tGeminates are retained in most cases in Georgian, but degemination does sometimes occur, e.g. gaxlavvar, a highly polite version of \u2018I am\u2019, is pronounced as \/gaxlavar\/ (Hewitt 1995: 26).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tPhonologically based alternations apply to stems and affixes alike. A case in point is deletion of vowels that are adjacent to another vowel. For example, nouns ending in a consonant get a nominative singular suffix -i, but this -i is elided with nouns ending in a vowel, so that those appear unmarked for nominative singular (Hewitt 1995: 34, 38). This has made some authors believe that two noun classes should be distinguished, one with nouns ending in a consonant, and one with nouns ending in a vowel. However, since the process is fully phonologically predictable, this is not a case of morphological affix alternation but of phonological affix alternation (cf. Vamling 1989: 16 in agreement).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t8\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tHuallaga Quechua\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tHuallaga Quechua does not have grammatical gender (cf. Weber 1989: 35).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tHuallaga Quechua has no nominal expletives, as demonstrated by example (7).Weber (1998: 529) in Gr\u00e1ndez \u00c1vila (2011: 45) (7)\ttamya-yka-n \t\tfiyupami \train-IPFV-3SG \tstrongly \t\u2018It is raining strongly.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe number and person properties of the Actor argument are marked on the predicate by means of suffixes (Weber 1989: 10). Furthermore, there is nominative-accusative case marking to distinguish Actors from Undergoers, cf. (8). Weber (1989: 15)(8)\thwan\t\ttumas-ta\tmaqa-n\tJ.\t\t\t\tT.-ACC\t\t\thit-3\t\u2018John hits Tom.\u2019However, such markings are neutralised in intransitive clauses, as shown in (9). This requires postulation of a syntactic function Subject.Weber (1989: 179)(9)\twamra \tpun\u0304u-n\tchild\t\tsleep-3\t\u2018The child sleeps.\u2019Furthermore, there are three constructions that Weber (1989: 233) considers to be passives. At least one of these can have an oblique Actor argument, so that it qualifies as neutralisation of semantic roles; cf. (10) for the crucial example. It should be noted that addition of a by-phrase appears through elicitation only \u2013 speakers do not use this spontaneously. The other two passive constructions do not appear to have this option at all.Weber (1989: 245)(10)\tyanapa-sha\t\tka-nqa\t\t\tchay\t\truna\t\tqam-pita\thelp-PTCP\t\tbe-FUT.3\t\tDEM\t\tman\t\tyou-ABL\t\u2018That man will be helped by you.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tHuallaga Quechua has a default SOV word order, but this is quite free (Weber 1989: 15). If some part of a sentence is relatively complex, it can be realised post-verbally to prevent \u2018stack overflow\u2019 (Weber 1989: 282). This is demonstrated in example (11).Weber (1989: 282)(11)\tmaria\t\tqallari-na-:-ta\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmuna-n\t\tM.\t\t\tbegin-NMLZ-1.POSS-ACC\t\twant-3\t\t\t\tallqu-ta\t\tqara-y-ta\t\t\t\t\tkani-ma-sha-n-ta\t\tdog-ACC\t\tfeed-INF-ACC\t\tbit-1.OBJ-NMLZ-3.POSS-ACC\t\u2018Mary wants me to begin to feed the dog that bit me.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tQuechua makes extensive use of suffixation (Weber 1989: 9) and is therefore commonly seen as an agglutinative language. However, many of the alleged suffixes are in fact clitics, for example the topic marker =qa in (12).Weber (1989: 408)(12)\tkapas \twatachaw \thuk \tkuti \tarmakun \tinteeru \tkwerpun-ta=qa\tmaybe \tin_a_year \tone \ttime \tbathe.3PL \tentire \t\tbody.3.POSS-ACC=TOP\t\u2018Maybe they bathe their entire body once a year.\u2019Furthermore, Weber (1989: 75) distinguishes a number of suffixes that \u201cmay apply to words of any category\u201d, which is in line with Gr\u00e1ndez \u00c1vila (2011), who argues that case markers should also be seen as clitics, since they are phonologically dependent but morphosyntactically indifferent to the nature of their hosts. I will follow her in her analysis that Quechua is predominantly phrase-marking.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tStem-final high vowels of particular stems are lowered to \/a\/ in the adjacency of particular suffixes (Weber 1989: 29, 464). E.g. miku- \u2018eat\u2019 becomes mika-mu-shun \u2018eat-afar-FUT.1PL.INCL, let\u2019s eat over there\u2019. Since this happens with particular affixes only, it is considered a morphophonological phenomenon.The absolute spatial expressions hana \u2018top\u2019, washa \u2018level\u2019, and ura \u2018below\u2019 lose their final -a when combined with -qa, which relates the location to the hillside. For example: hana-n-chaw \u2018top-3PL-rock\u2019, han\u2019qa-POSSX \u2018above X on the hillside\u2019 (Weber 1989: 256, 460).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAs explained in Section 9.3.1, Quechua makes use of verb markers that express number of subject and object, as well as tense (Weber 1989: 95ff.). As argued, the person and tense markers are separable, but they do undergo some adaptations, partly due to phonological rules. However, person markers also alternate under influence of the optional future tense marker -paq, e.g. \u00d8-\u00d8-n-chii \u20183.OBJ-PRS-1.SBJ-PL.INCL\u2019, -\u00d8-ra-n-chii \u20183OBJ-PST-1.SBJ-PL.INCL\u2019, but -\u00d8-shun(-paq) \u20183.OBJ-1PL.INCL-FUT\u2019. As said earlier, Weber (1989: 100) analyses this as cumulation, but since there is a separate future tense marker, I rather see this as alternation of person suffixes in the context of this future tense suffix. The person markers themselves do not, in my opinion, express future tense.\tAs with stems (cf. Section 9.4.6), the final vowel of particular suffixes is lowered to \/a\/ in the adjacency of particular suffixes (Weber 1989: 29, 464), e.g. the reflective suffix in sha-ku-mu-n \u2018come-REFL-afar-3SG\u2019 is pronounced as ka: [shakamu\u014b].\tTo avoid illegal consonant clusters, e.g. clusters of three or more consonants, the epenthetic suffix -ni is inserted before nominal suffixes, e.g. atoq \u2018fox\u2019 with -yoq \u2018POSS\u2019 is optionally pronounced [atoqniyoq] (Weber 1989: 465). Since -ni does not appear before verbal suffixes, this process is morphophonological rather than phonological.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\t\/sh\/ becomes \/s\/ preceding \/ch\/ or \/y\/, e.g. hanash-cha \u2018farther_up-LOC\u2019 becomes [hanaschaw] (Weber 1989: 457). High vowels are optionally lowered to mid vowels in the neighbourhood of \/q\/, e.g. \/suqta\/ \u2018six\u2019 becomes [soqta] (Weber 1989: 458). Syllable-final -n assimilates its place of articulation to a following phoneme, e.g. \/qanra\/ \u2018dirty\u2019 is [qa\u014bra] (Weber 1989: 458). Long vowels are shortened when the syllable is closed, i.e. when it is followed by a syllable with a coda consonant (Weber 1989: 467). If an \/i\/ precedes a -y, they fuse into a lengthened \/i:\/, e.g. chaki-ykan becomes chaki:kan (Weber 1989: 461, 462). Sometimes, the y- is simply dropped, e.g. nawi-yki becomes nawiki (Weber 1989: 462). Several other assimilation processes occur.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tSuffixes of the form CV may lose their vowel if they are word-final and attached after a short vowel, e.g. mana-mi \u2018not-EVID\u2019 can be pronounced as [m\u00e1nam] (Weber 1989: 459). Several other similar processes occur.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t9\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tJapanese\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is no grammatical gender in Japanese (Hinds 1986: 171, 226).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tJapanese does not have dummy subjects (Hinds 1986: 73), as illustrated by example (4) of a weather verb with a semantic argument.Hinds (1986: 277)(4)\tame\tga\t\tfut-ta\train\t\tNOM\tfall-PST\t\u2018It rained.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAlignment in Japanese is largely based on word order (Hinds 1986: 188). Furthermore, there are case marking particles that mark pragmatic and semantic functions (Hinds 1986: 191ff.). Example (5) gives an example of a transitive clause.Iwasaki (2002: 85)(5)\tkodomo-tachi\tga\t\tsensoo\tno\t\tkowasa\to\t\t\tkangaeru\tchild-PL\t\t\t\tNOM\twar\t\t\tGEN\thorrors\t\tACC\tthink\t\u2018Children think about the horrors of war.\u2019 Semantic functions can be neutralised in intransitive clauses, as proven by example (6), in which the Undergoer argument is marked by nominative case. Hinds (1986: 281)(6)\toyu\t\t\tga\t\twaite-iru\twater\t\tNOM\tboil-PROG\t\u2018The water is boiling.\u2019Furthermore, example (7) shows that semantic role can be neutralised by a passive construction, in which the Undergoer is marked as an Actor, obscuring the semantic difference. Iwasaki (2002: 126)(7)\tsakana\tga\t\tneko\tni\t\ttabe-rare-ta\tfish\t\t\tNOM\tcat\t\tDAT\teat-PASS-PST\t\u2018The fish was eaten by the cat.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tHinds (1986: 151) mentions that dislocation of elements is possible and results in emphasis on the moved element. This indicates that there may be pragmatic factors influencing word order, but is not informative on the influence of heaviness.\tIwasaki (2013: 13, 237ff.) describes how Japanese constituent order is determined by pragmatic principles. He confirms (S. Iwasaki, personal communication, October 17, 2013) that heavy shift does not occur.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tJapanese is an agglutinative language, as it has a rich array of suffixes, especially verbal ones (Iwasaki 2002: 9). It has no clitics (Hinds 1986: 361), but there are quite some phrase-marking particles. Since both head-marking and phrase-marking occur non-marginally, it cannot be determined whether Japanese is transparent or opaque with respect to this feature; I will leave the matter undecided. \t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tVerbal stems ending in \/m, n, b\/ assimilate to attached consonants, e.g. nom \u2018drink\u2019 + -ta \u2018PST\u2019 becomes \/nonda\/. The final consonant of verbal stems ending in \/w, r\/ changes to \/t\/ when a t-initial suffix is attached, e.g. kaw \u2018buy\u2019 + -ta \u2018PST\u2019 becomes \/katta\/. If a verbal stems ends in a velar, this velar is palatalised to \/i\/ if a t-initial suffix is attached, e.g. kak \u2018write\u2019+ -ta \u2018PST\u2019 becomes \/kaita\/ (Hinds 1986: 420). Since these alternations occur in verbal stems only, they are morphophonologically based. Several other morphophonologically motivated stem alternations could be illustrated here, but the examples given suffice to demonstrate the existence of such processes in Japanese.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tJapanese has a conjugation system, since verbs can be divided over four classes according to a thematic vowel that is inserted with some classes between the stem-final consonant and particular inflectional suffixes (Hinds 1986: 172ff.), as shown in the partial paradigm in (8) (cf. Section 10.4.9 for an explanation of the additional \/r\/ in taberu and yabereba).(8)\tyom- \t\t\t\t\t\u2018read\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttabe-\t\t\t\t\u2018eat\u2019\tyom-a-nai\t\tread-a-NEG.IMP\t\t\ttabe-nai\t\teat-NEG.IMP\tyom-i-tai\t\t\tread-i-DES\t\t\t\t\t\ttabe-tai\t\t\teat-DES\tyom-u\t\t\t\tread-INF\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttabe-ru\t\t\teat-INF\tyom-eba\t\t\tread-COND\t\t\t\t\t\ttabe-reba\t\teat-CONDThe classes are not phonologically predictable so that this process is morphologically motivated.After Chinese numerals, particular counter suffixes undergo phonemic alternations that other suffixes do not undergo. For example, the initial h of counter suffix -hon \u2018long, cylindrical objects\u2019 changes to a p after Chinese numerals like ichi \u2018one\u2019, which becomes ichi-pon and then, according to a rule described in Section 9.18, ippon (Hinds 1986: 231).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tVowels can be inserted to prevent adjacency of two consonants or to prevent a word from ending in a consonant. This is visible in loanword adaptations, e.g. English \u2018street\u2019 assimilated to Japanese sutorito (Hinds 1986: 423).Word-initial morae with a low pitch may be deleted in casual speech, e.g. atashi \u20181.F\u2019 may be pronounced tashi (Hinds 1986: 422). Several other similar deletion processes occur, mainly in frequent items. \tWhen a stem-final combination of a voiceless consonant and a high vowel is followed by another voiceless consonant, the vowel is dropped and the stem-final consonant adapts to the other consonant, e.g. ichi or iti \u2018one\u2019 + ko \u2018thing\u2019 becomes ikko (Hinds 1986: 421). Hinds refers to this as a \u2018general process of gemination\u2019, so that I assume that it is a phonological rather than a morphophonological process.Stem-final nasals adapt their place to an attached consonant, e.g. shin \u2018new\u2019, shimbun \u2018newspaper\u2019 (Hinds 1986: 406 and cf. Iwasaki 2013: 21ff.). High vowels \/i\/ and \/\u026f\/ are devoiced in between two voiceless consonants and between a voiceless consonant and a pause, e.g. [k\u026f\u0325ts\u026f\u0325] \u2018shoes\u2019 (Iwasaki 2013: 21). Several similar adaptation strategies occur. \tFinally, Japanese exhibits downdrift, causing some syllables to have a lower pitch in the context of other low pitched syllables, e.g. yo.ku \u2018often\u2019 shows an HL pattern, ka.ku \u2018write\u2019 is HL, but the combination yoku kaku \u2018write often\u2019 has the pitch contour HL LL\u2019 (Hinds 1986: 416).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tSome verbal suffixes have an initial \/r\/, which is deleted when the suffixes attaches to a consonant-final stem, e.g. tabe-ru \u2018eat-NPST\u2019, nom-u \u2018drink-NPST\u2019 (Iwasaki 2002: 60).\tSuffix-initial consonants become voiced when they attach to a voiced stem-final consonant, e.g. nom \u2018drink\u2019 + -ta \u2018PST\u2019 becomes nonda (Hinds 1986: 420).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t\t
\n\t\t\t10\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tKayardild\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is no grammatical gender in Kayardild (cf. Evans 1995: 122).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere is no pronominal expletive element in Kayardild, as demonstrated by the weather predicate in (9).Evans (1995: 326)(9)\tbalmbi-wu\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twarrngal-warri-r-i-ju,\t\t\twambaji-wa-thu\ttomorrow-MODC.PROP\t\twind-PRIV-FAC-MID-POT\t\tclear-INCH-POT\t\u2018Tomorrow it will become calm and clear.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tEvans (1995: 95) argues that syntactic functions Subject and Object are relevant in Kayardild. In transitive clauses, Actor and Undergoer are distinguished by means of accusative case marking on the Undergoer, as in (10). In intransitive clauses, such roles are neutralised: the Actor in (11) and the Undergoer in (12) receive the same nominative case marker.Evans (1995: 1)(10)\tdangka-a\t\traa-ja\t\t\t\tbijarrba-y\t\t\t\t\twumburu-nguni\tman-NOM\t\tspear-REAL\tdugong-MODC.LOC\tspear-INSTR\t\u2018The man speared the dugong with a spear.\u2019(11)\tdangka-a\t\tjawi-j\tman-NOM\t\tgo_fast-REAL\t\u2018The man went fast.\u2019Evans (1995: 136)(12)\tmutha-a\t\t\tdangka-a\t\t\t\tyuuma-th,\t\t\tbuka-wa-th\tmany-NOM\t\tperson-NOM\t\tdrown-REAL\t\trotten-INCH-REAL\t\u2018Many people drowned and died.\u2019Furthermore, Kayardild exhibits a passive construction, in which addition of an oblique Actor is possible, as in (13).Evans (1995: 350)(13)\tngada\t\t\t\tra-yii-ju\t\t\t\t\tmun-da\t\t\t\tbalarr-inja\t\tmaku-nth\tNOM.1SG\t\tspear-MID-POT\t\tbuttock-NOM\t\twhite-OBL\t\twoman-OBL\t\u2018I will be injected in the buttocks by the white woman.\u2019\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThe order of phrasal constituents is relatively free in Kayardild: all possible word orders are attested so that it is impossible to ascribe a basic word order to the language (Evans 1995: 92-93). Pragmatic principles do play a role, as for instance new participants are relatively often placed in the beginning of the sentence (Evans 1995: 93). I have no evidence that the complexity of elements plays any role in this, and will therefore assume that it does not.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tAs said in Section 11.3.1, Kayardild employs suffixation as its most important function marking strategy. There are clitics (Evans 1995: 389) and particles (Evans 1995: 378ff.) as well, but these are scarce in comparison to suffixes. Hence, Kayardild is a predominantly head-marking language.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tStem-final apico-alveolar d alternates with lamino-dental th or lamino-palatal j when preceding the nominative suffix -a, e.g. ngirrnguth-inja \u2018fly-OBL\u2019, ngirrngud-a \u2018fly-NOM\u2019 (Evans 1995: 74).\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tThere are morphologically based alternations in Kayardild in case suffixes. Evans (1995: 126) mentions for instance alternation of the initial consonant of the locative suffix, e.g. daman-ki \u2018tooth-LOC vs. kuwan-ji \u2018firestick-LOC\u2019 (Evans 1995: 126). This distinction is not phonologically predictable.\tFurthermore, Kayardild exhibits two conjugational classes: a dental and a palatal class (Evans 1995: 267ff.). As the names suggest, these are largely phonologically based, apart from verbal stems ending in -a \u2013 conjugation membership of those verbs is determined by the presence of particular derivational suffixes, and partly lexically.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tA velar stop is palatalised before \/i\/ and likewise, \/ng\/ is fronted before \/i\/, e.g. ngimiy \u2018night\u2019 is pronounced [\u014bjime\u0361i] (Evans 1995: 54). The labio-velar glide w is sometimes delided word-initially preceding high vowels, e.g. wuranda \u2018food\u2019 can be pronounced [\u2018o\u0279ant] (Evans 1995: 58). This example also illustrates that word-final a can be deleted before planned pauses at the end of a breath group (Evans 1995: 63). Several other cases of allophony are described in Evans (1995: 54-65) \u2013 it is not relevant to describe them all here.\tStem-final laminal stops assimilate to ny if preceding an m or ng, e.g. yarbuth + -ngarrba becomes yarbunyngarrba (Evans 1995: 72). A stem-final ng assimilates its place to a following consonant, e.g. kang + juldajulda becomes kanyjuldajulda \u2018correct speech\u2019 (Evans 1995: 73). A stem-final \/r\/ in combination with suffix-initial \/r\/ fuse into an \/l\/, e.g. birdin + raja becomes birdilaaja \u2018mis-spear\u2019 (Evans 1995: 73). It can be shown historically that the \/n\/ is lost, while the \/r\/ alternates with \/l\/, so that this is both an alternation in the stem and in the affix. Further phonologically conditioned processes exist, but it is not germane to describe all cases.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t \t\t\n\t\t\tCase inflection of Kayardild nouns can be grouped in 6 classes (Evans 1995: 124ff.). The declensional class inflection that a noun takes is in most cases predictable on the basis of its phonology. Some noun stems are ambiguous between two classes so that their inflection class is not fully predictable, but still, the selection is based on their phonology and not on their morphology.\tA suffix-initial w is nasalised under the influence of a preceding nasal, e.g. kinyin + -warri becomes [kinyinmarri] \u2018non-existent\u2019 (Evans 1995: 72).A stem-final \/r\/ in combination with suffix-initial \/r\/ fuse into an \/l\/, e.g. birdin + raja becomes birdilaaja \u2018mis-spear\u2019 (Evans 1995: 73). It can be shown historically that the \/n\/ is lost, while the \/r\/ alternates with \/l\/.\t\t<\/td>\n\t \t<\/tr>\n\t \t\t <\/tbody>\n \n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n