MORPHOLOGY
INFLECTIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
An inflection is a particular bound morph expressing an inflectional distinction (Task 1993) or a grammatical marker. Such as an affix. That is used as a signal of a grammatical property (Spears 1991). The inflection cannot change the word class of derived bases.
An inflection expresses one or more grammatical categories with a prefix, suffix or infix, or another internal modification such as a vowel change. For example, the Latin verb ducal, meaning "I will lead", includes the suffix -am, expressing person (first), number (singular), and tense (future). The use of this suffix is an inflection. In contrast, in the English clause "I will lead", the word lead is not inflected for any of person, number, or tense; it is simply the bare form of a verb.
The inflected form of a word often contains both a free morpheme (a unit of meaning which can stand by itself as a word), and a bound morpheme (a unit of meaning which cannot stand alone as a word). For example, the English word cars are a noun that is inflected for number, specifically to express the plural; the content morpheme car is unbound because it could stand alone as a word, while the suffix -s is bound because it cannot stand alone as a word. These two morphemes together form the inflected word cars.
In this chapter. We survey inflections in various forms. Such: verb agreements. Person and number agreements. Gender and number agreements. Intensifiers. Genitive markers and plural markers of nouns.
2. VERB AGREEMENT
A noun phrase functioning as a subject usually agrees its verb in clause. Consider English examples in [1]-[2]:
[1]. Jill is an English student
[2]. Jill kicks her bucket
In [1]. Jill and is respectively function as a subject and a full verb. The full verb agrees with the subject. If we replace is with are representing plurality as in [3]. The clause becomes ill-formed (ungrammatical). Note that we use asterisk (*) to show ungrammaticality. See example [3]:
[3]. * Jill are an English teacher
Similarly. The inflected –s in [2] agrees with Jill. If we drop the –s. the clause becomes ungrammatical because the –s is a number of third person singular (glossed 3 SG) and of simple present tense (glossed PRESS). Consider example [4] below:
[4].*Jill kick her bucket
3.PERSON & NUMBER AGREEMENT
In Sudanese, a language spoken in West Java, the subject plural agrees with the verb as in [5]-[6]. Here the concept of plurality is more than one person and gender differences are not recognized. Note that keur and the –an suffix are aspect (glossed ASP) and iterative (glossed ITE) respectively:
[5]. The children are playing
[6]. The children are writing on my book
Clause [5] shows that the subject is plural marked with the –ar- infix and the verb is prefixed with ar- . similarly Clause [6] Demonstrates that the plural marker on the verb. Here the –ar infix. Corresponds with the subject barudak.
[7] The teacher is coming’
{8]. The teacher are coming’
In [7] we can see that the subject of singular marked with the omu- prefix (glossed 3SG agrees with the verb singular with is prefixed with the a- in [8]. The subject of plural marked with the aba- prefix ( glossed 3PL ) controls its verb with the ba- prefix to show plurality ( glossed 3 LP ). However. Bantu language as in [7]-[8] cannot tell us about gender differences when expressing singularity and plurality.
4. GENDER & NUMBER AGREEMENT
In Arabic. Person and number agreement are sensitive to verb. Gender is clearly indentified and the concept of plural is more than two entities. The following examples illustrate a marker of duality ( two people ) in [9[-[10]. The subjects in [9] and [10] are distinguished in gender ( male and female ) and are marked with ya- and ta prefixes respectively on the verbs. The dual marker
[9] The (two males) sit at the door’
[10] they (two females) sit at the door’
5. INTENSIFIERS
Intensifier is a lexical category, or a member of this category, whose members typically function as modifiers of an adjective or an adverb and express the degree to which the quality express by the item is present ( Task 1993).
English intensifiers include very, too, so, rather, quite, fairly and extremely examples in [11]-[16] illustrate this:
[11].This blue history book very expensive
[12].This guy is extremely naughty
[13]. She run so fast
[14]. The morphology class is very difficult for me
[15]. She looks rather unhappy
[16]. They are quite sad. Etc.
6. GENITIVE MARKERS
English genitive/possessive marker are –s, of and –s’. They are used differently. Consider examples [36]-[38].
[36]. John’s book
[37].The legs of the chair
[38]. James’ chevrolet
In [36], –s is used when the nominal is human being. In [37], of is used when the nominal is non-human. However. If the nominal is non-human but animate. Both –s and of are used. Examples [39]-[40] illustrate this.
[39].The cat’s feet
[40].Shin of the crocodile
7. NOUN PLURAL MARKERS
English plural markers can be represented by zero affix. Vowel changes (double –e-)and suffixes –s, -es. And –en on the nouns. The following examples illustrate this.
[57]. Sheep---> sheep
[58]. Tooth---> teeth
[59]. Book---> books
[60]. Box---> boxes
[61]. Ox---> oxen
8. SUMMARY
In the preceding sections. English examples are taken to demonstrate the verb agreements. Arabic and sundanese examples can be seen in person. Gender and number agreements. Good examples are from Javanese. Sasak and Ekagi for intensifiers. Plural markers on the noun have been shown in English. Sundanese. Indonesian and Ekagi each of them shows its own unique properties in the discussion of inflectional morphology across languages.
References
1. Hanafi, Nurachman. (1997.).A Typological Study of Sundanese.unpulished Ph.D
Dissertation. Bundoora: La Trobe University.
2. -------. 2001. A Description of Basic Clause Structure in Sundanese’. In Austin et al. (eds) Exploration in Valency in Austronesian Languages. La Trobe Paper in Linguistic.
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