GENERAL INTRODUCTION

PAGE

Extraprosodicity and Syllable Structure in Berber-AnOptimality-theoretic Analysis

Preface

This book is an attempt to acquaint unfamiliar students of linguistics with aspects of the phonology and morphology of a Hamito-Semitic language-namely Berber. It succinctly provides background information on how phonological and morphological factors determine syllable structure assignment. This maneuver is achieved through the adoption of the latest and Par Excellence theory of the 1990s and the 21st century: Optimality Theory.

The book focuses on a variety of Berber/Amazigh spoken in the Middle Atlas, Morocco. The work presented here is distinguished by the inclusion of a review of linear and nonlinear works on aspects of Berber phonology, specifically those dealing with extraprosodicity and schwa epenthesis. Also, the book offers new insights on how morphological make-up of words affects the assignment of syllable structure.

The reader may be surprised to find reference to languages other than Berber. One reason for doing so is to show that languages share some properties. Second, this proves that phonological phenomena (e.g. extraprosodicity and schwa epenthesis) are not specific to one language; rather, they are universal aspects of Language in general.

The book offers material that can be used in language classrooms where the object of study is Berber. It presents a review of phonological processes as well as a synopsis of aspects of nominal and verbal morphology thereof. In this respect, it can be very helpful to students who are interested in strengthening their knowledge of this language. Acknowledgement

Many are those who have drained their minds to make this work possible. In particular, I offer specific thanks to Nasser Berjaoui, Jilali Saib, John McCarthy, A. Gafos, Lisa Selkirk, Karim Ben Soukas and Abdelaziz Boudlal.

I am also grateful to Dr. Ulrich Lueders, editor of Lincom-Europa without whom this work would not be published.

DedicationThis book is dedicated to my parents and to my beloved wife Ibtissam.

Phonetic TranscriptionThe transcriptions used in this book conform to the Revised International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) except for the following symbols:

IPA

š ς ž ʒ ε ʕ e əEmphatic sounds are underlined.

The following symbols are also used:

σ: syllable

u: moraAbbreviationsA: Appendix

AN: Ayt Ndhir

AWTB: Ait Wirra Tamazight Berber

Cand.: Candidate

CS: Construct State

Det: Determiner

EVAL: EvaluationF: Fricative

Fem.: Feminine

FS: Free State

FNH: Full Nuclei Hypothesis

G: Glide

GEN: Generator

HV: High Vowel

ITB: Imdlawn Tashlhit Berber

MA: Moroccan Arabic

Masc.: Masculine

N: Nasal

NP: Noun Phrase

O: Obstruent

Obj.: Object

Pl.: Plural

PR: Phonetic Representation

PrWd: Prosodic Word

Sg : Singular

SSG: Sonority Sequencing Generalization

SH: Sonority Hypothesis

Subj: Subject

SHE: Schwa Epenthesis Hypothesis

Syll: Syllabification

UR: Underlying Representation

UG: Universal Grammar

V : Verb

Table of contents

2Preface

3Acknowledgement

4Dedication

5Phonetic transcription

6Abbreviations

10Introduction

101-The Objective of the Book

112- Data Collection

123- The Book's Design

14Chapter One: Preliminaries

14I .0 - Introduction

14I .1- The Phonological Description of AWTB

14I.1.1- The Tamazight Dialect of El Ksiba

15I .1.2- The Phoneme Inventory

15I.1.2.1- The Vocalic System

16I.1. 2. 2 -The Consonantal System

17I.1.3 – Some Phonological Processes

17I.1.3.1 - Spirantization

18I.1.3.2- Emphasis

19I.1.3.3- Gemination

21I.1.3.4- Affrication

24I .1.3.4- Contraction and Glides

29I.2 – The Morphological Description of AWTB

30I.2.1 – Nominal Morphology

30I.2.1.1 Subcategories of Nouns

32I.2.1.2 – Gender and Number inflections in Berber

32I.2.1.2.1- Gender

35I.2.1.2 .2– Number

38I.2.2 – Verbal Morphology

38I.2.2.1 – The Aspectual Stems

38I.2.2.1.1 – The Unmarked Stem

39I.2.2.1.2 – The Perfect Stem

41I.2.2. – Derived Verbs

41I.2.2.2.1 –The Causative

42I.2.2.2.2- The Reciprocal

42I.2.2.2.3- The Passive

43I.2.2.3 – Affixes20

43I.2.2.3.1 – Personal Pronouns

43I.2.2.3.1.1- Personal Subject Pronouns

44I.2.3.1.2 – Direct and Indirect Objects

45I.2.2.3.1.3 – The Orientation Index

45I.3- Optimality Theory

46I.3.1 – The Structure and Principles of OT

48I.3.2 - The Constraints

50I.3.3- The Ranking of Constraints

52I.4 – Conclusion

53Notes to Chapter I

57Chapter two: The Character of Extraprosodicity

57II- Introduction

57II.1- The Character of the Extraprosodicity Theory

57II.1.1 – Definition

58II.1.2 – Types of Extraprosodicity

58II.1.2.1- Extrametricality

60II.1.2.2- Floatingness and Extratonality

63II.1.2.3- Templatic Inertness

65II.1.2.4 – Negative Circumscription

67II.1.2.5 Extrasyllabicity

70II.1.2.6 – Conclusion

70II.2 – Extraprosodicity Implications

71II.2.1 – Phonology and Phonetics of Extraprosodicity

73II.2.2 - Extraprosodicity Implications in AWTB

76II.3 – The Representation of Extraprosodic Segments

83II.4- Conclusion

84Notes to Chapter II

86III.1 - The Syllable and Syllabification: Basic Concepts

90III.2- Tamazight Syllabic Phonology

91III.2.1 – Linear Analysis: Saib (1978)

91III.2.1.1- The Analysis

95II.2.1.2 – Application to AWTB

100III.3- The Non- Linear Approach

101III.3.1- Schwa Epenthesis Hypothesis (SEH)

101III.3.1.1- Bader (1985):The Analysis

105III. 3.1.1 .1- The feminine suffix

III-3.1.1.2- The direct object suffixes…………………………………………. . 105

106III-3.1.1.3- The personal subject prefixes

107III-3.1.1.4- Geminate clusters

109III.3.1.2- Application to AWTB

112III.3.2- The Sonority Hypothesis (SH)

113III.3.2.1 - Guerssel (1985)

113III.3.2.1.1 - The Analysis

117III3.2.1.2- Application to AWTB

120III.3.2.2- Dell and El Medlaoui (1985)

120III.2.2.1- The Analysis

122III.3.2.2.2 - Application to AWTB

124III.3.3- The Full Nuclei Hypothesis (FNH) (Idrissi 1992)

124III.3.3.1- The Analysis

127III.3.3.2- Application to AWTB

129III.3.4 Conclusion

130III.3.5 – The Prosodic Theory of Syllable Structure

130III.3.5.1- The Model

132III.3.5.2 -Application and Results

140III.4- Factors Affecting Schwa Epenthesis

143III.5- Conclusion

144Notes to Chapter III

147Chapter Four: AWTB Syllable Structure: An Optimality-Theoretic Approach

147IV.0 –Introduction

147IV.1- Syllable Structure Within Optimality Theory (SSOT)

148IV.1.1 – Markedness Constraints

149IV.1.2 – Faithfulness Constraints

151IV.1.3 - Associational Constraints

152IV .1.4 – Alignment Constraints

152IV.1.4.1 – Definition and Basic Concepts

154IV.1.4.2.1- Constraints on Prosodc Edges

155IV.1.4.2.2- Constraints on Morphologycal Edges

155IV.1.4.2.3- Constraints on the Phonology-Morphology Interplay

156IV.1.2- OT and ITB Syllable Structure

164IV.2- AWTB Syllable Structure within OT

164IV.2.1- Full Vowel-Headed Syllable Types

171IV.2.2 – Schwa-Headed Syllable Types

187IV.2.3- Extraprosodicity within OT

187IV.2.3.1- Appendixal Consonants

188IV.2.3.2- Extraprosodicity: A Constraint-based Analysis

193IV.2.2.4- The Quality of Epenthetic Segments

197IV.3- Conclusion

199Notes to Chapter IV

202General Conclusion

205Bibliography

Introduction1-The Objective of the Book

The present study investigates the concept of extraprosodicity and its relevance to Tamazight syllable structure. This notion has been hinted at in studies carried out within different frameworks: Prosodic Phonology (Itô 1986- 1989); Autosegmental Phonology (Goldsmith (1990)); Prosodic Morphology (McCarthy (1985-1989) and Optimality Theory (McCarthy and Prince (1993) Prince and Smolensky (1993)). However, this notion still needs to be explored further. The reason for this maneuver is twofold: a) to determine what extraprosodicity is and b) to exactly explain the principles that condition its use. Such limitations make of extraprosodicity a principal research objective especially that it makes the formulation of rules having to do with Tamazight syllable structure an easy enterprise.

This book is thus concerned with the applicability of the notion of extraprosodicity in analyzing aspects of syllable structure of a variety of Tamazight spoken in El Ksiba–Ait Wirra Tamazight Berber (henceforth AWTB). Extraprosodicity simply means that syllable-building rules are blind to incorporating certain edge constituents into the structures they build. In the case of syllable structure, the extraprosodicity model uses the notion of extrasyllabicity.

Three reasons stand behind the exploration of Extraprosodicity. First, this concept has received little attention from Berberists. The works that have dealt with cases involving extraprosodicity and its relevance to Tamazight syllable structure are Bader (1985), Adnour (1994) and Faizi (2002). Second, the treatments propounded in these studies have failed to come up with an account that is explanatorily adequate, since extraprosodicity is considered a tool to account only for irregular cases where schwa epenthesis is blocked. Third, the analyses undertaken in these works consider extraprosodicity a language-specific mechanism. Thus, they fail to recognize it as the result of the interaction of more general constraints pertaining to Universal Grammar.

In this work, beside relying on the assumptions of Standard Non-linear Generative Phonology, we basically assume the conception of grammar as proposed within Optimality Theory (henceforth OT). It is within the general framework of OT (McCarthy and Prince (op.cit.) and Prince and Smolensky (op.cit.)) and later development– namely Correspondence Theory - that we attempt an analysis of some aspects of AWTB word morphophonology that motivate the use of extraprosodicity.

In fact, the basic principles of OT will be applied to explain the interaction between prosodic phenomena such as syllabification and epenthesis and affixation, a morphological process. To explain, some prosodic words’ final syllables end in a sequence of three consonants, a structure not permitted word–internally. Monoconsonantal coronal nominal affixes and verbal clitics create these sequences. The second chunk of the feminine morpheme / t -----t/ , the third masculine / feminine object clitics / t / and /tt/, the second part of the 2nd person pronoun / t-----d/ and the orientation index /d / give rise to clusters of three consonants when attached to nominal and verbal stems, respectively.

Finally, an adequate analysis of extraprosodicity will not be achieved without delimiting the grammatical domain on which this concept operates. In the present study, this domain is the prosodic word. This we consider to be a roughly word-sized unit of phonological representation. This unit serves to define such phonologically relevant notions as word-initial, -internal and -final positions. It also serves as the domain within which prominence relations are defined. That is, it allows the characterization of minimal word stress (cf. Harris (1983); Selkirk (1982-1984)). In AWTB, the prosodic word is defined as the domain on which syllabification and prominence relations (i.e. stress) can be characterized. In short, in the case of nouns the prosodic word is a formative with or without its number, gender and state markers. In the case of verbs, the prosodic word is a formative with or without clitics.

2- Data Collection

A rigorous study of the extraprosodicity phenomenon rests on the collection of a credible corpus and the elaboration of a methodology aiming at providing bonafide data.

The first step of data collection consisted in collecting all the feminine forms and the verb-clitic combinations we know of, being quasi-native speaker of AWTB. Desirous of collecting as many forms as possible, we consulted Oussikoum’s “Tamazight-French Dictionary. The Dialect of Ait Wirra-Middle Atlas (Morocco) (Translation mine). Through this second step of the process of data collection we had access to a large body of data, meaning and phonetic transcriptions included. This dictionary supplies feminine forms with three consonants word-finally. Oussikoum’s transcriptions have a schwa between the feminine suffix and the preceding consonantal cluster. Being suspicious of the transcriptions provided by this author, we presented native speakers of AWTB with a list of the feminine forms as well as verb-clitic constructions. The native speakers, with different ages and sex and born and grown up in El Ksiba, were asked to pronounce the words in question with a slow (normal or careful) rate of speech. The recorded forms have no schwa inserted between the feminine suffix or clitic and the preceding consonantal clusters. This was the third step of the process of data collection.

The methodology pursued in this study has at least three advantages: First, to get a recorded data of a high-enough quality while at the same time tapping the speakers’ most natural (careful) speech; second, to verify the existence or the absence of schwa in the forms that contain sequences of three consonants word-finally, and third, to limit any pronunciation variation that could arise as the result of interference from Moroccan Arabic or the surrounding dialects.

In short, the choice of this particular socio-linguistic milieu has the advantage of restricting the field of research, hence reaching a certain degree of homogeneity.

3- The Book's Design

The remainder of this book is organized as follows. Chapter I is devoted to the presentation and description of the phonological and morphological systems of the focal dialect. First, we present a geographical as well as a linguistic description of AWTB. Second, we focus on the segmental inventory, on the phonological processes as well as on the morphological description of nouns, verbs and affixes. This review of the phonological and the morphological systems aims at paving the path for the analysis of AWTB syllable structure to be covered in subsequent chapters. Finally, we provide the reader with aspects of OT, the theoretical framework in which this study is couched.

Chapter II provides a characterization of the standard non-linear conception of extraprosodicity. It divides to three main sections. The first one defines the character of extraprosodicity model. To achieve this goal, we proceed to defining this concept, delimiting its types and assessing each one against the other to work out their similarities and differences. The second section deals with the phonetics and phonology of extraprosodicity. The goal of this section is to show that this notion is phonetically well-motivated and phonologically well-founded. Evidence from morphophonological aspects of AWTB is presented to substantiate the extraprosodicity hypothesis. The third section deals with the representation of extraprosodic material. Different proposals are sketched and assessed against each other. In doing so, we seek to acquaint the unfamiliar reader with the issues extraprosodicity has raised.

The third chapter investigates issues relevant to Tamazight syllabic phonology-namely syllabification algorithms, schwa epenthesis and extraprosodicity. First, we provide the reader with a summary of the concepts syllable and syllabification within the non-linear generative paradigm. Syllabification is either rule-based or template-based. In the second section, we deal with the major works dealing with Berber syllable structure. Three rule-based hypotheses are presented and assessed against AWTB data –viz.,: The schwa Epenthesis Hypothesis (SEH); the Sonority Hypothesis (SH) and the Full Nuclei Hypothesis (FNH). After pointing out the inadequacies of these treatments, we present an alternative analysis couched within Itô’s Prosodic Phonological Model. It will be shown that the superiority of the last analysis lies in its use of templatic syllabification and extraprosodicity. The last section of this chapter is devoted to factors affecting schwa epenthesis. There we provide a synopsis of the factors that motivate the appearance or absence of schwa.

The fourth chapter is devoted to the analysis of AWTB syllable structure in terms of Optimality Theory. In doing so, we will try to attain two objectives. First, we consider the facts of the focal dialect from a different theoretical and conceptual angle. Second, the phenomenon of extrasyllabicity is better analyzed given the superiority of the analytic arsenal made available by OT. This chapter divides into three sections. In the first one, we provide the reader with the basic OT conception of syllable structure. In fact, we provide a categorization of constraints bearing on syllable structure- namely: a) Markedness constraints, b) Faithfulness constraints; c) Associational constraints and d) Alignment constraints. Included in this section is an OT analysis of Imdlawn Tashlhit Berber (Dell & El Medlaoui 1989). This will serve as a model and a precedent with which to compare the analysis of AWTB syllable structure, the object of the second section. The third and last section raises some issues relevant to the quality of epenthetic segments. There we show that markedness constraints are enough to explain epenthetic quality.

In the general conclusion, we discuss the main findings and achievements of our analysis. We also point out some aspects of AWTB, which our analysis has left out and which will be left for further research.

Chapter One: Preliminaries

I .0 – Introduction

The objective of this chapter is two-fold. First we provide the unfamiliar reader with a description of the phonological and morphological systems of the focal dialect AWTB. Second, we introduce the reader to Optimality Theory (OT), the framework within which our study is couched.

This chapter is subdivided into two major sections. The first one is divided into three subsections. First, we present a sociolinguistic description of AWTB. Then we provide a sketch of the particular aspects of the segmental inventory and some phonological processes we deem relevant to extraprosodicity. Finally, we supply a morphological description of nouns, verbs and affixes. The second section presents the OT framework. This procedure will help the reader grasp the character of OT, a constraint-based approach.

I .1- The Phonological Description of AWTB

I.1.1- The Tamazight Dialect of El Ksiba

The aim of this subsection is to present a geographical and primarily a linguistic delimitation of AWTB. This dialect is spoken in and around El Ksiba, a small town fifty kilometers away at the north of Beni-Mellal. If we take into consideration the sociolinguistic classification provided by Boukous (1972 , pp-11), AWTB will be arranged within the Northern Berber subgroup characterised by the existence of spirants, dentals and affricates in its consonantal system (cf. Oussikoum 1990-1995) 1.

It should be pointed out that the variety of AWTB dealt with in this book is the one spoken in El Ksiba and referred to by the common people as ‘Tamazight El Qsebt’ (i.e. the Tamazight of El Ksiba). AWTB is situated on the borderline between two Berber dialect clusters- viz.,: The Northern and the Southern. Therefore, AWTB is expected to manifest traits of both groups. In fact, as far as the consonantal system is concerned, the focal dialect, like dialects of the south, lacks affricates 2 ; and like dialects of the north, it has spirants and dentals. Still, we consider AWTB a northern dialect because it realizes schwa in its phonetic representations.

In comparison to the other subvarieties spoken in the neighboring areas (e.g. Aflla Nifran, Imhiwash, Sarif, etc.), AWTB emerges as the central system. Indeed, affricates, the distinguishing phonetic feature between AWTB and the surrounding subdialects, can be derived via the affrication of geminates. Examples are supplied for illustration:

(1) AWTB

Other surrounding subdialects

[asekka]

‘tomorrow’

[as e tša]

[e ggeεδ] ‘climb’

[edžeεδ]

Moreover, AWTB is seen as being the‘legitimate norm’ (cf. Boukous (1985, p86). Indeed, the neighboring subvarieties are considered by AWTB speakers to be rural. Affrication is considered a pertinent sociolinguistic feature that helps localize the place of origin of its users. Affrication is then a socially-relevant linguistic idiosyncrasy (Boukous (ibid); Labov (1972)).

Being the main commercial center in the area of Ait Wirra, El Ksiba has attracted people from Arabic-speaking areas. Characteristic of all contact situations, mutual borrowing between Moroccan Arabic (henceforth MA) and AWTB has resulted in the enrichment of the vocabulary as well as the consonantal system of the variety under study. The loanwords from Arabic have undergone changes in accordance with the morphophonological rules of AWTB. Consider the following examples:

(2) MA

AWTB

[nežžar]‘carpenter’

[anežžar]

[serwal] ‘trousers’ [asrawel]

The Arabic loanwords in (2) start with the vowel [a], a characteristic landmark of Tamazight masculine nouns.

Like all Berber dialects, AWTB consonantal system has borrowed MA emphatic consonants-namely /ss/ / l / and / ll / . Likewise, recent loanwords contain stops that escape spirantization (e.g. [elkas] ‘cup’; [elkar] ‘bus’)3.

To sum up, the Tamazight dialect of El Ksiba is an amalgamated variety characterized by numerous borrowings from MA . Nonetheless, we conceive of it as being a homogeneous entity.

I .1.2- The Phoneme Inventory

Being a member of the Hamito-Semitic cluster, Berber has a poor vocalic system and a rich consonantal one (See Cohen (1988); Louali (1999)). In the following subsection, we try to uncover the peculiarities of AWTB segmental inventory.

I.1.2.1- The Vocalic System

As indicated above, Tamazight vocalic system is one of the simplest. In fact, like all Berber dialects, AWTB comprises three full vowels – viz., a, i and u. These vowels have phonetic variants attested exclusively in the vicinity of emphatic consonants. The [+constricted pharynx] feature is not to be included in the underlying representation of vowels, for the rule to derive the emphatic counterparts is simple and possible. To explain, /a/ becomes more back [æ] 4 while /i/ and /u/ become more open [ε] and [כ] respectively. Illustrative examples are given below. (Underlining indicates emphasis).

(3)

[a tt æ n]

‘meningitis’

[i γ ε r]

‘shoulder ‘

[aδ כ]

‘smell’

It should be pointed out that no length contrasts are witnessed except in relation to stress or intonation. In heavy stressed syllables, these full vowels would be perceived as being longer than those occurring in unstressed syllables. Thus, stress may determine what can be called ‘expressive vowel length’.

Like all Northern Tamazight dialects5, a fourth vowel, schwa is frequently attested in the pronunciations of native speakers. This schwa vowel (transcribed throughout this thesis as [e]), has been the subject of controversy between Berberists from different trends: Traditionalists (Renisio (1932) – Basset (1946-1952); Functionalists (Chaker (1983) - Chami (1979); Generativists (Saib (1976- 1978-1993); Boukous (1987); Dell and El Medlaoui (1985-1988) (see Idrissi for a review of all the approaches). Issues concerning the controversial status of this reduced vowel will be discussed in chapter III.

To sum up, we have seen that the vocalic system of AWTB is similar to that of many Berber dialects. It comprises three full vowels and a reduced one, schwa. It will be shown in subsequent chapters that this distinction is relevant to our discussion of syllabification.

I.1. 2. 2 -The Consonantal System

Tamazight has a rich consonantal system. The consonantal chart of AWTB is given below (cf. Oussikoum, op. cit.):

(4) Labial: b, f, m, w

Coronal: t, t, d, d, s, s, z, z, n, l, l, r, r, š, š, ž, ž, y

Dorsal: k, kw, x,xw ,g,gw

Uvular: q,qw , γ, γw, γ

Pharyngeal: ћ, ћ, ε

Glottal: h

N.B: A line below a consonant indicates emphasis.

Unlike the vocalic system, the AWTB consonantal inventory is richer. Only stops are posited as underlying. The reason for this is that the spirant counterparts can be derived by rule. This is supported by the claim that native speakers can make generalizations about the grammar of their language. As for the loanwords that resist spirantization, these can be marked as [- spirantization rule].

This would give the impression that the grammar would look more complex as exceptions are marked by a diacritic feature. However, taking stops as underlying and spirants as derived simplifies the statement of many rules of the grammar (Cf. The discussion on geminates. See also endnote (8)).

Moreover, the inventory in (4) includes sounds that are not native to AWTB –viz.,: h, ss and l. These have been introduced into AWTB through borrowings from MA. (e.g. [essehδ]‘ heat’; [ullah] ‘I swear in the name of Allah’). However, as these sounds occur in a substantial vocabulary, native speakers are unable to draw a distinction between native and non-native phonemes. Thus we would consider them as making part of AWTB consonantal system. Finally, it should be mentioned that all the consonants have a geminate counterpart except the laryngeal /h/.

I.1.3 – Some Phonological Processes

There are various phonological processes that are at play in AWTB. Our discussion will be limited to spirantization, emphasis, gemination, affrication and contraction. In discussing these processes, reference will be made to their relevance to extraprosodicity and syllable structure.

I.1.3.1 - Spirantization

One of the basic processes operating on the featural composition of consonants in Tamazight is spirantization. In fact, in AWTB, single stops become fricatives except /q/. Stops may not spirantize when they are part of a geminate or when followed by a coronal. Consider the following data:

(5)a) UR PR

/baba/

[BaBa] ‘daddy’

/t-ddid/

[θeddiδ] ‘you went’

/aksum/

[açsum] ‘meat’

/agru/

[ajru]

‘frog’

b) /aqmu/

[aqmu] ‘mouth’

/aqllal/

[aqellal] ‘jar’

c)/tamttutt/

[θamettutt] ‘woman’

d) Free State

Construct State

θiširritt

[win tširritt] ‘the little girl's’

The examples in (5a) hammer back the claim that single underlying stops become fricatives. (5b) illustrates the case of /q/ which resists spirantization. (5c) shows that a geminate protects a single stop from becoming a fricative. The same argument holds true for (5d) where a consonant remains a stop when followed by a coronal.

Saib (1978) mentions an interesting case, that of strengthening .By strengthening is meant the change in casual speech of non-strident alveolar fricatives into their corresponding stops after strident alveolar fricatives. This process is the mirror image of spirantization.

He further argues that this change takes place when the sequences

/sθ/ and /zδ/ (or s θ, z δ) are tautosyllabic. This change is blocked when the two constituents of the sequence are heterosyllabic. Illustrative examples from Ait Ndhir Tamazight dialect (AN) are supplied below with their corresponding phonetic counterparts from AWTB. (Dots indicate syllable breaks).

(6) AN 6

AWTB

/ θafusθ/ [.θa.fust.] /tafust/ [.θa.fus.θ]

/θazδuzθ/ [.θaz.δust] /tazduzt/ [.θaz.δus.θ]

Given the example above, [θ], the second chunk of the feminine morpheme undergoes strengthening in AN. In AWTB, the coronal stop surfaces as [θ]. This simply means that the feminine suffix is not part of the preceding syllable. This is a strong argument for the extraprosodic status of the feminine morpheme. The same holds true for the object pronoun /t/. This is illustrated in (7) below:

(7)a)/amz + t/

[. ams.θ]

‘hold him’

b)/srs + t/

[. sers. θ]

'put it down'

In the examples above the masculine object pronoun undergoes first spirantization and incites the preceding voiced fricative to become voiceless through voicing assimilation. That this clitic surfaces as a voiceless fricative and not a stop argues for its extraprosodic status.

It should be noted that the opposition spirant / non-spirant is not phonologically relevant. Spirantisation is largely predictable. According to Idrissi (1992), Elkirat (1987) and Bouhlal (1994)7, it is a postlexical rule.

The spirant counterparts of the non-geminate stops are not included in the inventory in (4) because doing so would give the impression that native speakers have no way to make generalizations about what is predictable in their language. Following Kiparsky (1973), the spirantization rule given bellow is a case of ‘Absolute Neutralisation’.8

(8)Spirantization rule:

[- Cont]

[+cont] /

[-Long]

Worth mentioning is the fact that spirantization is no longer a productive process in the dialects of the north (Saib, Personal communication). This observation holds true for AWTB. Loanwords from MA containing single stops do not undergo spirantization (e.g. [elkas] ‘cup; [elkar] ’bus’). In the next subsection we move to discussing the process of emphasis.

I.1.3.2- Emphasis

AWTB makes use of emphasis 9. This process can be defined as”the drawing of the mass of the tongue towards the pharynx at the same time as the basic articulation is made.” (Cf. Catford (1977); Crystal (1985)). In the focal dialect, emphasis has a phonological function. The corpus provides quasi-minimal pairs that oppose emphatic segments to their corresponding non-emphatic ones. Consider the examples in (9) below:

(9)

z/z

izi / izi

‘fly/ gall bladder’

r/r

rrif /rruf

‘side / dung’

d/d

id/id

‘with / night’

t/t

iwett / iwett

‘he hit her / him’

In AWTB, emphasis may spread to affect all tautosyllabic segments as in / dr/ [δ e r] (go down). It may spread to adjacent syllables bidirectionally. It spreads to the preceding syllable if it is open as in /adar/ [a δ a r] (foot) and to the following syllable if the syllable hosting one of the independent emphatic consonants is open as in / durat/ [δ u r aθ] (you masc.plur.turn).

It should be mentioned here that emphasis may also spread to the whole word as in /t a m tt u tt/ [θ a m tt u tt] (woman) and /ss u t d +t/ [e ss u tt e tt] (breastfeed him).

According to Boukous (1989), the domain of emphasis spreading is the prosodic word. However, anticipating discussion of extraprosodic affixes in chapter II, emphasis spreading has as a domain the nested or reiterative prosodic word since the extraprosodic segment gets attached to an already prosodic word. This is schematized below. (Lex. stands for lexical category and PrWd for a prosodic word).

(10)

PrWd

PrWd

[a δ a r]

Prwd affix

[[θ a δ a r] θ]

Before closing this subsection, it should be pointed out that the inventory in (4) above hosts non-native emphatic consonants. This is so because these segments appear in words that play an important role in the AWTB vocabulary (Cf. Saib (1981- pp 421,423); Oussikoum (op.cit)). Furthermore, native speakers are unable to distinguish native words from borrowed ones.

I.1.3.3- Gemination

Like all Berber dialects, AWTB allows a contrast between simple and geminate consonants. In phonetic terms, geminate consonants are longer than their simplex counterparts. The literature on the phonetic and phonological traits of geminates is rich. (Cf. Steriade and Shein (1986); Hayes (1986); Hayman (1985-1974); Dell and Tanji (1992-1993); Goldsmith (1990); Younes (1983); Selkirk (1992); Dell and El Medlaoui (1988-1997); Lahiri and Hankamer (1988), etc.).

A general distinction is drawn between two types of geminates:

a) Lexical (also called tautomorphemic) and b) derived (also labeled heteromorphemic). Included in the first class are geminates supplied by the lexicon. Illustrative examples are given in (11):

((()

aseqqif

‘arch’

awettuf

‘ant’

iћћuyd

‘mad’

The second type of geminates is the result of either morphological processes or assimilatory rules. The Par Excellence examples of geminates derived by a morphological process are the plural formation and the intensive/ habitual stem formations in Berber. Consider the following examples:

(12)a)Singular

Plural

/afus/

/ifassn/ ‘hands’

/afud/

/ifaddn/ ‘knees’

b)UR form

Intensive form

/ns/

/nssa/ ‘spend the night’

/sfd/

/s fdd/ ‘to sweep’

The examples in (12) show that the consonants do have a geminate counterpart when one of the above-mentioned derivational processes is evoked. Still, it should be mentioned that AWTB provides other instances of segments that enter in a tenseness relation with geminate stops. In particular, these include voiced emphatic fricatives and a series of non-strident spirants 10. See below:

(13) a)UR form

Intensive form

/šdu/

/šttu/ ‘to smell’

/bdu/

/bttu/ ‘to divide’

b) /gn/

/ggan/ ‘to sleep’

/š/

/kka/ ‘to give’

/gr/

/ggar/ ‘to throw’

/mgr/

/mggr/ ‘to harvest’

The data in (13a) involving simple pharyngealized stops are subject to a devoicing rule when geminated –Viz.,: d tt.

On the other hand, (13b) includes cases where non-strident spirants enter in a tenseness correlation with geminated stops since non-strident spirantization is incompatible with gemination. In other words, and following Idrissi (op-cit), if we take the habitual form to be underlying, the [j] and [š] would be derived via a spirantization rule since in all Northern Berber dialects single stops are spirantized when they are not part of a geminate.

The second type of derived geminates arises from assimilatory processes. This happens when consonantal affixes are appended to roots/ stems ending in or beginning with consonants with the same place of articulation. This process is illustrated by the following examples:

(14)a) /n + lalla/ [llalla] ‘of my eldest sister’

/ad + t + ddu +d/ [atteddu δ] ‘you will go’

b) /t + i γ ž d + t/ [θ i γežtt] ‘she-goat’

/t + a d a d-t/ [θ a δ a tt] ‘small finger’

As the above data show, a geminate is created when two consonants with the same place of articulation are contiguous to each other, the voicing differences are leveled via assimilation.

To sum up, in spite of the fact that geminates in AWTB stem from different origins, there is no phonetic distinction between them. Following instrumental experiments conducted by Lahiri and Hankamer (ibid) on Bengali and Turkish, tautomorphemic and heteromorphemic geminates are acoustically the same.

In this book, an understanding of the origin and especially the behavior of geminates is essential. Because geminates are considered a sequence of consonants, this sequence conditions schwa epenthesis. In fact, geminates can not be split up by phonological epenthesis. This characteristic is known in the literature as “the Integrity property”. (Cf. Frajzyngier (1980); Guerssel (1978); Goldsmith (op-cit.); Bender (1968), etc.).

I.1.3.4- Affrication

An affricate can be defined as a sequence of stop + fricative realizing one single phoneme. In AWTB, these sequences exist but they are best described as two rather than one phoneme. They are the result of assimilation and dissimilation rules. In fact, following Oussikoum (op.cit.) we draw a distinction between two types of [tš] and two types of [d ž]:11

(15)

a)[tš1]

vs

[tš2]

itša di

itša di

‘he ate here’

‘he passed by’

b)[dž1]

vs [dž2]

adžamudin

adžamudin

‘Let the patient’

‘visit the patient’

Oussikoum claims that [tš2] and [dž2] do not have the same phonetic characteristics of [tš1] and [dž1] respectively. The former are described as a sequence of stop + fricative sharing the same place of articulation. Occlusion is the result of moving the tongue blade toward the central part of the palate. The latter constitutes a sequence of a stop followed by a fricative, but are different from the first (that is [tš2] and [dž2]) by the following characteristics:

(16)

(i) The two chunks of the sequence do not have the same place of articulation.

(ii) Occlusion is set up at the front part of the mouth.

[tš1] and [dž1] can therefore be considered as a sequence of two sounds- viz.,: [θ+ š] and [δ + ž]. Illustrative examples are given below:

(17)a) [θ + š]

Free State (FS) Construct State (CS) Dissimilation

[θ i š i rriθ]

[θ +š i rriθ ] [win t š i rriθ]

‘little girl’

‘the little girl’s’

[δ + š]

[awiδ # ša] Assimilation [awitša]

‘bring something’

b) [θ + ž]

FS

CS

Assimilation

[θ i ž i rritt]

[θ +žirritt] [džirritt]

‘water fall’

[δ + ž]

[a δ + ž i rrin # waman] [ad žirrin waman]

‘water will run’

In (17a) [tš1] is derived through a dissimilation rule whereby a [+continuant] consonant becomes [-continuant] or through an assimilation rule whereby a [+ voiced] stop is devoiced before a voiceless coronal [š] with which it shares the same feature for place. In (17 b), [dž1] is derived through assimilating the voicing features of [θ] to [ž] or simply through dissimilation where [δ], a non-strident aveolar fricative changes into its corresponding stop.

Understanding the nature of the sequences described above is important to syllabication in AWTB. These sequences contain two consonants each. Consider the syllabification of [δ]:

(18)

σ

σ

N C

O N

V C

C V

i t

š a

(Where σ stands for syllable, O for onset, N for nucleus and C for coda. The C and V stand for consonantal and vocalic slots on the skeletal tier).

In (18) above, the sounds forming the sequence [tš] are parsed into two syllables: [t] is syllabified in the coda of the first syllable and [š] into the onset of the second syllable.

As for [tš2] and [dž2], readers would remember that they are realized in AWTB as geminates (Cf. endnote 11). As is well-documented in the literature on geminates, the two chunks correspond to two positions on the skeletal tier:

(19) C C

K

This means that the realization of geminates in the peripheral dialects (i.e. [tš2] and [dž2]) should be linked to two slots on the skeletal tier. Moreover, when sequences such as C1 C1 C or C C1 C1 arise, schwa is inserted either after the geminate or before it (e.g: [eggez] ‘come down’ [zemm] ‘press down’). Again, the two parts of the geminate are parsed into different syllables. The examples given above are syllabified as follows:

(20) a) σ σ b) σ

N C O N C

O N C

V C C V C C V C C

e g e z

z e m

The geminates in (20 a) occur word-internally. As such the two chunks are syllabified into different syllables. The first chunk is realized as the coda of the first syllable and the second as the onset of the following syllable. In (20b), however, the geminate is parsed in the coda of the only syllable because it occurs word-finally. It does associate to two positions on the CV tier in accordance with the AWTB syllable template, CVCC.

With hindsight, the words in (21) below correspond to the following schemes:

(21) a) [ i t š1a] ‘he ate’ b)[i t š2 a] ‘he passed’

VCCV

VCCV

c) [θ i d ž1i w r a]‘neighborhood’ d)[ed ž e ε δ] ‘he climbed’

CVCCVCCV

VCCVCC

To sum up, in this subsection we tried to explain the problem posed by the sequences [tš] and [dž]. These, we argued, should not be considered as affricates. Rather, they should be considered as a sequence of two consonants. If this were not the case, we would not expect a schwa to be inserted before [d] in (21) above, given that schwa can not occur in an open syllable (Saib, personal communication). In the following subsection we move to pinning down the process of contraction.

I .1.3.4- Contraction and Glides

In the literature on glides, different proposals have been made to account for the phonological status of these sounds. Some authors claim that glides and high vowels are simply phonetic reflexes of the same phonological set and that no distinction exists at the underlying level between the syllabic and the non-syllabic elements. Others treated glides as basic underlying segments, distinct from the other sounds of the inventory of the language.

The first position is held by Destaing (1920), Mercier (1937) and Applegate (1971). This hypothesis is supported by the observation that glides and high vowels occur in mutually exclusive environments. On this view, [y] and [w] are contextual variants of [i] and [u] respectively. The first two segments appear in a vocalic context. This state of affairs can be illustrated by the behavior of certain grammatical morphemes-viz.,:

(22)

a)[ i-rr a]

‘he won, perfective’

b)[ y- aru]

‘he wrote, perfective’

(23)

a)[γurrun]

‘in your house’

[šixawn]

‘I gave you’

Oussikoum (op.cit) claims that in 22a), the person index with the syntactic features [[+3 person] [+sing] [+max]] takes the form [i] because the verbal stem to which it is prefixed (i.e. [rra]) starts with a consonant. In (22b) this same morpheme is realized as [y] because the verbal stem [aru] is vowel-initial.

The same observation holds true for the items in (23). In (23a), the possessive suffix with the syntactic features [[+2nd person] [+plur.] [+masc.] ] appears as [un] because the morpheme to which it is suffixed is consonant-final whereas in (23b), the personal object pronoun is realized as [wn] because the stem to which it is adjoined ends in vowel.

It is true that though the above hypothesis is applicable to a certain set of AWTB forms, it can not explain the following: 12

(24)

[aru]

vs

[arw]

‘write’

‘give birth to’

[illi]

vs

[illy]

‘my daughter’

‘catapult’

[iššu]

vs

[iššw]

‘a person’s name’

‘fork’

The examples above show that in final position, the substitution of a vowel by the corresponding glide implies a difference in meaning. Therefore, [w] and [u], [i] and [y] are distinct phonemes since they create lexical oppositions (see Trubetskoy (1969) on the contrastive nature of phonemes).

The second proposal claims that at the phonemic level no distinction exists between high vowels and their corresponding glides. This hypothesis is held by Kayé and Lowenstamm (1984) (henceforth K and L); Dell and Elmedlaoui (1985-1988) (henceforth D and E) 13. These linguists argue that this uniformity should be represented formally, depending on the position peak vs non-peak they occupy in the syllable. On this account, an x dominated by a nucleus is interpreted as a vowel, while one dominated by any other subsyllabic node is a glide. The following rules, taken from K and L (ibid), show the different realizations of high vowels and their corresponding glides:

(25)

a) /I/

[i] N

b) /I/

[y] M

(26)

a) /U/ [u] N

b) /U/ [w] M

N.B: N and M = Nucleus and Margin respectively.

This functionalist hypothesis can be applied to some AWTB forms. Consider the following examples taken from Oussikoum (1990, p 35):

(27)

[ira]

‘he wanted’

[ahayra]

‘and he wanted’

(28)

[uzaγar]

‘proper name’

[awzaγar]

‘hey, Uzaghar’

The syllable template of AWTB, CVCC, admits no branching onsets. The phonetic realizations in (27) and (28) have the following corresponding phonological representations:

(29)

a)

/I +ra/

b) /aha + I + ra/

(30)

a)

/U + zaγar/

b)

/a + U + zaγar/

Given the template above and the restriction against branching onsets, the forms in (29) and (30) can be syllabified as follows:

(31)

a) I r a

b) a h a I r a

N O N

N O N CO N

c) U z a γ a r d) a U z a γ a r

N O N O N C N C ON O N C

In (31a) and (31c), the segments /I/ and /U/ are in the peak positions. As such they are realized as [i] and [u] respectively. In contrast, in (31b) and (31d), these segments appear as [y] and [w] because they are in the coda position.

This hypothesis has so many exceptions in AWTB. In fact, the sequences [wi] vs [uy], [iw] vs [yu], [wy] vs [wi]… pose problems for the above hypothesis. If the high vowels and their corresponding glides were underlyingly represented as one segment, it would be impossible to predict whether the order is glide + vowel or vowel + glide. Consider the following examples:

(32)a)[swin]

vs

[suyn]

‘that they drink ‘

‘they dipped something in’

b)[ariwn] vs [aryun]

‘forearms’

‘adder’

c)[iswi]

vs

[isuy]

‘Plate’

‘he dipped something in’

If we adhere to the above hypothesis, the forms in (33) will have the following underlying representations- viz.,:

(33)a)/sUIn/

b)/arIUn/c)/IsUI/

The second proposal presupposes that each segment should be linked to a subsyllabic position (peak/ non-peak) in the underlying form. It also stipulates that the directionality of parsing should be either from Right to Left (R to L) or Left to Right (L to R). To be brief, we supply just the syllabification of the form (33 c).

(34) R to L

L to R

I s U I

I s U I

NCON

NONC

[iswi]

[isuy]

Given the R to L or L to R directionality of parsing, 14 the second hypothesis allows the derivation of one member of the opposition only (i.e. [iswi] or [isuy]). What is more, following Basset (1952), Bynon (1974) and Guerssel (1983), when a form ending in a vowel occurs in a phrase before another vowel-initial one, a glide is automatically inserted to break the vocalic hiatus as (35) below shows:

(35)

/ InI +I/ [iniyi]

‘tell + me’

/rbu # udi/ [erbuyuδi]

‘bring the butter’

These representations are the inputs of an epenthesis rule, which inserts an unrounded glide between two adjacent peaks. The second hypothesis can not give a logical explanation of the [y] insertion.

To sum up, theories of syllable structure not recognizing an underlying distinction between glides and high vowels reach a similar conclusion as the first hypothesis which attributes the distinction to some inherent property of each segment type.

Within the same context, Bensoukas (2001) discusses the distinction between glides and high vowels in relation to the derivation of Tashlhit morphological categories. He argues that a distinction between glides and high vowels should be maintained underlyingly, so that verb roots are of two classes: consonant-final and vowel-final. Some examples of the first class include: /arw/ ‘give birth’ and /asy/ ‘take’. Roots like /gw nu / ‘sew’ and /rufu/ belong to the second class. He further maintains that dialectal differences characterizing the first class (e.g. [aru] vs [arw] from underlying /arw/ ) are to be interpreted as a preference of some dialects to vocalize the consonantal glide in a nucleus .We accept this analysis and we will develop it further.

With hindsight the most natural solution to the problem of the status of glides is the following. The semi-vowels [y] and [w] and the vowels [i] and [u] are present at the morphophonological level. Still, the distinction between [y] and [i], [w] and [u], though phonologically relevant, can be neutralized in certain contexts. Consider the data in (36) below:

(36)a)/ I # u + tt + ma/ [i w e tt m a] ‘to my sister’

b) / y + ufa/ [ yufa] ‘he found'

c) /a wy/ [awy] or [awi] ‘take’

d) /awy + d/ [awiδ] ‘bring something here’

From the above examples, Oussikoum (ibid.) argues that the opposition between semi-vowels and their corresponding high vowels is neutralized in the following contexts:

(37)

(i) in a vocalic context in favor of the glide

(ii) between two consonants in favor of the vowel

The alternative possible account we adopt in this study is that a phonological distinction exists between high vowels and glides and that forms are specified as containing either one or the other. At the phonetic level, some glides vocalize. This vocalization is not due to their occurrence in a peak position (see Bensoukas (op.cit)), but to the operation of the process of contraction. (Cf. Idrissi (1992); (Schein and Steriade (1986)). In fact, AWTB provides instances in which the sequence schwa + glide or glide + schwa changes into the corresponding high vowel.

Contraction may be defined as the merging of the feature specifications of two matrices into one by reassociating the features of /w/ or /y/ to the node of /e/. Below are given some examples from AWTB15:

(38)

a) [ey] contracts to [ i ]

bbey > bbi

‘to cut’

[ye] contracts to [i]

yerwel 16 > irwel ‘he ran away’

b) [we] contracts to [u]

rwel > rul ‘to run away’

[ew] contracts to [u]

ettewd > ettud ‘you were beaten’

According to Idrissi (ibid.. p 12), the forms on the left-hand column in (38) are the basic ones. However, it is important to note that contraction is an optional rule in AWTB. The basic forms and the contracted ones may coexist. AWTB, for example, includes [rwel] and [rul]. Perhaps the basic forms are even more common than the contracted ones. It is for this reason that we consider contraction to be a postlexical process.

Following Schein and Steriade (1986), Idrissi (ibid. p 73) provides the following formulation of the contraction rule with its two types. The rules are context-free:

(39) a) contraction rule ( ey > i )

[-low][+ back]

[+ high] [-back]

dor 1

dor 2

pl1

pl2

r1 [-cons]

r2 [+cons]

r2 is deleted, where r : root, pl : place, dor : dorsal

(ye >i)

[+ high] [- back]

[-low] [+ back]

dor1

dor2

pl1

pl2

r1 [+ cons]

r2 [- cons]

r1 is deleted

b) (ew > u)

[- low] [+ back] [+ high]

dor 1

lab dor2

Pl1

pl2

r1 [-cons]

r2[+ cons]

r2 is deleted. Lab : labial

c) (we > u)

[+ high]

[- low] [+ back]

dor 1

dor2

pl1

pl2

r1 [-cons]

r2 [- cons]

r1 is deleted

It should be pointed out that the phonetic representations in (39-a -.b-c) represent one single segment. Idrissi (op.cit) argues, following Schein and Steriade (ibid.) that linear precedence can only be defined between root nodes (r) or between skeletal slots (Cs, Vs or Xs), but never between class nodes like dor, and lab, etc. From this argument we deduce that the linear order between schwa features and the glide features is lost in the output, since both matrices are dominated by one [- cons] root.

Before closing this subsection, it should be pointed out that the issue of glides still needs further research in different varieties of Tamazight so that some insight could be drawn.

I.2 – The Morphological Description of AWTB

The purpose of this section is to provide a sketch of AWTB nominal and verbal morphology. The reason for this is two-fold. First, it is now well-established that syllable structure is affected by morphological processes: Lexical Phonology (Mohanan (1986); Kiparsky (1982)); Prosodic Morphology (McCarthy (1979-1981); McCarthy and Prince (1986-1990 a-b); Metrical Phonology (Hayes (1993)) and Optimality Theory (McCarthy and Prince (1993 a – 1993b- 1994b-1999). Hung (1994)…). Second, extraprosodic units in AWTB are contributed mainly by affixes–viz., the feminine suffix /t/, the 2nd chunk of the second subject pronoun /d/ the object pronouns /t/ and /tt/ and the orientation index /d/.

The remainder of this section is organized as follows: In the first subsection, we deal with the morphology of the noun as well as its relevant aspects such as gender and number. In the second, we treat verb formation processes as well as the affixes that attach to the verb.

I.2.1 – Nominal Morphology

I.2.1.1 Subcategories of Nouns

Berberists such as Abdel Massih (1968), Laoust (1918- 1939), Pencheon (1973), Saib (1981) and Oussikoum (1995) to cite but a few, divide Tamazight nouns into two types: basic and derived. Basic nouns are those that bear no relation to any verb. That is, they are not derived from any other category. Illustrative examples are given below:

(40)

a)/tisent/

‘salt’

/tafugt/

‘sun’

b)/ass/

‘day’

/aγrum/

‘bread’

/ul/

‘heart’

As to the nouns pertaining to the second category (i.e non-basic nouns) they may be derived from already existing nouns or verbs. Nouns derived from nouns are very rare. Illustrative examples are given in (41).

(41)

[uzzal] [amzil]

‘blacksmith’

[aεerrim] [θiεurrma]

‘youth’

[ejma] [θajmatt]

‘brotherhood’

The other set of nouns, those derived from verbs, are commonly labeled ‘deverbal nouns’. They constitute the largest group of derived nouns in AWTB. For illustration, we supply the following examples:

(42)

Derived nouns

Input verbs

[θa bexni] ‘blackness’ /bxin/

‘be black’

[θiruθ]

‘width’ /riw/

‘be wide’

[θaγzi]

‘length’ /γzif/

‘be long’

[θusutt] ‘cough’ /usu/

‘to cough’

Within this category of deverbal nouns, a distinction is made between agentive nouns and action nouns. According to previous scholars, the term ‘agentive noun’ refers to the doer of the action expressed by the corresponding verb. The following agentive nouns provide an illustration:

(43)

Verb

Agentive Noun

[azen] ‘send’

[amazan] ‘messenger'

[ašer]

‘steal’

[amašer] ‘thief’

[ћδu]

‘watch’

[imeћδi] ‘watchman’

[çes]

‘mind animals’ [ameçsa] ‘shepherd’

As the examples in (43) above show, the agentive noun derivation is in general accomplished by the prefixation of a vowel (a or i) plus a nasal consonant (m or n) to the input verbs. (Cf. Bensoukas (1994-2001)) and Jebbour (1991-1996)). Prefixation changes the morphological make-up of input verbs. Consequently, this has an effect on syllable structure.

On the other hand, action nouns refer to the action expressed by the verb. An action noun may basically refer to the result of the action, the time on which it happens or a state. To illustrate, we present the following data:

(44)

Verb

Action Noun

a)[rδ el] ‘to lend’ [arettal] ‘loan’

[e ffe γ]‘to get out’ [ufuγ] ‘getting out’

b)[m j e r]‘o harvest’ [θamejra] ‘harvest’

[γez]

‘to dig’ [θaγuzi] ‘digging’

Action nouns may be masculine or feminine. Their derivation is accomplished through the application of different processes such as:

(45)

a)prefixation of a vowel (a – i or u) to the verb stem

b)Prefixation of a vowel and infixation of the same vowel before the last consonant of the stem

Other processes are at play in the action noun formation. Suffice it to say that the addition of the affixational elements leads to the augmentation of the number of syllables. For further information, the reader is advised to consult the following authors: (Loubignac (1942); Laoust (1932); Pencheon (1973); Anasse (1994) and Bemsoukas (2001)).

Another category of ‘deverbal nouns’ is the so-called noun- adjectives. These are morphologically indistinguishable from nouns but are so on syntactic grounds. In fact, like nouns, these adjectives take the same number and gender marking. However, when part of a phrase, these adjectives are post-modifiers since they follow the nouns they describe.

(46)a)[zwiγ] ‘be red’

[azeggaγ]

‘red’

[bxin]

‘be black’

[abexxan]

‘black’

[ešwu] ‘be clever’

[imešwi]

‘clever’

[mlil]

‘be white’

[umlil]

‘white’

b)[iγerm umlil]

[θiγallin θiћδaδiyin]

house white

mares white

‘the white house’

‘white mares’

Worthy of note is the fact that the majority of adjectives is derived from verbs. A small number is basic, however. Moreover, these adjectives may function as nouns. That is, they can head noun phrases as the following examples show:

(47)

a)NP

b)NP

Det NP

Det N

N Adj

sin iysan umlill

sin umlill

two horses white two whites

In (47a) the adjective is adjoined to the noun, the head of the noun phrase. However, in (47b), the adjective is the head of the noun phrase. Thus, adjectives may play the same role as nouns, a fact which explains the label noun-adjective.

Before we close this subsection, we should mention that some processes may be used in the derivation of both noun adjectives and agentive nouns-viz.,: the prefixation of a vowel a, i or u. In the next subsection, we consider two aspects that nouns and adjectives share in common-namely gender and number.

I.2.1.2 – Gender and Number Inflections in Berber

I.2.1.2.1- Gender

Like all Berber dialects, AWTB has a binary gender system: the masculine and the feminine. It ignores the dual and the neutral genders. In the singular, masculine nouns start with a vowel (a, i or u). Nouns beginning with /a/ are by far the most dominant. Morphologically speaking, the masculine is the unmarked gender because the feminine contains an additional marker /t t/17.

The feminine noun formation is a productive morphological process. It consists in placing a /t/ before and or after the input masculine noun. This derivation can be illustrated by the following diagram:

(48)

[F t [M M] + (t) (t) F]

N.B.: [F F] and [M M] denote the derived feminine and the input masculine nouns respectively.

For illustration, we present the following examples:

(49) Masculine

Feminine

a) [amγar] ‘old man’ [θamγarθ] ‘old woman’

[aserdun] ‘mule’ [θaserdunt] ‘she-mule’

[axam] ‘tent’ [θaxamθ] ‘small tent’

b) [aγma] ‘lap’ [θaγma ] ‘small lap’

[asa] ‘big liver’ [θasa] ‘small liver’

[amδa] ‘aqueduct’ [θamδa] ‘small aqueduct’

c) [arba] ‘boy’

[θarbatt] ‘girl’

[axbu] ‘hole’ [θaxbutt] ‘small hole’

The data in (49) exemplify the different forms the feminine nouns may take. In (49a) only [θ-----θ] is affixed to the input masculine noun.

In fact, this discontinuous morpheme is used when the masculine noun ends in a non-syllabic segment. The affixes [θ-----] and [θ-----tt] are employed when the input masculine noun is vowel-final. (See (49b) and 49c).

On the other hand, the AWTB dialect contains forms that challenge this claim. In fact, the [θ----θ] affixes are found in some feminine forms. The examples in (50) below illustrate this situation:

(50)

[θimdiθ]

‘string’

[θiširriθ]

‘ little girl’

[eddiliθ]

‘ grape tree’

[θibiqqiθ]

‘cooking plate’

The affixes [θ---] and [θ---tt] are used in the majority of cases with input masculine nouns that end in a vowel. On this account the reason behind the use of the prefix alone or the discontinuous morpheme is a mystery. Some scholars maintained that the feminine marker is just the initial chunk of the feminine morpheme, as it appears to be constant in all instantiations of feminine forms except in those loanwords from MA (e.g.[ eddiliθ < MA [eddalya]. This position was held by Aspinion (1953 – p 8) who states the following rule:

(51)“ Tous les noms commençant par un /t/ sont du genre féminin.”

Therefore, in an attempt to explain what constitutes the feminine morpheme in Berber, Saib (1972-1973-1986) presents a plausible explanation for this dilemma. According to this author, the geminates exhibited by the feminine singular nouns arise though the process of regressive assimilation largely made use of in Tamazight. The geminate is the result of abutting two-like consonants with the same place of articulation. The examples in (52) hammer back this point.

(52) /afud/ /tafud+ t/ [θafutt] ‘small leg’

/aћerrad/ /taћerrad+t/ [θaћerratt] ‘ploughing’

Returning to the feminine nouns with a [tt] ending but whose corresponding masculine does not end in a dental stop (e.g. [arba] [θarbatt]), Saib (ibid.) argues that three possible alternatives suggest themselves- viz.,:

(53) (i) To consider the /t/ element of the complex suffix as

resulting from an insertion motivated by euphonic needs

(ii) To posit an underlying corresponding masculine singular form with a stem-final dental stop on the basis of the occurrence of this stop in the feminine plural

(iii) To assume that the feminine singular forms such as:

[ara] [araθen] ; [θaratt] [θaraθin] have acquired their final geminate by analogy with forms like those in (52) above

Saib argues that the first alternative, advanced by Hanoteau (1896), will not do because it can not explain why all nouns with a final stem vowel phonetically do not select this means. This point is further backed up by the fact that for euphony purposes, Tamazight dialects use the glide /y/.

As to the second alternative, it has no problems accounting for all masculine plural forms in [-θen] with corresponding feminine plurals in

[-θin]. For Saib (see also Pencheon, (op.cit)), they represent an instance of back formation from the plural. However, this hypothesis faces some problems in accounting for masculine nouns with [-θin]. Consider the data in (54) below:

(54)

[isli]

‘groom’ [islan] ‘grooms’

[θislitt] ‘bride’ [θislaθin] ‘brides’

The second hypothesis can not explain cases where masculine plural nouns in [-θen] have no corresponding feminine / diminutive counterparts or feminine plural nouns in [-θin] with no corresponding masculine forms:

(55)

a) [ iwri]

[iwriθen]

*[θiwritt]

b)[θusutt]

[θusuθin]

*[usu]

‘cough’

With hindsight, if for feminine singular forms ending in a geminate (e.g. [θarbatt]), we posit a corresponding masculine singular form ending in a dental stop, that segment would make the last syllable heavy expecting stress to fall on that syllable-viz.,:

(56)

/arbat/

*[arb át]

/arba/

[árba]

As the asterisk shows, stress doses not fall on the final syllable. Rather it falls on the initial syllable. The second alternative can not explain this fact. Worthy of note is the fact that the geminate at the end of a feminine noun tends to degeminate (e.g.: [θirritt] [θirriθ] ‘charcoal’.

The above argument holds true for the third alternative. It can not explain why masculine plural nouns in [-θen] lack corresponding feminine forms.

For a good number of nouns, including kinship nouns, gender is idiosyncratic. In fact, it is assigned on the ground of semantic criteria (Cf. Pencheon (1973); Basset (1952). Consider the following data:

(57)

illi

‘daughter’

ulli

‘sheep’

That the nouns in (57) are assigned feminine gender is due to their meaning. In English, for example, ‘girl’ is assigned the feminine gender because it refers to a female and ‘boy’ is assigned the masculine gender because it refers to a male (see Corbett (1991)). To sum up, gender in AWTB can be assigned on the basis of two criteria: a) formal and b) semantic.

Before closing this subsection, we should note that the affixation of the feminine morpheme alters the morphological shape of the input masculine nouns. In particular, the suffix [θ] may give rise to word-final consonantal clusterings violating the canonical syllable template of AWTB (i.e. CVCC). Illustrative examples are given in (57):

(58)

[θaššer š θ]

‘place name’

[θamhawšθ]

‘a woman from the tribe Imhiwash’

[θu γ emsθ]

‘tooth’

On the basis of data like these, we legitimately ask the following question: what is the prosodic status of the suffix [θ]? Does it make the final syllable heavy? Anticipating discussion in chapter II, we consider the feminine suffix to be extraprosodic, as it violates the dialect’s template. What is more, this hypothesis can explain the variation that characterizes the feminine noun formation (i.e. [θ-] vs [θ---θ]).

I.2.1.2 .2– Number

Nominal plural formation is one of the thorniest aspects of Berber Morphology. It has been the concern of many Berberists from different trends (Cf. Hanoteau (1896); Laoust (1918); Basset (1952); Chami (1979); Guerssel (1983); Jebbour (1988);Saib (1986) and Lasri (1991). According to these authors, plural formation makes use of three complex morphological processes. In this study, we adhere to Saib’s analysis because it deals with a Tamazight dialect close to ours.

In fact, in addition to the initial vowel ablaut in the masculine and the deletion of the feminine suffix, noun plurals are formed through the use of one of the following means:

(59)

a)Suffixation

b)Stem modification

c)Combination of the first two means

d) Proclitization of an unbound morpheme

Suffixation is the most widely used process. According to Saib (op.cit.), it accounts for less than a half of Tamazight nouns. In AWTB, the suffixes used in both masculine and feminine plurals are given below in their phonetic forms:

(60)

Masculine

Feminine

a) – en

(i)- in

b) – an

(ii)- in

c) – wen

(iii) - in

d) – awen

(iv)- awin

e) – iwen

(v)- iwin

f) – θ en

(vi)- θ in

The data to be presented in (61) exemplify noun plurals obtained by suffixation.

(61)

Masc.sg. Masc.pl. Fem.sg. Fem.pl.Gloss

(i)aqrab aqrabn θaqrabθθaqrabin ‘bags’

(ii) azur izuran θazurθ θazurin ‘veins’

(iii) aγenža iγenžawn θaγenžawθ θiγenžawin ‘spoons’

(iv)ixf ixfawn θixefθ θixfawin ‘small heads’

(v)awal

iwaliwn θizemθθizmawin ‘lionesses’

(vi)arba

arbaθen θarbatt θirbaθin ‘girls’

Saib (op.cit.) cites seven suffixes where the seventh suffix is [- yen] and [-yin] for masculine and feminine plurals respectively. AWTB, on the other hand, does not make use of these suffixes. (See Oussikoum (1995)).

The second means of making plurals in Tamazight is stem modification. It involves the following changes. (Cf. Saib (op.cit.-p 12).

(62)a) ablauting of a single vowel

b) ablauting of the second and third vowels of the stem

c)ablauting of a stem vowel and either gemination or degemination of the second radical consonant

The examples in (63) below illustrate the means cited above. (Cf. Saib (op.cit -p113).

(63)

Masc.sg. Masc.pl. Gloss Fem.sg. Fem.pl.Gloss

a) aγyul iγyal ‘donkeys’ θaγyult θiγyalin ‘jennies’

ajerθil ijerθal ‘mats’ θajerθilθ θijerθal ‘small mats’

b) abaγγus ibuγγas 'monkeys’ θabaγγusθθibuγγas ‘female monkeys’

asafar isufar ‘medicines’ θamadelθ θimudal ‘small slopes’

c) abuδ ibadden ‘bottom’

afus ifassen ‘hands’ θafusθ θIfassin ‘small hands’

afuδ ifadden ‘knees’ θafutt θifaddin ‘small knees’

ašeddur išeδran ‘cape flakes’

As the data in (63) show, the initial vowel of Tamazight nouns undergoes a change in the plural. To explain, a changes to i. The initial a (or similarly u or i) may not change if it is part of the stem. A stem vowel is the one that appears in the Free State (FS) and Construct State (CS) forms and in the plural as well. (See Basset (1952); Laoust (1936); Saib (1986); Vycichl (1957); Guerssel (1992); Ouhalla (1988) and Oussikoum (1990)). On the other hand, if the initial vowel is a prefix, 18 it gets deleted and replaced by i in the plural and by u in the construct state. In the case of feminine nouns appearing in the construct state, i is deleted. The data below exemplify the situations described above:

(64)

Masc.sg.

Pl.

CS

Gloss

a) Stem vowel aafa

afiwn w+afiwn ‘fire’

urθi

urθan w+urθan ‘garden’

izi

izan y+izan ‘flies’

b) Prefix a

afullus

ifullusen u+fullus ‘coqs’

amaras imarasen u+maras ‘rainfall’

c)

Fem.sg. Fem.Pl.CS Gloss

θarbattθirbaθin win-θerbatt ‘the girl’s’

θaγbaluttθiγbula win-θeγbula 'of the spring’

In this book, the behavior of the initial vowel, constant or non-constant is superfluous. Following Elmoujahid (1993), we argue that AWTB nouns exist in the morphology after the prefixation of the initial a. The same vowel is part of the morphological constituency of nouns. This stand is the correct one since the initial vowel contributes to the formation of syllables.

The third means of forming plurals in AWTB is by combining the different means we reviewed above. Below is given a list of the major combinations attested in AWTB:

(65)a) Initial vowel ablaut + internal vowel deletion + suffixation

b) Initial vowel ablaut + internal vowel ablaut + suffixation

c) Initial vowel ablaut + internal vowel ablaut + suffixation

d) Initial vowel ablaut + internal vowel deletion +C-degemination

+ suffixation

e) Initial vowel ablaut + internal vowel deletion + suffixation

These processes are exemplified in (66) below (Cf. Saib (op.cit) p- 114):

(66)

Masc.sg

Masc.pl.

Gloss

(65a)(i)aδis

iδusan

‘bellies’

ifi γer

ifaγriwen ‘snakes’

(65b)(ii)izi

izan

‘flies’

(65c)(iii)afus

ifassen

‘hands’

(65d)(iv)asekkur

iseçran ‘partridges’

(65e)(v)aδeggal

iδewlan ‘in- laws’

The last means in nominal pluralization is the politicization of an unbound morpheme. This means is exemplified by the following forms:

(67) Masc.sg. Msc.pl. Gloss Fem.sg. Fem.pl. Gloss

a) εemmi iδ # εemmi ‘my uncles’ xalθi istt # xalθi ‘my aunts’

b) u#ћemmaδi ayθ #uћemmaδi uttu#ћemmaδi isttu# uћemmaδi 'the Uhemmadis

As far as the feminine plural is concerned, it is derived through the prefixation of a [θ] to the input masculine plural noun plus one of the suffixes listed in (59) above. (But see next chapter for more discussion of the feminine plurals).

To sum up, the procedures used in AWTB plural formation are complex. They may alter the morphological make-up of nouns they operate on. Indeed, the adjunction of various plural morphemes augments the number of syllables.

I.2.2 – Verbal Morphology

Like nouns, verbs in AWTB can be basic or derived. They can have up to three aspectual values. (Cf. Pencheon (op.cit); Iazzi (1991); Oussikoum (1995); El Medlaoui (1989); Bensoukas (2001), etc.). These are: a) the unmarked, b) the intensive and c) the perfect forms. A fourth stem, commonly called the perfect negative, is derived from the perfect of certain morphological types of verbs19.

The unmarked stem is used in the imperative and together with the projective particle /ad/ to express imperfect values such as the future, the conditional, etc. The intensive stem expresses the iterativeness (continuity) of an action. The particle /ad/ is placed before the intensive form. As to the perfect stem or the perfect negative, it expresses the idea that the action is completed.

I.2.2.1 – The Aspectual Stems

I.2.2.1.1 – The Unmarked Stem

As mentioned above, the unmarked stem is used for the imperative. Illustrative examples are presented in (68).

(68) Template UR

PR Gloss

CCC /krz/

[çerz] ‘plough’

CC1C1C /šmml/ [šemmel] ‘finish’

CVCC /sawl/

[sawel] ‘speak’

C1C1C /kkr/

[ekker]‘get up’

CVC /sal/

[sal] ‘ask’

CCCV /rbba/

[rebba]‘raise’

CVCV /raεa/

[raεa] ‘look’

CCCC /γždm/ [γežδem]‘sit down’

The other verbal stems are derived from the unmarked stem via different morphological processes.

I.2.2.1.2 – The Perfect Stem

According to Pencheon (op.cit.), the great majority of verbs makes no morphological distinction between the unmarked and the perfect stems. In particular, the verbs in (68) above are used for the perfect. The only difference is that the personal pronouns, absent in the imperative, are affixed to the unmarked stems to derive the perfect. Consider the data in (68):

(69)

Underlying formPhonetic FormGloss

/y+krz/

[içerz]

‘he ploughed’

/y+šmml/

[išemmel]

‘he finished’

/y+sawl/

[isawel]

‘he spoke’

/y+kkr/

[ikker]

‘he got up’

/ y+ rbba/

[irebba]

‘ he raised’

/y+raεa/

[iraεa]

‘he looked’

/y+γždm/

[iγežδem]

‘he sat down’

As for the other verbs that make a distinction between the unmarked and the perfect stems, the following morphological means are used. (Cf. Pencheon (op.cit), p30).

(70) (i) A vowel a , stem-initial or stem- internal, is changed to u or i

(ii) A stem-final vowel alternation : i for the first and second

persons singular and a for all persons

(iii) Gemination of the second radical consonant

The first two means may be used together for the derivation of a perfect stem. However, the third means never combines with neither of the first two processes in (70). Illustrative examples are given in (71):

(71)

Unmarked

Perfect Gloss

amz

umz ‘hold’

af

ufi ‘find’

If the consonant immediately after a is w the alternation is form a to i-viz.,:

(72)

Unmarked stem

Perfect stem Gloss

awi

iwi ‘take’

For some verbs, the initial or internal a alternates with u and an i/a vowel is affixed to the end of the verbal stem. See below:

(73)

Unmarked stem

Perfect stem Gloss

a)/af/

ufi/a

‘find’

/lal/

luli/a ‘be born’

/ggall/

ggulli/a ‘swear’

b)/ddu/

ddi/a

‘go’

/bdu/

bdi/a

‘start’

Other vowelless strings make use the final alternation i/a-viz.,:

(74)

Unmarked

Perfect stem Gloss

zznz

zznzi/a

‘sell’

bdd

bddi/a

‘stand up’

The last means of deriving the perfect involves the tensing/ gemination of the second radical consonant. The presentation of concrete examples will help give matter to this observation. Consider the following examples:

(75)

Unmarked stem

Perfect stem Gloss

mlil

mllul

‘be white’

mziy

mzziy

‘be small’

I.2.2.1.3 – The Intensive Stem

The derivation of the intensive form is achieved through one of the following means:

(76)

(i) Tensing of a radical consonant

(ii)Vowel insertion

(iii)Prefixing of /tt/

Worth of note is the fact that tensing or /tt/ prefixation may combine with vowel insertion. Instances of these processes are presented below:

(77)

Unmarked stem

Perfect stem Gloss

a)/krz/

çrrz

‘plough’

/mri/

mrri

‘scratch’

/rdl/

rddl

‘fall down’

b)/sγ/

ssaγ

‘buy’

/gr/

ggar

‘throw’

c)af

ttafa

‘find’

fez z

ttfzza

‘chew’

d)šmml

ttšmmal

‘finish’

brrm

ttbrram

‘turn’

e)ћnћn

ttћnћn

‘neigh’

frfr

ttfrfr

‘beat wings’

f)εawn

ttεawan

‘help’

ћudr

tthudur

‘bond over’

annay

ttannay

‘see’

isin

ttisin

‘know’

h)ini

ttini

‘say’

ili

ttili

‘exist’

i)kkr

ttkkr

‘stand up’

bby

ttbby

‘cut’

zwu

ttzwu

‘dry out’

As the data above show, the means involved in the formation of the intensive add more material to the unmarked stem, a fact which may alter the syllable structure.

I.2.2. – Derived Verbs

Berber makes use of different processes to derive verbs from other verbs. In this subsection, we will deal with prefixes necessary for the derivations in question. The prefixes are: a) /ss/; b) /m (m)/ and c) /ttu/. While the first prefix is used in the derivation of the causative, the second is utilized in the derivation of the reciprocal and the third for the passive.

I.2.2.2.1 –The Causative

The addition of the morpheme /ss/ to a verb confers on it the sense of causing somebody to do something. The causative prefix has three allomorphs depending on the phonemic environment it occurs in. Illustrative examples are given below (Cf. Pencheon (ibid.); Chaker (1973), etc):

(78)

Unmarked stem

Causative

Gloss

a)

rwl

ssrwl

‘cause to escape’

b)

kkr

skkr

‘cause to get up’

c)

tš

šštš ‘feed’

d)

nz

zznz ‘sell’

e)

žžy

žžužžy ‘heal’

žžu

žužžu ‘stink out’

f)

amz

z zumz ‘take’

The items in (78a) show that the causative morpheme is in general /ss/. When prefixed to a stem beginning with a geminate (as in (78b), /ss/ is realized as [s]. The causative morpheme is realized as [šš],[zz], [zz] or [žž] when the stem contains the consonants /š /,/z/,/z/ or /ž/ respectively (Cf. (78c),(78d),(78e) and (78f). In all the cases depicted above, assimilation occurs at a distance. (See also Adnour (1994)).

When /ss/ is contiguous to a stem geminate, a consonant cluster simplification process is trigged. For example, /ss + ggil/ is simplified to [essjil]. This cluster simplification is forced by AWTB syllable structure constraints. The reason for this is that a sequence of four consonants can not be parsed into syllables given the AWTB template and the syllabication rules of the dialect.

I.2.2.2.2- The Reciprocal

Like the causative, the reciprocal is derived via the prefixation of the bound morpheme /mm/ or one of its allomorphs [m], [my] or [mya] to the simple form of the verb. (cf. Aspinion (1953)).

A vowel a is inserted before the last radical consonant. The data to be presented below illustrate the reciprocal derivation:

(79)

/εdl/

mmεdal ‘come to agreement with each other’

nada

mnada ‘look for each other’

amz

myamaz‘to hold each other’

rru

myarru‘to defeat each other’

The derivation of the reciprocal adds more material to the input stems. This is likely to increase the number of syllables in the word.

I.2.2.2.3- The Passive

The derivation of the passive is quite simple. In general, this process is effected by the prefixation of / ttu/ or one of its variants to the input verb-viz.,: [ttu] [ttuy] [tty]. The allomorph [ttu] appears in contexts where the verb stem starts with a consonant. [ttuy] and [tty] appear before a vowel . The prefixation is accompanied by the insertion of a vowel a inside the stem. (For a prosodic account of the passive derivation by the insertion of a vowel a inside the stem, the reader is referred to Moktadir (1989); for an Optimality–theoretic analysis, see Bensoukas (2001)).

(80) a)

bnu

yttubna ‘it was built’

krz

yttukrz ‘it was ploughed’

b)

rru

yttyarru ‘he was defeated’

yttuyaru

ašr

yttyišr

‘he was robbed'

yttuyišr

Worth of note is the fact that the passive morpheme gets sandwiched between the personal pronoun and the base verb. What is more, the sequence [tt] is realized as /t/ when it is preceded by /t/ / t-m/, /t---mt/], the third person feminine singular, the second person masculine / femenine plural pronouns, respectively. If the passive morpheme is prefixed to a derived verb, it always occupies the first position-viz.,:

(81)Base

Reciprocal

PassiveGloss

γus

sγus

mmsγus‘to burn each other’

To sum up, the derivation of the passive adds more material