Evidence for base-driven alternation in Tgdaya Seediq

Kuo, Jennifer. (2020). Evidence for base-driven alternation in Tgdaya Seediq. M.A. thesis. UCLA.

Abstract: Standard approaches to learning the morphophonology of paradigms require positing URs from which surface contrasts can be derived. Often, URs are "cobbled", in that they combine information from multiple forms of the paradigm, and do not necessarily correspond to anysingle surface form (Kenstowicz and Kisseberth, 1977: 33). In contrast, Albright (2002, etseq.) argues for a single surface base approach, where the UR must be based on the surface forms of one slot in the paradigm. In Tgdaya Seediq (Austronesian: Taiwan), all forms of a paradigm (non-suffixed vs. suffixed) suffer from some loss of contrasts, making it a good test case for comparing between the two theories of morphophonology. In this thesis, I conduct an empirical study of Seediq verbal alternations, and find support for Albright’s surface base hypothesis.