CONDITIONING OF ALLOMORPHS
Any phenomenon is said to be conditioned if it occurs whenever certain definable conditions
occurs, it means that the presence of the one predicts the occurrence of the other. When we study
allomorphs we have to deal with the conditioning of the allomorphs such as1- Phonological Conditioning
2- Morphological Conditioning
PHONOLOGIACL CONDITIONINGAn allomorph is said to be conditioned when its form is dependent on the adjacent phonemes.
The three allomorphs of the plural marker /–s/ are /-s, -z, -iz/, and they said to be phonological
conditioned since their occurrence is dependent on the preceding phonemes.
1- /-s/ occurs with morphs ending with voiceless sounds except ‘sibilants’ and ‘affricates’.
For instance- cats, hats, books, caps etc. (-s sound)
2- /-z/ occurs with morphs ending with voiced sounds except ‘sibilants’ and ‘affricates’
For instance- birds, dogs, beds, songs etc. (-z sound)
3- /-iz/ occurs with morphs ending with sibilants (s, z) and affricates (ch , j).
For instance- roses, churches, judges etc.( -iz sound)
Another example of phonological conditioning of allomorphs can be seen in the past tense
morpheme in English (-ed).
The three allomorphs of the past tense morpheme in English (-ed) are / -t,-d,-id/. And the
phonological conditioning of these allomorphs can be as follows1- /-t/ occurs after voiceless sound excepts /t,d/.
For instance- helped /helpt/, walked / walkt/ etc.
2- /-d/ occurs after voiced sounds except alveolar stops such as /t,d/.
For instance- killed, loved etc.
3- /-id/ occurs after morphs ending with alveolar stops.
For instance- wanted, wedded, granted etc.
MORPHOLOGICAL CONDITIONINGWhen the conditioning factor is not determined by any phonological feature but it is determined
by the specific morph to which it is attached. In pairs such as ‘man-men’, ‘child-children’, which
seem to contain the ‘plural morpheme’, we cannot state the variation in terms of phonetic
environment. Instead we must refer to each morpheme separately.
This kind of variation among allomorphs is known as ‘morphological conditioning’.
Some other examples of morphological conditioning areox – oxen
sheep – sheep
goose – geese
These words do not follow any specific rule, each one has to be learnt separately. So this kind of
conditioning is known as ‘morphological conditioning’. There is nothing phonological about it.
These selections are specific to the words.