Morphological analogy and phonological markedness in the inchoative verbs of Catalan

Abstract

Analogy between forms of a morphological paradigm can give rise to phonologically marked allomorphs. In this study, we focus on the analysis of the inchoative form -isc- [ísk] in Valencian Catalan, which can be realized with a palatal sibilant in 3rd conjugation inchoative verbs: e. g., servixc [seɾvíʃk] ‘I suffer’. Although the consonantal cluster [ʃk] is considered phonologically marked, this palatalized form, coined by analogy with other indicative present forms such as servix [seɾvíʃ] ‘s/he suffers’, seems to have replaced the traditional western Catalan form with an alveolar sibilant -isc- [ísk]. Our results indicate that, although the forms with -ixc- are very common in written documentation, not all speakers pronounce the sibilant segment as a palatal consonant. Additionally, the data show that, in cases where the analogical process affects the pronunciation, the realization of the sibilant is halfway between an alveolar sibilant and a palatal sibilant, in a kind of compromise between phonological and morphological conditions.