Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/92687
Title: | Conditions on /t/-insertion in Maltese numeral phrases : a reassessment |
Other Titles: | The languages of Malta |
Authors: | Lucas, Chris Spagnol, Michael |
Keywords: | Maltese language -- Morphology Maltese language -- Syntax Maltese language -- Grammar Maltese language -- Phonology |
Issue Date: | 2018 |
Publisher: | Language Science Press |
Citation: | Lucas, C., & Spagnol, M. (2018). Conditions on /t/-insertion in Maltese numeral phrases: a reassessment. In P. Paggio & A. Gatt, (Eds.), The languages of Malta, (pp. 117-141). Berlin: Language Science Press |
Abstract: | There has, for a considerable period, been disagreement and confusion as to the conditions governing the appearance of the /t/ morpheme that sometimes intervenes between the numerals 2–10 and a following plural noun in Maltese, as in ħames skejjel / ħamest iskejjel ‘five schools’ (e.g. Aquilina 1965: 118; Borg 1974; Cremona 1938: 204–205). In recent work (Lucas & Spagnol 2016) we reported on a native-speaker production experiment designed to improve our understanding of this issue. The results of that experiment suggested that the key factor determining /t/-insertion was onset of the plural noun: CV-initial plurals virtually never permit /t/-insertion, whereas CC-initial and V-initial plurals at least sometimes do. Number of syllables also appeared to be a relevant factor, in that, e.g., monosyllabic CC-initial plurals were found to strongly favour /t/-insertion, disyllabic CC-initials less so, and polysyllabic CC-initials not at all. The present work builds on this earlier research, arguing that a more accurate and more general statement of the conditions on /t/-insertion is one that makes reference primarily to morphological pattern, rather than to onset and number of syllables. This conclusion stems from a new production experiment focusing specifically on /t/-insertion with CC-initial disyllabic plurals. The experiment tested combinations of numerals with a number of both ”sound” (suffixing, non-stem-altering) plurals and ”broken” (non-suffixing, stem-altering) plurals. The latter fell into one of three patterns: CCVVCV(C), CCVjjVC and CCVCVC. The basic prediction was that the broken plurals would, in general, be much more favourable to /t/-insertion than the sound plurals. This prediction was borne out (broken plural mean insertion rate: 32%; sound plural mean insertion rate: 5%). Additionally, we predicted that broken plurals of the CCVCVC pattern, such as gwerer ‘wars’, in which two consonants occupy the initial root-consonant slot in the basic, highly /t/-resistant, CVCVC pattern (cf. Mifsud 1994), would be less favourable to /t/-insertion than the other CC-initial broken plural patterns tested. This too was borne out (mean insertion rates: CCVCVC 23%; CCVjjVC 37%; CCVVCVC 55%). Taken together, these two findings show that morphological pattern should be taken as the key determinant of /t/-insertion, with onset and number of syllables contributing only secondarily. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/92687 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacArtMal |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Conditions_on_t_insertion_in_Maltese_numeral_phrases.pdf Restricted Access | 378.37 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
Items in OAR@UM are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.