- Dutch
- Frisian
- Saterfrisian
- Afrikaans
-
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological processes
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Word stress
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Monomorphemic words
- Diachronic aspects
- Generalizations on stress placement
- Default penultimate stress
- Lexical stress
- The closed penult restriction
- Final closed syllables
- The diphthong restriction
- Superheavy syllables (SHS)
- The three-syllable window
- Segmental restrictions
- Phonetic correlates
- Stress shifts in loanwords
- Quantity-sensitivity
- Secondary stress
- Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables
- Stress in complex words
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Accent & intonation
- Clitics
- Spelling
- Morphology
- Word formation
- Compounding
- Nominal compounds
- Verbal compounds
- Adjectival compounds
- Affixoids
- Coordinative compounds
- Synthetic compounds
- Reduplicative compounds
- Phrase-based compounds
- Elative compounds
- Exocentric compounds
- Linking elements
- Separable complex verbs (SCVs)
- Gapping of complex words
- Particle verbs
- Copulative compounds
- Derivation
- Numerals
- Derivation: inputs and input restrictions
- The meaning of affixes
- Non-native morphology
- Cohering and non-cohering affixes
- Prefixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixation: person nouns
- Conversion
- Pseudo-participles
- Bound forms
- Nouns
- Nominal prefixes
- Nominal suffixes
- -aal and -eel
- -aar
- -aard
- -aat
- -air
- -aris
- -ast
- Diminutives
- -dom
- -een
- -ees
- -el (nominal)
- -elaar
- -enis
- -er (nominal)
- -erd
- -erik
- -es
- -eur
- -euse
- ge...te
- -heid
- -iaan, -aan
- -ief
- -iek
- -ier
- -ier (French)
- -ière
- -iet
- -igheid
- -ij and allomorphs
- -ijn
- -in
- -ing
- -isme
- -ist
- -iteit
- -ling
- -oir
- -oot
- -rice
- -schap
- -schap (de)
- -schap (het)
- -sel
- -st
- -ster
- -t
- -tal
- -te
- -voud
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Univerbation
- Neo-classical word formation
- Construction-dependent morphology
- Morphological productivity
- Compounding
- Inflection
- Inflection and derivation
- Allomorphy
- The interface between phonology and morphology
- Word formation
- Syntax
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of verb phrases I:Argument structure
- 3 Projection of verb phrases II:Verb frame alternations
- Introduction
- 3.1. Main types
- 3.2. Alternations involving the external argument
- 3.3. Alternations of noun phrases and PPs
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.3.1.1. Dative alternation with aan-phrases (recipients)
- 3.3.1.2. Dative alternation with naar-phrases (goals)
- 3.3.1.3. Dative alternation with van-phrases (sources)
- 3.3.1.4. Dative alternation with bij-phrases (possessors)
- 3.3.1.5. Dative alternation with voor-phrases (benefactives)
- 3.3.1.6. Conclusion
- 3.3.1.7. Bibliographical notes
- 3.3.2. Accusative/PP alternations
- 3.3.3. Nominative/PP alternations
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.4. Some apparent cases of verb frame alternation
- 3.5. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of verb phrases IIIa:Selection of clauses/verb phrases
- 5 Projection of verb phrases IIIb:Argument and complementive clauses
- Introduction
- 5.1. Finite argument clauses
- 5.2. Infinitival argument clauses
- 5.3. Complementive clauses
- 6 Projection of verb phrases IIIc:Complements of non-main verbs
- 7 Projection of verb phrases IIId:Verb clusters
- 8 Projection of verb phrases IV: Adverbial modification
- 9 Word order in the clause I:General introduction
- 10 Word order in the clause II:Position of the finite verb (verb-first/second)
- 11 Word order in the clause III:Clause-initial position (wh-movement)
- Introduction
- 11.1. The formation of V1- and V2-clauses
- 11.2. Clause-initial position remains (phonetically) empty
- 11.3. Clause-initial position is filled
- 12 Word order in the clause IV:Postverbal field (extraposition)
- 13 Word order in the clause V: Middle field (scrambling)
- 14 Main-clause external elements
- Nouns and Noun Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of noun phrases I: complementation
- Introduction
- 2.1. General observations
- 2.2. Prepositional and nominal complements
- 2.3. Clausal complements
- 2.4. Bibliographical notes
- 3 Projection of noun phrases II: modification
- Introduction
- 3.1. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
- 3.2. Premodification
- 3.3. Postmodification
- 3.3.1. Adpositional phrases
- 3.3.2. Relative clauses
- 3.3.3. Infinitival clauses
- 3.3.4. A special case: clauses referring to a proposition
- 3.3.5. Adjectival phrases
- 3.3.6. Adverbial postmodification
- 3.4. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of noun phrases III: binominal constructions
- Introduction
- 4.1. Binominal constructions without a preposition
- 4.2. Binominal constructions with a preposition
- 4.3. Bibliographical notes
- 5 Determiners: articles and pronouns
- Introduction
- 5.1. Articles
- 5.2. Pronouns
- 5.3. Bibliographical notes
- 6 Numerals and quantifiers
- 7 Pre-determiners
- Introduction
- 7.1. The universal quantifier al 'all' and its alternants
- 7.2. The pre-determiner heel 'all/whole'
- 7.3. A note on focus particles
- 7.4. Bibliographical notes
- 8 Syntactic uses of noun phrases
- Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- 2 Projection of adjective phrases I: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adjective phrases II: Modification
- 4 Projection of adjective phrases III: Comparison
- 5 Attributive use of the adjective phrase
- 6 Predicative use of the adjective phrase
- 7 The partitive genitive construction
- 8 Adverbial use of the adjective phrase
- 9 Participles and infinitives: their adjectival use
- 10 Special constructions
- Adpositions and adpositional phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Introduction
- 1.1. Characterization of the category adposition
- 1.2. A formal classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3. A semantic classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3.1. Spatial adpositions
- 1.3.2. Temporal adpositions
- 1.3.3. Non-spatial/temporal prepositions
- 1.4. Borderline cases
- 1.5. Bibliographical notes
- 2 Projection of adpositional phrases: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adpositional phrases: Modification
- 4 Syntactic uses of the adpositional phrase
- 5 R-pronominalization and R-words
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Phonology
-
- General
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological Processes
- Assimilation
- Vowel nasalization
- Syllabic sonorants
- Final devoicing
- Fake geminates
- Vowel hiatus resolution
- Vowel reduction introduction
- Schwa deletion
- Schwa insertion
- /r/-deletion
- d-insertion
- {s/z}-insertion
- t-deletion
- Intrusive stop formation
- Breaking
- Vowel shortening
- h-deletion
- Replacement of the glide w
- Word stress
- Clitics
- Allomorphy
- Orthography of Frisian
- Morphology
- Inflection
- Word formation
- Derivation
- Prefixation
- Infixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixes
- Verbal suffixes
- Adjectival suffixes
- Adverbial suffixes
- Numeral suffixes
- Interjectional suffixes
- Onomastic suffixes
- Conversion
- Compositions
- Derivation
- Syntax
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Unergative and unaccusative subjects
- Evidentiality
- To-infinitival clauses
- Predication and noun incorporation
- Ellipsis
- Imperativus-pro-Infinitivo
- Expression of irrealis
- Embedded Verb Second
- Agreement
- Negation
- Nouns & Noun Phrases
- Classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Partitive noun constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Nominalised quantifiers
- Kind partitives
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Bare nominal attributions
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers and (pre)determiners
- Interrogative pronouns
- R-pronouns
- Syntactic uses
- Adjective Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification and degree quantification
- Comparison by degree
- Comparative
- Superlative
- Equative
- Attribution
- Agreement
- Attributive adjectives vs. prenominal elements
- Complex adjectives
- Noun ellipsis
- Co-occurring adjectives
- Predication
- Partitive adjective constructions
- Adverbial use
- Participles and infinitives
- Adposition Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Intransitive adpositions
- Predication
- Preposition stranding
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
-
- General
- Morphology
- Morphology
- 1 Word formation
- 1.1 Compounding
- 1.1.1 Compounds and their heads
- 1.1.2 Special types of compounds
- 1.1.2.1 Affixoids
- 1.1.2.2 Coordinative compounds
- 1.1.2.3 Synthetic compounds and complex pseudo-participles
- 1.1.2.4 Reduplicative compounds
- 1.1.2.5 Phrase-based compounds
- 1.1.2.6 Elative compounds
- 1.1.2.7 Exocentric compounds
- 1.1.2.8 Linking elements
- 1.1.2.9 Separable Complex Verbs and Particle Verbs
- 1.1.2.10 Noun Incorporation Verbs
- 1.1.2.11 Gapping
- 1.2 Derivation
- 1.3 Minor patterns of word formation
- 1.1 Compounding
- 2 Inflection
- 1 Word formation
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Adjectives and adjective phrases (APs)
- 0 Introduction to the AP
- 1 Characteristics and classification of APs
- 2 Complementation of APs
- 3 Modification and degree quantification of APs
- 4 Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative
- 5 Attribution of APs
- 6 Predication of APs
- 7 The partitive adjective construction
- 8 Adverbial use of APs
- 9 Participles and infinitives as APs
- Nouns and Noun Phrases (NPs)
- 0 Introduction to the NP
- 1 Characteristics and Classification of NPs
- 2 Complementation of NPs
- 3 Modification of NPs
- 3.1 Modification of NP by Determiners and APs
- 3.2 Modification of NP by PP
- 3.3 Modification of NP by adverbial clauses
- 3.4 Modification of NP by possessors
- 3.5 Modification of NP by relative clauses
- 3.6 Modification of NP in a cleft construction
- 3.7 Free relative clauses and selected interrogative clauses
- 4 Partitive noun constructions and constructions related to them
- 4.1 The referential partitive construction
- 4.2 The partitive construction of abstract quantity
- 4.3 The numerical partitive construction
- 4.4 The partitive interrogative construction
- 4.5 Adjectival, nominal and nominalised partitive quantifiers
- 4.6 Kind partitives
- 4.7 Partitive predication with a preposition
- 4.8 Bare nominal attribution
- 5 Articles and names
- 6 Pronouns
- 7 Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- 8 Interrogative pronouns
- 9 R-pronouns and the indefinite expletive
- 10 Syntactic functions of Noun Phrases
- Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases (PPs)
- 0 Introduction to the PP
- 1 Characteristics and classification of PPs
- 2 Complementation of PPs
- 3 Modification of PPs
- 4 Bare (intransitive) adpositions
- 5 Predication of PPs
- 6 Form and distribution of adpositions with respect to staticity and construction type
- 7 Adpositional complements and adverbials
- Verbs and Verb Phrases (VPs)
- 0 Introduction to the VP in Saterland Frisian
- 1 Characteristics and classification of verbs
- 2 Unergative and unaccusative subjects and the auxiliary of the perfect
- 3 Evidentiality in relation to perception and epistemicity
- 4 Types of to-infinitival constituents
- 5 Predication
- 5.1 The auxiliary of being and its selection restrictions
- 5.2 The auxiliary of going and its selection restrictions
- 5.3 The auxiliary of continuation and its selection restrictions
- 5.4 The auxiliary of coming and its selection restrictions
- 5.5 Modal auxiliaries and their selection restrictions
- 5.6 Auxiliaries of body posture and aspect and their selection restrictions
- 5.7 Transitive verbs of predication
- 5.8 The auxiliary of doing used as a semantically empty finite auxiliary
- 5.9 Supplementive predication
- 6 The verbal paradigm, irregularity and suppletion
- 7 Verb Second and the word order in main and embedded clauses
- 8 Various aspects of clause structure
- Adjectives and adjective phrases (APs)
-
- General
- Phonology
- Afrikaans phonology
- Segment inventory
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- The diphthongised long vowels /e/, /ø/ and /o/
- The unrounded mid-front vowel /ɛ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /ɑ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /a/
- The rounded mid-high back vowel /ɔ/
- The rounded high back vowel /u/
- The rounded and unrounded high front vowels /i/ and /y/
- The unrounded and rounded central vowels /ə/ and /œ/
- The diphthongs /əi/, /œy/ and /œu/
- Overview of Afrikaans consonants
- The bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/
- The alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/
- The velar plosives /k/ and /g/
- The bilabial nasal /m/
- The alveolar nasal /n/
- The velar nasal /ŋ/
- The trill /r/
- The lateral liquid /l/
- The alveolar fricative /s/
- The velar fricative /x/
- The labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/
- The approximants /ɦ/, /j/ and /ʋ/
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- Word stress
- The phonetic properties of stress
- Primary stress on monomorphemic words in Afrikaans
- Background to primary stress in monomorphemes in Afrikaans
- Overview of the Main Stress Rule of Afrikaans
- The short vowels of Afrikaans
- Long vowels in monomorphemes
- Primary stress on diphthongs in monomorphemes
- Exceptions
- Stress shifts in place names
- Stress shift towards word-final position
- Stress pattern of reduplications
- Phonological processes
- Vowel related processes
- Consonant related processes
- Homorganic glide insertion
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Phonotactics
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Afrikaans syntax
- Nouns and noun phrases
- Characteristics of the NP
- Classification of nouns
- Complementation of NPs
- Modification of NPs
- Binominal and partitive constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Partitive constructions with nominalised quantifiers
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Binominal name constructions
- Binominal genitive constructions
- Bare nominal attribution
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- Syntactic uses of the noun phrase
- Adjectives and adjective phrases
- Characteristics and classification of the AP
- Complementation of APs
- Modification and Degree Quantification of APs
- Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative degree
- Attribution of APs
- Predication of APs
- The partitive adjective construction
- Adverbial use of APs
- Participles and infinitives as adjectives
- Verbs and verb phrases
- Characterisation and classification
- Argument structure
- Verb frame alternations
- Complements of non-main verbs
- Verb clusters
- Complement clauses
- Adverbial modification
- Word order in the clause: Introduction
- Word order in the clause: position of the finite Verb
- Word order in the clause: Clause-initial position
- Word order in the clause: Extraposition and right-dislocation in the postverbal field
- Word order in the middle field
- Emphatic constructions
- Adpositions and adposition phrases
In Afrikaans, like in many other languages, nasal consonants in tautosyllabic clusters are often homorganic with a following obstruent. As such, nasal assimilation is a type of consonant-to-consonant coarticulation. This phonological process is especially prevelant in monomorphemic tautosyllabic clusters, where nasals are predominantly followed by plosives. Clusters with the obstruent /s/ as the second component form an exception and do not generally condition nasal assimilation.
Listen to the following examples of inkomste and onbekende
In this description we attend to the basic evidence of nasal assimilation (NA) in Afrikaans, viz. in tautosyllabic clusters, followed by heterosyllabic instances. In the latter case, the focus is on compounds and phrases, with some attention to other structures (e.g. derivations such as diminutives). For an overview of nasal assimilation in Afrikaans, see textbooks by Le Roux and Pienaar (1927), Combrink and De Stadler (1987), De Villiers and Ponelis (1987), Wissing (1982), Coetzee (1992), and Wissing (2017).
In simplex words like those in (1) – (3) below, the presence of homorganic clusters is not technically a matter of a process of NA, as these are all lexicalised words in Afrikaans. The process of NA is evident in the other sections lower down which deal with derivations, compounds and assimilation across word-boundaries in phrases.
The examples in (1) demonstrate the homorganic nature of the clusters formed by nasals ( /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/), respectively bilabial, alveolar and velar, and following obstruents with the same respective articulatory characteristics ( /p/, /d/ and /k/). In (2) instances of nasals plus the fricative /s/ are given, followed by heterosyllabic clusters in monomorphemes in (3).
romp | /rɔmp/ | skirt |
hond | /hɔnd/ | dog |
kant | /kɑnt/ | side |
bank | /bɑŋk/ | bank |
Note the absence of the cluster /mb/. Monomorphemes with this consonant cluster do not exist.
A selection of other examples of the type in (1) are shown in the table below (limited to mostly monosyllabic monomorphemes):
-mp [mp] | -nk [ŋk] | -nt [nt] |
amp | blank | agent |
damp | dank | aksent |
demp | dronk | dosent |
hemp | flink | kant |
kamp | klank | koerant |
klamp | sink | munt |
klomp | skenk | olifant |
krimp | skink | omtrent |
lamp | stank | pint |
pomp | stronk | prent |
ramp | tronk | punt |
romp | vink | sement |
stamp | vonk | student |
stomp | wenk | tent |
- hemp shirt, in the first column, is a special case of NA. It originates from hemd – as in Dutch, it still has the plural form hemde.
- Words with orthographic -nd in the final position (mostly phonemically /nd/), surface as [nt] and can thus be added to the last column.
toekoms | /tukɔms/ | future |
langs | /lɑŋs/ | next to |
dans | /dɑns/ | dance |
Heterosyllabic clusters in monomorphemes tend to be homorganic as well, as is shown in the following representative examples:
amper | /ɑm.pər/ | [ɑmpər] | barely |
winkel | /vəŋ.kəl/ | [vəŋkəl] | shop |
konfyt | /kɔn.fəit / | [kɔɱfəit] | jam |
Spanje | /spɑn.jə / | [spɑɲə] | Spain |
tante | /tɑn.tə/ | [tɑntə] | aunt |
The first two items, amper, winkel, are invariants, and so is tante. konfyt is also pronounced as [kɔnfəit], and Spanje as [spɑnjə].
The word openbare could be considered to be a monomorpheme; its incidence of 36 times in the RSG-dataset may be taken as a good baseline for comparisons of RAP in relation to this topic, given that it is a typical current news bulletin word, viz. in the item Openbare Beskermer Public Protector; RAP = 0.33. For the use of RAP (Rule Application Probability) see Introduction to phonological processes.
In compound words, the underlying articulatory place features of the nasal and that of the following consonant do not need to be the same, cf. (4). Where it does happen, NA in such contexts is limited to the underlying alveolar nasal /n/. Therefore, in compounds such as boomstam /boomstɑm/ tree trunk and hangmat /hɑŋmɑt/ hammock the bilabial and velar nasals /m/ resp. /ŋ/ stay intact. While the assimilation of /n/ to following stop obstruents only involves place of articulation, frequently such assimilation is complete when the nasal is followed by another nasal consonant, such as in teenmiddel. A side-effect is then degemination. Furthermore, /n/ is frequently deleted when followed by fricatives (see ). Here the focus is on cases where the second component of the compound begins with an obstruent.
leenplaas | /lenplas/ | [liəmplas] | loan farm |
beenbreuk | /benbrøk/ | [biəmbryœk] | leg fracture |
kleinkind | /kləinkənd/ | [kləiŋkənt] | grandchild |
teenmiddel | /tenmədəl/ | [tiəmədəl] | antidote |
In the following Table, the compounds in the RSG-dataset that in principle may undergo NA are given. The actual RAP indexes of NA for each of the three types occurring in this dataset are mentioned in the Note below.
-np ( /np/ > [mp] | -nb ( /nb/ > [mb] | nb ( /nb/ > [mb] | -nk ( /nk/ > [ŋk] | -nk /nk/ [ŋk] |
aanpas | aanbeveel | Lydenburg | aankla | steenkoolmyn |
eenparig | aanbidding | mynbedrywighede | aankom | teenkanting |
staanplek | aanbly | mynbelange | aankondiging | |
treinpendelaar | aanbod | mynbestuur | aankoop | |
wanpraktyk | aanbreek | Rustenburg | byeenkoms | |
wapenprogram | Inbal | Steinberg | enjinkap | |
wenpunte | inbeweeg | Stellenbosch | fynkam | |
inbreker | Winburg | golfbaankompleks | ||
kernbeheer | woonbuurt | inkatrol | ||
kleinboer | Wynberg | kleinkind | ||
Lichtenburg | ooreenkoms |
- A special type of compound is formed by the prepositions aan- and in-, which can either be independent words or occur productively in constructions such as aanpas and inpas which in other contexts are divisible (cf. resp. pas ... aan and pas ... in).
- RAP: /np/ > [mp] = 0.29 (2 from 7); /nb/ > [mb] = 0.44 (22 from 50); /nk/ > [ŋk] = 0.36 (36 from 121). Note that in some instances, multiple occurrences of the same compound are present in the dataset, e.g. aankla / aanklagte / aanklaer all occur 36 times.
- According to these indexes, no clear strength hierarchy of NA in compounds can be deduced .
- There is some support for the assumption that high-frequency words tend to be more readily subject to NA. For instance aankla (note that aankla represents related words such as aanklagte, aanklaer) shows a much higher RAP (0.56) than most of the other words mentioned above. Of course, specifically in the context of news bulletins some words, like these, tend to be used frequently.
Phrases containing prepositions ending on n (e.g. aan, van in the previous section, as well as in and the conjunction en are numerous. Here we confine the description to van and in in phrases containing place names that are likely to occur in news bulletins, starting with bilabial /p/, /b/ and then velar /k/ viz. in respectively Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Kaapstad.
Generally, NA applies to the same degree as that found in the case of compunds, except in the case of Kaapstad (RAP < 0.12), and, at the other extreme, in the case of Pretoria (RAP = 0.89 for van Pretoria). Regarding in, in Bloemfontein scored a RAP of 0.56, and in Pretoria 0.44.
Afrikaans words ending on nk, e.g. bank /bɑŋk/ (also sometimes phonemicised as /bɑnk/ [bɑŋk]) form their diminutives by adding -ie, rendering [bɑŋki], that is in line with the forms mentioned in (3) above. NA takes place too in cases where a noun ends in a long vowel + /n/ (e.g. maan /man/ moon); diminutive: maantjie [maɲci] (see Le Roux and Pienaar 1971 for this transcription). Both [ɲ] and [c] are palatal, the latter from /k/ by coarticulation with the high-front vowel [i]. Sometimes an alternative transcription is proposed, viz. [maiŋki]; here too the NA of /n/ to the velar stop [k] is evident.
- 1992Fonetiek.Academica
- 1987Afrikaanse fonologie.Macmillan
- 1987Afrikaanse klankleer.Tafelberg
- 1971Uitspraakwoordeboek van Afrikaans.Van Schaik
- 1927Afrikaanse fonetiek.Juta
- 1982Algemene en Afrikaanse generatiewe fonologie.Macmillan
- 2017FonologieVan Schaik