Data (Click here to hide/show data)
The table below contains nouns possessed by a singular possessor in Sierra Popoluca.
| IPA | English Gloss | IPA | English Gloss | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | añxix | 'my cow' | 9. | iñaañi | 'your tortilla' |
| 2. | iñxix | 'your cow' | 10. | ikɨʔ | 'his/her hand' |
| 3. | aŋkɨʔ | 'my hand' | 11. | ampetkuy | 'my broom' |
| 4. | iʔaañi | 'his/her tortilla' | 12. | ityɨk | 'his/her house' |
| 5. | ipetkuy | 'his/her broom' | 13. | iŋkɨʔ | 'your hand' |
| 6. | anaañi | 'my tortilla' | 14. | antɨk | 'my house' |
| 7. | iñtyɨk | 'your house' | 15. | ixix | 'his/her cow' |
| 8. | impetkuy | 'your broom' |
Step 2: Inspect the forms
Compare the forms in each column, then compare the forms in each row.
Note: the symbol /x/ represents a voiceless palatoalveolar fricative, /y/ represents a voiced palatal glide, /ñ/ represents a voiced palatal nasal stop, and /j/ represents a voiceless glottal fricative.
| 'hand' | 'cow' | 'tortilla' | 'broom' | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| my 'X' | aŋkɨʔ | añxix | anaañi | ampetkuy |
| your 'X' | iŋkɨʔ | iñxix | iñaañi | impetkuy |
| his/her 'X' | ikɨʔ | ixix | iʔaañi | ipetkuy |
Keep in mind the following points:
- Constancy of sound usually represents constancy of meaning (after all, morphemes represent correlations of meanings and sounds). Do you find the same sounds across multiple words that contain that meaning?
- Morphemes often change their shape when attached to other morphemes, but they generally do this in predictable ways that are phonetically conditioned