happier > hap yer
kindlier > kin lyer
narrower > nar wer
subtler > sut ler
carefully > care flee
gratefulest > grateflest
meagerest > meagrest
oftenest > ofnest
unbecomingly > unbecomlee
A morphological development may be blocked when several unstressed syllables would occur in succession (unless one can be reduced by degemination), esp if complex clusters would stand between unstressed syllables.
Thus, the formations, *difficultly, *difficulter, and *difficultest are ruled out in Eng because of their phonetological characteristics. This is not--pace grammarians--because of the length of the words, since unbecomingly and insincerest are all right.
Happier, kindlier, narrower, subtler, carefully, gratefulest, meagerest, and oftenest are acceptable because the syllables preceding inflectional endings are reducible by degemination.
#W+#infl ~ #W+#infl - 1
*rabidest (d is not a sonorant)
*graphick#er
traffick#er, diffident#ish
The facts that just stated seem to be at variance with the requirement that -ed- be pronounced as a full syllable before -ly and -ness as in markedly, markedness.
Increased constant clustering is no problem--as the increased consonantal clustering wud be in mark'dly and mark'dness--since sonorants often cluster easily. This is not true of a post-obstruent nasal.
The -ed- reduces obstruent clustering and makes words easier to pronounce.
Degemination (r, l, m, n )makes for ease too
Addition:
Gerunds and attributive participles in -ing ending in an unstressed vowel plus a sonorant are
dissyllabic in normal tempos when the uninflected verb is dissyllabic (e.g. soft'ning, lab'lling, lab'ring,
andfoll'ning), while the predicative variant is trissyllabic (eg. softening, labelling, labouring,and
follov'ing). Similar differences exist with anterior participles; contrast attributive agid, learnid, burnt,
spilt, rotten, molten, swollen, laden, sunken, and drunken with predicative ag'd, Iearn'd, burned,
spilled, rotted, melted, swelled, loaded, sunk, and drunk. Note -ed after stressed syllables when -ly
or -ness is added to a participle in -ed; e.g. morkedly, markedness.
kindlier > kin lyer
narrower > nar wer
subtler > sut ler
carefully > care flee
gratefulest > grateflest
meagerest > meagrest
oftenest > ofnest
unbecomingly > unbecomlee
A morphological development may be blocked when several unstressed syllables would occur in succession (unless one can be reduced by degemination), esp if complex clusters would stand between unstressed syllables.
Thus, the formations, *difficultly, *difficulter, and *difficultest are ruled out in Eng because of their phonetological characteristics. This is not--pace grammarians--because of the length of the words, since unbecomingly and insincerest are all right.
Happier, kindlier, narrower, subtler, carefully, gratefulest, meagerest, and oftenest are acceptable because the syllables preceding inflectional endings are reducible by degemination.
#W+#infl ~ #W+#infl - 1
*rabidest (d is not a sonorant)
*graphick#er
traffick#er, diffident#ish
The facts that just stated seem to be at variance with the requirement that -ed- be pronounced as a full syllable before -ly and -ness as in markedly, markedness.
Increased constant clustering is no problem--as the increased consonantal clustering wud be in mark'dly and mark'dness--since sonorants often cluster easily. This is not true of a post-obstruent nasal.
The -ed- reduces obstruent clustering and makes words easier to pronounce.
Degemination (r, l, m, n )makes for ease too
Addition:
Gerunds and attributive participles in -ing ending in an unstressed vowel plus a sonorant are
dissyllabic in normal tempos when the uninflected verb is dissyllabic (e.g. soft'ning, lab'lling, lab'ring,
andfoll'ning), while the predicative variant is trissyllabic (eg. softening, labelling, labouring,and
follov'ing). Similar differences exist with anterior participles; contrast attributive agid, learnid, burnt,
spilt, rotten, molten, swollen, laden, sunken, and drunken with predicative ag'd, Iearn'd, burned,
spilled, rotted, melted, swelled, loaded, sunk, and drunk. Note -ed after stressed syllables when -ly
or -ness is added to a participle in -ed; e.g. morkedly, markedness.
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