A Comparative Study of the Morphophonemics of...

A Comparative Study of the Morphophonemics of -ɪle Suffixation in Three Dialects of Bangla

Author Name : Shyamal Das

ABSTRACT

The infinitival inflectional suffix -ɪle undergoes various alterations in the three dialects of Banglaviz Noakhali Bangla (NKB), Tripura Bangla (TB) and Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB). This is caused by the varied treatment the suffix initial high vowel ɪ receives in the respective dialects. Within the suffix, it forms a syllable, without an onset and coda. But universally a medial vowel without an onset cannot form a syllable by itself. Hence, it is either relocated to get an onset or else it is deleted. The former is the case in NKB and TB, while the latter is attested in SCB. In consequence, the entire affixed form including the verbal base undergoes multiple reconfigurations as dictated by the prosodic grammar of the dialect concerned. Investigation into these prosodic processes helps in a) determining the metrical pattern prevailing at the word level in each of these dialects, and b) unearthing the clandestine interaction between morphology and phonology active in each dialect. This paper attempts to project a comparative picture of these morphophonemic processes in the three dialects of Bangla under study.