Exponent (linguistics)
An exponent is a phonological manifestation of a morphosyntactic property. In non-technical language, it is the expression of one or more grammatical properties by sound. There are several kinds of exponents:
- Identity
- Affixation
- Reduplication
- Internal modification
- Subtraction
Identity
The identity exponent is both simple and common: it has no phonological manifestation at all.
An example in English:
DEER + PLURAL → deer
Affixation
Affixation is the addition of a prefix, suffix or infix to a word.
An example in English:
WANT + PAST → wanted
Reduplication
Reduplication is the repetition of part of a word.
An example in Sanskrit:
DA ("give") + PRESENT + ACTIVE + INDICATIVE + FIRST PERSON + SINGULAR → dadaami (the da at the beginning is from reduplication, a characteristic of class 3 verbs in Sanskrit)
Internal modification
There are several types of internal modification. An internal modification may be segmental, meaning it changes a sound in the root.
An example in English:
STINK + PAST = stank (i becomes a)
An internal modification might be a suprasegmental modification. An example would be a change in pitch or stress.
An example of the latter in English (acute accent indicates stress):
RECÓRD + NOUN = récord
Subtraction
Subtraction is the removal of a sound or a group of sounds.
An example in French:
OEUF /œf/ ("egg") + PLURAL = œufs /ø/ (final f is lost)