[Lingtyp] morpheme -> empty morph -> epenthetic formative?

[Volker Gast]

Hi Adam,
I think the German "Fugenlaute" ('linking elements', lit. 'gap sounds') 
are a case in point. These elements were originally inflectional 
endings, but they are no longer interpreted as such. They occur between 
the constituents of a compound. In many cases they do not correspond to 
any form of the first member of the compound at all, e.g.

Schololade-n-pudding 'chocolate-n-pudding'

In other cases the original interpretation still seems to be accessible, 
e.g.

Institut-s-direktor 'institute-GEN-director'

I think this paper by D. Nübling and R. Szczepaniak contains some 
relevant information and references (and it shows that, as always, 
things are more complicated than we may have thought ...).

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11525-013-9213-9.pdf

Best,
Volker

Am 03.02.2020 um 14:10 schrieb TALLMAN Adam:
> Hey everyone,
>
> I'm asking if anyone has described or found likely cases where some 
> epenthetic segment(s) has/have been exapted from previously meaningful 
> morphology.
>
> So think of a morpheme that once meant something, becomes semantically 
> bleached, but then acquires a function as an epenthetic element to 
> meet minimality conditions or to avoid vowel hiatus or something else.
>
> I understand (from wikipedia) that /t/ in French interrogatives comes 
> from habet and could be an example of this and the insertion of /n/ in 
> English after 'a' determiner #vowel  is also an example. I'm wondering 
> about more sources on diachronic processes like these. Also any good 
> sources on the French and English processes would also be helpful.
>
> best,
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>
>
> Adam James Ross Tallman (PhD, UT Austin)
> ELDP-SOAS -- Postdoctorant
> CNRS -- Dynamique Du Langage (UMR 5596)
> Bureau 207, 14 av. Berthelot, Lyon (07)
> Numero celular en bolivia: +59163116867
>
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