Some morpho-phonological processes in Godʒdʒam Amharic

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze morpho-phonological processes in Amharic, in particular in the variety spoken in Godʒdʒam. The focus of the paper is those morpho-phonological processes that have been overlooked in the previous works. The study has identified that metathesis of vowels accompanied by devocalization is one of the most peculiarities of the Godʒdʒam Amharic variety. The analysis also shows that the degemination and weakening of tʃtʃ in the morphemes -ətʃtʃ ‘sbj3sg.f’ and -otʃtʃ ‘pl’ are observed in the variety. Note that these changes are precisely morphophonemic. Moreover, it is found out that the phonological processes of vowel raising and vowel centralization are the features of the dialect. The first draft of this paper, which was written in Amharic, was presented in 2018 at the 2^nd National Symposium on Language and Culture, Wollo University, and at 6^th National Symposium on Amharic Language and Cultural Affairs’, Bahir Dar University. I would like to thank the participants of both conferences for their insightful comments.