On the internal structure of Tashlhiyt Berber triconsonantal roots
Mohamed Lahrouchi
direct link: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004417
March 2008
This article examines the internal structure of triconsonantal roots in Tashlhiyt Berber. It is proposed that these roots have a binary-branch- ing head-complement struc
ture, built upon the sonorant and the seg- ment immediately to its left. Evidence for this structure is provided by the imperfective formation. It is argued that only ro
ots that display such a structure undergo gemination in the imperfective. This permits an account for a number of forms that are traditionally ascribed to lexical idiosy
ncrasy, including verbs that are made up entirely of ob- struents and those whose only sonorant is in initial position.