Mbi alomorfinë e prapashtesave fjalëformuese në gjuhën Shqipe

Abstract

The objective of this paper has been to analyze the phenomenon of the occurrence of the epenthetic /ë/ in the position between a base stem that ends with a consonant and a suffix that begins with a consonant. The suffixes -tar, -si, -ri, -shave been the objects of analysis. In the current studies on word formation in Albanian linguistics, based mainly on the structuralist approach, this phenomenon, although defined as a phonological one, has led to the acceptance of allomorphy for these respective suffixes. Such a conclusion comes naturally, if we take into account that the morphological structure of the complex word, according to the traditional structuralist approach, is conceptualized as a product of the cooperation between a base stem and the suffix. The consequence of this is that any morphological change that occurs in the structure of the complex word is considered as a reflection of the changes that can undergo in the respective morphological input units.
In this paper another perspective was followed, that of the construction morphology, according to which the structure of the complex word can be represented as a construction in which three structures interact to each-other: the phonological structure, the morphological structure, and the semantic one. Any change that happens in the morphological structure, as the basis of a morphological word formation process, is reflected in the changes that occur in the phonological and semantic structure too. But these changes are not a mechanical reflection of the process of merging of two morphological units: the base stem and the suffix. On the contrary, they are motivated and realized according to the rules of organizing of the phonological and respectively semantic structure of the complex word. The participation of such phenomena in the process of word formation leads us to the conceptualization of word formation as a complex process, moving away from its simplified presentation as a concatenation of morphemes, or complex stems with morphemes. The creation of a new lexeme is accomplished through the organization of a new phonological form, which is parallel to the conception of the semantic component. This means that not every change in the phonological structure of the complex word is necessarily a reflection of the changes that undergo the morphological input units of the word formation process. Following this idea in our analysis we came to the conclusion that the occurrence of the epenthetic -ë- is a genuine phonetic phenomenon, determined by the organization of the metric and prosodic structure of the complex word. It has nothing to do with the phonological representation of the morphological units that enter in the word formation process.
Since the phenomenon of epenthetic -ë- affects only the phonological structure of the complex word, we consider it inappropriate to accept the allomorphy in the cases when this /ë/ [ə] occurs before the suffix. Therefore, according to the analysis applied here, in the case of the Albanian language, only the presence of the unified suffixes: -ko, -lo, -lle, -lli, -llo, -ri, -rit, -rlo, -rmo, -ro, -rro, -s, -si, -sirë, -so, -tar, -ti, -to, -zo, are to be accepted. Such a view should not be interpreted as a denial of allomorphy in the system of suffixes. On the contrary, it is present in other cases, but not in these cases where an-ë- appears before the suffix.