Allomorphy in possessive prefixes of Aweti

• Grant number: 16/26011-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Indaiá de Santana Bassani
• Grantee: Gustavo Guilherme da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This study focuses on the phenomena of alternation of possessive prefixal morphemes in aweti (Tupi), more precisely, it aims at allomorphy and its conditioning factors. The analysis is sustained by a Distributed Morphology approach (Halle and Marantz, 1993), a syntax-driven model for the architecture of the grammar, which intends to jointly explain the formation of words and sentences. This analysis intends to clarify the underlying processes of prefix formation. The theoretical framework was chosen for providing interesting analysis tools in specific points of the theory, for example, the interfaces between morphology, syntax and semantics and, consequently, allomorphic conditioning. The study methodology is divided into three parts: review of the literature about occurences of possessive prefixes in aweti; analysis of morphophonological phenomena presented in the data, and treatment of the data in the light of the Distributed Morphology framework. At the end of the research, a wider comprehension about aweti language and the allomorphy phenomenon is expected, as well as a small contribution to language studies in a broader sense. (AU)