Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 March 2021
Dene (Athabaskan) verbs are widely known for their complex morphophonology. The most complex patterns are associated with two conjugation markers, /s/ and /n/, which are associated with a floating H tone to their immediate left. In this paper, we provide an analysis of /θe/ and /ɲe/, the reflexes of the /s/ and /n/ conjugations in Tetsǫ́t’ıné. Whereas previous accounts of these conjugations have relied heavily on morphological conditioning, we show that, once level ordering, autosegmental phonology and metrical phonology are brought to bear on the problem, morphological conditioning is not required. Within the framework of Stratal OT, we propose the Domain Reference Hypothesis, by which phonological constraints may only refer to morphological domains and their edges. In addition, we show that in Tetsǫ́t’ıné there is a correlation between phonological opacity and morphological structure, as predicted by the Stratal OT model.
We wish to thank the many Tetsǫ́t’ıné speakers that Alessandro Jaker has worked with over the years, especially Emerence Cardinal, who helped us check over the data for this article. We also wish to thank the Goyatıkǫ̀ Language Society and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Land and Environment Office for supporting this work. This work was supported in part by NSF/NEF grant FN-249645 to Alessandro Jaker. Thanks also to participants at CLS 52, the University of Toronto Phonetics and Phonology Research Group and the University of Minnesota Linguistics Club for comments on previous versions of this work.