6.4. Minor types of lexical oppositions. Sound interchange

Sound interchange = an opposition in which Ws / W forms are differentiated due to an alternation in the phonemic composition of the root. The change may affect the root vowel (food :: feed); root consonant (speak :: speech); both (life :: live). It may also be combined with affixation: strong :: strength; with affixation + shift of stress 'democrat : : de'mocracy.

The process is not active now. Synchronically sound interchange is not a method of W-building, but a basis for contrasting Ws belonging to the same W-family & different parts of speech / different LG groups.

The causes of sound interchange. 1) Ablaut (vowel gradation characteristic of Indo-European languages = a change from 1 vowel to another + a change of stress): drink – drank – drunk. Ablaut furnishes distinctive features for differentiating Ws: bear v : : burden n; bite v : : bit n; ride v : : road n; strike v : : stroke n.

2) Assimilation conditioned by the phonemic environment. 1 of these is vowel mutation (umlaut, characteristic of Germanic languages = a partial assimilation to a succeeding sound, as the fronting / raising of a back / low vowel caused by an [i] / [j] originally standing in the following syllable but now altered / lost): full a : : fill v; whole a : : heal v; knot n : : knit v; tale n : : tell v.

The consonant interchange in phonetic surroundings. The oppositions speak v :: speech n; wake v :: watch n ← the palatal OE [k] very early became [ʧ] but was retained in Vs because of the position before the consonants [s] & [θ] in the 2^nd & 3^rd persons singular.

A voiced consonant in Vs contrasting with an unvoiced one in Ns: in MidE Vs this final sound of the stem occurred in intervocalic positions → voiced. In Ns it ended the W / was followed by a consonant ending. After the loss of endings the voicedness was retained & grew into a distinctive feature: advise v : : advice n; bathe v : : bath n; believe v : : belief n; clothe v : : cloth n; glaze v : : glass n; halve v : : half n; live v : : life n; loathe v : : loath n & a; lose v : : loss n, loose a; prove v : : proof n & a; serve v : : serf n; shelve v : : shelf n; wreathe v : : wreath n.

The difference in the root vowels of these Vs & Ns: the root syllable in Vs was open, in Ns it was closed: shelf n sing. – shelves n pl. – shelve v.

6.5. Distinctive stress

Some otherwise homographic, mostly disyllabic Ns & Vs of Romanic origin have a distinctive stress pattern: accent, asphalt, compact (impact), compound, compress (impress), conflict, contest, contract (extract), contrast, convict, digest, essay, export (import, transport), increase, insult, object (subject, project), perfume, permit, present, produce, progress, protest, rebel, record, survey, torment, transfer. Examples of Ws of more than 2 syllables are few: 'attribute n : : a'ttribute v. Historically: Ws were borrowed from French, the original stress on the last syllable. Ac'cent comes through French from Latin ac'centus. The native Ns were forestressed, assimilation → many loan Ns came to be stressed on the 1^st syllable.

A similar phenomenon in homographic pairs of Adjs & Vbs: `absent a : : ab`sent v; `frequent a : : fre`quent v; `perfect a : : per`fect v; `abstract a : : ab`stract v.

This stress distinction is neither productive nor regular. There are many denominal forestressed Vs, homonymous with the corresponding Ns: comment, exile, figure, preface, quarrel, focus, process, program, triumph.

Disyllabic loan Ws that retain the stress on the 2^nd syllable both in Vs & Ns: accord, account, advance, amount, approach, attack, attempt, concern, defeat, distress, escape.

A separate group – CWs where the corresponding combination of Ws has double stress & the compound N is forestressed, the stress acquires a W-building force: `black `board : : `blackboard & `draw `back : : `drawback.