Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði - 01.01.1981, Síða 60

58
Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson
SUMMARY
This paper deals with the a~ö alternation very common in inflectional paradigms
in Icelandic. It is concluded that the «-Umlaut rule, previously postulated by S.
Valfells (1967), S. R. Anderson (1969a) and J. OreSnik (1975), is in fact a syn-
chronic phonological rule in modern Icelandic, contrary to some recent remarks
by, e. g., Kristján Árnason (1980b), J. B. Hooper (1976), and J. OreSnik (1978a).
The assumption that «-Umlaut is a phonological rule crucially depends on u-
Epenthesis in words such as maður ‘man’ also being a phonological rule (ordered
after w-Umlaut). The author reviews Oresnik’s (1978a) counterarguments against
that rule and finds them inconclusive. He then brings forth some new arguments
to the effect that /í-Epenthesis is a synchronic phonological rule in the modern
language. Surface exceptions to the u-Umlaut rule such as kaktus ‘cactus’ are ex-
plained by referring to Kiparsky’s Universal “Non-automatic neutralization pro-
cesses apply only to derived forms”.
Stephen R. Anderson has repeatedly used the Icelandic H-Umlaut as a powerful
argument in favor of his theory of “Local Ordering”. The author here reviews
Anderson’s arguments, and concludes that they are much too weak for a theory
to be built on.
Then it is observed that the u-Umlaut rule is rather “opaque”, in the sense of
Kiparsky (1973). However, it seems that children learn the rule very early and
easily, perhaps suggesting that Kiparsky’s “Opacity Principle” needs some revision.
The latter part of the paper deals with some a—ö alternations which cannot
be attributed to a phonological u-Umlaut nile. The author denies the possibility
(argued for mainly by S. R. Anderson) of an underlying final u in forms like þökk
‘thank’, börn ‘children’, and concludes that the a—ö alternation in these categories
(strong feminine and neuter nouns, pronouns and adjectives) must be morpho-
logically conditioned, with a underlying, where no u is present. In contrast, it is
maintained that in masculine //-inflection nouns, like köttur ‘cat’, ó' is not morpho-
logically conditioned, but can be attributed to a “minor rule”.
Háskóla íslands,
Reykjavík