Morphophonotactic

Morphophonotactic is an adjective used in linguistics to describe the study of how morphology and phonology interact under phonotactic constraints across morpheme boundaries. It focuses on the ways in which the shape of morphemes and the permissible sound sequences of a language influence each other during word formation. The field sits at the intersection of morphology, phonology, and phonotactics, examining how affixes, clitics, and compounding interact with the allowable syllable structures and phoneme patterns of a language.

Key concerns of morphophonotactics include the conditioning of allomorphy by phonotactic context, the selection of allophones for morphemes when they attach to a stem, and the ways in which morphological structure can impose or reveal phonotactic patterns. It also covers phenomena such as vowel harmony in affixation, consonant alternations triggered by morpheme boundaries, epenthesis to resolve illegal clusters, and cliticization effects on syllable structure.

Examples illustrating morphophonotactic phenomena include English plural formation, where the plural suffix -s is realized as [s], [z], or [ɪz] depending on the final sound of the stem; and Turkish, where suffix vowels harmonize with stem vowels to maintain phonotactic cohesion across morpheme boundaries. Such patterns show how the combination of morphemes is constrained by the phonological system, shaping the surface forms of words.

Related concepts include morphophonology, phonotactics, and allomorphy. Morphophonotactics provides a framework for describing and predicting how morphological and phonotactic factors govern real-world word formation.