My article with @wmgbennett.bsky.social is finally out! We show that Xhosa speakers generalize the alternation of certain noun class prefixes to novel words based on root length—suggesting a synchronic pattern, rather than the fossilized remnants of a historical process. #linguistics
doi.org
On the productivity of length-based alternations in Xhosa noun class prefixes
Noun classes in isiXhosa are each associated with specific prefixes on the noun stem. Some of these noun class prefixes exhibit length-based allomorphy: they take one form before multisyllabic stem...
