English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies ISSN 2640-9836 (Print) ISSN 2640-9844 (Online) Vol. 4, No. 4, 2022 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls 105 Original Paper Prosodic Morphology of Verb and Adjective Syllables in Yi Moyinai JIMU 1 1 Southwest Minzu University. Chengdu. China Received: October 21, 202 Accepted: November 28, 2022 Online Published: December 1, 2022 doi:10.22158/eltls.v4n4p105 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/eltls.v4n4p105 Abstract Prosodic morphology is an important research object of prosodic typology, and also one of the important elements of prosody and morphology. This paper briefly discusses the prosodic form of the Yi language in terms of the number of syllables in verbs and adjectives. Pure verbs in Yi language usually appear in the form of single syllables. When restricted in grammatical activities, they are always flexibly used by adding the number of syllables, the most obvious one being nominalization. There are two types of adjectives in the Yi language, namely property adjective and state adjective. They can be mainly differentiated in terms of the syllable numbers of a word: the property adjectives are often monosyllabic, while the state adjectives are polysyllabic. The category of level is also expressed by adjusting the number of syllables. The more syllables, the greater the category of level change. 1. Number of Syllables and Prosodic Form In Sino-Tibetan language, the lexical system of many languages is based on the number of syllables, such as Chinese, Tibetan, Yi and so on. From the prosodic hierarchy theory proposed by McMarthy and Prince (1993), prosodic words were constructed following a “Binary Branching”. In syllabic languages, a foot is divided on the basis of syllables. Thus, Feng Shengli (1995) proposed the degenerate “standard foot”, “degenerate foot” and “super foot” in an analysis of the length and degenerate structure of Chinese syllables. Jiang Di (2021) pointed out that “the number of syllables is first represented by the syllable length of a word and reflected in word form. Word form includes two elements: word length and word type. Word length is measured in syllables, and it can be distinguished from monosyllabic words, two-syllable words, three-syllable words and multi-syllable words. Word type refers to the lexical classification of simple words, derived words, overlapping words and compound words, which is related to both syllable length and word type category.” Therefore, it is very necessary to discuss prosody and morphology at the level of syllable number in typology. “Accordng to the number of syllables, Yi morphemes can be divided into monosyllabic morphemes and www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 4, No. 4, 2022 106 Published by SCHOLINK INC. polysyllabic segmented morphemes, among which polysyllabic segmented morphemes can be divided into two syllabic and polysyllabic morphemes.” (2010, p. 156) Yi monosyllabic morphemes can be used alone, and can also be used with other morphemes through word formation and in configurations of new words. These morphemes have very strong word-building functionality, such as the root “ꆈ nɔ³³” (Yi) combined with another root “ꉙho²¹” (language) constitute “ꆈ ꉙnɔ³³ho²¹” (Yi language). In multi-syllable morphemes, the mainly method of composition is through the use of the compound words. Additional methods include the use of prefixes, infixes and suffixes, such as ꀊ ꂿ a³³mo³³(mom) with “ꀊ a³³” as the prefix, ꆍ ꀋ ꃅ ȵo²¹a²¹mu³³(don’t work), with “ꀋ a²¹” as the infix, and ꃮꌺvo⁵⁵zɯ³³ (piglet) with “ꌺzɯ³³” as the suffix. This paper discusses the syllable number of verbs and adjectives in Yi to describe the prosodic form of syllable number in Yi language. 2. Number of Syllables and Nominalization of Verbs In Yi, most verbs are monosyllabic with strong word-formation ability. Morphemes are often added to change the word length and thus the lexical category. Nominalization is a typical manifestation. The following examples will be grouped into two categories. 2.1 Nominalization of Verbs with Affixes Adding an affix to the verb nominalizes the verb. This changes the lexical category of the word and represents a common means of word formation in the Yi language. Some of the most common suffixes are ꅉde³³,ꅍndu³³,ꇐ lu³³、,ꐨdʑu⁴⁴, and ꃀmo²¹. Some prominent examples include: (1) Verb Verb + Affix → Noun ꌷzo³³ (learn) ꌶꅉzo⁴⁴de³³ (school) ꃅmu³³ (do) ꃅꅍmu³³ndu³³ (deeds) ꂘmʰa⁵⁵ (teach) ꂘꃀmʰa⁵⁵mo²¹ (teacher) It can be seen that after adding affixes to the verb ꌷzo³³ (learn) , ꃅmu³³ (do) , andꂘmʰa⁵⁵ (teach), the verb becomes nominalized and is used as a noun, thus serving as a subject, predicate or other grammatical function. Such as: (2) ꋀꊇ ꌶꅉ ꇬꄉ ꀱꇁꀐ. tsʰo²¹ɣo³³ zo⁴⁴dɯ³³ ko³³ta³³ pʉ³³la³³o⁴⁴ . they school from come back (they’re back from school) ꂘꃀ ꋌꂷ ꄯꒉ ꂘꋒꂷ mʰa⁵⁵mo²¹ tsʰɿ³³ma³³ tʰɯ²¹ʑɿ³³ mʰa⁵⁵dzi³³ ma³³ teacher this book teach well one (The teacher teaches well) Thus, its lexical attribute is related to the number of syllables. To nominalize a verb, it is necessary to add other morphemes after the verb. Thus turning a monosyllabic verb into a two-syllable noun. 2.2 Monosyllabic and Syllabic Structure Category of Verbs In Yi, there are mainly monosyllable, double-syllable, trisyllable and quadra-syllable words. Except for www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 4, No. 4, 2022 107 Published by SCHOLINK INC. monosyllables, all syllables form relationships in structure, which mainly include subject-verb combination, object-verb combination, modified-middle combination, and moving-complement combination. Three phonetic paragraph forms, 1+1+1, 1+2 and 2+1, each appear in trisyllables. The 1+1+1 type mainly appear in joint phrases, such as ꉜꑌꉜhɯ²¹ni³³hɯ²¹，ꃅ ꑌ ꃅ mu³³ȵi³³mu³³ (watching and doing). The negative structures, however, are fixed as 1+2 types, like ꋚ ꄤ ꃅ dza³³/tʰa²¹mu³³ (don’t cook) ꅇꀋꉉdo²¹/a²¹hi²¹ (not talking). Examples of 1+2 and 2+1 forms are as follows: (3) subject-verb combination: ꉌꂵꇿhɛ³³ma⁵⁵/kʰa³³ ꂷꉐꐛma³³ha³³/dʑi²¹ heart happy (happy) rain fall (rain) object-verb combination: ꑸꑽꃶʑɛ²¹ʑo⁵⁵/vu³³ ꈊꇐꌷkɯ⁵⁵lu³³/zo³³ potato buy (buy potatoes) knowledge learning (study) verb-complement combination: ꀖꅐꇁpi⁵⁵/du³³la³³ ꆗꀊꃶɬi⁵⁵/a³³vu³³ take out (take out) bask dry (dry in the sun) modified-middle combination: ꎔꃅꌷndʐa⁵⁵mu³³/zo³³ ꉪꄉꉉŋo²¹da³³/hi²¹ nicely learn (learn well) think talk (think before one speaks) It can be seen that the combination mode of three-syllable words in Yi language is mainly 2+1, while the verb complement structure favors 1+2; Whether in 1+2 or 2+1, the verb must be the monosyllabic component. This can be demonstrated in the phonological paragraph detailing the expansion of two-syllable words, as follows: (4) Noun-Noun Compounds Noun -Verb Compounds ꃮꎸvo⁵⁵ʂɯ³³ pig meat (pork) ꏦꄻtʑe³³dɛ³³(make laws) ꃮꀠꎸvo⁵⁵pa³³/ʂɯ³³ (boar meat) * ꏦꃤꄻtʑɛ³³vi³³/dɛ³³ (make laws) ꃮꎸꃚvo⁵⁵/ʂɯ³³fu³³ (pork barbecue) * ꏦꄻꋉtʑɛ³³/dɛ³³tsʰu³³ (make laws) ꃮ ꀠ ꎸ ꃚ vo⁵⁵pa³³ʂɯ³³fu³³ (boarbarbecue) ꏦꃤꄻꋉtʑɛ³³vi³³dɛ³³tsʰu³³(make laws) In these two sets of compound words, modified-middle combinationꃮꎸvo⁵⁵ʂɯ³³(pork), both words are nouns, so whether they are double syllables or single syllables, they can still be attached flexibly. However, in the noun-verb combinations the only way a two-syllable verb may be attached is to a two-syllable noun. Otherwise, two verb syllables are not permissible in these compounds. In the same way, the single syllable verb ꄻdɛ³³(make) becomes a double syllable verb ꄻꋉde³³tsʰu³³ (make) is not allowed. This indicates that the verb must be monosyllabic in Yi, and the nature of the verb will change if the verb is legally extended from monosyllabic to polysyllabic. This is the effect of prosody on the length of the verb. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 4, No. 4, 2022 108 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 3. Category and Number of Syllables in Adjectives In Yi, there are a large number of adjectives, and the rhythm is very beautiful, with powerful expression and descriptive functionality. Yi adjectives are mainly divided into character adjectives and status-adjectives, character adjective such as ꉾxɯ³³(good), ꎔndʐa⁵⁵(beautiful) ꀑꁮo³³bu³³(intelligent), status-adjective such as ꀊꐎa³³tɕʰu³³ (white), ꃴꇉvu⁵⁵lo³³ (lush green), ꄿꀠꀠda³³ba³³ba³³(small), ꁖꃅꁖꈥꈥ bi⁵⁵mu³³bi⁵⁵ɡo²¹ɡo²¹(empty). It is possible for one word to have one to six syllables. All are synthesized, mainly through word formation or conformation, that is, adding and overlapping to create a large number of morphic adjectives. 3.1 “Grade”of Adjectives in Yi Language In Yi, adjectives have typical “grade” categories, as follows: (5) base words higher much higher a. ꃪ ꃪꃪ ꃪꐯꃪ va⁵⁵ (good) va⁵⁵va⁵⁵ (very good) va⁵⁵dʑɿ³³va³³ (quite good) b. ꀂꎴ ꀂꎴꌺ ꀂꎴꌺꌺ i³³ʂo³³ (short) i³³ʂo³³zɯ³³ (very short) i³³ʂo³³zɯ³³zɯ³³ (quite short) c. ꀊꊸ ꀊꊸꊸ ꀊꃅꀊꊸꊸ a³³tsʰa³³ (hot) a³³tsʰa³³tsʰa³³ (very hot ) a³³mu³³a³³tsʰa³³tsʰa³³ (quite hot) d. ꎵꑳ ꎵꑳꑳ ꎵꃅꎵꑳꑳ ʂo²¹ʑi³³ (straight) ʂo²¹ʑi³³ʑi³³ (very straight) ʂo²¹mu³³ʂo²¹ʑi³³ʑi³³ (quite straight) In the above example, the following points can be drawn: First of all, Yi adjectives have three forms in additional affix, prefix infix and suffix. Secondly, Yi’s adjectives can be compatible with two cases, word formation and configuration as in case 2. Adjectives by means of word formation combines the two words “i³³ʂo³³” (short) and “zɯ³³”(son). The configuration method of the overlapping syllable zɯ³³(son), makes adjectives change on “grade”, thus it can be seen that Yi adjectives can be compatible with formation and configuration in both cases. Thirdly, adjectives in Yi language have grade differences after overlapping; the more overlapping syllables, the higher the degree of “grade”. 3.2 The number of Syllables and Grammatical Category of Adjectives In terms of grammatical nature, adjectives in Yi have the following characteristics: First, although Yi distinguishes nature adjectives and state adjectives when used in sentences, the boundary between nature adjectives and state adjectives will change with the difference of the number of syllables. In general, most monosyllabic adjectives can only modify monosyllabic nouns, while two-syllable adjectives mainly modify two-syllable nouns, such as: (6) Syllable collocation restriction ꀑꁮo³³bu³³ *o³³ma³³bu³³ o³³bu³³nɔ³³bu³³ (smart) ꃨꏂvɛ³³ʂɿ³³ *bu⁵⁵vɛ³³ʂɿ³³ bu⁵⁵vɛ³³a³³ʂɿ³³ (yellow flower) ꆧꏀɬo²¹ʂɿ⁵⁵ *vo²¹ɬo²¹ʂɿ⁵⁵ vo²¹ɬo²¹a³³ʂɿ⁵⁵ (green vegetables) These nature words carrying monosyllabic adjective modifiers double syllable nouns are obviously not www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 4, No. 4, 2022 109 Published by SCHOLINK INC. permissible. Double syllable state adjectives modify double syllable nouns, such as vo²¹ɬo²¹a³³ʂɿ⁵⁵, although such a word may exist, in practice, one needs to add “ꃅmu³³”“ꌠsu³³”“ꄉta³³” etc. This is more in line with the Yi language usage habits. (7) * ꋌ ꁬꃨ ꀊꏂꉌꃹ ꋌ ꁬꃨ ꀊꏂꌠ ꉌꃹ tsʰɿ³³ bu⁵⁵vɛ³³ a³³ʂɿ³³su³³ hɛ³³vu³³ she flower yellow like (She likes yellow flowers) Secondly, the superimposed state adjective is originally derived from the superimposed affix of qualitative adjectives. The basic form of the adjective can only be a monosyllabic adjective rather than a two-syllable adjective, as follows: (8) ꃴꇉvu⁵⁵lo³³ vu⁵⁵lo³³lo³³ *a³³vu⁵⁵lo³³lo³³ (lush green) ꀍꆽɔ³³lɛ³³ ɔ³³lɛ³³lɛ³³ *ɔ³³ma³³lɛ³³lɛ³³ (to keep one’s head up - signifying confidence) ꇵꂿku²¹mo²¹ ku²¹mo²¹mo²¹ *ku²¹ma³³mo²¹mo²¹ (boiling sweat- signifying to sweat profusely) Third, the Yi monosyllabic adjectives have two situations after overlapping. One of which becomes the question word and the other the state adjective, as follows: (9) base words question words adjective words ꏢtɕi³³ (sour) tɕi⁴⁴tɕi³³( is it sour) tɕiː²¹⁴tɕi³³(very sour) ꎔndʑa⁵⁵(beautiful) ndʑa⁵⁵ndʑa⁴⁴(is it beautiful) ndʑaː⁵⁵ndʑa⁴⁴(very beautiful) ꍲtʂʰu³³(sweet) tʂʰu³³ ⁴⁴tʂʰu³³( is it sweet) tʂʰuː⁴⁴tʂʰu³³ (very sweet) ꀊꐎa³³tɕʰu³³(white) *a³³tɕʰu³³a³³tɕʰu³³(is it white) *a³³tɕʰuː³³a³³tɕʰu³³ It can be seen that in this kind of adjective variant, all the adjectives that can overlap are monosyllabic adjectives, which mainly rely on the phonetic length to distinguish the word meaning and part of speech. However, it is not allowed in two-syllable adjectives. Although there are also two syllable state adjectives with overlapping affixes, there is no difference between the state adjective and the overlapping state adjective depending on the phonetic duration like that of single syllables, such as: ꂿꐚmo³³dʑi³³(see clearly) mo³³dʑi⁴⁴dʑi³³(see clearly) *mo³³dʑi³³mo³³dʑi³³ This shows that words mainly occur in monosyllabic adjectives. The main reason is that the characteristics of the adjective with two syllables are weakened, and more of them are transformed into state adjectives. Based on the above grammatical features, it can be seen that the number of syllables can distinguish between nature adjectives or state adjectives. Especially in the two - syllable adjectives, the definition of nature and state category is more vague. However, it can be concluded from a large number of linguistic facts that only monosyllabic adjectives are nature adjectives in a strict sense, while those with two or more syllables are more similar to state adjectives. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 4, No. 4, 2022 110 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 4. Conclusion To sum up, the number of syllables plays an important and decisive role in defining the category of speech and the change of word morphology. Typical manifestations are the nominalization of verbs after attaching morphemes, the division of word classes by syllables in adjectives, and the category of “level” expressed by the number of syllables. From the perspective of prosodic word formation, the number of syllables is a direct reflection of word length. The number of syllables allowed is bound by grammatical function. Reference Feng, S. L. (1995). Prosodic structure and prosodic constrained syntax in Chinese (Doctoral Dissertation). University of California San Diego Jiang, D. (2021). Syllabic number morphology and morphological types of Tibetan adjectives. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, (19), 1-27. McMarthy. J., & Prince, A. (1993). Prosodic Morphology I.ms. Wang, X. Y. (2010). Introduction to Modern Yi language, 156.