Editing Alternation (linguistics) (section)

==Phonologically conditioned alternation==
{{See also|Allomorph}}

An example of a phonologically conditioned alternation is the [[English language|English]] [[plural]] marker commonly spelled ''s'' or ''es''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohn |first=Abigail |chapter=Phonology |pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbooklinguist00aron_948/page/n219 202]–203 |title=The Handbook of Linguistics |url=https://archive.org/details/handbooklinguist00aron_948 |url-access=limited |editor1=Mark Aronoff|editor2=Janie Rees-Miller |year=2001 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |location=Oxford |isbn=0-631-20497-0}}
</ref> This morpheme is pronounced {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, or {{IPA|/ᵻz/}},<ref group=note>The vowel of the inflectional suffix -{{angbr|es}} may belong to the phoneme of either {{IPA|/ɪ/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}} depending on dialect, and {{angbr IPA|ᵻ}} is a shorthand for "either {{IPA|/ɪ/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}}". This usage of the symbol is borrowed from the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''.</ref> depending on the nature of the preceding sound.

# If the preceding sound is a [[sibilant consonant]] (one of {{IPA|/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/}}), or an [[affricate]] (one of {{IPA|/tʃ/, /dʒ/}}), the plural marker takes the form {{IPA|/ᵻz/}}. Examples:
#*''mass'' {{IPA|/ˈmæs/}}, plural ''masses'' {{IPA|/ˈmæs'''ᵻz'''/}}
#*''fez'' {{IPA|/ˈfɛz/}}, plural ''fezzes'' {{IPA|/ˈfɛz'''ᵻz'''/}}
#*''mesh'' {{IPA|/ˈmɛʃ/}}, plural ''meshes'' {{IPA|/ˈmɛʃ'''ᵻz'''/}}
#*''mirage'' {{IPA|/mɪˈrɑːʒ/}}, plural ''mirages'' {{IPA|/mɪˈrɑːʒ'''ᵻz'''/}}
#*''church'' {{IPA|/ˈtʃɜːrtʃ/}}, plural ''churches'' {{IPA|/ˈtʃɜːrtʃ'''ᵻz'''/}}
#*''bridge'' {{IPA|/ˈbrɪdʒ/}}, plural ''bridges'' {{IPA|/ˈbrɪdʒ'''ᵻz'''/}}
# Otherwise, if the preceding sound is [[voice (phonetics)|voiceless]], the plural marker takes the likewise voiceless form {{IPA|/s/}}. Examples:
#*''mop'' {{IPA|/ˈmɒp/}}, plural ''mops'' {{IPA|/ˈmɒp'''s'''/}}
#*''mat'' {{IPA|/ˈmæt/}}, plural ''mats'' {{IPA|/ˈmæt'''s'''/}}
#*''pack'' {{IPA|/ˈpæk/}}, plural ''packs'' {{IPA|/ˈpæk'''s'''/}}
#*''cough'' {{IPA|/ˈkɒf/}}, plural ''coughs'' {{IPA|/ˈkɒf'''s'''/}}
#*''myth'' {{IPA|/ˈmɪθ/}}, plural ''myths'' {{IPA|/ˈmɪθ'''s'''/}}
# Otherwise, the preceding sound is voiced, and the plural marker takes the likewise voiced form {{IPA|/z/}}.
#*''dog'' {{IPA|/ˈdɒɡ/}}, plural ''dogs'' {{IPA|/ˈdɒɡ'''z'''/}}
#*''glove'' {{IPA|/ˈɡlʌv/}}, plural ''gloves'' {{IPA|/ˈɡlʌv'''z'''/}}
#*''ram'' {{IPA|/ˈræm/}}, plural ''rams'' {{IPA|/ˈræm'''z'''/}}
#*''doll'' {{IPA|/ˈdɒl/}}, plural ''dolls'' {{IPA|/ˈdɒl'''z'''/}}
#*''toe'' {{IPA|/ˈtoʊ/}}, plural ''toes'' {{IPA|/ˈtoʊ'''z'''/}}