Title of the article

4.Conclusion

In this paper I have discussed phonological asymmetries between nominal and verbal stems of Nivkh, as observed in two phonological phenomena CA and FFD. Though the asymmetries themselves look very different on the surface, this article has made explicit that they are subject to a common generalization, Base-Identity. Given the asymmetric composition of nouns and verbs, Base-Identity makes two predictions: i) nominal and verbal derivatives exhibit different phonological patterns, and ii) it is the nominal stem which exhibits the non-canonical phonology given the strong pressure from the base. Both predictions were borne out in the phonological phenomena discussed above. The base plays a decisive role in computing the phonology of nominal and verbal derivatives in both CA and FFD. As for CA, the current analysis correctly predicts that nominal derivatives accommodate the otherwise illicit segmental sequence (fricative-fricative, nasal-fricative), while verbal derivatives do not. This analysis is superior to previous accounts since it makes no direct use of the notion of exception, which was inevitable in previous works. Rather, the suggested analysis relates the asymmetry in phonology to the compositional asymmetry between nouns and verbs.

As for FFD, nominal derivatives showed conformity to their base, in ending in a voiceless fricative. Verbal stems on the other hand, do not show such conformity since they lack a base. Unlike nominal derivatives, the stem-final fricatives of verbal derivatives appear as lenis, following the canonical phonology of Nivkh. Base-Identity provides us with the mechanism underlying the noun-verb asymmetry, and it correctly predicts their phonological behavior with respect to the canonical phonology of the language.