Reduplicative form and the Root-Affix Asymmetry*

Lushootseed (Central Salish) has three reduplicative morphemes, CVC-‘distributive’, CV-‘diminutive’ and -VC ‘out-of-control’. A straightforward analysis of this system can be provided in McCarthy and Prince’s (1994a, 1999) Generalized Template Theory (GTT), in which the shape of reduplicative morphemes is derived by general constraints on the phonological properties of morphological categories. In Lushootseed, roots tend to permit codas and stressed schwa, while affixes avoid both. The differences between the three Lushootseed reduplicants follow from the assumptions that the CVC-reduplicative morpheme is a root, while CV- and -VC are affixes. In addition to confirming the central tenets of GTT, this study uncovers a markedness implication for reduplication: if a language has unmarked root reduplicants it will also have unmarked affix reduplicants.