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Problem 4 - Entrance Test

In Toäbaatî (Austronesian) the word for ‘eye’ is /mata/ and for ‘my eye’ is /mata-/ŋ/. The velar nasal /ŋ/ is the 1sg possessor suffix. If the 2sg suffix is /-mu/, what is the underlying form of the 1sg suffix before vowel-initial roots?

Correct: B

The surface [ŋ] alternates with [n] before vowel-initial enclitics, showing that the underlying form is the archiphoneme /N/ which surfaces as velar [ŋ] word-finally and as coronal [n] before a vowel. Thus the correct choice is the archiphoneme symbolised as ‘n’ in the options.