Introduction

We continue the exploration of phonological alternation as a phenomenon in this chapter. The data we consider here come from a set of number words in Tibetan, a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in present-day Tibet. Even though Tibetan numerals, as we show here, are no different from other phonological alternation phenomena in which a single morpheme has two or more phonetic variants, Tibetan numerals are much more deceptive on the surface. At first glance, it is not obvious that Tibetan numerals present a case of phonological alternation. As a matter of fact, it is not obvious whether they represent a phonological puzzle at all. Consequently, Tibetan numerals are more interesting and challenging to analyze than the phonological alternation phenomena introduced in earlier chapters, and the pattern to Tibetan numerals is harder to unearth.

This chapter has three central objectives. First, it introduces an additional and more challenging phonological alternation problem so that you can become familiar with the range of phenomena we call phonological alternation. Second, it develops and strengthens your ability to tackle more complex phonological alternation puzzles. Third, this chapter reinforces the significance of understanding the concept of underlying representation, a level of representation that may be distinct from the surface representation of a given form. In fact, it is imperative that you start viewing every sound, every word or every sentence as having an underlying form or representation and a surface form or representation. For now, the surface form or representation of a sound, word, or sentence may be equated with what is spoken; the underlying form or representation may be equated with the base form, which may or may not be identical to the surface representation. As we show through this analysis of Tibetan numerals, unless we look at and compare these numerals in terms of these two levels of representation, it is difficult to determine what type of phenomenon they represent and what pattern they exhibit.