New words are typically created on the basis of already existing words, by combining those into compounds (e.g. fingertip, shipwreck) or by applying an affix (e.g. boldness, unfair). In the latter case the affix may appear to either simply combine with the base (e.g. child + hood => childhood, envy + able => enviable) or yield various types of modification (e.g. some sort of "truncation" in nominate + ee => nominee, "stress shift" in Dárwin + ian => Darwínian). In the seminar we will explore systematic patterns observed in the phonology of affixed words in various Germanic languages. Certain properties will be shown to be rather similar across these languages, including the dependency of potential phonological effects on the position and shape of the affix. The goal of the seminar is then to explain restrictions on the types of affixes which trigger modifications (e.g. the presence of a vowel or a consonant in the initial position of a suffix) and limits on the modifications themselves (e.g. conditions on rightward versus leftward "stress shift"). Participants who register for the course through Campus Management will receive additional information and reading material. Others should contact me directly (rrenate@zedat-fu-berlin.de). close