Exponent (linguistics)
# Exponent (linguistics)

An exponent is a phonological manifestation of a morphosyntactic property. In non-technical language, it is the expression of one or more grammatical properties by sound. There are several kinds of exponents:

* Identity
* Affixation
* Reduplication
* Internal modification
* Subtraction

## Identity

The identity exponent is both simple and common: it has no phonological manifestation at all.

An example in English:

DEER + PLURAL → deer

## Affixation

Affixation is the addition of an affix (such as a prefix, suffix or infix) to a word.

Example in English: want + PAST → wanted

## Reduplication

Reduplication is the repetition of part of a word.

An example in Sanskrit: दा dā ("give") + PRESENT + ACTIVE + INDICATIVE + FIRST PERSON + SINGULAR → ददामि dadāmi (the da at the beginning is from reduplication of dā that involves a vowel change, a characteristic of class 3 verbs in Sanskrit)

## Internal modification

There are several types of internal modification. An internal modification may be segmental, meaning it changes a sound in the root.

An example in English: STINK + PAST = stank (i becomes a)

An internal modification might be a suprasegmental modification. An example would be a change in pitch or stress.

An example of the latter in English (acute accent indicates stress): RECÓRD + NOUN = récord

## Subtraction

Subtraction is the removal of a sound or a group of sounds.

An example in French: OEUF /œf/ ("egg") + PLURAL = œufs /ø/ (final f is lost)

