(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:
(please note these examples will use regular
orthography rather than
phonetic transcription due to the lack of
IPA support in
HTML)
Identity
An identity exponent is both simple and common: it has no phonological manifestation at all.
English Example:
DEER + PLURAL ---> deer
Affixation
Affixation is the addition of a prefix, suffix, or infix to a word.
English Example:
WANT + PAST ---> wanted
Reduplication
Reduplication is the repetition of part of a word.
Sanskrit Example:
DA ('give') + PRESENT + ACTIVE + INDICATIVE + FIRST PERSON + SINGULAR --> dadaami (the da at the beginning is from reduplication, 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.
English Example:
STINK + PAST = stank (i becomes a)
An internal modification might be a suprasegmental modification. An example would be a change in pitch.
A slightly controversial exponent is subtraction, in which a sound or group of sounds is removed. Some people don't think this happens.
(Sources: Typology lectures by Dr. Greg Stump, University of Kentucky)