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Root and Clitic Allomorphy in Takitudu Bunun

The goal of the present study is to tease apart the intertwining patterns of root and clitic allomorphy in Takitudu Bunun, an endangered Northern Bunun dialect spoken in central Taiwan. Based on both fieldwork and written documents, it is observed that the forms of several Takitudu enclitics are conditioned by stem-final segments while the root forms themselves alternate between suffixed and encliticized forms. The complexities of the data raise the questions of whether each set of the allomorphs is reducible to a single underlying representation. An examination of relevant data reveals that while enclitic allomorphs can be derived from a single form, multiple underlying representations are necessary for a set of roots. The possible historical origins of the synchronic patterns and their implications for other Bunun dialects will also be discussed.