Which term denotes morphs that are variants of the same morpheme and may be phonologically or morphologically conditioned?

• A. Allophones
• B. Morphemes
• C. Allomorphs
• D. Phonemes

Answer: (C)

The concept here is that a single morpheme can appear in different surface forms, and those different forms are called allomorphs. A morpheme carries a meaning, but its pronunciation or written form can change depending on phonological context or grammatical environment, while the meaning stays the same.

For example, the plural ending in English has several realizations: after voiceless sounds it is pronounced as [s], after voiced sounds as [z], and after sibilant sounds as [ɪz]. These different pronunciations are allomorphs of the same plural morpheme, chosen by the surrounding sounds. Similarly, the past tense ending -ed can be realized as [t], [d], or [ɪd] depending on the consonant sound that comes before it. Despite the different sounds, they all signal the same grammatical meaning of “past tense.”

This idea is distinct from allophones, which are variants of a single phoneme that do not change meaning. Allomorphs change the surface form of a morpheme and can be triggered by phonological or grammatical context, not by a change in meaning.