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In linguistics, an alternation is the phenomenon of a phoneme or morpheme exhibiting variation in its phonological realization. Each of the various realizations is called an alternate. The variation may be conditioned by the phonological, morphological, and/or syntactic environment in which the morpheme finds itself.

Alternations provide linguists with data that allow them to determine the allophones and allomorphs of a language's phonemes and morphemes and to develop analyses determining the distribution of those allophones and allomorphs.

See also: Allomorph

An example of a phonologically conditioned alternation is the English plural marker commonly spelled s or es.^[1] This morpheme is pronounced [s], [z], or [ɪz], depending on the nature of the preceding sound.

1. If the preceding sound is a sibilant consonant (one of /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, or /dʒ/), the plural marker takes the form [ɪz]. Examples:
   • mass [mæs], plural masses [ˈmæsɪz]
   • fez [fɛz], plural fezzes [ˈfɛzɪz]
   • mesh [mɛʃ], plural meshes [ˈmɛʃɪz]
   • mirage [mɪˈrɑʒ], plural mirages [mɪˈrɑʒɪz]
   • church [tʃɝtʃ], plural churches [ˈtʃɝtʃɪz]
   • bridge [brɪdʒ], plural bridges [ˈbrɪdʒɪz]
2. Otherwise, if the preceding sound is voiceless, the plural marker takes the form [s]. Examples:
   • mop [mɑp], plural mops [mɑps]
   • mat [mæt], plural mats [mæts]
   • pack [pæk], plural packs [pæks]
   • cough [kɔf], plural coughs [kɔfs]
   • myth [mɪθ], plural myths [mɪθs]
3. Otherwise, the plural marker takes the form [z].
   • dog [dɔg], plural dogs [dɔgz]
   • glove [glʌv], plural gloves [glʌvz]
   • ram [ræm], plural rams [ræmz]
   • doll [dɑl], plural dolls [dɑlz]
   • toe [toʊ], plural toes [toʊz]

Main article: Apophony

An example of a morphologically conditioned alternation is found in French, where many adjectives have a consonant at the end in the feminine gender that is missing in the masculine:^[2]

• masculine petit [pəti], feminine petite [pətit] "small"
• masculine grand [gʁɑ̃], feminine grande [gʁɑ̃d] "big"
• masculine gros [gʁo], feminine grosse [gʁos] "tall"
• masculine joyeux [ʒwajø], feminine joyeuse [ʒwajøz] "merry"
• masculine franc [fʁɑ̃], feminine franche [fʁɑ̃ʃ] "sincere"
• masculine bon [bɔ̃], feminine bonne [bɔn] "good"

Syntactically conditioned alternations can be found in the Insular Celtic languages, where words undergo various initial consonant mutations depending on their syntactic position.^[3] For example, in Irish, an adjective undergoes lenition after a feminine singular noun:

• unmutated mór [mˠoːɾˠ] "big", mutated in bean mhór [bʲan woːɾˠ] "a big woman"

In Welsh, a noun undergoes soft mutation when it is the direct object of a finite verb:

• unmutated beic [bəik] "bike", mutated in Prynodd y ddynes feic [ˈprənoð ə ˈðənɛs vəik] "The woman bought a bike"

• Sandhi
• Allophone