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The Individual and the Actuation of Sound Change

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The Individual and the Actuation of Sound Change THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE ACTUATION OF SOUND CHANGE Mary Stevens and Jonathan Harrington Institute for Phonetics and Speech Processing mes;[email protected] ABSTRACT las condiciones para el cambio fonético están This paper reviews current experimental siempre presentes. Al mismo tiempo, los approaches to sound change. An ongoing sistemas fonológicos de las lenguas se challenge in sound change research is to link caracterizan por ser considerablemente the initiation of sound change within estables. En este artículo se presentan individual cognitive grammars to the diffusion acercamientos actuales al problema de la of novel variants through the community. The iniciación del cambio fonético. Se mostrará articulatory and perceptual phonetic forces that que los diferentes enfoques acuerdan en la idea bring about the pre-conditions for sound que la variabilidad interindividual puede ser la change and that explain its directionality are clave para comprender cómo de la variación always present in the transmission of spoken sincrónica puede surgir cambio fonético. Se language, yet sound systems are remarkably presentará una visión de conjunto de los stable over time. This paper describes how diferentes factores que dan origen a la recent approaches to the actuation problem variación interindividual, basada en estudios converge on the idea that variability between fonéticos de cuatro áreas: 1) la producción del individuals may be the key to understanding habla, 2) la percepción y el procesamiento how some synchronic variation can become cognitivo, 3) la relación entre la producción y sound change. It then reviews the evidence for la percepción y, 4) la experiencia lingüística y individual differences based on four areas of la imitación. Los resultados de estos estudios phonetic research (speech production, speech señalan que diferencias individuales pueden perception/cognitive processing, the ser el motor del cambio fonético. Al mismo perception-production link, and linguistic tiempo ayudan a explicar por qué el cambio experience and imitation). This evidence fonético es iniciado sólo raras veces – a pesar suggests that differences between individuals de que las interacciones entre hablantes may help to explain why sound change is so generan constantemente las condiciones para rarely actuated even though the phonetic pre- el cambio fonético. conditions are constantly being generated in Palabras clave: cambio fonético, percepción spoken language interactions. del habla, producción del habla, diferencias Keywords: sound change, speech perception, individuales, imitación. speech production, individual differences, 1. INTRODUCTION imitation. The question of how sounds change over time RESUMEN has fascinated speakers and linguists for centuries. Knowledge about sound change El presente artículo reseña actuales enfoques helps to reconstruct our linguistic past and it experimentales del cambio fonético. Un has always been a central part of historical problema recurrente en la investigación del linguistics. But sound change is an especially cambio fonético es vincular la iniciación del popular research topic at present with a cambio fonético en la gramática cognitiva de biannual workshop series established in 2010 un individuo con la cuestión de la difusión de and at least five volumes dedicated to sound nuevas variantes en la comunidad de habla. En change appearing since that time (Recasens, la transmisión del lenguaje oral, las fuerzas Sánchez Miret & Wireback 2010, Solé & articulatorias y perceptivas que hacen surgir Recasens 2012, Sánchez Miret & Recasens 2013, Yu 2013, Harrington & Stevens 2014). given to heterogeneity between individuals in The contributions in these volumes show that approaches to the diffusion of sound change. sound change research now incorporates Labov’s (1963) pioneering research with aspects of many areas of linguistics and residents of Martha’s Vineyard linked speaker neighbouring disciplines including cognitive attitude to participation in a sound change in psychology, computational science, progress and Milroy and Milroy’s (1985) experimental phonetics, laboratory phonology, social network theory suggests certain language acquisition, sociolinguistics, individuals play a more crucial role in phonology and physics. spreading sound change than others depending Sound change can be defined as change to on their social position in the community. An the shared perception and production target for ongoing challenge in sound change research is a speech sound within a speech community, a to link the initiation of sound change within definition that encompasses changes that individual cognitive grammars with the directly impact the number of categorical diffusion of novel variants through the contrasts between sounds (e.g. neutralization) community. as well as changes that involve a shift in the This paper first addresses the way that pronunciation target for a speech segment sound changes can originate in the everyday without loss or introduction of a phonemic variability of spoken interactions in Section 2. contrast (e.g. vowel chain shifts). The Section 3 then focuses on the actuation of conditions that give rise to sound change are sound change and shows convergence between typically distinguished from those that have to recent approaches on the idea that variability do with its diffusion through a speech between individuals may be the key to community (e.g. Ohala 1993, Joseph & Janda understanding how some synchronic variation 2003). Broadly speaking, phonetic models can become sound change. Expanding on this tend to concentrate on identifying the theme, Section 4 considers the evidence for perceptual and articulatory forces that provide individual differences based on results from the pre-conditions for sound change and that four areas of phonetic research and the drive it in a particular direction (e.g. Ohala potential role of such individual differences in 1993). In order to identify these forces, driving sound change. experimental phonetic studies on sound change often factor out between-participant 2. SYNCHRONIC VARIATION AND variability. On the other hand, individual THE ORIGINS OF SOUND CHANGE speaker-listeners are crucial to the origins of Variability is an inherent part of the sound change because, for sound change to transmission of language between speakers occur, it is individual production and and listeners, and can occur due to a range of perception targets for speech sounds that must linguistic and non-linguistic factors. To change. Or, as Milroy and Milroy (1985:347) illustrate with just one example, local speakers noted “linguistic change must presumably of an Australian English variety typically originate in speakers rather than in languages”. pronounce Melbourne as something like Recent phonetic studies have shown that [ˈmæəbm̩], with a vocalized or completely people with similar linguistic backgrounds can elided /l/ alongside reduction of the second differ in terms of their cognitive mapping unstressed syllable (see e.g. Cox and between the auditory signal and perceptual Palethorpe 2007 on Australian English). categories (Beddor 2009, 2012) and in their Although deviating from the spelling and production of speech sounds (Johnson 2006, causing some comment among visitors, this Koenig et al. 2008). This article explores the pronunciation is not unusual in terms of idea that systematic differences between typical patterns of synchronic variation. /l/ is individual members of a speech community more prone to vocalization in syllable-coda may play an important role in the early stages position than elsewhere (e.g. Recasens 2012) of sound change. Key importance has been and segments in unstressed syllables are more likely to be reduced due to gestural overlap is being said and actively choose to reproduce and blending (de Jong et al. 1993). Frequency that variant in their own speech. of use also influences pronunciation (e.g. Building on a long tradition of linking Bybee 2002), so that one might expect sound change to listener perception (e.g. Paul reduction processes to affect the local 1888 [1886], Baudouin de Courtenay 1972 pronunciation of Melbourne but not e.g. [1895]), Ohala’s model was the first to provide (peach) melba, a phonologically similar but a framework to test the evident parallels comparatively rare item for this particular between synchronic variation and diachronic speech community. The link with historical change in the laboratory. In speech perception, sound change is that synchronic tendencies in listeners normally compensate for the the way speech is produced and perceived can, contextual effects on segments due to over time, cause permanent categorical change coarticulation (e.g. Fowler 2005). For example (e.g. Beckman et al 1992, Hura et al. 1992, listeners typically take account of context Hansson 2008, Harrington 2012). This can be effects such as the more fronted tongue seen by comparing the pronunciation of position in loot than in loop in mapping the Melbourne with English words like salmon auditory signal to their cognitive and talk, for example, in which /l/ is no longer representation for /u/. Ohala (1981) suggests pronounced, or by comparing standard Italian that on some rare occasions the listener may be words (e.g. caldo ‘hot’) with cognates from unable for whatever reason to attribute the other varieties also descended from Latin in contextual variation (in this case /u/-fronting) which /l/ has been modified or lost e.g. caudo, to its source (the /t/
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