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Lecture 5 Sound Change

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Lecture 5 Sound Change An articulatory theory of sound change An articulatory theory of sound change Hypothesis: Most common initial motivation for sound change is the automation of production. Tokens reduced online, are perceived as reduced and represented in the exemplar cluster as reduced. Therefore we expect sound changes to reflect a decrease in gestural magnitude and an increase in gestural overlap. What are some ways to test the articulatory model? The theory makes predictions about what is a possible sound change. These predictions could be tested on a cross-linguistic database. Sound changes that take place in the languages of the world are very similar (Blevins 2004, Bateman 2000, Hajek 1997, Greenberg et al. 1978). We should consider both common and rare changes and try to explain both. Common and rare changes might have different characteristics. Among the properties we could look for are types of phonetic motivation, types of lexical diffusion, gradualness, conditioning environment and resulting segments. Common vs. rare sound change? We need a database that allows us to test hypotheses concerning what types of changes are common and what types are not. A database of sound changes? Most sound changes have occurred in undocumented periods so that we have no record of them. Even in cases with written records, the phonetic interpretation may be unclear. Only a small number of languages have historic records. So any sample of known sound changes would be biased towards those languages. A database of sound changes? Sound changes are known only for some languages of the world: Languages with written histories. Sound changes can be reconstructed by comparing related languages. PIE *p > f in Germanic Also: Latin ped- Old English fōt Latin piscis Old English fisc Traditional reconstruction of PIE stops (Lehmann 1955) *p *t *k *kw *d *g *gw *bh *dh *gh *ghw The ‘glottalic’ reconstruction (Hopper 1973) *p *t *k *kw *t’ *k’ *kw’ *b *d *g *gw A database of sound changes? Reconstructed changes cannot be the basis of a theory of sound change. Many languages have no recorded history. What can we learn from synchronic descriptions? Most phonological rules that describe sound alternations come about through sound change. Allophonic ‘rules’ or distributions can be thought of as describing sound change. Phonetic conditioning only: Sound changes have histories, too. A sound change starts as a small phonetic change, but then may continue until the affected segments are more distinct phonetically. Palatalization of /k/ in Latin > Spanish k > c > tʃ > ts > s / θ before a front V or glide Spanish: eléctri[k]o vs. electri[s]idad Rule: k > s / ___ front vowel (telescoping) Rule: k > s / ___ front vowel Telescoping (Hyman 1975) Note that the rule is not productive. One can now have /k/ before a front vowel without a change occurring: Spanish: quince [kinse] ‘fifteen’ queso [keso] ‘cheese’ Sound changes have histories, too. Inversion: (Vennemann 1972) If we think of the English plural marker as /z/, then it is necessary to add a vowel in words likes classes, wishes, churches. Historically, however, the vowel was there and a deletion occurred in most contexts, but not where the preceding C was a sibilant. Sound changes have histories, too. Today, the vowel-insertion is morphologically- conditioned, as it is restricted to applying where /z/ is a plural, possessive or 3rd sg. Verb suffix. The k à s ‘rule’ in Spanish is lexically restricted. Phonetic conditioning In order to be sure the synchronic processes we are looking at are phonetically conditioned, we have to exclude alternations that are morphologically or lexically conditioned and not phonetically productive. ALLOPHON Database Shelece Easterday and I constructed a database of phonetically conditioned (allophonic) processes in 82 languages. The languages were chosen to be maximally unrelated genealogically. The sample is based on the GRAMCATS sample described in The Evolution of Grammar (1994). ALLOPHON Database The data was collected from reference grammars and coded as follows: 1. the segment undergoing change, 2. the resulting segment, and 3. the conditioning environment were all coded for phonological features according to the traditional classifications of consonant vs. vowel, voicing, place of articulation and manner of articulation. ALLOPHON Database 2. Multiple segments undergoing a change were described in a single process if a. the input segments constituted a phonetically describable class b. the output segments constituted a phonetically describable class c. the features changed are the same d. the conditioning environment is the same. ALLOPHON Database 3. Whether the process occurs across word- boundaries or not. 4. Whether the process occurs in rapid or casual speech or other special sociolinguistic contexts. 26% of the 800+ processes coded were noted to occur in the conditions mentioned in (4), suggesting that the database represents a shallow time-depth of sound change. Assumptions 1. Allophonic processes and phonetically- conditioned processes are the first stage in the phonologization of sound change. 2. Such processes, like sound change, have phonetic explanations. 3. While phonetic processes are very similar across languages, we recognize that there may be language-specific differences among them. 4. However, we also assume in looking for phonetic explanations, that similar processes across languages will have similar explanations. Some general results 49% of processes are assimilatory and may be gestural retiming. 35% are lenitions or the reduction of gestural magnitude or duration. 3.5% are strengthening Glide strengthening 19 Fricative strengthening 9 Results on assimilation Of 391 assimilation processes Anticipatory 56% (See also Javkin 1978) Carry over 27% Both 17% Place assimilation: C-to-V assimilation Anticipatory 59% C-to-C assimilation Anticipatory 67% (See also Blevins 2004) Strengthening or fortition A phonological process (or sound change) that increases the magnitude or duration of a gesture. NB: defined articulatorily, not acoustically. t > ts or p > pf is not a strengthening, it is a weakening. Closure point is eroding. On a path towards further weakening: pf > f; ts > s. Apparent strengthening or fortition Excrescent Cs: OE þunrian ‘to thunder’; bræmle ‘bramble’ Old Spanish: salir + á ‘leave + FUT’ > salrá > saldrá venir + á ‘come + FUT’> venrá > vendrá Latin: homine ‘man’ > Spanish hombre Excrescent C develops out of articulations that are already present, as shown by the points of articulation. It is not an increase in magnitude of a gesture. Some languages reported to have synchronic or historical palatal glide strengthening. Blust 1990, in a survey of known sound changes in Astronesian languages reports that fortitions are restricted to the semivowels *y and *w. These are detailed on page 50. They include *w becoming [gw] and *y becoming a coronal affricate He even cites cases where the transitional glide between two vowels strengthens into [b] or [g]. Glide strengthening AlloPhon database Most frequent type of C strengthening in AlloPhon database. 12 cases of a palatal glide strengthening ex: Pech /j/ > [dj] (word- or morpheme-initial) (Holt 1999:16) ex: Slavey (Diné) variation: [j] ~ [ʒ] [ʔaji̜lá] ~ [ʔaʒi̜lá] ‘3s did to 3s’ (Rice 1999) Apinajé (Macro-Jê) (Oliveira 2005:58-59) • a. /ajet/ [aˈʑet] ‘to be suspended on a surface’ • b./atkaje/ [atkaˈʑe] ‘to crack; to fissure’ • c. /jar/ [ˈʑari] ‘that (one)!’ Glide strengthening 7 cases of a labiovelar glide strengthening ex: Pech /w/ > [gw] (word- or morpheme-initial) (Holt 1999:16) ex: Apinajé (Oliveira 2005:60a) • a. /kuwe/ [guˈvej] ‘bird’ b. /aw/ [aˈvəɾ] ‘towards you’ Glide strengthening occurs in syllable-initial position. Fricative > stop or affricate 3 cases of palato-alveolar to affricate or stop Pech (Chibchan) /ta-ʃùna/ > [ta-tʃùna] ‘my nail’ (Holt 1999:16 younger speakers use [tʃ]; possible influence of Spanish.) Sheko (Omotic) (Hellenthal 2010: 86) Free variation bāʒà [ bāʒà ] ~ [ bādʒà ] ~ [ bāɟà ] ‘work’ Garífuna (Arawakan) (Taylor 1955: 235) /ʃ/ in unstressed syllables varies with [tʃ] in stressed syllables. Fricative > stop or affricate 3 cases of /f/, /ɸ/, /β/ to /p/. Ningil (Sepik) [p] and [ɸ] fluctuate freely (Manning and Saggers 1977:57) Koiari (Papuan) (Dutton 1996:6) /f/ may have [p] as a free variant with [ɸ] word-initially preceding back vowels. [ɸuˈɸuri] ~ [puˈɸuri] ‘Fufuri (name of a rock) Oksapmin (Papuan) (Loughnane 2009:33) /ɸ/ has [p] as an allophone syllable-finally (no /p/ phoneme as historically, *p and *ɸ merged. Fricative to stop or affricate Are these strengthening? 2 cases of a glottal fricative > palatal fricative before high front vowels Maidu: j > ç / ___ high front V (Shipley 1964) Tinrin: j > c / ___ high front V (Osumi 1995) Fricative to stop or affricate Most of the cases describe variation. Directionality unclear in most cases. In AlloPhon Weakening of /p/ is documented in 8 cases Weakening of a palato-alveolar affricate is found in 3 cases Weakening of stop to fricative is found at every point of articulation, but reported strengthening only at the labial and palato-alveolar points of articulation. Strengthening Evidence concerning fricative to stop / affricate is doubtful. Overwhelmingly, best documented type of strengthening is glide strengthening. Strengthening Evidence that a palatal (high, front) articulation plays a substantial role in strengthening. A role, but a lesser one, is played by labial articulations. No tongue-tip articulations involved in strengthening In the following we compare the points of articulation found in strengthening with those found in assimilation. Strengthening Given how specific ‘strengthening’ processes seem to be 1. Not just the converse of ‘weakening’ 2. Perhaps related to Palatalization and labialization assimilations 1. Both tend to occur in syllable-initial position 2. Both they tend to occur in the same languages ‘Place’ assimilation C-to-V and V-to-C Vowel and glide backness features affecting Cs Table 4. Vowel and glide height features that affect consonants When V features affect Cs, it is the high front vowel that causes assimilation most often. Palatalization An assimilation of a C conditioned by a high and/or front vowel or glide.
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