Positional Neutralization: A Phonologization Approach to Typological Patterns by Jonathan Allen Barnes B.A. (Columbia University) 1992 M.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 1995 M.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 1997 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the GRADUATE DIVISION of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Committee in charge: Professor Sharon Inkelas, Chair Professor Andrew Garrett Professor Larry M. Hyman Professor Alan Timberlake Fall 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Positional Neutralization: A Phonologization Approach to Typological Patterns ©2002 by Jonathan Allen Barnes Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Positional Neutralization: A Phonologization Approach to Typological Patterns by Jonathan Allen Barnes Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California, Berkeley Professor Sharon Inkelas, Chair This study investigates the typology of patterns of positional neutralization, a term referring to systems in which, from a given set of oppositions, one structural position licenses a wider array of contrasts than another. Patterns of positional neutralization of vowel contrasts are surveyed in three pairs of strong and weak positions: stressed/unstressed, final/non-final, and initial/non-initial. For each pair, regularities involving the phonetic content of neutralization patterns are accounted for using a phonologization-based approach to typological patterns. In the phonologization model, phonetics influences phonology only by providing the gradient inputs out of which categorical patterns are created by phonologization. Perceptually ambiguous language-specific phonetic patterns are reinterpreted by listeners, producing new phonological representations of the relevant strings. Once phonologized, these patterns cease to be dependent on phonetic factors for their existence. Phonological 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. patterns are natural because the majority of them descend directly from phonetic patterns. This same phonetic grounding would obtain with or without specific restrictions in the phonology mandating that it be so. Chapter two examines unstressed vowel reduction, of which the vast majority of patterns are based on the neutralization of vowel height contrasts, the phonologized result of perceptual difficulties produced by duration-dependent undershoot. Chapter three looks at final syllables, in which both strong and weak licensing is attested. This ambiguity is attributed to the phonetic complexity of final position: lengthening and gestural enhancement increase the phonetic prominence of domain-final material, while drops in FO and intensity, along with devoicing or non-modal phonation, do the opposite. Chapter four investigates initial syllables, showing that most reported examples of strong licensing for vowels here can be attributed to past or present fixed initial stress. Additionally, an experimental study involving Turkish isolates a process of small-scale phonetic lengthening of initial-syllable vowels. A diachronic scenario implicating this process in the development of vowel harmony patterns is presented. Chapter five concludes the study with a brief comparison of split and integrated models of the phonetics-phonology interface and with discussion of the roles of phonologization and Universal Grammar in accounting for patterns of phonological typology. 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Phonetics and phonology in recent approaches to positional neutralization 4 1.1.1. Pure Prominence 5 1.1.1.1. Phonetic arbitrariness in Pure Prominence models 9 1.1.2. Phonetically-driven Phonology 11 1.1.3. Integrated Phonetics and Phonology 12 1.1.4. Neo-Grounded Phonology 13 1.2. Goals 14 1.3. Phonetics and Phonology in the Phonologization Approach 16 1.4. Categories, neutralization and the phonologization process 20 1.5. Organization 29 Chapter 2. Stressed syllables and unstressed vowel reduction 34 2.1. Unstressed vowel reduction: patterns of neutralization 36 2.1.1. Vowel height contrasts 37 2.1.2. Nasalization 49 2.1.3. Quantity 49 2.2. The Phonetics of Vowel Reduction 52 2.3. Case Studies 57 2.3.1. The phonologization of phonetic vowel reduction: Bulgarian 57 i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2.3.2. Categorical vowel reduction: Belorussian 65 2.3.3. A mixed system: Brazilian Portuguese 67 2.4. A UG-based approach to UVR typology: Crosswhite (2001) 72 2.5. Vowel reduction in Russian 87 2.5.1. Facts 88 2.5.2. Experimental investigation of Russian UVR 95 2.6. Phonetic Determinism in UVR systems 106 2.6.1. Vowel Reduction in Seediq 108 2.7. Summary 113 Chapter 3. Final Syllables 117 3.1. Final syllable prominence 119 3.1.1 Phonetic prominence 119 3.1.2. Psycholinguistic prominence 124 3.2. Phonological strength effects in final position 126 3.2.1. Tone in final position 127 3.2.2. Vocalic strength effects in final position 128 3.2.2. l.Hausa 129 3.2.2.2. Pasiego Spanish 133 3.2.3. Final syllable resistance to assimilation and reduction 143 3.2.3.1. The phonetic roots of Final Resistance 153 3.2.3.2. Syllable structure effects on Final Resistance 161 ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3.2.3.3. Final Strength and psycholinguistic prominence 163 3.3. Why Final Strength is different from Stressed Syllable Strength 166 3.4. Categorical and gradient effects in Final Strength systems 172 3.5. On assumptions concerning licensing capacity and phonetic prominence 181 3.6. Final Weakening 190 3.6.1. Devouring 194 3.6.2. Glottalization 213 3.6.3. Mixed Systems 226 3.6.4. Nasalization 231 3.6.5. Final vowel reduction and loss of contrasts 244 3.6.5.1. Lowering 244 3.6.5.2. Final reduction 247 3.6.5.3. The phonetics of final syllable reduction 253 3.7. Vowel Quantity in final syllables 262 3.7.1. Neutralization of quantity contrasts infinal position 262 3.7.2. Final short vowel avoidance 274 3.8. Summary 276 Chapter 4. Initial Syllables 281 4.1. Recent work involving the phonology of the initial syllable 283 4.1.2. Previous proposals for the motivation of PN in stressed and initial syllables 284 4.1.3. Agenda for this chapter 288 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4.2. Licensing asymmetries in initial position 289 4.3. The Phonetics of Initial Position 293 4.4. Initial-syllable strength effects 303 4.4.1. Initial syllables in languages with fixed initial stress 304 4.4.2. Other sources of duration in initial syllables 310 4.3. Vowel harmony and initial syllables 314 4.5.1. Initial syllables in English 313 4.5.1.1. Methods 315 4.5.1.2. Results 317 4.5.2. Initial syllables in Turkish 318 4.5.2.1. Methods 320 4.5.2.2. Results 323 4.5.3. Consequences of domain-initial strengthening: The Emergence of Turkic Palatal Harmony 328 4.5.3.1. Does vowel harmony come from vowel reduction? 329 4.5.4. Bantu 343 4.6. Summary 348 Chapter 5. Conclusions 353 5.1. Phonologization and Universal Grammar in phonological typology 353 5.2. On the integration of phonetics and phonology 358 5.3. Does “anything go” in phonology? 366 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements The thanks I owe to my committee are on a scale so vast I’m not really sure where to begin. Over the last however-long-it-has-been, they have all shared with me enormous kindness, patience and wisdom. Alan Timberlake shared his knowledge of everything Slavic and his keen thinking at crucial moments throughout the development of this work. Larry Hyman was generous with his ideas, as well as with his experience and his endless enthusiasm. (How many discussions with him have begun, ‘Too bad you don’t have a chapter on...”!) Andrew Garrett has been helpful most recently in keeping a tight rein both on my prose style and on my driving. Over the long term what I have appreciated most has been his remarkable gift for seeing exactly what (if anything) is interesting and important about virtually any issue. Additionally, he has provided inspiration by example, both in his teaching and in his research endeavors. Sharon Inkelas has been the perfect advisor in so many ways - not only because of the lavish Turkish feasts at her house over the years, but also because of the tremendous clarity and insight of her thought. Without her constant help and guidance I could never have succeeded in completing this project. Outside my committee, many people have been subjected to far more of this dissertation than I suspect they ever bargained for. Dasha Kavitskaya listened with patience and understanding to more than her share of half-baked theories and long- v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. winded lamentations. She’s been a fine colleague and a true friend this whole time. Eddie Cushman has been a source of real support for me all the while too, as has Suzanne Wertheim, who has helped more than I could hope to thank her for. Reg, Rosie, and Orangik (So orange!) were faithful companions as well. I am grateful to John Ohala for teaching the course that got me interested in phonetics and phonology to begin with, and for much advice over the years too. I profited greatly from discussions and correspondence with Juliette Blevins, Robert Blust, Bruce Hayes, Ian Maddieson and Donca Steriade at various points in the development of my work. I’m grateful to Ronelle Alexander for starting me off on things Bulgarian and South Slavic.