A Study of Some English Phonological Rules and Their Processes
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Lenition and Optimality Theory
Lenition and Optimality Theory (Proceedings of LSRL XXIV, Feb. 1994) Haike Jacobs French Department Nijmegen University/Free University Amsterdam 1. Introduction Since Kiparsky (1968) generative historical phonology has relied primarily on the following means in accounting for sound change: rule addition, rule simplification, rule loss and rule reordering. Given that the phonological rule as such no longer exists in the recently proposed framework of Optimality theory (cf. Prince and Smolensky 1993), the question arises how sound change can be accounted for in this theory. Prince and Smolensky (1993) contains mainly applications of the theory to non-segmental phonology (that is, stress and syllable structure), whereas the segmental phonology is only briefly (the segmental inventory of Yidiny) touched upon. In this paper, we will present and discuss an account of consonantal weakening processes within the framework of Optimality theory. We will concentrate on lenition in the historical phonology of French, but take into account synchronic allophonic lenition processes as well. This paper purports to demonstrate not only that segmental phonology can straightforwardly be dealt with in optimality theory, but, moreover, that an optimality-based account of lenition is not thwarted by the drawbacks of previous proposals. This paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we will present the main facts of lenition in the historical phonology of French. After that, section 3 briefly discusses previous analyses of this phenomenon, mainly concentrating on their problematic aspects. Section 4 considers the possibilities of accounting for lenition in Optimality theory. Finally, in section 5 the main results of the present paper are summarized. -
Chapter X Positional Factors in Lenition and Fortition
Chapter X Positional factors in Lenition and Fortition 1. Introduction This chapter sets out to identify the bearing that the linear position of a segment may have on its lenition or fortition.1 We take for granted the defi- nition of lenition that has been provided in chapter XXX (Szigetvári): Put- ting aside stress-related lenition (see chapter XXX de Lacy-Bye), the refer- ence to the position of a segment in the linear string is another way of identifying syllabic causality. Something is a lenition iff the effect ob- served is triggered by the specific syllabic status of the segment at hand. The melodic environment thus is irrelevant, and no melodic prime is trans- mitted between segments. Lenition thereby contrasts with the other family of processes that is found in phonology, i.e. adjacency effects. Adjacency may be defined physically (e.g. palatalisation of a consonant by a following vowel) or in more abstract terms (e.g. vowel harmony): in any event, as- similations will transmit a melodic prime from one segment to another, and only a melodically defined subset of items will qualify as a trigger. Posi- tional factors, on the other hand, are unheard of in assimilatory processes: there is no palatalisation that demands, say, "palatalise velars before front vowels, but only in word-initial position". Based on an empirical record that we have tried to make as cross- linguistically relevant as possible, the purpose of this chapter is to establish appropriate empirical generalisations. These are then designed to serve as the input to theories of lenition: here are the challenges, this is what any theory needs to be able to explain. -
Studies in African Linguistics Volume 21, Number 3, December 1990
Studies in African Linguistics Volume 21, Number 3, December 1990 CONTEXTUAL LABIALIZATION IN NA WURI* Roderic F. Casali Ghana Institute of Linguistics Literacy and Bible Translation and UCLA A spectrographic investigation into the non-contrastive labialization of consonants before round vowels in Nawuri (a Kwa language of Ghana) sup ports the notion that this labialization is the result of a phonological, feature spreading rule and not simply an automatic transitional process. This as sumption is further warranted in that it allows for a more natural treatment of some other phonological processes in the language. The fact that labial ization before round vowels is generally not very audible is explained in terms of a principle of speech perception. A final topic addressed is the question of why (both in Nawuri and apparently in a number of other Ghanaian languages as well) contextual labialization does tend to be more perceptible in certain restricted environments. o. Introduction This paper deals with the allophonic labialization of consonants before round vowels in Nawuri, a Kwa language of Ghana.! While such labialization is gener ally not very audible, spectrographic evidence suggests that it is strongly present, * The spectrograms in this study were produced at the phonetics lab of the University of Texas at Arlington using equipment provided through a grant of the Permanent University Fund of the University of Texas system. I would like to thank the following people for their valuable comments and suggestions: Joan Baart, Don Burquest, Mike Cahill, Jerry Edmondson, Norris McKinney, Bob Mugele, Tony Naden, and Keith Snider. I would also like to express my appreciation to Russell Schuh and an anonymous referee for this journal for their helpful criticism of an earlier version, and to Mary Steele for some helpful discussion concerning labialization in Konkomba. -
Stop Epenthesis in English F Marios Fourakis Centra L Institute for the Deaf
Journal of Phonetics (1986) 14, 197 22 1 I Stop Epenthesis in English f Marios Fourakis Centra l Institute for the Deaf. 818 South Euclid, St. Louis, Mis souri 63110. U.S.A. and Robert Port lndiana University , Bloomington, Indiana 47405, U.S.A. Received 14th May 1985. and in revisedform I Ith January 1986 Some phonologists have claimed that the insertion of a stop between a sonorant and a fricative consonant in syllable-final sonorant fricative clusters follows from universal constraints on the human speech perception and produ ction mechanism. Others have claimed that the intrusive stops are products of language or dialect specific phonological rules that are stated in the grammar . In this experiment we examined the produ ction of sonorant - fricative and sonorant-stop fricative clusters by two groups of English speakers. One spoke a South African dialect and the other an American mid-western dfalect. The words tested ended in clusters of [n) or [l) plus [s) or [ts) and their voiced counterparts. Spectrographic analysis revealed that the South African speakers maintained a clear contrast between sonorant fricative and sonorant-stop-fricative clusters. The American speakers always inserted stops after the sonorant if the fricative was voiceless, but when the fricative was voiced, they more often omitted the stop in underlying clusters containing a stop (/ldz/ or /ndz/) but sometimes inserted a stop in clusters such as /n2/ or /lz/. Measurements of the durations of the vowels, sonorants, stops and the final fricatives were made from the spectrograms . The inserted stop in the American productions was significantly shorter than the underlying one and its presence also affected the duration of the preceding nasal. -
Diachronic Phonological Analysis
Diachronic phonological analysis LING 451/551 Winter 2011 Overview • Parallels between synchronic, diachronic phonology • Restructuring • Reconstruction practice Terminology and symbols • Related forms – Synchronic • Alternants, allomorphs: Hungarian [kalap]~[kalab] – Diachronic • Cognates: Latin ped : English /fʊt/ • Sounds of related forms – Synchronic • Alternating segments: Hungarian [p]~[b] – Diachronic • Sound correspondences: Latin [p] : English [f] Synchronic vs. diachronic analysis • Kenstowicz 1994: 115 – “Application of the Comparative Method involves discovering the sound correspondences between presumed cognate words and trying to assign a unique protoform…The entire procedure is similar in certain ways to the discovery of a word‟s synchronic underlying representation on the basis of its phonetic alternants.” Analysis • Synchronic – URs + rules which describe underlying to surface (phonetic) forms – Underlying representation: Hungarian /kalap/ • Diachronic – Proto-forms + sound changes which describe Proto- language to daughter languages – Proto-form: Proto-Indo-European *ped/pod Rules • Synchronic – Phonological rule: Hungarian [-son] [αvoiced] / ___ [-son, αvoiced] • Diachronic – Sound change: PIE *p > Proto-Germanic *f Rule types • Synchronic – Neutralization • Hungarian [-sonorant] [αvoiced] / ___ [-sonorant, αvoiced] – neutralizes difference between /p/, /b/; /t/, /d/ etc. before obstruents – Allophonic • English [-son, -cont, -vd] [+spread glottis] / { ___ V [+stressed] #___ } – creates “new sounds” Rule types • Diachronic -
Patterns in Phonological and Social Variability
Danielle Turton t-glottalling, flapping Lancaster University and pre-glottalisation in British Englishes: Patterns in Cambridge Linguistics Forum phonological and University of Cambridge social variability 5th December 2019 • We’ll be considering a range of t-lenition processes in English • glottalling, flapping and pre-glottalisation • Variation conditioned by a multitude of factors: • phonological context Overview • morpho-syntactic context • sociolinguistic factors (age, sex, social class) • Variation is entirely orderly when considering it from the perspective of phonological theory • Synchronic reflections of the life cycle of phonological processes Three examples glottal stops in flapping in Blackburn pre-glottalisation in Manchester Newcastle Theoretical background t-lenition processes Kiparsky (1979) on American English flapping • Stage 1 : word level city • /t/s which are not foot-initial are [sɪɾi] laxed • city, sit on, sit here, sit • *attack • Stage 2: phrase level sit on • lax tokens of /t/ between vowels [sɪɾ ɑn] are flapped • city, sit on t-lenition processes What happens to laxed /t/s at the word level outside of V_V? • Stage 1 : word level city • /t/s which are not foot-initial are [sɪɾi] laxed • city, sit on, sit there, sit • *attack • American English – unreleased sit on • RP – pre-glottalisation [sɪɾ ɑn] • Scouse – fricativisation Lenition • Urban British – glottal stop trajectories See also Harris & Kaye (1990) The life cycle of phonological processes Bermúdez-Otero (2015) n phon atio olo is gi g sa lo Epiphenomenal -
Chapter on Phonology
13 The (American) English Sound System 13.1a IPA Chart Consonants: Place & Manner of Articulation bilabial labiodental interdental alveolar palatal velar / glottal Plosives: [+voiced] b d g [voiced] p t k Fricatives: [+voiced] v ð z ž [voiced] f θ s š h Affricates: [+voiced] ǰ [voiced] č *Nasals: [+voiced] m n ŋ *Liquids: l r *Glides: w y *Syllabic Nasals and Liquids. When nasals /m/, /n/ and liquids /l/, /r/ take on vowellike properties, they are said to become syllabic: e.g., /ļ/ and /ŗ/ (denoted by a small line diacritic underneath the grapheme). Note how token examples (teacher) /tičŗ/, (little) /lIt ļ/, (table) /tebļ/ (vision) /vIžņ/, despite their creating syllable structures [CVCC] ([CVCC] = consonantvowel consonantconsonant), nonetheless generate a bisyllabic [CVCV] structure whereby we can ‘clapout’ by hand two syllables—e.g., [ [/ ti /] [/ čŗ /] ] and 312 Chapter Thirteen [ [/ lI /] [/ tļ /] ], each showing a [CVCC v] with final consonant [C v] denoting a vocalic /ŗ/ and /ļ/ (respectively). For this reason, ‘fluid’ [Consonantal] (vowellike) nasals, liquids (as well as glides) fall at the bottom half of the IPA chart in opposition to [+Consonantal] stops. 13.1b IPA American Vowels Diphthongs front: back: high: i u ay I ә U oy au e ^ o ε * ] low: æ a 13.1c Examples of IPA: Consonants / b / ball, rob, rabbit / d / dig, sad, sudden / g / got, jogger / p / pan, tip, rapper / t / tip, fit, punter / k / can, keep / v / vase, love / z / zip, buzz, cars / ž / measure, pleasure / f / fun, leaf / s / sip, cent, books / š / shoe, ocean, pressure / ð / the, further / l / lip, table, dollar / č / chair, cello / θ / with, theory / r / red, fear / ǰ / joke, lodge / w / with, water / y / you, year / h / house / m / make, ham / n / near, fan / ŋ / sing, pink The American English Sound System 313 *Note: Many varieties of American English cannot distinguish between the ‘open‘O’ vowel /]/ e.g., as is sounded in caught /k]t/ vs. -
Roux 105 PHONETIC DATA and PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSES This
Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics, Vol. 1, 1978, 105-133 doi: 10.5774/1-0-129 Roux 105 PHONETIC DATA AND PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSES J .C. ROUX This paper is basically concerned with the relationship between phonetic data and phonological analyses. I) It will be shown that phonological analyses based on unverified phonetic data tend to accommodate ad hoc, unmotivated, and even phonetically implausible phonological rules. On the other hand, it will be demonstrated that a phonological analysis (of the same phenome non), based on verified phonetic data, accounts for these data in an ac ceptable, natural and credible manner. Examples will be taken from the phenomenon of labialization in Sesotho2) to illustrate the point that it is absolutely necessary to make a clearcut distinction between "data" and "facts" in generative phonological descriptions. Attention will first be given to different types of phonetic data: impres sionistic phonetic data of Tucker (1929) and of Kunene (i961) will be dis cussed, after which some experimental phonetic data on the phenomenon of labialization in Sesotho will be presented. A phonological analysis of Ponelis (1974) based on unverified phonetic data will then be examined, af ter which finally, a phonological analysis based on verified data will be considered. 1. Phonetic data On two occasions Sara Garnes (1973 : 273; 1974: 144) makes the following statement: "In abstract" phonology phonetic facts are frequently taken for granted and verification of the phonetic facts is largely ignored." This seems to be quite true of many. if not of most of contemporary phonological descriptions. Very seldom are scientific methods adopted to check the cor rectness of phonetic data on which phonological analyses are eventually based. -
Sound Change
Sound change Andrew Garrett UC Berkeley “[T]he causes of sound change are unknown.” — Leonard Bloomfield, Language (1933:385) 1 Introduction If new words and lexical usages are the most recognizable aspect of language change, the emergence of novel pronunciation patterns and the existence of distinct accents of the same language are also familiar to casual observers.1 Despite its ubiquity, there is no generally accepted definition of sound change. It certainly includes phonologization, whereby an automatic phonetic property evolves into a language-specific phonological one (Jakobson 1931, Hyman 1977, 2012). For some analysts, the phenomenon of sound change also encompasses phonological change with other origins, such as dialect contact, paradigm regularization, or structural simplification. Defining the object of study is important when different definitions lead to different views of its mechanisms and properties. Nonetheless, in what follows I take a pragmatic approach, highlighting some phenomena, questions, and further literature that seem especially interesting at present, and setting others aside. Students entering the field in 2013 will find a different landscape from that of a generation ago. Inquiry into the causes and pathways of sound change has been transformed by the work of five scholars in particular. Three of them, Paul Kiparsky (1988, 1995), William Labov (e.g. 1981, 1994, 2001, 2010), and Björn Lindblom (Lindblom 1990, Lindblom et al. 1995), have proposed influential structural analyses of changes within their sound systems. Two others, Juliette Blevins (e.g. Blevins and Garrett 1998, 2004, Blevins 2004, 2006a) and John Ohala (e.g. 1974, 1981, 1983, 1993), have also emphasized the role of articulatory detail and perceptual processes in determining the course of sound changes. -
Handouts for Advanced Phonology: a Course Packet Steve Parker GIAL
Handouts for Advanced Phonology: A Course Packet Steve Parker GIAL and SIL International Dallas, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Steve Parker and other contributors Page 1 of 281 Preface This set of materials is designed to be used as handouts accompanying an advanced course in phonology, particularly at the graduate level. It is specifically intended to be used in conjunction with two textbooks: Phonology in generative grammar (Kenstowicz 1994), and Optimality theory (Kager 1999). However, this course packet could potentially also be adapted for use with other phonology textbooks. The materials included here have been developed by myself and others over many years, in conjunction with courses in phonology taught at SIL programs in North Dakota, Oregon, Dallas, and Norman, OK. Most recently I have used them at GIAL. Many of the special phonetic characters appearing in these materials use IPA fonts available as freeware from the SIL International website. Unless indicated to the contrary on specific individual handouts, all materials used in this packet are the copyright of Steve Parker. These documents are intended primarily for educational use. You may make copies of these works for research or instructional purposes (under fair use guidelines) free of charge and without further permission. However, republication or commercial use of these materials is expressly prohibited without my prior written consent. Steve Parker Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Dallas, 2018 Page 2 of 281 1 Table of contents: list of handouts included in this packet Day 1: Distinctive features — their definitions and uses -Pike’s premises for phonological analysis ......................................................................... 7 -Phonemics analysis flow chart .......................................................................................... -
Submitted to Language the Regularity of Regular Sound Change William
Submitted to Language The regularity of regular sound change William Labov, University of Pennsylvania Abstract Although the Neogrammarian position that sound changes proceed without exception continues to be the working principle of comparative linguistics, many advocates of lexical diffusion maintain that the word is the unit of change. This paper is a study of large scale longitudinal data on current changes in progress which have a regular output, searching for evidence of lexical selection over time. 1The raising of pre-consonantal/eyC/ in made, eight etc. in Philadelphia is examined in a database of 56,748 /ey/ tokens by forced alignment and automatic vowel measurement, for speakers with dates of birth from 1888 to 1992. Multiple regression analyses show fixed effects of date of birth, gender and ethnicity which exhibit minimal change when random effects of lexicon are added. Random coefficients for the 47 most common /ey/ words do not show the differences for the two halves of the century that would be expected if some words were selected only in the second half. The trajectories for the two halves of the century are examined for the 10 most common /eyC/ words and the 6 most common final /eyF/words. The /eyC/ words are all selected in both halves with a continuous raising process. Words with zero and velar onsets lead at the beginning and join with other pre- 1 This work is based on the FAVE program for forced alignment and automatic measurement developed by Mark Liberman, Jiahong Yuan, Keelan Evanini, Ingrid Rosenfelder and Josef Fruehwald, with support from NSF Grant 021643 “Automatic Alignment and Analysis of Linguistic Change.” For corrections and new insights bearing on this study, I am indebted to Maciej Baranowski, Aaron Dinkin, Gregory Guy, Daniel Ezra Johnson, Don Ringe and Gillian Sankoff. -
Phonological Features
Phonological features LING 451/551 Spring 2011 Prof. Hargus Feature • Segments are not indivisible units, but are composed of features. E.g. a feature matrix for /t/: [-continuant] [-sonorant] [+coronal] [-voiced] (an unordered list; re possible internal structure for features, see Hayes 4.6.6) • feature definitions: usually articulatory • feature values: +, -, 0 – 0 = n.a. to segment Functions of features • A feature system must be able to – Describe classes of sounds – Distinguish phonemes – Specify phonetic detail Describe classes • # features inversely proportional to size of class – [p t k b d g]: [-continuant, -sonorant]] – [p]: [-continuant, -sonorant, -voiced, +labial] • (check out FeaturePad from Bruce Hayes’ web site) – http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/hayes/12 0a/FeaturePad.htm Terminological difs traditional phonetic term phonological feature stop [-continuant] nasal [+nasal] round [+round] labiodental [+labiodental] etc. why difs? Hayes (p. 74): phonol classes are broader than phonetic terms Operations on features • Formally, phonological rules are operations on features – A phonological rule adds a feature or changes some value of an already specified feature • In a phonological rule, --> is therefore a metaphor for ‘change’ or ‘add’. • Phonological rules identify classes of sounds via feature(s) • Justification: some phonological rules occur relatively frequently across languages while conceivable rules are rare or non-existent – E.g. post-nasal voicing of stops is common, typically affecting all stops of some language: • /p t k/ --> [b d g] / {m n ŋ} ___ • Hypothetical consonant inventory p t k f s x m n ŋ l w r • But Post-nasal voicing’ is not attested – *p f x --> [b v γ] / {m n ŋ} ___ • If rules are stated in terms of segments, then the unattested and common rules are equally complex.