The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian The
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
63 Marika Butskhrikidze Marika Butskhrikidze Marika Butskhrikidze The Consonant Phonotactics The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian of Georgian The central topic of this thesis is the study of Georgian consonant sequences, e.g. forms of the CCC type. It demonstrates that the complexity of the Georgian consonant clusters is related to morphological complexity and to processes of vowel reduction and complex segment formation. Thus, the Georgian ‘complex’ CCC sequences are derived from structures of the CVCVCV type. The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian For the representation of the consonant phonotactics of Georgian, a phono- logical hierarchy is introduced in which the stem domain is intermediate between the segment and the word domain. It is proposed that a number of phonological principles, the Obligatory Contour Principle, the Sonority Sequencing Principle, the Syllable Contact Law and the Principle of Resolvability are instantiations of a single principle, the Balancing Principle. They govern the consonant co-occurrence restrictions and function at the stem or the word domain, depending on the language type. The hypothesis that a language which has CiCj clusters will also have CiVCj stems is proposed and verified on the basis of Georgian data. This relates to the claim that Georgian clusters are maximally biconsonantal. The Gradual Consonant Analysis, based on different types of evidence - (i) paradigmatic and syntagmatic, (ii) historical, (iii) phonetic and (iv) compar- ative - provides a direct and clear link between empirical structures and theo- retical constructs, and explains why consonants form complex structures in Georgian. This book is of interest to linguists studying phonotactics, phonetics, the phonology-morphology interface and Georgian. Universiteit Leiden ISBN 90-76864-24-1 Centre for Linguistics The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian Published by LOT phone: +31 30 253 6006 3512 JK Utrecht fax: +31 30 253 6000 The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] http://www.let.uu.nl/lot/ Cover illustration: The oldest specimen of Georgian writing, found in the Bolnisi Sioni Temple (5th century). ISBN 90-76864-24-1 NUGI 941 Copyright © 2002 by Marika Butskhrikidze. All rights reserved. The Consonant Phonotactics of Georgian PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D.D. Breimer, hoogleraar in de faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op woensdag 6 november 2002 te klokke 16.15 uur door Marika Butskhrikidze geboren te Tbilisi (Georgië) in 1971 Promotiecommissie promotores: Prof. dr. C.J. Ewen Prof. dr. H.G. van der Hulst (University of Connecticut) co-promotor: Dr. J.M. van de Weijer referent: Prof. dr. E.V. Hume (Ohio State University) overige leden: Prof. dr. V.J. van Heuven Dr. H.J. Smeets YX=5YQL&HPVP6REOHEV [To my parents] Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................... xi Abbreviations and Symbols .......................................................... xiii 1 Preliminaries ....................................................................... 1 1.0. Introduction: the ‘problem’ ............................................................................... 1 1.1. Ontological premises ........................................................................................ 2 1.1.1. Marked vs. unmarked ............................................................................ 3 1.1.2. Form vs. meaning .................................................................................. 5 1.1.3. Lexicon vs. grammar ............................................................................. 9 1.2. Epistemological premises ............................................................................... 11 1.3. Language as an open system ........................................................................... 12 1.4. Methodology ................................................................................................... 14 1.5. Proposals ......................................................................................................... 15 1.6. Outline ............................................................................................................ 16 2 Phonotactics: Domains and Principles ........................... 19 2.0. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 19 2.1. The domain ..................................................................................................... 20 2.1.0. Introduction ......................................................................................... 20 2.1.1. The word ............................................................................................. 21 2.1.2. The syllable ......................................................................................... 25 2.1.2.0. Introduction .............................................................................. 25 2.1.2.1. Syllabification .......................................................................... 27 2.1.2.2. Phonotactics ............................................................................. 31 2.1.2.3. Word-edge phenomena ............................................................. 33 2.1.2.4. Phonological processes ............................................................ 35 2.1.2.5. Accent assignment ................................................................... 40 2.1.2.6. Conclusions .............................................................................. 41 viii CONTENTS 2.1.3. The stem .............................................................................................. 42 2.1.3.1. Phonotactic restrictions ............................................................ 42 2.1.3.2. Phonological processes ............................................................ 45 2.1.3.3. Accent assignment ................................................................... 48 2.1.3.4. Conclusions .............................................................................. 49 2.1.4. General conclusions ............................................................................ 50 2.2. Morphological typology ................................................................................. 50 2.2.0. Introduction ......................................................................................... 50 2.2.1. Previous studies on morphological typology ...................................... 51 2.2.2. The morphological classification revised ............................................ 52 2.3. Principles ........................................................................................................ 59 2.3.0. Introduction ......................................................................................... 59 2.3.1. The Obligatory Contour Principle ....................................................... 61 2.3.2. The Sonority Sequencing Principle ..................................................... 64 2.3.2.0. Introduction .............................................................................. 64 2.3.2.1. Statistical data from Zubkova (1990) ....................................... 64 2.3.2.2. Conclusions .............................................................................. 68 2.3.3. The Principle of Resolvability ............................................................. 68 2.3.4. Phonotactic generalisations ................................................................. 70 2.3.5. Conclusions ......................................................................................... 70 2.4. General conclusions ........................................................................................ 71 3 Georgian Phonotactics ...................................................... 75 3.0. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 75 3.1. The Georgian language ................................................................................... 75 3.2. The phonemic inventory ................................................................................. 80 3.2.1. The vowel system ................................................................................ 81 3.2.2. Hiatus .................................................................................................. 83 3.2.3. Labials ................................................................................................. 84 3.2.4. Conclusions ......................................................................................... 85 3.3. The consonant system ..................................................................................... 85 3.3.1. Syllabicity of sonorants ....................................................................... 88 3.3.2. The sonorant /v/ as a secondary articulation ........................................ 93 3.4. The minimal word ........................................................................................... 96 3.4.1. Word-final position ............................................................................. 98 3.4.2. Word-initial position ........................................................................... 99 3.4.3. Conclusions ....................................................................................... 100 CONTENTS