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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6* x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' THE PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS OF WORD-INITIAL GEMINATES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requkements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By JennfferS. Muller, BA., M A ***** The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Elizabeth V. Hume O’Haife, Adviser ^ 1 /ld Q~ iL?. _ 9 . Professor Keith. Johnson Adviser Professor David Odden Department of Linguistics UMI Number3031234 Copyright2001 by Muller, Jennifer Suzanne All rights reserved. UMI’ UMI Microform 3031234 Copyright 2002 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box: 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Jennifer & Muller 2001 - ABSTRACT The phonology and phonetics of word-initial geminate consonants are investigated in this dissertation. The phonology portion concentrates on the patterning and distribution of these sounds in Leti, Chuukese^ Cypriot Greek, and Luganda. The observed patterning of initial geminates mdicates the need for revision of currently defended models of prosodic representation. Specifically, it is shown that the diverse patterning of geminates in these languages is best accounted for within a framework that assumes the existence of both concrete phonological timmg units and abstract prosodic weight units. Crucially, the model that is developed and defended in this work claims that geminates are inherently linked to two timing slots, and may bear prosodic weight (but are not required to), depending upon language-specific requirements. Complementmg the mvestigation of the abstract behavior of initial geminates is a phonetic investigation of the production and. perception of these sounds in Cypriot Greek. The phonetic aspects are of particular interest for one simple reason: these sounds are commonly assumed to be impossible fi)r listeners to distinguish fiem non-geminate sounds. This is due to the fact that the most salient acoustic feature for geminates, duration, may be indistinguishable when the sound is in word initial position. However, it as wül be show% the productioa of initial gemmates m Cypriot allows listeners to correctly discriminate between initial gemmates and singletons in environments that are otherwise lacking in. phonetic cues. In addition to the phonological and phonetic analyses outlined above, this woric also contains a database of typological in&rmation, reporting oa a diverse set of languages that are claimed to have word-initial gemmates. This dissertation represents the first major cross-linguistic study of initial gemmates. It is a crucial prelhninaiy step in understanding a significantly understudied class of sounds, thereby providing a more solid empirical basis for the study of language sound systems. ui forntymom IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Each, member of my dissertatica committee is aa ideal mixture of scholar, teacher, and Êiend. Elizabeth Hume CHaire sets the standard for what an adviser can be. She has been consistently kind, patient, supportive, humorous, and insightful over the years. I am profoundly grateful to her and am luclqr to count her as a Mend and a mentor. Keith Johnson has the unique ability to give me confidence in my woric. I appreciate the genuine kindness and encouragement he has always shown me. Dave Odden has encyclopedic knowledge, scathing wit, and is always willing to talk to his students. I am - » ■■ p thankful for the insight and assistance he has offered over the years. Many people in the Ohio State linguistics department have been extremely helpful and kind to me in my time here. I sincerely appreciate the assistance Brian Joseph has given me both in his capaci^ as (former) chair of the department, and for his help with my work on Cypriot Greek. As interim chair. Bob Levine helped me obtain Gnancial help for my research on Chuuk. I thank Claudia Morettini, Jane Harper and Judy Anderson for their extensive administrative help, and Jim Harmon and Matt Hyclak for their technical help. Researchers fiom various institutions have been helpful and supportive of my research. I particularly wish to thank Stuart Davis, Keren Rice, Nick Clements, and Francis Katamba. Additionally, as an undergraduate student at Penn State, I was luclqr to have had a group of professors who mtroduced me to linguistics and who helped me on my way. Many thanks to Phil Baldi, Barbara Bullock, and Donna Rogers. hi domg Seldwodc on Cypriot Greek, Chuukese, and Leti, I was lucky to work with some very gracious and generous people fiom around the world. I am especially thankhil to Aone van Engelenhoven,^ Eliza Pitri, and the faculty, staff and students at the Chuuk branch of the College of Micronesia. One of the best aspects of bemg a graduate student is having other graduate students as Mends. Over the years I've had a lot of fiui with people from many walks of life. I will miss sharing the lunches, the coffee runs, the conversations, the jokes, the procrastination, the parties, the complaints, the gossip and the laughing. My thanks to Allison Blodgett, Mary Bradshaw, Paul Davis, Karin Golde, Craig Hilts, Stef Jannedy, Steve Hartman Keiser (my dissertation buddy), Marcelino Liphola, Laurie Maynell, Panos Pappas, Robert Poletto, Michelle Ramos-Pellicia, Ruth Roberts-Kohno, Georgios Tserdanelis, Pauline Welby, and Kiyoko Yoneyama. Thanks also to my Mendly office- mates Nick Cipollone, Anna Feldman, Martin Jansche, Sun-hee Lee, Nathan Vaillette, and Shravan Vasishth. 1 have also been extremely lucky to have Mends outside of academics who have supported me without taking any of this too seriously. I thank Marta Farensbach and Beth Powers fbr^vtngme some much-needed perspective. [ am fortunate to have had brilliant parents who were bright enough to let me do my own thing. My extended family and in-laws have been gracious and supportive of my choices, and I appreciate it vr Finally, L am extremely thankful to my uxorious husband. Bill BCirschner. He has given me constant love, unwavering support, expert technical assistance, and many foot rubs. I could not ask for a better best ftiend. *■' r. a . ' ; IP? vu VTTA June 20,1972............................... Bom- Bristol, Connecticut 1994 ...........................................3 A . in Linguistics with high honors, Pennsylvania State University. 1996 ............................................MA. in Linguistics, Ohio State University 1996-2000 ...................................Graduate Teachmg and Research Associate, Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS To appear “Theoretical hnplications ofmitial geminates in Cypriot Greek” Journal o f Greek Linguistics, volume Zf. 1999 “A unified-mora account of Chuukese” in Bird, S. et al. (eds.) Proceedings o fthe West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, 393-405. 1997 “Non-moiraic geminates in Leti” (with E. Hume and A. van Bigelenhoven) Phonology 371-402. 1997 “Initial gemmates in Leti: consequences for moraic theory*' (with E. Hume and A. van Engelenhoven) Studies in the Linguistic Science 27.1. 119-138 FIELDS OF STUDY Linguistics VUL TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract........................... ...............................................................................ü Dedicatioii ..........................v............................................................................ iv Acknowledgments.............................................................................................v Vita............................. .viîi List of Tables.................................................................................................... xü List of Figures...................................................................................................jdii Chapters: L INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. I LI Motivation of the study. ................................................................2 12 Theoretical assumptions ................................................................3 12.1 Establishing the existence of initial geminates