Evan G Cohen | Tel Aviv University (original) (raw)

Papers by Evan G Cohen

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 30, 2023

Radical: A Journal of Phonology, 4, 2022

Based on MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University (2020) In this paper, we provide a comprehensive analy... more Based on MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University (2020)

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive analysis of several insyances of case syncretism in Modern Standard Arabic while comparing them to what can be found in other Semitic languages. The goal is to present an explanation for syncretism patterns and directionalities in both the external suffixed (sound) plural forms and some of the affixing and internal pattern-changing (broken) plural forms. We also address various relevant lexical, phonological, and morpho-syntactical issues that may have triggered these phenomena, using both diachronic and synchronic methodologies in addition to a quantitative analysis of the phenomena. We propose that all these instances of syncretism can be explained as a means of avoiding a merger that would give rise to ambiguity more than the merger that actually took place. In the sound plurals and duals, the merger between ACC and GEN in the direction of GEN is meant to avoid a merger between ACC and NOM. In the other group of two-way inflecting substantives, the merger of the same cases but in the opposite direction avoids contrast neutralization between GEN and the 1sg possessive pronoun.

Heritage Language Journal, 2016

This study examines vowel reduction patterns of Israeli Heritage Russian speakers (IHRs). Contemp... more This study examines vowel reduction patterns of Israeli Heritage Russian speakers (IHRs). Contemporary Standard Russian is well documented as having a complex system of vowel reduction (e.g., Barnes, 2002; Crosswhite, 1999; Jakobson, 1929; Padgett, 2004): specifically, underlying /o/ surfaces as [o] in stressed syllables, as [ɐ] in the first pretonic syllable, and as [ə] in other unstressed syllables. In Modern Hebrew, on the other hand, stressed and unstressed vowels differ in duration, but not in quality (Cohen, Silber-Varod, & Amir, in preparation; Maymon, 2001). We conducted a production experiment to determine the patterns of vowel reduction in the Russian of IHRs. Sixteen IHRs were exposed to audiobased forms of real and nonce words with stressed /o/ and were required to produce the forms with and without stressed suffixes. Thus, underlying /o/ was produced in three distinct prosodic positions: stressed (e.g., /nos/ ‘nose sg.’), pretonic (e.g., /nos- ̍ɨ/ ‘nose pl.’), and antep...

Brill's Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2018

This study investigates the acoustic realization of primary and secondary stress in polysyllabic ... more This study investigates the acoustic realization of primary and secondary stress in polysyllabic words in Modern Hebrew (MH). The study focuses on the production of target words embedded in a meaningful carrier sentence, with three primary stress types: ultimate, penultimate and antepenultimate stress. We measured the duration, intensity and F0 of each vowel. Results show that duration is the sole reliable cue for stress in MH, and that there is no phonetic realization of secondary stress in MH, and therefore no true surface alternating pattern. These findings may have phonological implications regarding the prosodic organization of language, and provide a solid basis for future studies on the perception of primary and secondary stress by speakers.

This study investigates the roles of two factors potentially affecting acquisition order of phone... more This study investigates the roles of two factors potentially affecting acquisition order of phonemes: (a) the lexical frequency of the phoneme in various prosodic positions, and (b) phoneme consistency. The research analyses rhotic attempts and productions in the spontaneous speech of two Hebrew-acquiring children from the onset of speech until the completion of rhotic acquisition. I show that the more consistent (i.e. less allophonic variation) a phoneme is in a given prosodic position, the more likely the infant is to attempt targets with this phoneme in this position (selectivity) and the earlier the faithful production of the phoneme in this position will be. Lexical frequency is shown to play no noticeable role in the early acquisition of Hebrew rhotics. Rather, it is phoneme consistency which drives selectivity and biases acquisition order.

... I would like to thank Outi Bat-El for her contribution to this study, and Paul Boersma and Pa... more ... I would like to thank Outi Bat-El for her contribution to this study, and Paul Boersma and PaulaEscudero who collaborated with me in the research. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewer whose comments were most insightful. ... [kvn] <Kevin> [kevin] ii. ...

The interaction of harmony and stress is a result of constraints requiring the stressed vowel to ... more The interaction of harmony and stress is a result of constraints requiring the stressed vowel to be more faithful to its underlying features than other vowels (Steriade 2001/2008, Kenstowicz 2007 and more): (14) IDENTF(STRV) Stressed vowels are faithful to their underlying features (15) IDENTF(V) Vowels (in general) are faithful to their underlying features These constraints interact with one another. All other things being equal, stressed vowels are more faithful than unstressed vowels, implying the fixed ranking: IDENTF(STRV) >> IDENTF(V). Since all cases of harmony require the violation of IDENTF(V), my analyses only refer to IDENTF(STRV) 4.3 Harmony and Directionality An additional characteristic of vowel harmony is that it typically operates in a certain direction (leftward or rightward). The direction of the spreading is controlled by the relative ranking of two alignment constraints, ALIGNL and ALIGNR, which determine the "default" directional preference. For example, if ALIGNR>>ALIGNL, then domains will tend to spread leftwards in order to satisfy *MONOD. 6

Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2019

The paper provides a comprehensive description of the phonology and phonetics of Hebrew stress. T... more The paper provides a comprehensive description of the phonology and phonetics of Hebrew stress. The distribution of the stress patterns draws a categorial distinction between verbs and nouns, and enhances the typologically uncommon disparity between the most common pattern (final stress) and the default pattern (penultimate stress). As the acoustic studies reveal, the main cue for Hebrew stress is duration, though the duration contrast is eliminated between a phrase final unstressed syllable and the preceding stressed syllable. A second important result of the acoustic studies is that there is no evidence for secondary stress.

Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2019

This paper investigates manner variation of Israeli Hebrew rhotics with respect to two factors: p... more This paper investigates manner variation of Israeli Hebrew rhotics with respect to two factors: prosodic position and speaker gender. An acoustic experimental study shows that although the Hebrew rhotic phoneme tends to be a dorsal approximant, it is significantly more likely to undergo fortition in onset position. This fortition is a result of target overshoot, the rhotic subsequently being produced with a greater degree of constriction than that which would have resulted in an approximant, subsequently surfacing as a stop, a fricative, a tap or a trill. Furthermore, in onset position, female speakers show more variation and produce fewer approximants than male speakers.

Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2019

In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the phonetic inventory of Modern Hebrew. We s... more In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the phonetic inventory of Modern Hebrew. We systematically review the phonetic contrasts that distinguish among consonants and vowels, and highlight cases of inter-speaker variation. The contrasts are illustrated with data from an ultrasound tongue imaging study of a native speaker of Modern Hebrew. We provide tongue shape comparisons based on the ultrasound recordings, as well as present acoustic data in form of spectrograms and amplitudes. We also occasionally provide quantitative data from previous studies.

Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2019

The phonology of loanwords often differs from the phonology of native words in various aspects. T... more The phonology of loanwords often differs from the phonology of native words in various aspects. These differences are evident in the prosodic structure and even the segmental inventory. The differences between the loanword and native phonology, however, are not necessarily stable, and it is often the case that what originated as phonological structures in loanwords which were illicit in the native vocabulary eventually overrode the native norm, bringing about diachronic change to the phonology of the native words. Hebrew is no exception in this respect. The stress system of loanwords differs from that of native words, with the latter’s system undergoing changes inter alia due to the effect of loanwords (e.g. ante-penultimate stress, immobile stress patterns). The licit syllable structure inventory of native Hebrew words has been expanded to include loaned structures (e.g. complex codas, triconsonantal structures), and the phonemic inventory of Hebrew now includes several consonants ...

Morphology, 2016

This study examines allomorphy in vowel selection in Hebrew. We address the formation of adjectiv... more This study examines allomorphy in vowel selection in Hebrew. We address the formation of adjectives and passive verbs in a specific morphological pattern with stem-medial glottals. While the normative vowel that precedes the glottal is o, there are cases where it is colloquially u. We provide empirical evidence for this variation (or lack thereof), arguing that vowel selection results from the distinction between adjectives and passive verbs and, more generally, from the component of the grammar where they are derived, the lexicon and the syntax. Studies of Hebrew have shown that a has a more morphological-lexical status, as it is typical of word formation processes, while e has a phonological status as it is the default vowel in epenthesis. A previous study has also shown that a is more typical of the lexicon and e is more typical of the syntax. We propose a similar distinction between o and u; u tends to be selected in passive formation in the syntax, while o is selected for words stored in the lexicon. In addition, we claim that the occurrence of each allomorph is triggered by uniformity to other forms in different paradigms that are taken into account in word formation. The study provides further evidence to a new type of allomorphy, whose evidence for conditioning is not purely phonological or morpho-syntactic, but rather depends on the locus of word formation. It highlights the strong correlation between form, meaning and the relevant grammatical component in word formation.

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 2016

This article investigates the role of allophonic variation in phoneme acquisition and the clinica... more This article investigates the role of allophonic variation in phoneme acquisition and the clinical implications of this role. Specifically, we investigate the Hebrew rhotic /ʁ/. We analyse its production by Hebrew-acquiring children in various corpora, comparing the deletion, substitution and production in word-initial onset, intervocalic and wordfinal coda positions. The results are compared to the frequency of rhotics in a child-directed speech (CDS) corpus and in a Hebrew lexicon analysis. The study shows rhotics are acquired first in word-final codas, then in intervocalic position and finally as word-initial onsets. The order of acquisition, demonstrated by the deletion and substitution patterns, and the actual production of Hebrew rhotics correlate with the degree of allophonic variation. It does not, however, correlate with the frequency patterns observed in CDS and the Hebrew lexicon. Further study of allophonic variation and acquisition should include additional phonemes in Hebrew, as well as other languages.

Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Lexical Blending, 2012

Lingua, 2013

ABSTRACT In this paper, it is argued that adult speakers of all languages have a universal predis... more ABSTRACT In this paper, it is argued that adult speakers of all languages have a universal predisposition to use vowel harmony, even when there is no evidence of productive harmony in the native lexicon. Evidence for this harmony may emerge in the lexicon's periphery (e.g. loanwords). We investigate harmony in loanwords in Modern Hebrew, a language not considered to be a vowel harmony language, focusing on the universal aspects of vowel harmony. Different grammars operate on different areas of the lexicon, loanwords vs. native words, and the differences between the grammars are formally described within an Optimality Theoretical approach.

Brill's Annual of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2012

In this study, we investigate a well-delineated morphophonological phenomenon in Modern Hebrew, t... more In this study, we investigate a well-delineated morphophonological phenomenon in Modern Hebrew, the shift from /i/ to /e/ in the past tense verbal template (binyan) of hif'il. It is based on a corpus of recordings from the 1960s, which documents spontaneous speech of the first generations of Modern Hebrew speakers. Two groups of listeners (young and old adults) heard a random mix of hif'il stimuli retrieved from this corpus. The listeners made binary judgments, whether the first vowel in the target word was /e/ or /i/. The results demonstrate a significant difference between the two age groups: on average, the older participants judged the target vowels 20% closer to /i/ in comparison to the younger participants. This was regardless of whether the words were heard in isolation or in context. These results give strong support to the hypothesis that there is an ongoing process of sound change in Modern Hebrew.

In this paper, we explore the conditions that result in variable base‐word positioning in English... more In this paper, we explore the conditions that result in variable base‐word positioning in English blends, where the same base words have variable order, yielding two blends, i.e. blend doublets. In non‐synonymous doublets, such as (egg × prégnant >) éggnant ‘pregnant with egg’ and prégegg ‘egg that counts down pregnancy’, the main factor is that in endocentric blends, the base word that contributes the semantic head is right‐aligned. In synonymous blend doublets, such as plúmpricot ~ ápriplum ‘plum‐apricot hybrid’ (< plum × ápricot), variable base‐word positioning results from at least four factors interacting: (i) segmental faithfulness – maximizing segmental similarity; (ii) Pāṇini’s law – positioning the short base word before the long one; (iii) monosyllabic integrity – keeping the monosyllabic base word in the same syllable; and (iv) syntagmatic faithfulness – matching the linear order of the base words to their order in a would‐be syntactic constituent. Cet article explo...

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 30, 2023

Radical: A Journal of Phonology, 4, 2022

Based on MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University (2020) In this paper, we provide a comprehensive analy... more Based on MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University (2020)

Heritage Language Journal, 2016

Brill's Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2018

Brill’s Journal of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2019

Morphology, 2016

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 2016

Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Lexical Blending, 2012

Lingua, 2013

Brill's Annual of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics, 2012

In this study, I will reconstruct the Biblical Hebrew rhotic, resh, basing the analysis on its ph... more In this study, I will reconstruct the Biblical Hebrew rhotic, resh, basing the
analysis on its phonological behavior. I will examine the phonological phenomena
related to resh on a quantitative basis, and will argue that it is best identi ed as
the alveolar tap { R.
Rhotics are a very diverse class of segments that are present in the majority of the
world's languages. This class contains sounds with di erent places and manners of
articulation, and thus cannot be de ned solely by articulatory or acoustic properties.
In light of their di erent nature, it can be dicult to identify a rhotic's phonetic
realization in a dead, unrecorded language, such as Biblical Hebrew. According to
some accounts, resh should be categorized as some kind of back consonant, while
other accounts classify it as an alveolar segment. Others still, relying on descriptions
made by medieval grammarians, reached the conclusion that resh had a twofold
pronunciation depending on its phonological environment. None of these accounts
was based on a systematic examination of the phonological phenomena related to
resh, which suggest that it should be grouped with the coronals in the same natural
class.
In order to reconcile between my account and the others, I will assume a diachronic
transition, during which an original alveolar trill lenited to a transitional
alveolar tap, which in turn changed into the back consonant described in the early
sources. This assumption will be supported by a typological review of the rhotics'
diachronic changes. Moreover, I will propose a possible timeline for this diachronic
change, basing it on extra-Biblical sources, such as transcriptions of Hebrew words
in cuneiform characters and in the Greek alphabet, and a comparative examination
of the rhotics in the Semitic languages.

A central issue in research on non-native speech perception addresses the nature of the different... more A central issue in research on non-native speech perception addresses the nature of the different degrees of difficulties that listeners may encounter in discriminating non-native contrasts (Miyawaki et al. 1975, Best et al. 2001, Pajak and Levy 2014 among others). The current study approaches this issue by considering the perception of a non-native contrast as a function of prosodic structure and segmental features, focusing on the perception of the Russian palatalization contrast.
Palatalization contrast is a fundamental characteristic of the Russian phonological system, where palatalized consonants vary by place and manner of articulation and occur in different prosodic positions. Such a system thus allows studying the influence of diverse linguistic factors on the perception of the contrast. Some earlier studies suggest that perception of non-native palatalization contrast is influenced by prosodic position (Bolanos 2013, Kulikov 2011) and segmental features (Kulikov 2011, Chrabaszcz and Gor 2014). However, no study has investigated the perception of the contrast by native speakers of Hebrew, who don't have this contrast in their language.
The present study aims to shed light on the perception of non-native contrasts, with experimental evidence from the perception of the Russian palatalization contrast by Hebrew monolinguals. An experiment was carried out in order to examine the perception of the contrast in two prosodic positions, syllable onset and syllable coda, with reference to the difference in manner and place of articulation. A comparison was made between three groups of speakers: (a) Hebrew monolinguals, for whom the contrast is non-native, and therefore they constitute the main research group; (b) Israeli heritage Russian speakers, for whom the contrast is native; and (c) a control group of Russian monolinguals.
The results of the experiment suggest that the perception of the palatalization contrast by Hebrew monolinguals is affected by prosodic position and segmental features. The perception of the contrast was better in the onset than in the coda, with the exception of laterals, where the contrast was better perceived in the coda than in the onset. In addition, the study revealed that Israeli heritage Russian speakers, on average, perceive the contrast better than Hebrew monolinguals, but poorer than Russian monolinguals, and that their perception of the contrast is also influenced by syllable position and segmental features. Moreover, heritage speakers proved to be a heterogenic group with respect to the perception of the contrast under consideration.
The study provides a formal grammar that reflects the perception of the contrast by Hebrew monolinguals and Israeli heritage Russian speakers. The analysis is given within the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993/2004), adopting, in particular, the P-map approach (Steriade 2001a,b).

Many linguistic expressions that start as conceptual expressions develop into grammatical express... more Many linguistic expressions that start as conceptual expressions develop into grammatical expressions in a process called grammaticalization (Lehmann 1985, 2002, Wischer 2000, Hopper & Traugott 2003, Himmelmann 2004, Brinton & Traugott 2005, Boloz 2019 inter alia). In this process, the original conceptual role is changed so that the lexical meaning weakens and the expression becomes more functional. At the same time, a process of phonological reduction often occurs. Function words, including modal phrases and verbs, do tend to be relatively short (Zwicky 1970, Bolozky 1977, Selkirk 1984, 1995, 1996, Kaisse 1985, Bybee et al. 1991, 1999, 2011, Hopper 1991, Bell 1999, Bybee & Scheibman 1999, Jurafsky et al. 2001, Cohen 2003, Close 2004, Anderson 2008, Gahl 2012 and more). In this work, I propose that this type of grammaticalization process passes on to ʦaʁiχ 'need', which began as a primary verb in the meaning of necessity, and developed, in addition, a modal meaning of duty as well as feasibility and expectation. ʦaʁiχ is an example of a polysemic word that one of its meanings is functional. As such, it allows a comparison between the phonological behavior of a content word (primary verb) and the phonological behavior of a function word (modal verb). Today the modal use of ʦaʁiχ is more common than the use as a primary verb. Based on recordings of spoken Hebrew, I argue that ʦaʁiχ goes through a process of configuration differentiation that reflects the functional differentiation – a phonological reduction of the functional form and a full production of the conceptual form. That is, it is not the mere form that is being reduced but the form on its modal usage. Although many well-motivated factors explain phonetic reductions (phonological factors, frequency, etc.), and these also affect conceptual expressions, function expressions are candidates for reduction at even higher rates, partly because components with a high frequency of use are more influenced by pronunciation forces. Nevertheless, I bring evidence that there is not necessarily a complete correlation between high frequency and high reduction rate, and the type of usage (primary/modal) has a considerable impact on phonological performance. In this work, I argue that ʦaʁiχ has two lexemes, and one of them, the functional one, causes its high reduction rate. That is, the process of modalization (becoming a modal), which has been passed on ʦaʁiχ, is what causes the high rate of reductions observed today. Therefore, and based on comparison to another verb - ʁoʦe 'want', I propose that the functionality of an expression is the significant factor in its reduction, and reduction is a testament and even a marker of the existence of functional use of an expression.

MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University, 2014

In this work I argue that there is an asymmetry in Hebrew between voiced and voiceless obstruents... more In this work I argue that there is an asymmetry in Hebrew between voiced and voiceless
obstruents with respect to voicing assimilation. The argument is based on an acoustic study I
conducted, which shows that regressive devoicing assimilation is significantly more common
than regressive voicing assimilation. I provide a preliminary, formal analysis within the
framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993, McCarthy and Prince 1993a,
1997), suggesting directions for theoretical exploration.

MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University, 2018

Phonological selectivity in native language acquisition is a phenomenon where children preselect ... more Phonological selectivity in native language acquisition is a phenomenon where children preselect which target words they attempt to produce, based on the words’ phonological characteristics, and on the children’s phonological abilities.
The present study focuses on phonological selectivity in the acquisition of clusters in English. Specifically, it examines the acquisition patterns of biconsonantal clusters in coda/onset position, compared to triconsonantal clusters. While prior research shows that children produce longer clusters only after they have successfully produced shorter clusters of the same type (i.e. coda/onset), it does not show whether children only attempt to produce target tokens with a CCC clusters after they have successfully managed to produce tokens containing a CC cluster of the same type. As such, the current research examines this type of selectivity, and specifically whether children only attempt to produce tokens containing a CCC cluster after they have successfully produced tokens containing a CC cluster of the same type. If this is the case, then the findings will provide support for the theory of Error Selective Learning, which predicts that children will avoid attempting to produce certain targets based on their markedness.
The present study examines data from the Compton & Pater corpus, which contains the utterances of three English-acquiring American children, ages 0;8.28 - 3;2.21. The utterances were recorded and transcribed by the children’s speech-pathologists parents, and reliability checks by the original PI indicated a high degree of reliability overall. Each token in the children’s speech was categorized based on the type of cluster it contained (i.e. CC/CCC, coda/onset) and based on whether the token denotes a target or an output. The children’s production patterns were then examined in order to determine whether attempts at target words with a CCC cluster occurred only after the successful production of a CC cluster of the same type (in terms of the cluster being an onset or a coda). Statistical significance of the distributions was calculated using a chi-squared goodness-of-fit test, based on the expected and observed token counts for each child.
Several additional factors were examined, in order to check for potential confounds, which could influence the production patterns in the study. The first was the log-frequency of tokens with CC/CCC clusters in adult child-directed speech, based on data in the CHILDES Parental Corpus. The second factor was the acquisition of clusters with a word-initial or word-final /s/, whose phonological status is controversial, meaning that they are sometimes analyzed as being extrasyllabic to the cluster they appear in. Finally, in the case of codas, the morphological complexity of the tokens was also analyzed, in order to account for the presence of morphological markers such as the plural -s.
The analysis showed that children do not attempt to produce target tokens with a CCC coda until they have successfully produced target tokens with a CC coda. This acquisition pattern was statistically-significant, and the analysis of onsets showed a similar, statistically-
5
significant pattern, where children do not attempt to produce target tokens with a CCC onset until they have successfully produced target tokens with a CC onset.
Analysis of the token log-frequency of words containing clusters in child-directed speech, showed that a significant portion of the words with CCC clusters appeared significantly more frequently than most words containing CC clusters. Since prior research shows that there is a log-linear relationship between the token frequency of specific words in child-directed speech and the age at which they are acquired, this suggests that frequency cannot explain the avoidance patterns which were found in the study. Furthermore, analysis of the acquisition of /s/ clusters suggests that the phonological status of such clusters also cannot explain the avoidance patterns in the study, as words containing these clusters were not attempted at a consistently earlier or later age than words containing other types of clusters. Finally, the possibility that morphological complexity is the cause of these avoidance patterns was also ruled out, due to the fact that the avoidance patterns were found in the acquisition of complex onsets, where morphological complexity does not play a role.
These acquisition patterns were then analyzed formally under the framework of Optimality Theory, using the acquisition path predicted by Error Selective Learning, where children first avoid marked structures, and then repair them, before finally producing them faithfully. In order to capture the selectivity patterns with regards to CC and CCC clusters, self-conjunctions of the relevant markedness constraints were used, together with relativized MPARSE constraints.
Overall, the findings demonstrate an important aspect of phonological selectivity in children’s acquisition of complex codas and onsets in English. Specifically, they show that children only attempt to produce target tokens with a CCC cluster after they have successfully managed to produce a target token with a CC cluster of the same type (i.e. coda/onset). Furthermore, an analysis of potential confounds, namely frequency, /s/ clusters, and morphological complexity, suggests that none of them is likely the cause of this avoidance pattern. This supports the hypothesis that the children are being selective in the target tokens that they attempt to produce, based on the type of cluster that they contain, and based on the child’s current phonological abilities. In addition, these findings, together with a formal phonological analysis conducted under the framework of Optimality Theory, provide support for the theory of Error Selective Learning, which predicts that children will avoid attempting to produce certain target words based on their markedness.

MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University, 2020

this research, I will provide a comprehensive analysis of various phenomena related to case syncr... more this research, I will provide a comprehensive analysis of various phenomena related to case syncretism in Modern Standard Arabic (Henceforth: MSA) while comparing them to other Semitic languages. The focus will be on syncretism patterns in both the external suffixed (sound) plural forms and some of the affixing and internal pattern-changing (broken) plural forms in MSA. I will analyze the directionality of these mergers while addressing various relevant lexical, phonological and morpho-syntactical issues that may have triggered these phenomena. In addition, I will present a quantitative analysis of the phenomena.
Such an analysis in MSA – or, for that matter, in Semitic case systems in general – has yet to be made, and so in my research, I will begin the quest for answers in this subject. I will focus especially on the comparison between sound and broken plurals in MSA, which has also never been addressed thoroughly in the context of case syncretism patterns elsewhere in Semitic.
I will make use of diachronic and synchronic methodologies to capture the phenomena from different angles. I will also address similar other instances of case syncretism in Semitic, in addition to a brief discussion on nunation/mimation (inserting a nasal stop stem-finally), which is connected to the case system in many Semitic languages, including MSA.
The research will address the difficulties in explaining different instances of case syncretism with different directionalities. The focus will be on the bidirectional case syncretism found in MSA plurals, which will be given a comprehensive morphological and phonological analysis in order to provide a sound explanation for these phenomena.

The following thesis argues for a strong Alignment (McCarthy and Prince 1993) relationship betwee... more The following thesis argues for a strong Alignment (McCarthy and Prince 1993) relationship between stop consonants and prosodic units. Although this is not an uncommon assumption, my proposal also considers sub segmental features as targets of this universal left alignment principle. More speci!cally, I claim that the closure node of stops is a member in the hierarchy of consonants that are universally required to align with the beginning of prosodic units such as syllables. This hierarchy of alignment constraints is presented within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT; Prince and Smolensky 1993), where it can singlehandedly account for the optimal onset consonant in a VCV environment, in which the least marked C is predicted to be a stop, although it is also predicted to be a fricative in grammars that promote spirantization on grounds of well-formedness. A major point of departure for this work lies in a case of variation in Modern Hebrew (MH) between stops and fricatives (see ...

Many researches have studied the similarity between languages (e.g. Eden 2018; Crowley and Bowern... more Many researches have studied the similarity between languages (e.g. Eden 2018; Crowley and Bowern, 2010; Longobardi and Guardiano, 2009, 2017), but there is no research which quantifies the similarity between languages. The final goal of this study is to examine whether similarity can be measured and quantified using the scales of the acoustical prominence of several phonetic and phonological properties, while merging them into one universal scale of prominence. However, since there is no research in which similarity is measured by phonetic and phonological features alone, the goal of my thesis was to examine which features should be placed in this scale in the first place.
This study contains two experiments, a preliminary one and a main one. In the preliminary experiment, 132 Hebrew speakers rated their familiarity level with each of the 35 languages that appeared in the main experiment. In the main experiment, 362 Hebrew speakers listened to 20 sets of three recordings, a base language and two additional languages, and were asked which of the two additional languages was more similar to the base language. The similarity was determined by the number of the shared features between the base language and the other language, and the features (a total of 41) were taken mostly from the World Atlas of Language Structures Online (WALS) and from Bradlow et al. (2010). One of the additional languages shared more features with the base language (the similar language) and the other language shared fewer features with it (the dissimilar language). The results showed a significant inclination to choose the more similar language over the dissimilar one.
These findings suggest that the similarity can be measured by phonetic and phonological features. However, we know that not all features were created equal; thus, this model can be upgraded by weighting the features, so that more prominent features
v
will have more weight in similarity quantification. I leave the weighting of the features for future research.

This study examines the role of frequency in phonological grammars. Specifically, I focus on the ... more This study examines the role of frequency in phonological grammars. Specifically, I focus on the effects frequencies of verbs have on the inflected prepositions which cliticize onto them. The study consists of a production experiment, followed by a formal analysis of the findings. In the experiment, 27 native speakers of Hebrew produced sentences with verbs that differ in their token frequency and served as potential hosts, followed by the Hebrew inflected preposition leχa 'to you'ms.sg.. The frequency data were retrieved from the Hetenten corpus available on Sketch Engine (https://www.sketchengine.eu/). The verbs used in the experiment had either high or low token frequency. The results show that cliticization may occur regardless of the token frequency of the host. The segmental realization of the clitic, on the other hand, was found to be affected by the frequency of the host-the higher the host's frequency, the more segmentally reduced the clitics. The main findings of this study are twofold. First of all, frequency can be shown to be an inherent part of the phonological grammar. Secondly, cliticization has to be viewed as a gradient phenomenon-the higher the host's frequency, the more segmental reduction the clitic will undergo. This may suggest that phonology as a whole should be viewed as a gradient system, rather than a binary or privative one.

PhD Dissertation Tel Aviv University, 2010

This study investigates the notion of phonological similarity, while focussing on the relevance o... more This study investigates the notion of phonological similarity, while focussing on the
relevance of similarity to the process of loanword adaptation, the categorisation of
sounds, and the distinction among different sounds in a language.
The study presents a formal model for the quantification of similarity, and
suggests a grammatical system which predicts the outcome of processes of adaptation
and perception. In order to construct this model, I appeal to loanwords, as their
adaptation has long been recognised as being similarity-based.
One may wonder why the study of loanwords is at all relevant in the study of
phonological systems. Since the source of loanwords is, by definition, non-native, is
there any point in investigating loanwords when studying native phonological
systems?
Despite their foreign source, loanwords are integrated into the native mental
lexicon. Therefore, the study of loanwords could reveal the structural constraints on
phonological well-formedness, constraints which are relevant to all lexical items.
Since all living languages continue to adopt and adapt loanwords, and these, in turn,
continue to undergo adaptation, the system of adaptation, whatever it may be, has to
be an active system.
I will only briefly address the question of whether the system of adaptation is
the same as the native system (§2.2.2). What is important is that there is a system, and
this system is similarity-based.
The adaptation of loanwords is systematic, and the system is similarity-based.
We adapt X as Y rather than as Z, because X is more similar to Y than to Z. The
question, of course, is what makes X more similar to Y than to Z. Can this elusive
property be identified and quantified within a formal framework?
The notion of phonological similarity is appealed to in the literature in order to
describe and explain various phenomena. The adaptation of loanwords relies on
segmental and prosodic similarity (Hyman 1970, Kenstowicz 2001, Steriade 2001a,b,
vii
Shinohara 2006 inter alia), rhyming patterns in poetry depend on the similarity
between segments (for example, Zwicky 1976, Kawahara 2007). Furthermore, our
ability to distinguish categories from one another depends on how similar they are to
one another (Best et al. 2001, Escudero et al. 2007, Cohen et al. in progress). And the
list of similarity-dependent phonological phenomena goes on. It appears that the
notion of similarity is most relevant to phonological theory. I deal with the various
approaches to similarity in §5.
This study is broken down into several sections. I start with a discussion of
loanwords (§2) and the difference between them and the other lexical items in a
language. First, I deal with compliant loanwords, those which follow the grammatical
constraints of the language (§2.1.1), and then I discuss non-compliant loanwords,
those which do not follow the language's restrictions (§2.1.2). I continue by
presenting a formal definition of loanwords (§2.1.3 and §2.1.4) and the various
sources of loanwords (§2.1.5).
Following the introductory sections, I discuss adaptation (§2.2), starting with
non-phonological influences on the adaptation process (§2.2.1), followed by the
phonological aspects of adaptation (§2.2.2).
After defining loanwords, I move on to investigate loanwords in contemporary
Hebrew (henceforth: Hebrew). I start with an overview of the language's phonology
(§3), focussing on a featural and acoustic analysis of the vowel system (§3.2.1 and
§3.2.2), concluding with a rundown of the prosodic constraints on syllable structure
and stress.
The subsequent section §4 deals primarily with the theoretical frameworks
which I adopt in my analyses, starting with Optimality Theory (§4.1) and Stochastic
Optimality Theory (§4.2), continuing with a discussion of just noticeable differences,
jnds (§4.3) and concluding with a similarity-based model, Steriade's (2001a) P-map
(§4.4).
viii
Section §5 deals with the notion of similarity. First, I present a general view of
the notion, focussing on phonological similarity (§5.1, §5.2 and §5.3). Then I present
my formal model of similarity (§5.4).
This study relies heavily on empirical data from various sources. These are
presented in §6. I start with a discussion of my loanword corpus (§6.1), and follow
with two experiments I conducted in order to evaluate the predictive powers of my
model presented in §5.
The following §7 is the heart of this study. Here, I integrate the various
notions discussed in the previous sections and present the role of similarity in
phonology as reflected in loanword adaptation. First, I discuss the notion of segmental
similarity (§7.1) and prosodic similarity (§7.2). Later, I present a few apparent
deviations from the norm (§7.3). The final §7.4 presents a similarity-based model for
the adaptation of loanwords.
The following §8 presents concluding remarks.

MA Thesis, Tel Aviv University, 2003

16th International Morphology Meeting – Budapest, 2014

International Conference on Lexical Blending, 2010

28th Hebrew Linguistics Meeting - Jerusalem, 2012

r-ATICS 5 Leeuwarden, 2016

Bar Ilan Linguistics Colloquium, 2013

Hebrew Language Department Tel Aviv University, 2013

8th Oranim COnference, 2012

Linguistics Colloquium Tel Aviv University, 2011

18th Manchester Phonology Meeting, 2010

Linguistics Colloquium Tel Aviv University, 2009

Linguistics Colloquium at Ben Gurion University, 2007

(1) Objectives a. Constructing a model accounting for loanword (LW) adaptation in Hebrew b. Deter... more (1) Objectives a. Constructing a model accounting for loanword (LW) adaptation in Hebrew b. Determining how much of adaptation is perception (and not: orthography, structural rules/constraints etc.) c. Defining the role of similarity in LW phonology, and quantifying similarity-i.e. giving a concrete and quantifiable definition of phonological similarity (see 9(b)). d. Creating a perception-based model for similarity in LW adaptation-How does perception-based adaptation "work"?

(1) Foreword a. Research focus i. Constructing a grammar for loanword (LW) phonology in Hebrew ii... more (1) Foreword a. Research focus i. Constructing a grammar for loanword (LW) phonology in Hebrew ii. Determining how much of adaptation is perception (and not: orthography, structural rules/constraints etc.) iii. Defining the role of similarity in LW phonology, and quantifying similarity iv. Creating a perception-based model for similarity in LW adaptation-How does perception-based adaptation "work"? (iv) is the focus of my presentation today (2) Previous Accounts a. All LW analyses refer to L2 (donor language)-L1 (borrowing language) similarity. b. The notion of similarity is an abstract one. Similarity is a term referred to quite loosely, without a model for its quantification (e.g. Paradis and Lacharité 1997, Kenstowicz 2001/2003, Hyman 1970, Holden 1976, Silverman 1992 inter alia). c. Binary feature-based phonological models what is a feature? cannot adequately account for several asymmetries in LW data-Kenstowicz (2001) discusses vowel-consonant asymmetry with respect to [nasal]. d. How do we define similarity in a feature-based model? The number of features? Their quality? What about degrees (e.g. height)? e. Some similarity-based phonological models (e.g. Steriade's 2000 P-map) make limited predictions for a limited number of cases, are primarily descriptive, have no predictive or explanatory power.