Implications of Absolute Neutralisation on Harmonic Serialismː A Jóola case study (original) (raw)

Phonological Evidence for Movement in Inflectional Morphology An Argument for Harmonic Serialism

2019

Seemingly non-local phonological operations triggered by inflectional exponents have been observed in a number of languages. Focussing on ruki rule application in Sanskrit (Kiparsky (1982b)), de-spirantization in Barwar Aramaic ( Khan (2008)),ni-insertion in Quechua (Myler (2013)), vowel harmony in Kazakh (Bowman & Lokshin (2014)), and accent shift in Lithuanian (Kushnir (2018)), we argue th at ese phenomena should be analyzed as strictly local phonological reflexes of movem ent in a pre-syntactic autonomous morphological component. Such morphological mov e ent is shown to arise without further assumptions under the approach to inflectio nal morphology based on harmonic serialism (McCarthy (2016)) that has recently bee n d veloped in Müller (2018). Here, each morphological operation immediately tr iggers an optimization procedure; morphological structure-building is subject to si mple alignment constraints; and counter-cyclic operations are precluded. Against this bac kground, phono...

Western Conference On Linguistics Volume Nine WECOL96

1996

The ltelmen language shows many inslances of regular schwa/zero alternations. Even though the language permits quite extensive consonant clusters, I argue in this paper that the alternating schwas (and perhaps all inslances of schwa) are cpcnthetic; schwa is inserted to break up a disfavoured consonant cluster. The rule which insetts schwa must apply cyclically in the verbal system, but non-cyclically in the nominal system. Apparent elamples of cyclic rule application are problematic for non-derivational, conscraint-based approaches to phonology, such as many versions of Optimality Theory (01). Thus. much recent work has been devoted to reanlayzing purported examples of cyclicity from an O.T. perspective. While it may be possible to devise an account of the Itelmen data in terms of parallel conscraint evaluation, current O.T. approaches are insufficient; in particular, the best candidare for an explanation of the NounIVerb differences (Base Identity) makes exactly the wrong predictions for Itelmen.

Stem Laxing, Vowel Harmony, Unstressed Tensing, and Pre-Nasal Tensing. 1.1 Verb Stem Laxing

2015

Recent observations of native speakers of European Portuguese (EP) suggest that a major change in the phonological rule system governing pre-nasal vowels is underway. In order to analyze these phenomena, we must first examine the other phonological rules which have an impact on the pre-nasal sound pattern of EP. Portuguese has a rich set of vowels including two tense/lax pairs: [e]-[ɛ] and [o]-[ɔ]. The surface distribution of these vowels is the result of a set of intricately interacting processes, including Verb

San’ani Arabic Stress in Harmonic Serialism

International Journal of English Linguistics, 2021

The word stress system in San’ani Arabic exhibits patterns of stress placement that associate some level of prominence with syllables with long vowels and syllables that end in the left-leg of a geminate. The fact that such syllables always succeed in attracting stress away from other non-final CVC syllables, even beyond the final trisyllabic window, clearly indicates the role that underlying moraicity plays in the stress algorithm. The proposed account, offered in this paper for the word stress system in San’ani, is couched in Harmonic Serialism, as a serial version of Optimality Theory. Key to the analyses presented is the assumption of gradual prosodification. The distinction drawn between faithful and unfaithful prosodic operations allows for applying some in a parallel fashion, but confines others to serialism. Central to the analysis, as well, is the exceptional case of final stress, which is mainly attributed to the intrinsic prominence of syllables with underlying bimoraic s...

The Morphology and Phonology of Infixation

2003

The process of writing a dissertation is never an individual enterprise; this dissertation is no exception. Thus it is with my deepest regret that I will not be able to thank every single individual who has contributed, directly, unintentionally or perhaps even unwillingly, to the ideas presented in this dissertation. I thank them collectively. That said, a few individuals truly warrant special mention. To this end, none deserves my gratitude more than Sharon Inkelas and Andrew Garrett. Sharon first introduced me to the joy of working on morpho-phonology during my undergraduate years at Berkeley. This interest has ultimately culminated in this dissertation. Her intelligence and her penetrating insights on phonological and morphological issues have consistently served as a source of inspiration in my own work and as a phonologist. Her influence on this study and much of my other work, while not visible to the naked eye, is considerable. Much of the ideas presented in this work originated in discussions with her. Naturally, she should not be blame for any shortcomings that finds their ways into this study. On a more practical note, one could not ask for a better advisor than Sharon. Her patient and nurturing personality has made graduate school and the arduous dissertation-writing process a much more enjoyable experience than it would have been otherwise. Andrew Garrett, without a doubt, has to be one of the most didactic and multitalented linguists alive. He exemplifies the type of scholar I aspire to become. His presentations, whether in writing or in lecture, are always thorough, meticulous, yet never seem to lose sight of the big picture. I hope that this dissertation approximates the standard he embodies. vii Most people would consider themselves lucky to have just one mentor whom they can go into a meeting and come out much energized and inspired. I considered myself luckiest to have two. Thank you, Sharon and Andrew! John Ohala showed me how linguistics, and phonology in particular, can be a laboratory science. While this dissertation ultimately focuses on the interaction of phonology and morphology, John's theory of sound change and his philosophy of science have guided me throughout the writing of this dissertation. Of course, no one who knows John can miss his love of humor and jokes. I have learnt much from him in this respect. English being my adopted tongue, the nuances of jokes often elude me. But after years of exposure, all thanks to John, I am happy to report that I have acquired a healthy appetite for good jokes. Larry Hyman has also been a constant inspiration. His energy and his encyclopedic Infixation to the right of a stressed foot is also possible. For example, the construct state (CNS) markers in Ulwa, a Misumalpan language spoken in Nicaragua and Honduras, is affixed to the right edge of an iambic foot. (5) Ulwa construct state (Green 1999: 64) sú lu sú-ma-lu 'dog-CNS2' áytak áy-mana-tak 'paper-CNS22' alá kum alá-ka-kum 'Muscovy duck-CNS3' waráw wa waráw-kana-wa 'parrot sp.-CNS33' ká sirá mah ká-ki-sirá mah 'lizard sp.-CNS1' The classification scheme proposed here groups both the English and the Ulwa cases under the same pivot, namely the stressed foot. This approach not only provides an efficient mechanism to reduce the complexity of the typology, but also illuminates potential generalizations that might be missed under previous approaches. For example, Ultan (1975), who based his survey on seventy-five languages, suggests that there are basically eight patterns of infixation. The same typology is adopted in Moravcsik 2000. (6) Ultan 1975 inventory of infixation After initial consonant After initial vowel After initial syllable-6-Before second consonant After second consonant After second syllable Before final consonant Before final syllable Under Ultan's classification, the English and Ulwa patterns would appear under distinct categories (i.e. English under before a stressed foot; Ulwa under after a stressed foot). The pivot approach also restricts the description of a pattern to purely pre-theoretical notions; the pivot is intended as a classification unit only. For example, in the case of Paiwanic bimoraic foot reduplication, the reduplicant can be analyzed as suffixing if the final consonant is treated as extrametrical. However, under the pivot approach, the reduplicant is treated as appearing after the final vowel. No special stipulation about the nature of the final consonant is needed. (7) Paiwan (Chen & Ma 1986) kupu 'tea cup' kupukupu 'a kind of small tea cup' kuva 'a type of bean' kuvakuva 'large bean' da as 'upper's side' da ada as 'bedside' kad aj 'a small basket' kad akad aj 'very small basket' kad u 'bamboo water basket' kad ukad u 'a kind of bee' u ul 'coffin' u u u ul 'a little box' 1.2.1 First consonant Much research on syllable structure has suggested that the internal complexity of the syllable onset matters little phonologically. However, in the case of infixation, the distinction between the initial consonant versus onset cluster is an indispensable one. For example, an infix may appear to the right of the first consonant. For instance, in Kamhmu and Mlabri, both Mon-Khmer languages, the nominalizing morpheme-rnappears after the first consonant of the stem (11)a. When the stem begins with a consonant cluster, the allomorph-r-is used (11)b. When the initial contains a rhotic, the allomorph-n-is used instead (11)c. (11) Mlabri nominalization (Rischel 1995: 85) a. g h 'to ablaze' grn h 'flames' kap 'to sing' krnap 'singing, song' peelh 'to sweep the ground/floor' prneelh 'a broom' t k 'to hit' trn k 'a hammer' b. kw l 'to be rolled up' krw l 'spiral' gla 'tospeak' grla 'speech, words' pluut 'to peel' prluut 'layer' klaap 'to hold krlaap 'forceps of split bamboo' gw c 'to poke' grw c 'finger' c. chr t 'tocomb' chnr t 'a comb'

Two Lectures on Prosodic Morphology

1994

This document contains handouts and transcripts (prepared from a contemporaneous tape recording) of two lectures presented at the OTS/HIL Workshop on Prosodic Morphology, held at the University of Utrecht, June 22-24, 1994. We are grateful to the participants in the Workshop and to the organizers, René Kager, Harry van der Hulst, and Wim Zonneveld. The article "Reduplicative Identity" is an exploration of some of the points raised in the second lecture.

Lexical Accent in Languages with Complex Morphology

Doctoral Dissertation, UConn, 2020

This dissertation develops a theory of lexical accent where the central role is given to the notion of accent competition as the defining property of lexical accent systems. Languages with complex morphology (traditionally known as ‘polysynthetic’) are the empirical basis for this study as they provide a particularly fruitful ground for investigating the effects of both phonological and morphological factors in the assignment of lexical accent. Novel in-depth analyses are developed for Arapaho (Plains Algonquian), Nez Perce (Sahaptian), Ichishkiin Sɨnwit (Sahaptian), and Choguita Rarámuri (Uto-Aztecan). I argue that accent competition across languages is resolved in formally similar ways and that no idiosyncratic, language-specific analyses for individual lexical accent systems are warranted. It is thus proposed that the idiosyncrasy in lexical accent systems is found in the distribution of underlying accents, but not in the rules of the systems. I propose a typology of lexical accent systems and argue that they fall into one of two types based on the mechanism of accent competition resolution: I. Cyclic: In an accent competition, accent in the outermost derivational layer within the domain wins, or II. Directional: In an accent competition, either the right-most or the left-most accent within the domain wins. The second group of proposals made in this dissertation concerns the status of fundamental properties of stress and prosody – Culminativity and Obligatoriness of stress (Trubezkoy 1939/1960; Hyman 2006, 2009), and primary versus non-primary stress. It has previously been claimed that Culminativity of stress can be breached in highly synthetic languages (e.g. Blackfoot, Stacy 2004; Arapaho, Bogomolets 2014a,b; Mapudungun, Molineaux 2018; Yupik, Woodbury 1987). I argue that stress is in fact always culminative, but Culminativity should be regarded as a macroparameter allowing for a set of language-specific ways to implement it, including a mechanism of clash avoidance and an enforcement of ‘one and only one’ stress within domains smaller than a morphological word. Finally, this dissertation addresses the general structure of the word-level prosodic system. I propose that the word-level prosodic system is not bipartite: primary stress vs. rhythm, but tripartite: primary stress vs. secondary stress vs. rhythm.