Syllable structure and stratification in Bangla (original) (raw)
Related papers
Complex onsets in regional varieties of Bangla
Vol. 40, 2013
This paper intends to illustrate an analysis of the treatment of the complex onsets at the word-initial position in some regional varieties of Bangla or Bengali in the framework of Optimality Theory. In a stratified lexicon system, borrowed words belong to SB (Sanskrit Borrowings) and OB (Other Borrowings) strata. NB (Native Bangla) does not allow any complex onset at the word-initial position. The borrowed words (SB and OB) with complex onset are retained intact in the standard colloquial Bangla (SCB). But, some non-standard regional varieties (NSCB), which are spoken in many parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh, register vowel-insertions in several SB and OB words with word-initial consonant cluster. In most likely cases, the tendency is to break the word-initial cluster by inserting a vowel in between the consonants in the cluster. An Optimality-Theoretic (OT) analysis of this phenomenon is offered in this article with the help of a stratification strategy for the Bangla lexicon.
This study looked into the different onset patterns of the syllables allowed in Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB), and Jessore Bangla (JB), two of the major dialects of Bangla. Using the framework of Optimality Theory (OT) it captured how the same loan words with complex onsets are accommodated both in SCB and JB. The study found that SCB adopted the loan words with complex onsets as they are while JB adapted them using some repairs. SCB allows both simple and complex onsets but JB allows only simple onsets; complex onset is highly marked here. Two repair strategies, internal and external vowel epenthesis were found to be used in JB to simplify the complex onsets of the loan words. Hence, this study deployed relevant OT constraints and presented their rankings to explain the internal and external epenthesis contexts and the quality of the epenthetic vowel.
PHONOLOGY TO MORPHO-PHONOLOGY: RE-ANALYZING BANGLA VERBS
EFL Journal 3, June, 2012
The empirical focus of this paper is on the distribution of vowels in monosyllabic verb roots in Bangla. While reiterating that these distributional restrictions are probably the result of diachronic changes in the language, the paper underlines the necessity to reanalyze these restrictions as components of its synchronic morpho-phonemics. The proposal, couched in the framework of optimality theory, argues that phonological assimilation in Bangla neutralizes [HIGH] and [ATR] distinctions between adjacent vowels. This results in the seven vowel repertoire of Bangla, surfacing as alternating sets of five vowels in monosyllabic verb roots. Further, in a bid to block homophony, the same alternation pattern is morphologically imposed on the verb roots. These appear to be cases of under-application on the surface. In the constraint based paradigm, these morphological restrictions, by virtue of their higher ranking, block the phonological assimilations.
Voicing agreement in Bangla word-medial clusters
2012
Word-medial clusters in Bangla show dissimilar behavior while dealing with homogeneous and heterogeneous clusters in terms of voicing. The voicing pattern also depends on the origin of the words (here, strata). This paper proposes an account of voicing agreement within the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky, 1993), manifested in word-medial obstruent consonant clusters of Bangla. Generally, in the Optimality-Theoretic (or, OT) analysis, voicing agreement is enforced by an agreement constraint on adjacent obstruents, as illustrated by Lombardi (1999). The preservation of the voicing contrast regardless of initial, medial or final position is represented by ranking markedness constraints on voiced obstruents below the faithfulness constraints. A core-periphery stratification is adopted from Itô and Mester (1995) to categorize the Bangla lexicon according to the nature of the words. The OT analysis of the word-medial clusters will be based on the said stratification of the lexicon.
A Comparative Study of the Morphophonemics of -ɪle Suffixation in Three Dialects of Bangla
International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), 2021
The infinitival inflectional suffix-ɪle undergoes various alterations in the three dialects of Banglaviz Noakhali Bangla (NKB), Tripura Bangla (TB) and Standard Colloquial Bangla (SCB). This is caused by the varied treatment the suffix initial high vowel ɪ receives in the respective dialects. Within the suffix, it forms a syllable, without an onset and coda. But universally a medial vowel without an onset cannot form a syllable by itself. Hence, it is either relocated to get an onset or else it is deleted. The former is the case in NKB and TB, while the latter is attested in SCB. In consequence, the entire affixed form including the verbal base undergoes multiple reconfigurations as dictated by the prosodic grammar of the dialect concerned. Investigation into these prosodic processes helps in a) determining the metrical pattern prevailing at the word level in each of these dialects, and b) unearthing the clandestine interaction between morphology and phonology active in each dialect. This paper attempts to project a comparative picture of these morphophonemic processes in the three dialects of Bangla under study.
A Comparison Between English and Bangla Vowel Systems
Khulna University Studies
The vowel is an important type of speech sound. Different languages have different sets of vowels due to their genetic and typological profile. Though the languages in the world share some common features, they are governed by language specific properties. This paper aims at finding out the phonetic and phonemic similarities and dissimilarities between the vowels in English and those in Bangla. The findings show that the vowels in English and Bangla share some common characteristics on the one hand; they are distinct by some unique features on the other hand.
Base-Reduplicant correspondence in Bangla: An OT analysis
This study sought to propose the set of constraints that adequately account for the processes guiding three types of reduplications in the Bangla language. Bangla, an Indo-European language with approximately 210 millions native speakers, has a sophisticated system of reduplication. We analyzed phonological alternations in three (out of six) types of reduplicants in this paper: Total (having to alternations) , Echo-formation (having consonant alternation) , and Correlative (having multiple vowel alternations) type. Data were collected from a native speaker consultant, and from secondary sources (Das 2015, and Rana, 2010), and were analyzed primarily within the prosodic morphology framework, as proposed by McCarthy and Prince (1995). We primarily concluded that there are constraints forcing the dissimilation of the segments and restricting their choices based on the sonority hierarchy relations between the segments involved. We proposed constraints based on the notion of 'Sonority Jump' which would restrict the number of choices and direct towards the winning options. And, we assume our analysis was capable of explaining both the consonant and vowel alternations, with certain difference of the directionality of the 'jump.
Variable realization of -ɪa infinitival in Bangla: A study in morphophonemics
International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), 2021
This paper offers a comparative picture of the prosodic behaviours of the infinitive verbal inflective-ɪa in three dialects of Bangla: Noakhali Bangla and Tripura Bangla as spoken in Tripura, and SCB or the standard Bangla. While the other two infinitival suffixes-ɪt̪ e and-ɪle have clearly V.CV shape-ɪa is argued to have a V.V shape underlyingly as against V.CV. All the suffixes undergo various changes in their affixed state because of the varying treatment meted out to their initial high vowel. The discrete prosodic requirements of the three dialects interacting with the common (universal) needs determine the ultimate surface realizations of the three inflectives. The case of-ɪ.a is unique: it has no underlying onset consonant in the second syllable. The consonant j emerges to fulfil the universal need for an onset in a medial syllable beginning with a vowel. The features of the consonant are dictated by the phonetic fact of adjacency of two vowels with features of [+High] and [-High] across syllable boundary namely ɪ and a.