LINGUIST List 21.1812
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Wed Apr 14 2010
Diss: Phonology/Bateman Crosslinguistic Investigation of Palatalization
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1. Nicoleta
Bateman,
A Crosslinguistic Investigation of Palatalization
Message 1: A Crosslinguistic Investigation of Palatalization
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Date: 13-Apr-2010
From: Nicoleta Bateman <nbatemancsusm.edu>
Subject: A Crosslinguistic Investigation of Palatalization
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Institution: University of California, San Diego
Program: Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2007
Author: Nicoleta Bateman
Dissertation Title: A Crosslinguistic Investigation of Palatalization
Linguistic Field(s):
Phonology
Dissertation Director:
Sharon Rose
Eric Bakovic
Jessica A Barlow
Jeffrey Elman
Maria Polinsky
Dissertation Abstract:
This dissertation presents both a descriptive and a formal account of
palatalization patterns as identified in a balanced sample of 117
languages. I distinguish between two palatalization types, one involving a
primary place of articulation change (full palatalization , e.g. t --> t∫),
the other involving the acquisition of a secondary palatal articulation
(secondary palatalization, e.g.
t --> t j ). The focus is on similarities/differences in palatalization
patterns due to the place of articulation of target consonants, and on
palatalization triggers. I develop a formal analysis which uses
Articulatory Phonology (AP) and Optimality Theory (OT), making crucial
reference to the oral articulators (lips, tongue) that produce the sounds
involved in palatalization and their interaction during speech production.
Two main patterns are identified regarding palatalization triggers: (i) if
lower front vowels are triggers, so are higher front vowels; (ii) if high
back vowels are triggers, so are high front vowels. Regarding
palatalization targets, I identify a striking dependency of labial
palatalization on the palatalization of coronal and dorsal consonants:
while coronal and dorsal palatalization can be independent or co-occurring
in a given language, labial palatalization is always dependent on the
palatalization of coronals and dorsals. Furthermore, labials do not undergo
full palatalization. The few cases where this appears attested are
explained via diachronic changes which did not involve palatalization of
the labial itself. Historical evidence indicates that a palatal glide
following the labial hardened to a palatal consonant, and that the labial
ultimately deleted.
The proposed account explains the occurrence of palatalization, as well as
the general palatalization patterns and labial palatalization.
Palatalization is viewed as the result of temporal overlap of articulatory
gestures produced with the two major articulators, tongue and lips. Full
palatalization results from great overlap of tongue gestures, and secondary
palatalization results from minimal overlap of tongue/tongue or lips/tongue
gestures. The formal OT implementation relies on constraints that have an
articulatory motivation and also capture the dependency of labial
palatalization on the palatalization of coronal and dorsal consonants. The
results of the crosslinguistic study and the formal analysis demonstrate
that phonetic articulation must be incorporated in the explanation of
phonological patterns.
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