LINGUIST List 23.1131: Diss: Phonetics/Occitan: Müller: 'Developments of the Lateral in Occitan Dialects and Their Romance and Cross-linguistic Context'

LINGUIST List 23.1131
Tue Mar 06 2012 Diss: Phonetics/Occitan: Müller: 'Developments of the Lateral in Occitan Dialects and Their Romance and Cross-linguistic Context' Editor for this issue: Xiyan Wang <xiyanlinguistlist.org>
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Date: 06-Mar-2012 From: Daniela Müller <daniela.mulleruniv-tlse2.fr> Subject: Developments of the Lateral in Occitan Dialects and Their Romance and Cross-linguistic Context E-mail this message to a friend Institution: Université de Toulouse - Le Mirail Program: Sciences du Langage Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2011 Author: Daniela Müller Dissertation Title: Developments of the Lateral in Occitan Dialects and Their Romance and Cross-linguistic Context Linguistic Field(s): Phonetics Subject Language(s): Occitan (oci) Dissertation Director: Edgar Radtke Patric Sauzet Dissertation Abstract: This thesis analyses sound changes that affected the lateral approximant inherited from Latin in Occitan dialects, in the Romance languages, and in a number of other languages from around the world. Chapter 1 gives a comprehensive overview of the research carried out on the lateral approximant; it discusses articulation and acoustics as well as abstract representations of the sound. Chapters 2 to 5 are devoted to specific sound changes which occurred in Occitan dialects at different points in time. These developments are systematically compared to similar phenomena in Romance and other languages. In chapter 2, I discuss the vocalisation of the dark lateral in preconsonantal and word-final position as well as intervocalically. It is argued there that Occitan and more generally Romance followed an unexpected pathway towards vocalisation, which cannot be explained by phonetic factors alone. Chapter 3 deals with palatalisation of the lateral in onset clusters. Rather than in articulatory assimilation, I propose that the origin of this sound change is to be sought in the frication which accompanied the obstruent + lateral onset clusters. Rhoticisation of the lateral, and its opposite, lambdacisation of the rhotic, is the topic of chapter 4. In this chapter, I discuss duration factors in these sound changes and present experimental evidence to substantiate the idea that duration plays an important role. Finally, chapter 5 looks at the developments of the Latin geminate lateral in Gascon and other Romance dialects; according to common opinion, the Latin geminate lateral underwent a retroflexion process, and I discuss how this might have been possible from a phonetic point of view. This Year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $67,000. This money will go to help keep the List running by supporting all of our Student Editors for the coming year. See below for donation instructions, and don't forget to check out Fund Drive 2012 site! http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/ There are many ways to donate to LINGUIST! You can donate right now using our secure credit card form at https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm Alternatively you can also pledge right now and pay later. To do so, go to: https://linguistlist.org/donation/pledge/pledge1.cfm For all information on donating and pledging, including information on how to donate by check, money order, or wire transfer, please visit: http://linguistlist.org/donation/ The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Eastern Michigan University and as such can receive donations through the EMU Foundation, which is a registered 501(c) Non Profit organization. Our Federal Tax number is 38-6005986. These donations can be offset against your federal and sometimes your state tax return (U.S. tax payers only). For more information visit the IRS Web-Site, or contact your financial advisor. Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that they will match any gift you make to a non-profit organization. Normally this entails your contacting your human resources department and sending us a form that the EMU Foundation fills in and returns to your employer. This is generally a simple administrative procedure that doubles the value of your gift to LINGUIST, without costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if your company operates such a program. Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST! Read more issues\|LINGUIST home page\|Top of issue

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