LINGUIST List 17.13
Tue Jan 10 2006
Diss: Phonology: Cavar: 'Palatalization in Polish: A...'
Editor for this issue: Meredith Valant
<meredithlinguistlist.org>
Directory
1. Malgorzata
Cavar,
Palatalization in Polish: An interaction of articulatory and perceptual factors
Message 1: Palatalization in Polish: An interaction of articulatory and perceptual factors
Date: 08-Jan-2006
From: Malgorzata Cavar <mecavarunizd.hr>
Subject: Palatalization in Polish: An interaction of articulatory and perceptual factors
Institution: University of Potsdam
Program: Graduierten Kolleg Optimalitaet und Komplexitaet in der Sprache
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2004
Author: Malgorzata Cavar
Dissertation Title: Palatalization in Polish: An interaction of articulatory and perceptual factors
Linguistic Field(s):
Phonology
Subject Language(s): Polish (pol)
Dissertation Director:
Caroline Féry
Tracy Alan Hall
Dissertation Abstract:
The present dissertation studies palatalization as an effect of theinteraction of a set of articulatory and auditory factors. A functionalapproach has been adopted with its basic claims that the shape of alanguage is determined by two tendencies: first, to minimize the effort ofthe speaker, that is, to simplify the articulation, and second, to minimizethe effort of the listener, i.e. to maximize the distinctiveness of theunits of language, cf. Passy (1891), Martinet (1955), Lindblom (1986),Flemming (1995), Boersma (1998). The attempt was to identify differentarticulatory and auditory factors in palatalization processes within thesystem of one language, that is, Polish, and to offer an explanatoryaccount of the processes in Polish. The other goal was to offer adequateformal means for such an analysis.
I attempt to develop a model of the interaction of articulatory andauditory factors in phonology, to provide means for the analysis of Polish.The constraints and (especially perceptual) features applied in theanalysis are defined and justified. Among others, arguments are offeredfor the family of PreserveContrast constraints, which regulate thepreservation of the underlying contrasts in the surface representation andare necessary in cases when surface representations are not faithful to theunderlying representations. The interactions of articulatory and auditoryconstraints are discussed, and, among others, it is argued thatarticulatory effects are blocked when the output would be too dissimilar interms of auditory features from the input (cf. e.g. Steriade, 2001). Also,a new approach to Derived Environment is offered, where the distinctionbetween Derived and Non-Derived Environment can be defined in terms ofsurface distributional properties of segments, without a mention of theunderlying representation. The new approach, dubbed AlternatingEnvironment, is more functional in the sense that it seeks explanation inexternal factors, namely in general learning strategies. It is comparedwith earlier OT approaches (Pater, 1999; Lubowicz, 1998) and proves to besimpler and covers also the set of data which in other approaches wouldhave to be analyzed independently.
In the present study we see all palatalization effects in Polish asresulting from just two major processes: first, perceptually-driven,resulting from the spreading of the perceptual feature [Pal](Palatalization), second, the articulatory-driven requirement on theagreement of the onset consonant with the following vowel in terms of thetongue root position. Affrication concomitant with the change of the placeof articulation in palatalization is discussed and argued to be anauditory-driven cue enhancement. The insertion of [j] in LabialPalatalization is treated the same way: it is shown that j-insertion andaffrication function similarly in different dialects, and that j-insertionfails to apply when it does not exert the desired auditory effect.
Finally, the emergence in Polish of cross-linguistically rare sounds suchas prepalatals and flat-tongue post-alveolars is discussed and ascribed tothe interaction of articulatory requirements and the need to optimize thesurface contrasts auditorily in the sense of Contrast Dispersion (Flemming,1995). This line of reasoning explains also the irregular - from thearticulatory point of view - effects of palatalization of sonorants in Polish.
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