The Role of Perception in the Typology of Geminate Consonants: Effects of Manner of Articulation, Segmental Environment, Position, and Stress

The present study seeks to answer the question whether consonant duration is perceived differently across consonants of different manners of articulation and in different contextual environments and whether such differences may be related to the typology of geminates. The results of the crosslinguistic identification experiment suggest higher perceptual acuity in labeling short and long consonants in sonorants than in obstruents. Duration categories were also more consistently and clearly labelled in the intervocalic than in the preconsonantal environment, in the word-initial than in the word-final position, and after stressed vowels than between unstressed vowels. These perceptual asymmetries are in line with some typological tendencies, such as the crosslinguistic preference for intervocalic and post-stress geminates, but contradict other proposed crosslinguistic patterns, such as the preference for obstruent geminates and the abundance of word-final geminates

Typological variation in language contact: A phonological analysis of Italiot Greek

This dissertation investigates the phonology of Italiot Greek (IG) from both a synchronic and a diachronic perspective, pursuing two core objectives: first, to provide an up-to-date description of the phonological system of IG, highlighting the deviations from Medieval Greek as well as the vast cross- and intra-dialectal variation, and, second, to account for the typological changes IG has undergone and formalize the convergence with the Romance grammatical system. The description of the phonological system of IG is based on original data obtained via fieldwork in the IG-speaking enclaves (Salento and Calabria). The in-depth presentation covers phoneme inventories, phonological processes, the organization of the syllable, sandhi phenomena, and stress properties. Moreover, it focuses attention on the diachronic changes with respect to the consonant inventories and certain phonological processes. Special emphasis is placed on substantial modifications in syllable structure, compared to the Medieval Greek system, and the processes these changes have triggered; specifically, (a) the gradual reduction of place and manner features that are admitted in the coda, which is manifested through diachronic shifts towards less marked values; (b) the licensing of complex onsets at the left edge of the root, which allows long-distance metathesis of liquids. These phenomena not only differentiate contemporary IG from its ancestor as well as from virtually any other Modern Greek dialect, but also constitute crucial points of convergence with Romance dialects due to language contact. Within Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004), the dissertation proposes a novel typological analysis of these major changes in the syllable structure of IG. Following Alber & Prince (2015, in prep.), the analysis places IG within a broader typology of place and manner changes as well as long-distance metathesis and identifies the crucial ranking conditions, i.e. the typological properties, that define each grammar of the typological system. Minimally varying grammars, i.e. grammars that share all but one property value, are shown to constitute chronologically adjacent stages in the history of IG (see Alber 2015; Alber & Meneguzzo 2016). In light of this, stepwise diachronic changes are explained as minimal switches in the property values. Crucially, the divergence of the IG grammar from the Greek system and its converge with Romance is accounted for through the lens of minimal differences in the property values. Thus, the dissertation offers an innovative formal account of contact-induced grammatical change

Typological variation in language contact: A phonological analysis of Italiot Greek

This dissertation investigates the phonology of Italiot Greek (IG) from both a synchronic and a diachronic perspective, pursuing two core objectives: first, to provide an up-to-date description of the phonological system of IG, highlighting the deviations from Medieval Greek as well as the vast cross- and intra-dialectal variation, and, second, to account for the typological changes IG has undergone and formalize the convergence with the Romance grammatical system. The description of the phonological system of IG is based on original data obtained via fieldwork in the IG-speaking enclaves (Salento and Calabria). The in-depth presentation covers phoneme inventories, phonological processes, the organization of the syllable, sandhi phenomena, and stress properties. Moreover, it focuses attention on the diachronic changes with respect to the consonant inventories and certain phonological processes. Special emphasis is placed on substantial modifications in syllable structure, compared to the Medieval Greek system, and the processes these changes have triggered; specifically, (a) the gradual reduction of place and manner features that are admitted in the coda, which is manifested through diachronic shifts towards less marked values; (b) the licensing of complex onsets at the left edge of the root, which allows long-distance metathesis of liquids. These phenomena not only differentiate contemporary IG from its ancestor as well as from virtually any other Modern Greek dialect, but also constitute crucial points of convergence with Romance dialects due to language contact. Within Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004), the dissertation proposes a novel typological analysis of these major changes in the syllable structure of IG. Following Alber & Prince (2015, in prep.), the analysis places IG within a broader typology of place and manner changes as well as long-distance metathesis and identifies the crucial ranking conditions, i.e. the typological properties, that define each grammar of the typological system. Minimally varying grammars, i.e. grammars that share all but one property value, are shown to constitute chronologically adjacent stages in the history of IG (see Alber 2015; Alber & Meneguzzo 2016). In light of this, stepwise diachronic changes are explained as minimal switches in the property values. Crucially, the divergence of the IG grammar from the Greek system and its converge with Romance is accounted for through the lens of minimal differences in the property values. Thus, the dissertation offers an innovative formal account of contact-induced grammatical change

Perception of the boundary between singleton and geminate plosives by Greek Cypriots: a sociophonetic perspective

Standard Modern Greek (SMG) and Cypriot Greek (CG), two language varieties used by Greek Cypriots living in Cyprus, differ in their plosive inventories, as CG includes voiceless geminate plosives which are absent in SMG. Words containing geminate plosives may be divided into two groups; in one, replacing a geminate plosive with a singleton plosive changes the meaning of the word, whereas in the other group replacing a geminate with a singleton does not cause any change to the word’s literal meaning. Matched-guise technique (MGT) tests carried out as a part of this study suggest that substituting a singleton plosive [t] with a geminate [t:h] tends to alter the social characteristics attributed to the speaker uttering words containing the target sounds. Forced-choice perceptual tests were carried out with Greek Cypriot listeners in three conditions, (1) in the presence of the Greek flag (symbolising the Greek culture and/or region), (2) in the presence of the Cypriot flag (symbolising the Cypriot culture and/or region), and (3) in the absence of the two flags. The results indicate that the perception of the boundary between singleton and geminate plosives tends to be affected by several variables such as the length of the plosive embedded in the test stimuli, the presence of the flags, the gender of the listeners and the way listeners produced singleton and geminate plosives themselves. Socio-economic background and cultural affiliation of the listeners, which were assumed to be indicators of the amount of exposure to singleton plosives in the discussed context, were also among the variables affecting the perception of the boundary. The results of this study seem to add evidence to some of the assumptions of exemplar theory relating to the importance of amount of exposure to a sound category, the role of acoustic properties of stored exemplars, and processing of indexical information in speech perception. Also, the results of the study appear to suggest that factors such as listeners’ linguistic insecurity or listeners’ satisfaction with their social position might also have an effect on the way they process speech by increasing or decreasing their sensitivity to acoustic properties of sounds. It is suggested that the role of listeners’ linguistic insecurity and the role of their satisfaction with social position in increasing and decreasing sensitivity to phonetic cues should be further investigated in future research and possibly incorporated into models of speech perception

Arabic and contact-induced change

This volume offers a synthesis of current expertise on contact-induced change in Arabic and its neighbours, with thirty chapters written by many of the leading experts on this topic. Its purpose is to showcase the current state of knowledge regarding the diverse outcomes of contacts between Arabic and other languages, in a format that is both accessible and useful to Arabists, historical linguists, and students of language contact

Arabic and contact-induced change

This volume offers a synthesis of current expertise on contact-induced change in Arabic and its neighbours, with thirty chapters written by many of the leading experts on this topic. Its purpose is to showcase the current state of knowledge regarding the diverse outcomes of contacts between Arabic and other languages, in a format that is both accessible and useful to Arabists, historical linguists, and students of language contact

Writing Around the Ancient Mediterranean

Writing in the ancient Mediterranean existed against a backdrop of very high levels of interaction and contact. In the societies around its shores, writing was a dynamic practice that could serve many purposes – from a tool used by elites to control resources and establish their power bases to a symbol of local identity and a means of conveying complex information and ideas. This volume presents a group of papers by members of the Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) research team and visiting fellows, offering a range of different perspectives and approaches to problems of writing in the ancient Mediterranean. They focus on practices, viewing writing as something that people do within a wider social and cultural context, and on adaptations, considering the ways in which writing changed and was changed by the people using it

Arabic and contact-induced change

This volume offers a synthesis of current expertise on contact-induced change in Arabic and its neighbours, with thirty chapters written by many of the leading experts on this topic. Its purpose is to showcase the current state of knowledge regarding the diverse outcomes of contacts between Arabic and other languages, in a format that is both accessible and useful to Arabists, historical linguists, and students of language contact

Writing Around the Ancient Mediterranean

Writing in the ancient Mediterranean existed against a backdrop of very high levels of interaction and contact. In the societies around its shores, writing was a dynamic practice that could serve many purposes – from a tool used by elites to control resources and establish their power bases to a symbol of local identity and a means of conveying complex information and ideas. This volume presents a group of papers by members of the Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) research team and visiting fellows, offering a range of different perspectives and approaches to problems of writing in the ancient Mediterranean. They focus on practices, viewing writing as something that people do within a wider social and cultural context, and on adaptations, considering the ways in which writing changed and was changed by the people using it

Effectiveness of Online Language Learning Software (Duolingo) on Italian Pronunciation Features: A Case Study

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of online language learning software for the acquisition of pronunciation macro skills (comprehensibility and accentedness) and micro skills (gemination and voice onset time); specifically, this study focused on Duolingo, a data-driven online language learning software created in 2011. Designed as a case study, it followed five participants through four weeks using Duolingo to learn Italian. Data were collected through both quantitative measures, such as Duolingo reports, acoustic analysis in Praat, and native speaker ratings, and qualitative measures, such as interviews, observations, and questionnaires. Findings from the native speaker ratings on comprehensibility and accentedness revealed a statistically significant improvement in one of the participants. Further, findings from the analysis of practice data and the acoustic analysis showed that those participants who practiced more, through the repetition of lessons, were more likely to improve their pronunciation, while those who tended not to repeat lessons, showed very little signs of improvement. However, the results also indicate that language and linguistics training, typology of L2 and consequent languages, and recency of language study also impact levels of improvement.The findings from the perceptions of the participants on the effectiveness of Duolingo for the acquisition of pronunciation skills further corroborate the finding that online language learning software like Duolingo do implement certain pedagogically sound practices, which is certainly a step forward in the development of sound, valid, programs. However, the results of the study also reveal the need to calibrate such practices through modifications to design. The implications of these results relate to both theory and practice, and highlight the facts that with appropriate research, technology can become - and has possibly already begun to be - an engaging and efficient tool for language learning and that the future of online language learning looks bright.Englis