13,997 research outputs found
Set the controls for the heart of the alternation: Dahlâs Law in Kitharaka
This paper looks at Dahlâs Law, a voicing dissimilation process found in a number of Bantu languages, in Kitharaka, and argues that it is best analysed within a framework of minimal (contrastive) feature spe- cifications. We show that the standard account of [±voice] dissimilation runs into a number of problems in Kitharaka and propose a new analysis, couched within the framework of the Parallel Structures Model of Feature Geometry (MorĂ©n 2003; 2006) and Optimality Theory, thereby also addressing the question of the division of labour between constraints and representations. The analysis shows that it is crucial to look at the whole system of phonological oppositions and natural classes in Kitharaka to understand how the process works, ultimately also using loanwords to glean crucial insight into how the phoneme system of Kitharaka is organised
Relating ordinary and fully simple maps via monotone Hurwitz numbers
A direct relation between the enumeration of ordinary maps and that of fully
simple maps first appeared in the work of the first and last authors. The
relation is via monotone Hurwitz numbers and was originally proved using
Weingarten calculus for matrix integrals. The goal of this paper is to present
two independent proofs that are purely combinatorial and generalise in various
directions, such as to the setting of stuffed maps and hypermaps. The main
motivation to understand the relation between ordinary and fully simple maps is
the fact that it could shed light on fundamental, yet still not
well-understood, problems in free probability and topological recursion.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
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