79 research outputs found
Constraining lexical phonology: evidence from English vowels
Standard Generative Phonology is inadequate in at least
three respects: it is unable to curtail the abstractness
of underlying forms and the complexity of derivations in
any principled way; the assumption that related dialects
share an identical system of underlying representations
leads to an inadequate account of dialect variation; and
no coherent model for the incorporation of sound changes
into the synchronic grammar is proposed. The purpose of
this thesis is to demonstrate that a well-constrained
model of Lexical Phonology, which is a generative,
derivational successor of the Standard Generative model,
need not suffer from these inadequacies.
Chapter 1 provides an outline of the development and
characteristics of Lexical Phonology and Morphology. In
Chapters 2 and 3, the model of Lexical Phonology proposed
for English by Halle and Mohanan (1985) is revised: the
lexical phonology is limited to two levels; substantially
more concrete underlying vowel systems are proposed for
RP and General American; and radically revised
formulations of certain modern English phonological
rules, including the Vowel Shift Rule and j-Insertion,
are suggested. These constrained analyses and rules are
found to be consistent with internal data, and with
external evidence from a number of sources, including
dialect differences, diachrony, speech errors and
psycholinguistic experiments.
In Chapters 4-6, a third reference accent, Scottish
Standard English, is introduced. In Chapter 4, the
diachronic development and synchronic characteristics of
this accent, and the related Scots dialects, are
outlined. Chapters 5 and 6 provide a synchronic and
diachronic account of the Scottish Vowel Length Rule
(SVLR). I argue that SVLR represents a Scots-specific
phonologisation of part of a pan-dialectal postlexical
lengthening rule, which remains productive in all
varieties of English, while SVLR has acquired certain
properties of a lexical rule, and has been relocated into
the lexicon. In becoming lexical, SVLR has neutralised
the long/short distinction for Scots vowels, so that
synchronically, the underlying vowel system of Scots/SSE
is organised differently from that of other varieties of
English. It is established that a constrained lexicalist
model necessitates the recognition of underlying dialect
variation; demonstrates a connection of lexical and
postlexical rules with two distinct types of sound
change; gives an illuminating account of the transition
of sound changes to synchronic phonological rules; and
permits the characterisation of dialect and language
variation as a continuum
Female and male Leach\u27s Storm Petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) pursue different foraging strategies during the incubation period
Reproduction in procellariiform birds is characterized by a single egg clutch, slow development, a long breeding season and obligate biparental care. Female Leach\u27s Storm Petrels Hydrobates leucorhous, nearly monomorphic members of this order, produce eggs that are between 20 and 25% of adult bodyweight. We tested whether female foraging behaviour differs from male foraging behaviour during the ~ 44-day incubation period across seven breeding colonies in the Northwest Atlantic. Over six breeding seasons, we used a combination of Global Positioning System and Global Location Sensor devices to measure characteristics of individual foraging trips during the incubation period. Females travelled significantly greater distances and went farther from the breeding colony than did males on individual foraging trips. For both sexes, the longer the foraging trip, the greater the distance. Independent of trip duration, females travelled farther, and spent a greater proportion of their foraging trips prospecting widely, as defined by behavioural categories derived from a hidden Markov Model. For both sexes, trip duration decreased with date. Sex differences in these foraging metrics were apparently not a consequence of morphological differences or spatial segregation. Our data are consistent with the idea that female foraging strategies differed from male foraging strategies during incubation in ways that would be expected if females were still compensating for egg formation
Graphic loans: East Asia and beyond
The national languages of East Asia (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese) have made extensive use of a type of linguistic borrowing sometimes referred to as a 'graphic loan'. Such loans have no place in the conventional classification of loans based on Haugen (1950) or Weinreich (1953), and research on loan word theory and phonology generally overlooks them. The classic East Asian phenomenon is discussed and a framework is proposed to describe its mechanism. It is argued that graphic loans are more than just 'spelling pronunciations', because they are a systematic and widespread process, independent of but not inferior to phonological borrowing. The framework is then expanded to cover a range of other cases of borrowing between languages to show that graphic loans are not a uniquely East Asian phenomenon, and therefore need to be considered as a major category of loan
Evolutionary Linguistics
How did the biological, brain and behavioural structures underlying human language evolve? When, why and where did our ancestors become linguistic animals, and what has happened since? This book provides a clear, comprehensive but lively introduction to these interdisciplinary debates. Written in an approachable style, it cuts through the complex, sometimes contradictory and often obscure technical languages used in the different scientific disciplines involved in the study of linguistic evolution. Assuming no background knowledge in these disciplines, the book outlines the physical and neurological structures underlying language systems, and the limits of our knowledge concerning their evolution. Discussion questions and further reading lists encourage students to explore the primary literature further, and the final chapter demonstrates that while many questions still remain unanswered, there is a growing consensus as to how modern human languages have arisen as systems by the interplay of evolved structures and cultural transmission.</jats:p
An introduction to English Phonology
This textbook is designed for use on ten or twelve week introductory courses on English Language and Linguistics degrees, in British and American universities.x, 142 p.; ill.: 25 c
An Introduction to English Phonology
x, 148 hlm : ilus ; 22 cm
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