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

148 hlm

An introduction to english phonology

148 hlm

An introduction to English phonology

ix + 148 hlm.; 24,5 x 17,5 cm

An Introduction to English Phonology

x, 148 hlm : ilus ; 22 cm