Distinctive Feature Theory

380 Pages·2001·9.918 MB·English

by  Aditi Lahiri (ed.)

Distinctive Feature Theory
W
DE
G
Phonology and Phonetics
2
Editor
Aditi Lahiri
Mouton de Gruyter
Berlin · New York
Distinctive Feature Theory
Edited by
T. Alan Hall
Mouton de Gruyter
Berlin · New York 2001
Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague)
is a Division of Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin.
© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines
of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Distinctive feature theory / ed. by T. Alan Hall. - Berlin ; New York :
Mouton de Gruyter, 2001
(Phonology and phonetics ; 2)
ISBN 3-11-017033-7
© Copyright 2001 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin.
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this
book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
Printing & Binding: Hubert & Co, Göttingen.
Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin.
Printed in Germany.
Contents
List of contributors vi
Introduction: Phonological representations and phonetic
implementation of distinctive features 1
T. A. Hall
Laryngeal dimensions, completion and enhancement 41
Peter Avery and William J. Idsardi
Representational economy in constraint-based phonology 71
G. N. Clements
Place of articulation first 147
Mirco Ghini
Representing nasality in consonants 177
Janet Grijzenhout
Patterns, pervasive patterns and feature specification 211
K. David Harrison and Abigail Kaun
Phonetic implementation of the distinctive auditory 237
features [voice] and [tense] in stop consonants
Michael Jessen
Distinctive [voice] implies regressive voicing assimilation 295
Bertus van Rooy and Daan Wissing
The phonology of /r/ 335
Richard Wiese
Index of languages 369
Index of subjects 371

Contributors
Peter Avery William J. Idsardi
Department of Linguistics Department of Linguistics
York University University of Delaware
4700 Keele St 46 E. Delaware Αν
North York ON M3J1P3 Newark, DE 19716-2551
Canada USA
[email protected] idsardi @udel.edu
G. N. Clements Michael Jessen
Uni versite de Paris 3 Bundeskriminalamt
CNRS Fachbereich Sprechererkennung,
19, rue des Bernardins Tonbandauswertung und
75005 Paris Linguistische Textanalyse
France 65173 Wiesbaden
[email protected] Germany
Janet Grijzenhout Abigail Kaun
Institut für Sprache und Information 2017 Glendon Av
Heinrich-Heine University Los Angeles, California 90025
Universitätsstr. 1 USA
40225 Düsseldorf kaun @pantheon.yale.edu
Germany
[email protected]
Bertus van Rooy
T. A. Hall Research Unit for Phonetics and
Institut für Linguistik Phonology
Brühl 34-50 Potchefstroom University
University of Leipzig Potchefstroom 2520
04109 Leipzig South Africa
Germany [email protected]
hall @rz.uni-leipzig.de
K. David Harrison Richard Wiese
University of Pennsylvania /IRCS Institut für Germanistische
3401 Walnut Street St 401 Sprachwissenschaft
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 Philipps-Universität Marburg
USA Wilhelm-Roepke-Str. 6A
[email protected] 35032 Marburg
Germany
[email protected]
Contributors viii
Daan Wissing
Research Unit for Phonetics and Phonology
Potchefstroom University
Potchefstroom
2520
South Africa
[email protected]
Introduction: Phonological representations and
phonetic implementation of distinctive features*
T. Alan Hall
1. Introduction
Current interest in Optimality Theory (henceforth OT; Prince &
Smolensky 1993) has caused a shift of attention in recent years from
questions regarding phonological representations, which concerned
phonologists in the 1970's and 1980's, to topics pertaining to
constraints and their interaction. At the same time we have witnessed
a greater interest in phonetic explanations in phonology than in
previous years. Thus, it is not uncommon for current phonological
analyses to go to great lengths to demonstrate the phonetic
naturalness of their proposed treatments. Sometimes the two
developments go hand in hand, the most obvious example being the
approach typified by linguists at UCLA, according to which output
constraints in the OT model can refer to a considerable amount of
phonetic detail (e.g. Kirchner 1997, Steriade 2000).
A consequence of the shift away from representational questions
and the preoccupation with phonetic explanations is that there is at
present much uncertainty concerning certain fundamental questions
pertaining to both phonological representations and to the phonetics-
phonology boundary. With respect to features, the most obvious
question regarding the first topic is: What featural representations
(e.g. feature geometry, underspecification) are necessary in a phono-
logical theory? A similar query can be posed with respect to the
second topic: Is there a difference between phonological and pho-
netic representations, especially pertaining to featural representa-
tions?
The purpose of this book is to address these two broad issues: (i)
the nature of featural representations in the phonological component,
e.g. feature geometry and underspecification, and (ii) the connection
2 T. A. Hall
between featural representations in the phonological component and
the interpretation, or implementation, of these features in the pho-
netics.
This introductory article is organized in the following way. In
section 2 I discuss the featural aspects of phonological representa-
tions. Here I provide an overview of the history of various featural
frameworks proposed throughout the past forty years within the
general research program of Nonlinear Phonology, e.g. Autoseg-
mental Phonology, Feature Geometry and theories of Underspeci-
fication. Section 3 considers some topics pertaining to the interface
between phonology and phonetics. In the course of sections 2 and 3 I
summarize briefly the content of the eight articles in this volume and
show how they fit in to the respective theoretical frameworks.
Section 4 concludes.1
The primary aim of this introductory article is to summarize some
of the research that has been done on the two broad topics referred to
above - featural representations and the phonology-phonetics con-
nection - and to show how the following eight articles contribute to
some controversial questions. A second goal of the present article is
to provide a brief survey of the theories of distinctive features
described in the preceding paragraph. This survey is intended to
serve as a background for those readers who might not be familiar
with the underpinnings of these theories.
2. Phonological representations of distinctive features
The majority of the authors in this book presuppose some model of
feature geometry as well as some degree of underspecification. In
this section I discuss the claims linguists have made concerning
these and other aspects of featural representations in the past 30
years, focussing on some of the current areas of controversy, and
summarize the new analyses discussed by the authors in this volume.