Abstract
AbstractThe present study investigates the historical unconditioned merger of palatal /ç/ (< Middle High German /x/) and postalveolar /ʃ/ into alveolopalatal /ɕ/ in certain varieties of Central German. It will be shown that the phonemicization of the alveolopalatal was the final stage in a gradual reduction of segmental markedness. Thus, /ç/ and /ʃ/ are argued to be featurally complex segments, while /ɕ/ is featurally simplex. Independent support for the proposed analysis can be found in the concomitant reduction of markedness in the vowel system of the dialects in question. The present study sheds light on the factors involved in explaining context‐free phonological change and the historical source of the alveolopalatal /ɕ/.
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