Coronal consonant, front vowel parallels in Maltese

Abstract

This paper presents new evidence in support of the view that front vowels and coronal consonants are members of the natural class of coronal sounds. Evidence is drawn from coronal consonant/front vowel parallels in Maltese where these segments pattern together in default assignment, in vowel-to-coronal consonant assimilation, and in the more general process of coronal assimilation. The significance of the present study goes beyond the support that it offers for the coronality of front vowels; it also bears directly on the representation of consonant/vowel interaction in nonlinear phonology. Further, the evidence from consonant/vowel parallels as default segments is of particular interest in light of proposals suggesting that [coronal] is the unmarked place of articulation for consonants. In this work, it is proposed that the unmarked status of [coronal] can be extended naturally to include not only consonants but vowels as well.