Abstract
We explore the interaction of two phonological factors that condition schwa–zero alternations in French: schwa is more likely after two consonants than a singleton; and schwa is more likely between stressed syllables than elsewhere. Using new data from a judgment study, we show that both factors play a role in schwa epenthesis and deletion, and that the two factors interact cumulatively: they have a stronger effect together than individually. Treating each factor as a constraint, we find that their cumulative interaction is better modeled with weighted than with ranked constraints. We provide a characterization of patterns of cumulativity in probability space in terms of the effect of constraint on its own versus its effect in a cumulative interaction with another constraint. Stochastic OT can model cumulative interactions, but only sublinear ones, where the effect of a constraint is weaker in the cumulative context than on its own. Weighted constraint models, MaxEnt and Noisy HG, can model the full range of cumulativity — sublinear, linear, and superlinear. In examining the ability of these models to fit our experimental data, we find that Stochastic OT is hampered by the fact that the data displays superlinear cumulativity. Noisy HG and MaxEnt fare better on this dataset, with MaxEnt yielding the best fit.
Highlights
In his landmark study originally published in 1973, Dell (1985) provides a remarkably thorough description of the complex set of phonological factors conditioning the schwa-zero alternation in the “standard” variety of Parisian French of which he is a native speaker, and proposes an analysis in terms of the phonological framework presented in Chomsky and Halle (1968)
The contribution on either side of probability 0.5 is equal: if adding a violation difference increases probability from a baseline of 0.4 to 0.5, it will increase probability from 0.5 to 0.6. This is the situation we have looked at in the tables far, and this explains why Maximum Entropy Grammar (MaxEnt) cannot match the Stochastic Optimality Theory (OT) (0.67, 0.5, 0.5, 0) distribution in the table, nor the Noisy Harmonic Grammar (HG) (0.72, 0.5, 0.5, 0.12) distribution discussed in the text
We described and modeled the interaction of two phonological factors that condition French schwa alternations: schwa is more likely after two consonants than one and in the penultimate syllable than elsewhere
Summary
In his landmark study originally published in 1973, Dell (1985) provides a remarkably thorough description of the complex set of phonological factors conditioning the schwa-zero alternation in the “standard” variety of Parisian French of which he is a native speaker, and proposes an analysis in terms of the phonological framework presented in Chomsky and Halle (1968). One of the central claims of his analysis is that both deletion of underlying schwa and epenthesis are involved in producing the surface distribution. Examples of deletion of underlying schwa are shown in (1a) and (1b), and a case of epenthesis is provided in (1c). Some words contain an [œ] that never alternates with zero, even in phonological environments where deletion is usually likely (Dell 1985). We set aside words with exceptional non-alternating [œ], and only consider words that exhibit [œ]~Ø alternations, such as the examples below
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
