On the Phonological Derivation of Compensatory Lengthening in Standard Malay: A Stratal Optimality Theoretical Approach

Mufleh Alqahtani

doi:10.36892/ijlls.v4i1.804

Abstract

This study used Stratal Optimality Theory (OT) as the analytical framework to analyze the phonological derivation of Compensatory Lengthening (CL) in Standard Malay that targets the moraic rhotic /r/ in the coda position. It was concluded that to ensure the moraicity assignment to the rhotic /r/ in the postvocalic position before any consonant deletion or vowel lengthening, the moraic structures were built based on Weight-By-Position (WBP) prior to the segmental changes that resulted in the CL, which meant that the floating mora became affiliated to the preceding stem vowel. This phonological derivation was seen to be a form of counterbleeding in which the consonant deletion counterbleeds the WBP. The Stratal OT model successfully accounts for this counterbleeding as an opaque rule interaction, with the first stratum ensuring that the moraic structure is built before any segmental deletion or lengthening changes and the second stratum dealing with the CL.

Highlights

This study examined the phonological derivation of compensatory lengthening (CL) in Standard Malay using a Stratal Optimality Theory (OT) model
CL in Standard Malay is common for the stem-final /r/, which becomes moraic due to WBP
The deletion of the moraic stem-final /r/ results in a floating mora, which is linked to the preceding stem vowel and lengthened. This phonological derivation is an example of counterbleeding, that is, the CL counterbleeds WBP

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Segmental changes in Malay have attracted continual linguistic research attention (Asmah 1975; Yunus 1980; Onn 1980; Collins & Hassan 1986; Zaharani 1991, 2005; Teoh 1994; Kassin 2000; Zaharani & Jalaluddin 2011), the first of whom was Asmah (1975), who pioneered Malay phonological analysis and along with Yunus (1980) and Onn (1980) recognized the initial stage vowel lengthening in Malay when the stem-final /r/ was not being pronounced. Taking steps (3a-b) into consideration, Teoh (1994) notes the fact that final /a/ in /bakar/ 'burn' is adjacent to the target of deletion, stem-final /r/ He concludes that the neighboring empty slot. Kassin (2000) believed that there was a relinking of the timing X-slot to the preceding vowel in Standard Malay, and claimed that for phonological word boundaries, the floating /r/ remained unlinked as it failed to resyllabify with the following V-initial words, thereby becoming subject to CL. (5) Delinking of the floating /r/ and compensatory vowel lengthening (Kassin 2000: 98): the above scholars addressed CL in Malay, the nature of the phonological derivation for this linguistic phenomenon has not yet been investigated using Stratal OT.

STANDARD MALAY SYLLABLE STRUCTURE

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Stratal OT

CONCLUSION