Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the alternation of mid-open and mid-close vowels in southern French, a pattern known as theloi de position, and its relation to schwa. I offer a critical survey of the main analyses that have been put forward in the literature, showing how different conceptions of schwa influence the interpretation of theloi de position. I demonstrate that even in varieties where the pattern is considered fully productive, there are a number of exceptional cases that lend themselves to a usage-based approach. I develop an analysis of the phenomenon in the framework of Cognitive Grammar: theloi de positionis formalized as the result of the interplay between substantive and symbolic constructions which emerge through usage.
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