The Influence of Rhythmic Context on Schwa Epenthesis and Schwa Deletion in Dutch

Abstract

Schwa epenthesis and schwa deletion are two types of phonological variation which frequently occur in Dutch. These phonological variations are optional since speakers are free to insert or delete a schwa. A series of picture naming experiments investigated whether schwa epenthesis and schwa deletion are arbitrary processes or whether they are contextually driven and take place in the speech planning process. It is assumed that schwa epenthesis and schwa deletion change the rhythmic structure of the word, and may therefore be favored by the rhythmic structure of the context. The results show that a rhythmic context which contains a sequence of sw feet favors: (i) schwa epenthesis in monosyllabic words (e.g., tulp ‘tulip’ realized as the phonological variant [tyl[UNKNOWN]p] and not as the standard form [tylp]), and (ii) schwa deletion in trisyllabic sww words (e.g., kinderen ‘children’ realized as the phonological variant [kindr[UNKNOWN]n] and not as the standard form [kind[UNKNOWN]r[UNKNOWN]n]). A sww context does not favor schwa epenthesis in bisyllabic words (e.g., tulpen ‘tulips’ not realized as [tyl[UNKNOWN]p[UNKNOWN]n]), and a ss context does not favor schwa deletion in trisyllabic sws words (e.g., batterij ‘battery’ not realized as [batr∊i]). It is argued that speakers are sensitive to the rhythmic structure of the context in encoding the phonological variant or the standard form. The findings are discussed in relation to the speech planning mechanism, and are incorporated in a speech production model.