Phonetic Processes Research Articles

Sound Shift and Metathesis in Three Pre-School Nasiriya Iraqi Arabic Children: A Case Study

This study is a case study which describes the speech of three pre-school Nasiriya Iraqi Arabic children. The data of this study are collected through tape-recording them. Through the analysis, it is concluded that the phonetic processes which exist in the informants’ speech include assimilation, elision, gemination, nasalization and tafxiim and the main ones are sound shift and metathesis. It has been noted that the study informants pronounce some consonants which are difficult to be pronounced by other children living in the same city; those consonants are either regularly shifted to in the production of other consonants or as part of ordinary words containing such sounds. Sometimes, more than one process is available in the production of some words. The consonantal changes existing in the informants’ speech are many compared with the vocalic ones which are very few.

Features of the evolution of the vowels of the first syllable of Finno-Ugric stem in the Mordovian languages

The phonetic system is one of the most important aspects of the language. The study of the structure and features of this system allows tracing both the current state and the history of the development of a language. The development of the phonetic structure of Finno-Ugric word stem in Mordovian languages is considered with the help of a comparative and historical method. The system of vowels of the first syllable in the words of modern Mordovian languages is compared with the reconstructed forms of the stem, which go back to the Finno-Ugric pro-linguistic unity (Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Finno-Permian and Finno-Volga) and their etymological correspondences in the Finnish and Estonian languages. The article presents an analysis of the evolution of vowels of the first syllable of the Finno-Ugric word in Mordovian (Moksha and Erzya) languages. On the basis of the achievements of modern Finno-Ugric studies, phonetic processes are observed in the field of vowels of the first syllable that transformed the primary basis of the word. The description of the features of the vocalism of the first syllable in Mordovian languages is carried out in terms of comparison with the reconstructed forms of the Finno-Ugric original language and comparison with etymological correspondences in the Finnish and Estonian languages. A comparative analysis of the vowel system of the first syllable of the Finno-Ugric word stem in modern Mordovian languages with their etymological correspondences in the Finnish and Estonian languages allowed us to detect phonetic processes that changed the structure of some languages. In some cases, these are minor changes, while in other cases, they are rather significant.

ФОНЕТИЧНІ ЗМІНИ, ПОВ’ЯЗАНІ З ВИПАДІННЯМ ЗВУКІВ, У СХІДНОПОЛІСЬКИХ ГОВІРКАХ НОВГОРОД-СІВЕРЩИНИ

The article analyzes phonetic processes caused by the loss of sounds or sound groups on the basis of the material of the Eastern Polissian language dialect of the Ukrainian language. The author characterizes the essential phonetic and grammatical features of the Siversk dialect, located to the North of Novgorod-Siversk, its specificity relative to the main Eastern Polissian area and notes that the actual Ukrainian (Polissian) language features coexist here with certain Belarusian features.While studying diaeresis, i.e. the elimination of sounds or syllables for ease of pronunciation, the author uses a considerable number of illustrative material, gathered in the area where Siversk dialects are spoken.There is taken into account the position of the absolute beginning of the word that is realized as an apheresis, i.e. the loss of the next vowel when it coincides with the previous one on the edge of the root and prefix and between words. It is noted that the apheresis as well as other sound characteristics integrates it into the Eastern Polissian family of dialects. Cases of loss of etymological vowels and consonants are characterized, which are inherent mainly for borrowed vocabulary, and some examples of dieresis in indigenous dialectics. It is noted that the loss of sounds in the middle of the word (syncope) is quite common. The cases of loss of the sound [й] in the verbal forms, formed from the Common Slavic root *imati, are analyzed; phonetic changes (for example, contamination, assimilation), caused by the loss of not only separate vowels and consonants, but also sound groups and syllables, are described. Thus, unlike other positions, the reduction of the final sound elements (apocope) is noted in remote from the stress syllables and implemented in a small number of dialect word types.It is stated that diaeresis most often occurs due to the elimination of consonant or vowel confluence and reflects the specificity of not only phonetic, but also lexical levels of the Siversk dialect.

РОЛЬ СИНГАРМОНИЗМА В УВЕЛИЧЕНИИ ФОНЕТИЧЕСКИХ РАСХОЖДЕНИЙ ЭТИМОЛОГИЧЕСКИ ТОЖДЕСТВЕННЫХ СЛОВ (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ КИТАЙСКОГО И КИРГИЗСКОГО ЯЗЫКОВ)

The article compares certain phenomena of the Chinese and Kyrgyz languages within the framework of Nostratic linguistics and the theory of linguistic contacts. The authors discover the specificity of sound harmony in the Kyrgyz word. Vowel harmony is considered as a productive means for the acoustic modification of Chinese syllables on the basis of the Kyrgyz language. The paper describes the interaction of vowel harmony with other phonetic processes and principles (compression, prothesis, dieresis, epenthesis, alternation, etc.), which causes the divergence and separation of related or closely affiliated languages and contributes to discrepancies in their phonetic systems. The authors identify the basic means and ways to transform heterogeneous Chinese syllables in the Kyrgyz language according to the САСА(С) (С - consonants, А - symbol of the vowel ‘ а ’) formula, which presupposes the uniformity of the word’s acoustic image.

THE NATURE OF DIPHTHONGS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORICAL PROCESS

In the modern phonetic and phonology of Standard German the term «diphthong» is understood as a gliding sound that consists of two vowels pronounced in one syllable. In German there are 3 falling (descending) diphthongs that have a lot of variants of their graphic image. A genesis of diphthongs begins in the Indo-European period and their further development and change are due to many phonetic processes (diphthongization, monophthongization, phoneme junction, phoneme separation). The article presents an analysis of diphthongs which was based on the material of text of the Old and Middle High German periods. Causes and trends of vowel combinations have been established. From the point of view of the genesis of vowel sounds, the monophthongs are primary, and diphthongs are secondary and the latter act as a building material at the appearance of words and perform a certain grammatical and phonetic (constitutive) functions. All diphthongs were divided into groups and their qualitative characteristics were described and analyzed. The results have shown a direct correlation between the time of the genesis of diphthongs and their frequency of the use in the German texts.

НЕКОТОРЫЕ ДИАЛЕКТНЫЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ТЕКСТОВ АДЫГСКОГО ГЕРОИЧЕСКОГО ЭПОСА «НАРТЫ»

Focusing on the fragments of the Adyghe epos “Narty” the paper provides the comparative analysis of the language of different areas with a view to identify dialect peculiarities of sub-dialects. The study is conducted using genre and stylistic, textological and descriptive methods. The authors conclude that sub-dialects are identified in all texts, and dialecticisms are represented here basically at the phonetic level: final vowels are usually reduced, cut off, some interconsonant vowels in the unstressed position drop, sonorous consonants devoice, voiceless consonants voice and supra-dialect phonetic processes cause the units of a certain linguistic level to transform into the units of another linguistic level.

The phonetics of information structure in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec

Research on speech prosody has shown that higher-level phonological constituents can be examined directly via their influence on low level phonetic processes (Beckman & Edwards, 1990; Fougeron & Keating, 1997). Despite the strong tradition of research in this area, the existing work has focused mainly on languages which lack lexical tone. This contributes to the view that prosodic structures show little influence on tone, i.e. a language may either have lexical tone or lexical/phrasal stress, the latter of which fits into the prosodic hierarchy. The current paper examines prosodic focus in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec, an endangered Otomanguean language spoken in Mexico. Using experimental data from ten speakers in the field, we investigated how sentence position, stress, and focus type influenced the realization of F0 and duration in different tonal melodies. The findings show that the tonal F0 space was expanded and raised on words produced with contrastive focus, less on words produced with narrow focus, and least on words produced under broad, sentential focus. Focus-related lengthening asymmetrically affected stressed syllables in the language more than unstressed syllables. In stressed syllables, this resulted in an increase in tonal hyperarticulation.

On the -oo Suffix of Campbell’s Monkeys

Ouattara et al. (2009a,b) make the novel claim that Campbell’s monkey alarm calls demonstrate a simple pattern of linguistic morphology. The authors observe that there are at least two distinct alarm calls (called krak and hok) that are used in two different predatory contexts, and that each may be followed by a low frequency sound (called -oo) that alters the meaning of both calls in predictable ways, allowing contexts with reduced level of threat. In light of these facts, -oo is analyzed as a meaning-bearing, combinatorial unit. However, the claim that a non-human communication system has a combinatorial system (however primitive) is rare in the literature (see x5 for related patterns), and, indeed, is antithetical to certain claims that structural hierarchy is unique to human language (e.g., Bolhuis et al. 2014). Moreover, it has been noted (Schlenker et al. 2014) that there is redundancy between the apparent semantic contribution of -oo and the semantic contribution of a variety of other signal manipulations (e.g. calling rate) that are easiest to explain via non-compositional mechanisms. These facts warrant particular caution when evaluating the pattern as a possible counterexample to generalizations about human language. Thus, in this squib, we examine the compositional hypothesis further. As counterpoint, we consider a class of more conservative hypotheses in which -oo does not itself bear meaning, but instead arises as the side effect of other articulatory processes that noncompositionally affect call meaning. Key to such hypotheses is the premise that -oo is articulatorily parasitic on another phonetic process. A major contribution of this squib is thus phonetic: considering the acoustic properties of -oo, we conclude that complex calls (krakoo and hokoo) are produced with a two pulses of a single breath-group. Critically, the production of these complex calls requires an additional articulatory gesture and thus an increase in articulatory effort. An increase in articulatory effort would not be expected on an analysis in which -oo arises as a phonetic side effect; we accordingly reject these alternate hypotheses, thus strengthening the robustness of the combinatorial analysis.

Fonetinio rašybos principo realizacija S. Daukanto ankstyvojoje leksikografijoje

The data for the article were collected from Žodrodis (1838) by Simonas Daukantas with additional reference to the data of the headlines of Epitome Historiae Sacrae, hand-written dictionaries and the textbooks Prasmą lotinu kalbos (1837) and Abeciela lijtuwiu-kalnienu ir źiamajtiu kalbos (1842) by S. Daukantas. The aim of the paper is to determine the prevailing orthography principle in the early lexicography of S. Daukantas irrespectively of the results of previous studies. In the article it is determined and specified that the greatest part of the orthography in the early lexicography of S. Daukantas is based on the phonetic orthography principle, which is related to the spelling of the root, although there are some instances of such spelling in inflections as well. The phonetic orthography principle is expressed through complex letters with diacritics and reflects various phonetic processes. The complex letters with diacritics were used to separate the Samogitian and Aukstaitian phonetics and also differentiated the quality of the Aukstaitian phonetics. The orthography was also influenced by the inhomogeneous tradition of spelling compound graphemes taken from the texts of Mikalojus Dauksa and writers of Lithuania Minor, as well as developed by S. Daukantas himself. Keywords: compound graphemes, use of graphemes, orthography of S. Daukantas, principles of writing. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/zz.2017.4

Patterns of vowel laxing and harmony in Iberian Spanish: Data from production and perception

We investigate the production and perception outcomes of sound changes involving phonological vowel harmony, and how phonetic processes (i.e., /s/ lenition and vowel laxing) bear on these outcomes. Our data come from two varieties of Iberian Spanish: Eastern Andalusian Spanish (EAS), a variety that undergoes lenition of word-final /s/, and North-Central Peninsular Spanish (NCPS), a variety that typically retains /s/. In Experiment 1 we show that EAS (but not NCPS) speakers lax the low and mid vowels /a e o/ (i.e., approximating [æ ɛ ɔ], respectively) of /as es os/-final words. In Experiment 2 we show that EAS (but not NCPS) speakers harmonize the mid vowels /e o/ when followed by laxed /a e o/. We analyze this right-to-left spreading as a phonologically-induced change, and argue that it cannot be interpreted as anticipatory coarticulation with word-final lax vowels. During Experiment 3, EAS and NCPS listeners judged the grammatical status of stimuli from the minimal pair [nene] – [nεnε] (‘boy’ – ‘boys’) in a forced-choice word identification task. While all listeners tended to associate [nene]-type stimuli as singular words, EAS listeners alone reliably associated [nεnε]-type stimuli as plural words. This suggests that EAS listeners have greater perceptual sensitivity to the /e/-/ε/ contrast than NCPS listeners. Altogether, our multifaceted approach offers insight on sound change from varied temporal perspectives: we explain what historical factors may have led to laxing and phonological harmony, and what synchronic motivations these processes may have.

Categorical or gradient? An ultrasound investigation of /l/-darkening and vocalization in varieties of English

This paper presents an empirical analysis of /l/-darkening in English, using ultrasound tongue imaging data from five varieties spoken in the UK. The analysis of near 500 tokens from five participants provides hitherto absent instrumental evidence demonstrating that speakers may display both categorical allophony of light and dark variants, and gradient phonetic effects coexisting in the same grammar. Results are interpreted through the modular architecture of the life cycle of phonological processes, whereby a phonological rule starts its life as a phonetically driven gradient process, over time stabilizing into a phonological process at the phrase level, and advancing through the grammar. Not only does the life cycle make predictions about application at different levels of the grammar, it also predicts that stabilized phonological rules do not replace the phonetic processes from which they emerge, but typically coexist with them, a pattern which is supported in the data. Overall, this paper demonstrates that variation in English /l/ realization has been underestimated in the existing literature, and that we can observe phonetic, phonological, and morphosyntactic conditioning when accounting for a representative range of phonological environments across varieties.

Predicting prosodic structure by morphosyntactic category: A case study of Blackfoot

This study examines phonetic correlates to three prosodic categories in Blackfoot: the syllable (σ), the prosodic word (ω), and the phonological phrase (φ). I provide evidence that the Blackfoot σ is recognizable by an obligatory process of vowel coalescence and the φ is recognizable by an obligatory process of right edge aspiration. The ω can be distinguished from these other two prosodic constituents by an optional phonetic process which mimics intersyllabic vowel coalescence, but does not apply obligatorily.The prosodic categories investigated in this study are then correlated to three morphosyntactic categories: morphological agreement suffixes, lexical morphemes (adjectives and nouns), and demonstratives. This correlation is used to argue that morphological and syntactic processes function differently at the interface with phonology (cf. Russell 1999), ultimately raising questions with “word-internal syntax” analyses of Blackfoot suffixation which are derived through cyclic head movement (Bliss 2013; Wiltschko 2014) using the Mirror Principle (Baker 1985).This article is part of the Special Collection: Prosody and costituent structure

The Phonetic Inventory of Classical Arabic

The main concern of this paper is to examine the phonetic inventory of classical Arabic language. The consonants and vowels subsumed under this classical inventory are considered separately. Each segment is decomposed into its phonetic components, and classified in terms of the three phonetic criteria posited in the International Phonetic Alphabet chart, i.e. voicing, place of articulation and manner of articulation. Each consonant is further described in terms of other four additional formatives, viz. centrality, nasality, active articulator and passive articulator. Hence, consonants are analyzed on articulatory criteria.The set of the eight vowels in the language is examined in terms of the direct relation between the different tongue-lip positions and the various configurations of the vocal tract as resonance cavities. The indirect relation holding between the various tongue-lip positions and the eight different vowel qualities is established via the different shapes of the vocal tract. Hence, vowels are analyzed on auditory criteria. Two diphthongs, /ei/, /әu/ and six mono-phthongs (/i(i)/, /a(a)/, /u(u)/), are recognized in the language. The phonological value of the six simple vowels is triggered by vowel length as a distinctive feature, i.e. three short vowels and three long correlates. The phonemic significance of each C-segment is attested and proved via contrastive minimal pairs. Certain Arabic phonetic processes are considered. These processes include letter-based Arabic phonetics, emphasis, primary articulation secondary articulations, double articulation, distinctiveness, assimilated Sun-l, non-assimilated Moon-l and geminated consonants. This study paves the way to investigate the assumption that the phonemic system of classical Arabic comprises phonological consonants and phonetic vowels, as it is claimed by Rakas, M. (1981).

¡Vaya Valla! El yeísmo en el español de Valencia

In the last few years, the notion of yeismo has been approached from different perspectives; one of them is Sociolinguistics, the field in which the contribution of the present work is embedded. The aim of this article is to present the evolution of the phonetic process of delateralization of the phoneme /ʎ/ in favour of /ʝ/ in the use of Spanish by speakers in the bilingual speech community in Valencia and the sorrounding areas. From a traditional perspective, it was claimed that speakers in Valencia maintained the differentiation between the lateral and fricative palatals. However, more recent studies focus on the introduction and expansion of yeismo in particular areas in the Valencian region. For this sociolinguistic study a series of linguistic, stylistic and social factors have been established as independent factors. The study has been complemented with an analysis of perceptual phonetics. The results obtained in the study allow us to specify the stage at which this phenomenon is found in our region (phonematic distinction, yeismo with variation, consolidated yeismo or yeismo rehilado), who the speakers that act as leaders in the process of delateralization are and what the subjective perception speakers have of this phenomenon is.

Historia y presente del yeísmo (rehilado) en el Uruguay

El yeísmo, así como su rehilamiento y ensordecimiento, son rasgos caracterizadores del español del Uruguay. Varios estudios locales han indagado sobre estos fenómenos atendiendo tanto a cuestiones diacrónicas como sincrónicas. Sin embargo, y tal como se desprende de la literatura especializada, no contamos hasta el momento con una mirada crítica y global de estos estudios ni con una evaluación panorámica de sus resultados. En el presente trabajo, ofrecemos una revisión crítica de las investigaciones sobre el yeísmo, el rehilamiento y el ensordecimiento en el Uruguay, prestando especial atención a la caracterización histórica de estos fenómenos, su estado actual en el sistema fonológico del español del Uruguay y las actitudes asociadas a ellos. Esto nos permite, por un lado, aportar a la caracterización de la historia del español del Uruguay, así como también contribuir con una mirada local a un fenómeno ciertamente complejo en la historia del español. Por otro lado, la revisión crítica de los estudios nos permite identificar sus aportes globales y sus limitaciones específicas e identificar nuevas áreas de investigación en la temática para una caracterización más contundente y acabada de estos fenómenos.

Special reduction: a usage-based approach

abstract‘Special reduction’ refers to instances of extreme phonetic reduction which is restricted to particular words or phrases, usually grammaticalizing constructions (going to> [gə̃ɾ̃ə̃]), greetings (hifromhow are you), discourse markers (Spanisho sea>sa), or other sequences that are often used together. On the basis of data from English, Brazilian Portuguese, and Colombian Spanish, we argue that special reduction is based on the general phonetic tendencies in the language, but that these tendencies are carried to an extreme where word sequences are used with high frequency and become chunked, allowing formerly stressed syllables to lose stress and reduce. The data also show that special reduction takes place gradually over time, and reflects general patterns of change seen in the history of the language. In fact, in some examples, special reduction presages more general sound changes that occur later. We argue that the gradual phonetic changes that accumulate for particular words or phrases, eventually changing them dramatically, requires an exemplar model for the phonological representation of words and phrases, which is updated continually as sequences are used and affected by reductive phonetic processes.

Electropalatographic (EPG) evidence of covert contrasts in disordered speech

ABSTRACTThe phenomenon of covert contrasts has intrigued researchers and clinicians since it was first identified using instrumental data nearly 50 years ago. The term covert contrast refers to phonological contrasts that listeners do not readily identify and which therefore pass unrecorded in transcription-based studies. Covert contrasts are viewed as significant from theoretical and clinical perspectives. Although influential, there are relatively few instrumental studies of covert contrasts. The studies that do exist are limited to revealing contrasts that manifest in specific phonetic parameters or phonological processes. However, recent studies have provided convincing new evidence that covert contrasts are likely to be widespread in child speech. The purpose of this article is threefold: to review electropalatography (EPG) studies of covert contrasts; to provide EPG examples from the speech of individuals with speech disorders and to discuss the implications in child speech.

Visual influences on the natural referent vowel bias

Research indicates that perceivers (both adult and infant) are universally biased to attend to vowels with extreme articulatory/acoustic properties (peripheral in F1/F2 vowel space). Yet, the nature of this perceptual phenomenon (i.e., the natural referent vowel [NRV] bias) is not fully understood. The present research investigates whether this bias is attributable to general auditory processes or to phonetic processes that track articulatory information available across modalities. In experiment 1, we examined whether adult perceivers are biased to attend to visual information that specifies extreme vocalic articulations. As predicted by the phonetic account, we found a bias favoring relatively more peripheral vowels when only acoustic or only visual speech information was present. In experiment 2, we investigated how the integration of acoustic and visual speech cues influence the effects documented in experiment 1. When acoustic and visual cues were phonetically congruent, a peripheral vowel bias was observed. In contrast, when acoustic and visual cues were phonetically incongruent, this bias was disrupted. Collectively, these results are compatible with the view that the NRV bias is phonetic in nature—the speech processing system appears to be biased toward extreme vocalic gestures, which may be specified in the optic, as well as in the acoustic, signal.

Caracterización fonológica del protorromance

This paper aims to retrace the series of phonetic and phonological processes that Latin had undergone before developing into common Romance. Furthermore, differences and similarities in the methodological approach of Latin and Romance linguistics will be outlined.

Frekwencja a przemiany współczesnej normy wymawianiowej (w świetle dyskusji na temat NRSF Witolda Mańczaka)

Frequency and changes in the contemporary orthophonic standard (in light of the discussion about Witold Mańczak’s irregular phonetic development caused by frequency)
 The paper attempts to answer the question whether, in the case of rapid changes such as we currently observe in Polish, a linguist is able to determine if these changes are systemic, i.e. permanent, or remain at the stage of innovation, i.e. are temporary – and hence, whether he or she can declare a change in the linguistic standard and set to looking for its cause. The focus of the article is on the law of speech economy, redundancy, and frequency which is the most important factor correlated with change, as without it the optimal conditions for a phonetic process would not occur.