Prosodic Account Research Articles

A prosodic account of complex predicate acquisition in Mam: A Mayan language

The Mayan language Mam uses complex predicates to express events. Complex predicates map multiple semantic elements onto a single word, and consequently have a blend of lexical and phrasal features. The chameleon-like nature of complex predicates provides a window on children’s ability to express phrasal combinations at the one-word stage of language development. The ubiquity of complex predicates in the adult language insures that children will produce complex predicates as some of their first words. The verb complex in Mam has obligatory inflections for aspect, person, and to a degree direction. The inflections vary in degree of attachment between syllable segments, affixes, and clitics. Inflections with vowels are phonologically free, while inflections without vowels attach as either syllable segments or affixes. The Mam verb complex requires the addition of a phrasal layer to prosodic models of lexical acquisition. The paper used this extended version of prosodic theory to make five predictions for the acquisition of the verb complex. The paper analyzes production data for three children between 2;0 and 2;8 acquiring the northern variety of Mam spoken in San Ildefonso Ixtahuacán, Guatemala. The children’s production data for both the intransitive and transitive verb complexes support all five predictions to some degree. The children produced prefixes more frequently on vowel-initial stems than on consonant-initial stems, and they produced imperative suffixes more frequently than prefixes on consonant-initial stems. The children exhibited developmental differences and produced phrasal contractions that the prosodic theory did not predict. The results underline the need to integrate prosody into models of morphosyntactic development, and highlight the significance of complex predicates for theories of language acquisition.

Morphological focus and its agreement features in Kakabe

The paper explores the morphological expression of focus on the example of Focus Particle (FP) in Kakabe. The analysis addresses questions that are rarely if ever investigated with respect to morphological focus: i) how FP is related to the boundaries of a focus constituent, in particular, VP and IP focus; ii) how givenness affects the position of FP; iii) FP with respect to types of CP and CP boundaries. I demonstrate that, even though FP resembles prosodic focus in some respects, its distribution cannot be fitted into a prosodic account of focus, contra Büring 2010 and Féry 2013. More specifically, I propose that Kakabe has a Focus operator located lower than CP. Similarly to Cable’s (2006, 2010) Q-operator that can be involved a bi-partite agreement relationship, Foc operator agrees at a time with C0 above it and with the DP below it. I demonstrate how the pattern of FP distribution follows, in particular, from the conditions on Agree (Chomsky 2000, 2001), such as locality, superiority and activity conditions.

Faithfulness vs truncation: A prosodic account of children's disyllabic to pentasyllabic words

Faithfulness vs truncation: A prosodic account of children's disyllabic to pentasyllabic words

The Domain of Emphasis Spreading in Rural Jordanian Arabic

Emphasis spread has been empirically investigated in a number of Arabic vernaculars. Previous accounts of its (non-)application indicate that its domain varies across dialects, ranging from the adjacent vowels to the syllable, to the morpheme, and finally to the (phonological) word. This research paper, which contains an experiment analyzing data from 14 native speakers of Rural Jordanian Arabic (RJA) spoken in Irbid, explores the domain of emphasis spread in this sub-variety, which is an understudied dialect. The results show that emphasis spread is not sensitive to the adjacent vowels or the syllable, but rather to the morpheme type; that is, it applies to suffixes and proclitics, but not to clitics, unless the source of emphasis is very close to the target clitic. Following Selkirk (1996) and consistent with Jaradat (2018), we propose a prosodic account to emphasize spread in RJA: proclitics and suffixes are prosodically integrated into the host stem, and therefore they allow emphasis spread. On the contrary, clitics are prosodically free. Hence, the prosodic word boundary between a stem and a clitic blocks emphasis spread from the stem onto the clitic, unless the source of emphasis is too close to the target clitic. This implies that the domain of emphasis spread is not only dialect-specific, but may also differ among the sub-varieties of one Arabic dialect.

The Acquisition of French Determiners by Bilingual Children: A Prosodic Account

The present longitudinal study investigates the acquisition of determiners (articles) in two simultaneously bilingual French-Italian children aged 1;6,12 until 3;5,17, one of them being French-dominant and the other one being Italian-dominant. Although French and Italian determiners and determiner phrases share some syntactic aspects, they largely differ with respect to noun length and lexical stress in the nominal domain. Prosody is expected to be a decisive factor in the early prosodification of determiners by French-Italian bilinguals. The analysis of more than 4500 noun phrases yields different acquisition paths and cross-linguistic transfer, which can neither be explained by linguistic structure nor by language balance alone. The results are analyzed within the generative framework. The proposed account integrates language-internal and external factors for determiner acquisition in French by bilingual children.

An apparent-time study of an ongoing sound change in Seoul Korean: A prosodic account.

In present-day Seoul Korean, the primary phonetic feature for the lenis–aspirated stop distinction is shifting from VOT to F0. Some previous studies have considered this sound change to be a tonogenesis, whereby the low-level F0 perturbation has developed into tonal features (L for the lenis and H for the aspirated) in the segmental phonology. They, however, have examined the stop distinction only at a phrase- or utterance-initial position. We newly explore the sound change in relation to various prosodic structural factors (position and prominence). Apparent-time production data were recorded from four speaker groups: young female, young male, old female, old male. The way the speakers use VOT versus F0 indeed varies as a function of position and prominence. Crucially, in all groups, VOT is still used for the lenis–aspirated distinction phrase-medially due to the lenis stop voicing. This role of VOT, however, is found only in the non-prominent (unfocused) condition, in which the F0 difference is reduced to a low-level perturbation effect. In the prominent (focused) context in which tones come into play, the role of VOT diminishes, led by young female speakers. These can be interpreted as a prosodically-conditioned, complementary use of the features to maintain sufficient contrast. Importantly, however, the tonal difference under focus is not bidirectionally polarized, so that F0 is not lowered for the lenis stop. A lack of direct enhancement of the distinctive L tone weakens a possibility that F0 is transphonologized to the phonemic feature system of the language. As an alternative to the view that tonal features are newly introduced in the segmental phonology, we propose a prosodic account: the sound change is best characterized as a prosodically-conditioned change in the use of the segmental voicing feature (implemented by VOT) versus already available post-lexical tones in the intonational phonology of Korean.

Nuclear prominence in ellipsis: Evidence from aggressively non-D-linked phrases

This paper investigates the reason why aggressively non-D-linked items such as wh-the-hell (WTH) are allowed in swiping, but not in sluicing. Investigating the potential syntactic, semantic and prosodic licensors of WTH in sluicing and swiping in the British English variety, we conclude that syntactic or semantic constraints cannot be the source of the difference. Instead, we propose a novel prosodic account in which the WTH must satisfy the prosodic licensing condition that it cannot bear nuclear accent. We show that this is satisfied in swiping, but not in sluicing contexts. On the basis of the novel findings of an acceptability rating study of swiping, which reveal that both ‘given’ and ‘new’ prepositions are equally acceptable for British English speakers, we argue that the preposition is accentuated in this elliptical construction because it is structurally the deepest element. The licensing condition on WTHs in sluicing and swiping is therefore not mediated directly by the conditions on ellipsis, but by the particular prosodic distribution that a WTH happens to have in sluicing and swiping. We extend the account to similar constructions in Dutch.

Exploring the influence of intonational structure on perception of contrastive vowel length in Tokyo Japanese

A recent topic of interest in the literature is how intonational/prosodic structure influences speech perception. We test how perception of a phonemic vowel length contrast in Japanese is influenced by the implied prosodic position of a target sound in a carrier phrase, with the target drawn from a vowel duration continuum. Based on previous findings in English [Steffman, JASA (2019)], we predicted that listeners should require longer vowel duration to categorize a vowel as phonemically long when it is in phrase-final position, reflecting an expectation of phrase-final lengthening. We manipulated implied position by changing only pitch in a carrier phrase, as informed by Japanese intonational phonology. The carrier phrase was otherwise identical across conditions. Additionally, psychoacoustic effects of pitch on perceived duration are unlikely to influence categorization as predicted by the prosodic account, making this a good test case for prosodic patterns’ independent influence in speech perception and the processing of durational cues. Results will be discussed in terms other recent findings related to intonation and perception of duration, and implications for the interface of prosody and speech perception more generally.

High vowel distribution and trochaic markedness in Québécois

Abstract This paper argues for quantity-sensitive, trochaic foot structure in Québécois French, which allows for a unified prosodic account of the variable distribution of tenseness of high vowels in non-final syllables. Following Montreuil (Montreuil, Jean-Pierre. 2004a. Fragmenting weight in Scottish English. In Monica Pulki (ed.), La tribune internationale des langues vivantes, 36, 114–22. Paris. Montreuil, Jean-Pierre. 2004b. The Computation of weight in English and in Québec French. First PAC Workshop 23–24 April 2004, Université de Toulouse le Mirail.) a grammatical, sonority-based surface weight distinction is assumed for Québécois French vowels, with tense high vowels associated to a full mora µ, while lax high vowels are associated to a hypomora λ, a weight value less than µ. The weight is shown to be regulated at the level of the minimally monomoraic foot, which can be expanded to include an adjacent syllable in words consisting of more than two syllables, following the proposed Trochaic Markedness Hierarchy, based on the following three ranked principles: 1) quantitative minimum: light and heavy rimes are preferred to superlight (λ) rimes, 2) quantitative evenness: even trochees are preferred to uneven trochees, and 3) quantitative dominance: the left branch that is heavier than the right branch is preferred to the left branch that is lighter. Possible shapes of the trochee are shown to be aligned with alternating surface realizations of high vowels.

Word-final lengthening in Early Vedic

Abstract In this paper, a prosodic account of word-final vowel lengthening in the Rigveda is given. It is argued that word-final lengthening, lengthening in compounds, and lengthening before pada-suffixes are instantiations of one and the same phonological process. This process targets the right edge of prosodic words if this edge does not align with the edge of a higher prosodic constituent. A functional account and an explicit analysis in an Optimality Theory framework are given and the proposal is strengthened by adducing typological parallels. The rhythmic patterns emerging from lengthening are shown to be epiphenomena. In the last section, the proposal is extended to lengthening in reduplicants and tentatively to word final lengthening in n-stem vocatives.

A prosodic account of -yo attachment in Korean

In this article we offer a prosodic account for the sentence-medial attachment phenomenon of the particle -yo in Korean. Adopting a derivational approach to prosodic hierarchy formation, we argue that once the particle attaches to the edge of a prosodic unit that Spell-Out defines, it has to be placed at the edge of a prosodic constituent throughout the prosodic derivation. We show that this prosodic account also provides an uncomplicated explanation for certain phenomena which remain puzzling for previous syntactic/morphological analyses.

The marking of information structure in German Sign Language

As a universal phenomenon, prosodic structuring of discourse can be found in both spoken and sign languages. As natural languages in a different modality, namely the visual-gestural modality as opposed to the oral-auditory modality of spoken languages, sign languages obviously use visual cues to mark information structure in discourse. Sign languages have available manual (arms and hands) and nonmanual means (upper body, head, and face) to mark topics, focus, and elements categorized as shared information, for instance. This paper analyzes elicited data from German Sign Language and presents examples for accentuation and de-accentuation with regard to focus marking in relation to focus particles. Furthermore, a specific facial feature squint that is used to indicate a part of an utterance as given but difficult to access in the common ground is analyzed within a compositional prosodic account of nonmanual markers in sign languages.

Filler Syllables in the Acquisition of Hebrew: A Prosodic Account

In this paper we review the phenomenon of filler syllables in the early speech of RM, a monolingual Hebrew-acquiring girl. Our findings support former claims, in particular those made in Demuth (2001a), which tie the emergence of filler syllables with the process of prosodic structure acquisition. We present longitudinal corpus-based data that are analyzed against pre-defined stages in RM’s acquisition of prosodic units to corroborate our predictions. We show that the distributional patterns of filler syllables can be attributed to prosodic requirements such as minimal word and foot type preferences during early stages of acquisition, and the emergence of concatenative morpho-syntax at later stages, where prosodic units above the phonological word begin to appear. In our view, a proper analysis of filler syllables is possible with “pure” phonological devices that rely on the prosodic hierarchy (Selkirk 1978, 1986, Nespor and Vogel 1986), since this hierarchy already encapsulates an underlying interaction with morpho-syntactic domains.Our criteria for defining filler syllables do not presuppose that fillers are limited to any specific position, yet we take measures to ensure that actual fillers are not overlooked while general epenthesis processes are not confused with augmentation processes (only the latter are considered as fillers). We do so by detection of vowel insertions that stem from vocalization of approximant coda targets, cluster simplification processes and coda resyllabification. We believe that our strategy in considering subsets of fillers enables to verify attested trends and consider their complexities in full.

Plurals in SLI: Prosodic Deficit or Morphological Deficit?

Two accounts for the segmental and prosodic anomalies observed in plurals pro duced by 5 adults with specific language impairment (SLI), one prosodic and one morphological, are compared. The prosodic account proposed is that the grammars of these individuals do not tolerate extraprosodicity: indirect licensing by the pro sodic word. Although this account can capture a range of facts, it is rejected for several reasons, the most significant of which is that it cannot discriminate between anomalous outputs such as [dDg.s] and natural-sounding outputs such as [dngz], both of which are produced by impaired speakers. In view of this, a morphological account is proposed: The grammars of these impaired individuals lack certain sublexical features, in particular [?plural]; the notion of plurality is expressed at the level of conceptual structure. Consequently, plurals must be built through com pensatory means. They may involve the concatenation of stems and thereby struc turally resemble compounds, both morphologically and prosodically (yields [dog.s]). They may be stored as morphologically unanalyzed chunks (yields [dDgz]). Evidence in support of both options is provided.

The Acquisition of Prosodic Structure: An Investigation of Current Accounts of Children's Prosodic Development

This article examines four different approaches to prosodic acquisition: Gerken's S(W) production template; Fikkert's and Archibald's theories of stress acquisition, and Demuth and Fee's prosodic hierarchy account. The predictions of prosodic circumscription, template mapping, and development according to the stages of the prosodic hierarchy are evaluated using a database of English-speaking children's multisyllabic word productions. The results show that current approaches are unable to account for robust findings in the data such as the increased preservation of final over nonfinal unstressed syllables, segmental and prominence effects on truncation rate, and the relative infrequency of epenthesis and stress error patterns. Findings reveal a complex interaction between prominence, edge-based factors, and segmental effects in phonological development. The discussion explores how these findings may be accounted for within a constraint-based theoretical framework. *

ASL syllables and prosodic constraints

This paper explores the composition of ASL signs and identifies constraints on syllabic well-formedness. The data presented show that signs require dynamic components that are realized as a sequenced articulation of a structural parameter. While signs require at least one dynamic component, signs may have multiple dynamic components. Considerations of these forms motivate a distinction between monosyllabic and disyllabic signs. Careful examinations of signs with multiple dynamic components reveal systematic lexical gaps. I argue that these gaps reflect structural constraints regarding possible syllabic nuclei in ASL. Previous sonority based accounts have failed to capture these restrictions. Formalization of the constraint requires recognition of an ASL syllable with internal constituency. A prosodic account is proposed in which only a limited set of moraic sign elements serve as the nucleus of a sign syllable. The acknowledgment of a prosodic level of representation that is separate from the melody permits a classification of permissible nuclei expressed over different sign parameters.

BLOCKING AND PRIVATIVE FEATURES: A PROSODIC ACCOUNT

BLOCKING AND PRIVATIVE FEATURES: A PROSODIC ACCOUNT