Exceptionality and derived environment effects: a comparison of Korean and Turkish

Adam J. Chong

doi:10.1017/s0952675719000289

Exceptionality and derived environment effects: a comparison of Korean and Turkish

Phonology ◽

10.1017/s0952675719000289 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 543-572

Author(s):

Adam J. Chong

Keyword(s):

Environment Effects ◽

Markedness Constraint ◽

Morpheme Boundary ◽

Phonotactic Learning

Morphologically derived environment effects (MDEEs) are well-known examples where phonotactic patterns in the lexicon mismatch with what is allowed at morphological boundaries – alternations. Analyses of MDEEs usually assume that the alternation is morphologically general, and that the sequences ‘repaired’ across morpheme boundaries are phonotactically well-formed in the lexicon. This paper examines the phonotactic patterns in the lexicon of two languages with MDEEs: Korean palatalisation and Turkish velar deletion. I show that Korean heteromorphemic sequences that undergo palatalisation are underattested in the lexicon. A computational learner learns a markedness constraint that drives palatalisation, suggesting a pattern of exceptional non-undergoing. This contrasts with Turkish, where the relevant constraint motivating velar deletion at the morpheme boundary is unavailable from phonotactic learning, and where the alternation is an example of exceptional triggering. These results indicate that MDEEs are not a unitary phenomenon, highlighting the need to examine these patterns in closer quantitative detail.

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Interacting processes in phonological theory

Phonology ◽

10.1017/s095267571800012x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 441-479

Author(s):

Külli Prillop

Keyword(s):

Basic Principles ◽

Phonological Processes ◽

Rule Based ◽

The Core ◽

Repair Processes ◽

Generative Theory ◽

Environment Effects ◽

Markedness Constraint ◽

Serial Rule ◽

Chain Shifts

This article introduces basic principles of a generative theory of phonology that unifies aspects of parallel constraint-based theories and serial rule-based theories. In the core of the grammar are phonological processes that consist of a markedness constraint and a repair. Processes are universal, but every language activates a different set, and applies them in different orders. Phonological processes may be in bleeding or feeding relations. These two basic relations are sufficient to define more complicated interactions, such as blocking, derived and non-derived environment effects, chain shifts and allophony.

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Learning consequences of derived-environment effects

Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America ◽

10.3765/plsa.v1i0.3709 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 11

Author(s):

Adam J. Chong

Keyword(s):

The Other ◽

English Speakers ◽

Experimental Paradigm ◽

Artificial Languages ◽

Environment Effects ◽

Morpheme Boundary

In constraint-based phonological models, it is hypothesized that learning phonotactics first should facilitate the learning of phonological alternations. In this paper, we investigate whether alternation learning is impeded if static phonotactic generalizations and dynamic generalizations about alternations mismatch as in derived-environment patterns. English speakers were trained on one of two artificial languages, one in which static and dynamic generalizations match (Across-the-board), the other where they did not (Derived-environment). In both languages, there was an alternation that palatalized [ti] and [di] to [ʧi] and [ʤi] respectively across a morpheme boundary. In the Across-the-board language, the constraint motivating this (*Ti) was true across-the-board, whereas words with such sequences within stems were attested in the Derived-environment language. Results indicate that alternation learning in both languages was comparable. Interestingly, learners in the Across-the-board language failed to infer the *Ti constraint despite never hearing words with such sequences in training. Overall, our results suggests that alternation learning is not hindered by a static phonotactic mismatch in this type of experimental paradigm and that learners do not readily extend a generalization about legal heteromorphemic sequences to analogous sequences within a morpheme.

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Asymmetry of Kazakh velar and uvular consonants

Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics ◽

10.33137/twpl.v41i1.32760 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Heather Yawney

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Analysis ◽

Optimality Theory ◽

Final Position ◽

Front Vowel ◽

Environment Effect ◽

Markedness Constraint ◽

Back Vowel ◽

Morpheme Boundary

Little descriptive work has been done on the place and voicing restrictions of the asymmetrical velar and uvular consonant inventory in Kazakh. In Kazakh, velar and uvular consonants are restricted depending on their neighbouring vowel. Velars appear in front vowel environments and uvulars appear in back vowel environments (place restriction). Voiced and voiceless velars and uvulars are restricted depending on their position in the word. At the morpheme boundary, velars and uvulars are voiceless in the word-final position and voiced in the stem-final position, when followed by a vowel-initial suffix (voicing restriction). The results from elicitation-based production experiments with six native Kazakh speakers reveal that the place restriction is not productive from real words to nonce words but the voicing restriction is. The data suggests a derived-environment effect where the resulting voicing process is conditioned morphologically. A theoretical analysis within Optimality Theory captures the voicing pattern using an indexed-markedness constraint and Local Conjunction.

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