scholarly journals A Unified Account of Two Vowel Devoicing Phenomena: the Case of Cheyenne

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Positional Markedness ◽  
Vowel Devoicing ◽  
Final Effect ◽  
Level Process ◽  
Faithfulness Constraint

This paper investigates two vowel devoicing processes in Cheyenne, which appear on the surface to be fundamentally different, occurring in distinct segmental and prosodic environments. One process occurs in phrase-final vowels in any segmental environment, while the other occurs only before voiceless consonants in the surface penultimate vowels of some words. The first is consistent with typological expectations and is phonetically grounded, whereas the second is at first glance, neither typologically expected nor phonetically motivated. I provide a unified Stratal Optimality Theory account of these processes, demonstrating that both can, in fact, be treated as cases of domain-final devoicing, and attributed to the same family of positional markedness constraints. Different rankings of the markedness constraints relative to a faithfulness constraint result in different segmental conditions for the two processes. Moreover, I suggest that the two processes may be related via Domain Generalization, whereby a phonetically motivated utterance-final effect phonologizes and extends to smaller prosodic domains. In this way, while the word-level process is not itself phonetically motivated, it can be understood as an extension of another phonetically motivated process in the same language.

Truncation in message-oriented phonology: a case study using Korean vocative truncation

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (s2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeto Kawahara ◽  
Seunghun J. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
European Language ◽  
Sound Patterns ◽  
Faithfulness Constraint

AbstractThis paper analyzes the vocative truncation pattern in Korean from the viewpoint of Message-Oriented Phonology (MOP), which capitalizes on the idea that sound patterns are governed by a principle that makes message transfer effective. In the traditional naming pattern, Korean first names consist of a generation marker and a unique portion, and the order between these two elements alternates between generations. To derive vocative forms, the generation marker is truncated, and the suffixal [(j)a] is attached to the unique portion. We argue that MOP naturally predicts this type of truncation. As the generation marker is shared by all the members of the same generation, the generation marker is highly predictable and hence does not reduce uncertainty about the intended message. To achieve effective communication, predictable portions are deleted. Our analysis implies that MOP is relevant not only to phonetic implementation patterns, but also to morphophonological patterns. It also provides support for MOP based on data from a non-Indo-European language. Finally, we aim to integrate insights of MOP with a more formal proposal like Optimality Theory, by relating the predictability of a contrast to the ranking of the faithfulness constraint that it protects, following the spirit of the P-map hypothesis.

scholarly journals An Optimality Analysis of the Phonological Processes in the Speech of Autistic Algerian Children: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Meymouna Bourzeg
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Child ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
Naming Test ◽  
Faithfulness Constraint

The current paper scrutinizes the phonological processes used by an autistic child, in Standard Arabic, via the use of a constraint-based framework of optimality theory. The data of the present study were collected through a picture-naming test. To ensure that the pictures are representative of all standard Arabic phonemes, the researcher designed a test containing 84 pictures representing three intra-word positions (initial, medial, and final). The results reveal that the autistic child grammar is characterized, mainly, with seven phonological processes: sibilant dentalization, de-emphasization, gliding, stopping, nasality spreading, final consonant deletion, and fronting. Autistic children's phonological system is stigmatized by unmarked forms. In terms of optimality theory, treating the phonological problems of autistic children requires demoting the highly ranked unmarked constraints and promoting the lowest-ranked faithfulness constraint.

Looking for needles in a haystack: how do ebook reader applications handle active indexes? Part 4 - smartphones

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-34
Author(s):  
Mary Coe ◽  
Jan Wright
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
Tablet Devices ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Third ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Complex Question

Indexes in ebooks can be ‘active’, with hyperlinks into the text. Should these links go to the page, paragraph, line or word level? This is a complex question, but the main concern may be the user interface in ebook reader applications. In this last article of a four-part series, Mary Coe and Jan Wright report on their investigation of how active ebook indexes are handled by applications on smartphones. They conclude that smartphone applications perform reasonably well but do not handle all levels of locator specificity with precision and that small smartphone screens can lead to problems with index display and use. They also conclude the series with a summary of their findings across all ereading applications and devices. (See also the other articles in this series - the first part on Web-based browser ereader applications in The Indexer 37(2), pp. 125-40; the second part on dedicated ereader devices in The Indexer 38(1), pp. 29-44; and the third part on tablet devices in The Indexer 38(3), pp. 271-89.)

Construct Validity of Selected Subtests of the ITPA

1973 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty A. Hare ◽  
Donald D. Hammill ◽  
Nettie R. Bartel
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
The Other ◽  
Third Grade ◽  
One Dimension ◽  
Standardization Sample ◽  
Parallel Tasks ◽  
Level Process

Six subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) were matched with parallel tasks which were equivalent to the subtests except in one dimension of the test's theoretical model. A total of 16 subtests and tasks were administered to 126 third grade children who met the same criteria used to select the original ITPA standardization sample. The data were factor analyzed using a principal components solution. Seven factors emerged and accounted for 66 percent of the variance. Each of the ITPA subtests loaded highly on only one factor. In addition, the subtests loaded with the other related tasks on factors which are clearly identifiable in terms of the model regarding level, process, and channel.

scholarly journals The Quranic Conditionally Pharyngealized Sounds: An Optimality Theory Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Abdullah Almousa ◽  
Faisal M. Al-Mohanna
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Underlying Representation ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Theory Framework

This paper investigates the Qur’ānic conditionally pharyngealized sounds which are /rʕ/, /l/, and /a:/. The Qur’ānic /rʕ/ sound undergoes a depharyngealization process. The Qur’ānic /l/ sound in the word Allah, on the other hand, exhibits pharyngealization, as does the Qur’ānic /a:/ sound. Hence, the study aims to provide a thorough examination of these phonological processes within the Optimality Theory framework. The study also attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What constraints are considered to account for the pharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sounds /l/ and /a:/ and the depharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sound /rʕ/ in the Holy Qur’ān? and (2) How does the grammar rank these constraints to achieve the pharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sounds /l/ and /a:/ and the depharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sound /rʕ/ in the Holy Qur’ān? Both questions have been fully addressed. In addition, this study has proven that the pharyngealized /rʕ/ is the underlying representation of the Qur’ānic alveolar trill sound. This was achieved by demonstrating [rʕ] and [r] allophones environments. Also, the study has shown that the pharyngealized [lʕ] and the non-pharyngealized [l] in the word Allah are comparable to the dark /l/ in English. The Qur’anic /a:/ acquires the [RTR] feature from the preceding pharyngealized sound where it spreads its [RTR] feature rightward to the /a:/. The study concludes that the constraint-based analysis could provide a plausible accounted for examining these phonological processes in the Holy Qur’ān.

scholarly journals Neutralization in Aztec Phonology – The Case of Classical Nahuatl Nasals

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-295
Author(s):  
Michał Kuźmicki
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Word Level

This article investigates nasal assimilation in Classical Nahuatl. The distribution of nasal consonants is shown to be the result of coda neutralization. It is argued that generalizations made for root and word level are disproportionate and cannot be explained through the means of rule-based phonology. It is shown that the process responsible for nasal distribution can only be accounted for by introducing derivational levels in Optimality Theory.

scholarly journals The Quranic Conditionally Pharyngealized Sounds: An Optimality Theory Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-150
Author(s):  
Fatima Abdullah Almousa ◽  
Faisal Muhammad Al-Mohanna
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Underlying Representation ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Theory Framework

This paper investigates the Qur’ānic conditionally pharyngealized sounds which are /rʕ/, /l/, and /a:/. The Qur’ānic /rʕ/ sound undergoes a depharyngealization process. The Qur’ānic /l/ sound in the word Allah, on the other hand, exhibits pharyngealization, as does the Qur’ānic /a:/ sound. Hence, the study aims to provide a thorough examination of these phonological processes within the Optimality Theory framework. The study also attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What constraints are considered to account for the pharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sounds /l/ and /a:/ and the depharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sound /rʕ/ in the Holy Qur’ān? and (2) How does the grammar rank these constraints to achieve the pharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sounds /l/ and /a:/ and the depharyngealization of the Qur’ānic sound /rʕ/ in the Holy Qur’ān? Both questions have been fully addressed. In addition, this study has proven that the pharyngealized /rʕ/ is the underlying representation of the Qur’ānic alveolar trill sound. This was achieved by demonstrating [rʕ] and [r] allophones environments. Also, the study has shown that the pharyngealized [lʕ] and the non-pharyngealized [l] in the word Allah are comparable to the dark /l/ in English. The Qur’anic /a:/ acquires the [RTR] feature from the preceding pharyngealized sound where it spreads its [RTR] feature rightward to the /a:/. The study concludes that the constraint-based analysis could provide a plausible accounted for examining these phonological processes in the Holy Qur’ān.

Initial geminations as non-actual surface forms in Qassimi Arabic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mufleh Salem M. Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Obligatory Contour Principle ◽  
Actual Surface ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Glottal Stop

AbstractThis paper sheds light on the treatment of initial gemination in Qassimi Arabic (QA), a Najdi dialect spoken in the Al-Qassim region in central Saudi Arabia, within the framework of Parallelism, an Optimality Theory (OT) model. The study concludes that initial geminates, which are non-actual surface forms in QA, result from the assimilation of the prefix /t-/ to stem-initial consonants of Arabic verb forms II and III, as well as hollow verbs, to avoid violation of the Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP). On the other hand, initial semisyllables, as moraic consonants, originate from initial gemination and consequently motivate prosthesis; that is, the purpose of prosthesis is to affiliate a semisyllable to the syllable node without causing violation of the Strict Layer Hypothesis (SLH). Sequences of assimilation of prefix /t-/ plus prosthesis do not occur simultaneously, whereas regressive assimilation feeds the prosthetic vowel [i], which, in turn, feeds the prosthetic glottal stop [ʔ] to concur with the Onset Principle. These sequences thus indicate transparent rule interactions, that is, feeding. Parallel OT is then successfully utilized to account for this type of phonological derivation.

Chaucer's Merchant's Tale: Another Swing of the Pendulum

PMLA ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman T. Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
The World ◽  
Critical Account ◽  
Recent Tendency ◽  
Final Effect

Despite a recent tendency to consider the Merchant's Tale outside the dramatic context of its prologue, and to read it primarily as a broadly humorous, if discordant, piece of anti-feminism, the tale is actually unified by a consistent narrative point of view that successfully accommodates the apparently incongruous themes, tones, and styles of the poem. The final effect, moreover, is not comic at all, but rather sardonic, a dark and unsettling view of an aspect of man's experience. The Merchant's Prologue, though probably written after the tale, is carefully adjusted to the climate of the tale, and must be considered in any critical account, especially since it is through the strong, viable presence of the narrator that the tale is held together. Two features characterize this narrator, one tonal, the other attitudinal. The first is the cool, acidulous voice we hear narrating the story, the expression of an ironic intelligence deeply at odds with the world. The second is the narrator's heightened awareness of sex, particularly in its more grotesque and violent forms, which gives the tale its unsavory atmosphere. These marks of a single unified narrator, together with the ironic finale of the plot, result in a literary mode that is not finally comic, but which suggests comparison with the so-called “problem comedies” of Shakespeare.

Glide Distribution in Classical Arabic Verb Stems

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Rosenthall
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Input Output ◽  
The Core ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
High Vowels ◽  
Classical Arabic ◽  
Complex Distribution

The seemingly idiosyncratic distribution of glides in the weak verb stems of Classical Arabic is given a coherent analysis as the consequence of constraint interaction, as defined by Optimality Theory. At the core of the analysis are two constraint rankings that determine the vowels of the verb stem. One ranking, which ensures harmonic parsing of a low vowel over high vowels, is based on input/output faithfulness; the other ranking, which ensures harmonic parsing of high vowels over a low vowel, is based on intercandidate faithfulness, as defined by Sympathy Theory. These constraint rankings interact with generally defined markedness constraints to account for glide distribution in all measure I verb forms without specific reference to morphological contexts. As a result, the complex distribution of glides in Arabic is not typologically anomalous.

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