A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English
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Gjertrud F. Stenbrenden
Abstract
This paper examines historical changes affecting coda laterals in British English, in the light of findings from articulatory phonology, with some insights from acoustic and perceptual phonetics as well. Historically, coda laterals induce pre-lateral diphthongisation and are themselves vocalised/lost, usually to a back rounded vowel. Coda laterals involve a radical gesture (retracted tongue root), and diphthongisation is caused by a gestural conflict between the laminal-dorsal gesture of the vowel and the radical gesture of the following lateral, producing an excrescent vowel in the transition. This excrescent vowel sounds like a schwa or /ɔ/ due to a shared post-oral gesture between these vowels and coda laterals. Vocalisation/loss is caused by gestural reduction, whether in terms of time, timing or space.
Abstract
This paper examines historical changes affecting coda laterals in British English, in the light of findings from articulatory phonology, with some insights from acoustic and perceptual phonetics as well. Historically, coda laterals induce pre-lateral diphthongisation and are themselves vocalised/lost, usually to a back rounded vowel. Coda laterals involve a radical gesture (retracted tongue root), and diphthongisation is caused by a gestural conflict between the laminal-dorsal gesture of the vowel and the radical gesture of the following lateral, producing an excrescent vowel in the transition. This excrescent vowel sounds like a schwa or /ɔ/ due to a shared post-oral gesture between these vowels and coda laterals. Vocalisation/loss is caused by gestural reduction, whether in terms of time, timing or space.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Syntax and word order
- Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 10
- Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 34
- Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 53
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Part II. Diachronic linguistic change
- A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 82
- Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 103
- Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 120
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Part III. Lexicography and lexis
- The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 144
- Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 166
- Loss of wiþer -words in English 191
- Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 212
- Index 233
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Syntax and word order
- Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 10
- Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 34
- Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 53
-
Part II. Diachronic linguistic change
- A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 82
- Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 103
- Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 120
-
Part III. Lexicography and lexis
- The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 144
- Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 166
- Loss of wiþer -words in English 191
- Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 212
- Index 233
