3. Exceptions to final devoicing
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Marc van Oostendorp
Abstract
Some dialects of Dutch show systematic exceptions to final devoicing in the first person singular of verbs ending in a long or tense vowel and a fricative. This observation raises questions about the morphology – what makes the first person singular of verbs so special? –, and about the phonology – what makes fricatives after long vowels so special? As to the morphological side of things, this paper argues that the first person singular suffix, which used to be a schwa, is still present as an abstract vocalic position. From the phonological point of view, I argue that Dutch fricatives have a phonological length contrast rather than a voicing contrast. Since (empty) syllabic positions and consonant length both are expressed in the phonotactic dimension, it is expected that they interact.
Abstract
Some dialects of Dutch show systematic exceptions to final devoicing in the first person singular of verbs ending in a long or tense vowel and a fricative. This observation raises questions about the morphology – what makes the first person singular of verbs so special? –, and about the phonology – what makes fricatives after long vowels so special? As to the morphological side of things, this paper argues that the first person singular suffix, which used to be a schwa, is still present as an abstract vocalic position. From the phonological point of view, I argue that Dutch fricatives have a phonological length contrast rather than a voicing contrast. Since (empty) syllabic positions and consonant length both are expressed in the phonotactic dimension, it is expected that they interact.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- 1. Issues in Dutch devoicing: Positional faithfulness, positional markedness, and local conjunction 1
- 2. Representations of [voice]: Evidence from acquisition 41
- 3. Exceptions to final devoicing 81
- 4. Prevoicing in Dutch initial plosives: Production, perception, and word recognition 99
- 5. Dutch regressive voicing assimilation as a 'low level phonetic process': Acoustic evidence 125
- 6. Intraparadigmatic effects on the perception of voice 153
- Indexes 175
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- 1. Issues in Dutch devoicing: Positional faithfulness, positional markedness, and local conjunction 1
- 2. Representations of [voice]: Evidence from acquisition 41
- 3. Exceptions to final devoicing 81
- 4. Prevoicing in Dutch initial plosives: Production, perception, and word recognition 99
- 5. Dutch regressive voicing assimilation as a 'low level phonetic process': Acoustic evidence 125
- 6. Intraparadigmatic effects on the perception of voice 153
- Indexes 175
