Post-tonic vowel harmony in some dialects of Central Italy
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Stefano Canalis
Abstract
In Central Italy several dialects display post-tonic regressive vowel harmony, by which post-tonic vowels copy all the features of the word-final vowel. On the basis of phonetic and phonological arguments I argue that the penultimate vowel of proparoxytones, the typical target of this process, is a prosodically weak position, which makes it a good target for assimilation. In some dialects harmony is active only if a liquid consonant intervenes between the trigger and target vowels; since in these dialects liquids do not contrast for place, underspecification can explain this asymmetry. Since place specification of non-liquid consonants is required in other varieties, which nevertheless display harmony across any intervening consonant, following Clements (2001) I argue that in this case some nodes of feature geometry are not active.
Abstract
In Central Italy several dialects display post-tonic regressive vowel harmony, by which post-tonic vowels copy all the features of the word-final vowel. On the basis of phonetic and phonological arguments I argue that the penultimate vowel of proparoxytones, the typical target of this process, is a prosodically weak position, which makes it a good target for assimilation. In some dialects harmony is active only if a liquid consonant intervenes between the trigger and target vowels; since in these dialects liquids do not contrast for place, underspecification can explain this asymmetry. Since place specification of non-liquid consonants is required in other varieties, which nevertheless display harmony across any intervening consonant, following Clements (2001) I argue that in this case some nodes of feature geometry are not active.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Between phonetics and phonology
- Schwa in American English V+/r/ sequences 15
- Perception of word stress in Castilian Spanish 35
- Do complex pitch gestures induce syllable lengthening in Catalan and Spanish? 51
- Cues to contrastive focus in Romanian 71
- The phonetics of sentence-initial topic and focus in adult and child Dutch 91
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Part II. Segmental and prosodic interactions
- Prosodic structure and consonant development across languages 109
- Rhythmic and prosodic contrast in Venetan and Sicilian Italian 137
- Stem boundary and stress effects on syllabification in Spanish 159
- Prosodic and segmental effects on vowel intrusion duration in Spanish /rC/ clusters 181
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Part III. Interactions between segments and features
- Acoustic and aerodynamic factors in the interaction of features 205
- Fixed and variable properties of the palatalization of dental stops in Brazilian Portuguese 235
- Post-tonic vowel harmony in some dialects of Central Italy 247
- Vowel reduction and vowel harmony in Eastern Catalan loanword phonology 267
- Index of Subjects and Languages 287
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Between phonetics and phonology
- Schwa in American English V+/r/ sequences 15
- Perception of word stress in Castilian Spanish 35
- Do complex pitch gestures induce syllable lengthening in Catalan and Spanish? 51
- Cues to contrastive focus in Romanian 71
- The phonetics of sentence-initial topic and focus in adult and child Dutch 91
-
Part II. Segmental and prosodic interactions
- Prosodic structure and consonant development across languages 109
- Rhythmic and prosodic contrast in Venetan and Sicilian Italian 137
- Stem boundary and stress effects on syllabification in Spanish 159
- Prosodic and segmental effects on vowel intrusion duration in Spanish /rC/ clusters 181
-
Part III. Interactions between segments and features
- Acoustic and aerodynamic factors in the interaction of features 205
- Fixed and variable properties of the palatalization of dental stops in Brazilian Portuguese 235
- Post-tonic vowel harmony in some dialects of Central Italy 247
- Vowel reduction and vowel harmony in Eastern Catalan loanword phonology 267
- Index of Subjects and Languages 287
