Vowel reduction and vowel harmony in Eastern Catalan loanword phonology
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Teresa Cabré
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to account for the phonological adaptation of loanwords in Eastern Catalan. As the phonology of these new words deviates from that of the native Catalan vocabulary set (with a certain amount of variation among speakers), the new phonetic features would seem to be borrowed from Spanish. We suggest that a new phonology has emerged whose purpose is to identify loans among the lexicon, the most striking element of this phonology being a harmony effect on stressed mid vowels in the presence of post-tonic [+ATR] mid vowels. The existence of unstressed [+ATR] mid vowels [e, o] in Eastern Catalan has been previously interpreted as lexical exceptions to vowel reduction (Fabra 1912 and Mascaró 2002, among others). However, the phonetic variation in the new lexicon is analyzed here as being fully consistent with Catalan phonology within the theory of lexical strata (Itô & Mester 1999).
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to account for the phonological adaptation of loanwords in Eastern Catalan. As the phonology of these new words deviates from that of the native Catalan vocabulary set (with a certain amount of variation among speakers), the new phonetic features would seem to be borrowed from Spanish. We suggest that a new phonology has emerged whose purpose is to identify loans among the lexicon, the most striking element of this phonology being a harmony effect on stressed mid vowels in the presence of post-tonic [+ATR] mid vowels. The existence of unstressed [+ATR] mid vowels [e, o] in Eastern Catalan has been previously interpreted as lexical exceptions to vowel reduction (Fabra 1912 and Mascaró 2002, among others). However, the phonetic variation in the new lexicon is analyzed here as being fully consistent with Catalan phonology within the theory of lexical strata (Itô & Mester 1999).
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
