John Benjamins Publishing Company
Natural and unnatural sound patterns: A pocket field guide
Abstract
Natural sound patterns are those grounded in physical properties of speech, while unnatural sound patterns arguably have no such physical basis. This study provides a brief history of the study of natural and unnatural sound patterns from antiquity forward. Definitions of natural and unnatural sound patterns are examined in a range of frameworks, and as applied to both synchronic and diachronic phonology. Examples of natural and unnatural sound patterns are provided, with attempts to move beyond linguistic intuitions by providing documentation from phonetic research, psycholinguistics, and laboratory phonology of the types of sound patterns grounded in physical properties of speech. A final issue discussed is the logic and empirical basis for encoding naturalness in synchronic grammars. Many common and recurrent sound patterns can be explained in terms of the way humans articulate and perceive speech, but phonetic explanation should be properly segregated from grammatical description and analysis.
Abstract
Natural sound patterns are those grounded in physical properties of speech, while unnatural sound patterns arguably have no such physical basis. This study provides a brief history of the study of natural and unnatural sound patterns from antiquity forward. Definitions of natural and unnatural sound patterns are examined in a range of frameworks, and as applied to both synchronic and diachronic phonology. Examples of natural and unnatural sound patterns are provided, with attempts to move beyond linguistic intuitions by providing documentation from phonetic research, psycholinguistics, and laboratory phonology of the types of sound patterns grounded in physical properties of speech. A final issue discussed is the logic and empirical basis for encoding naturalness in synchronic grammars. Many common and recurrent sound patterns can be explained in terms of the way humans articulate and perceive speech, but phonetic explanation should be properly segregated from grammatical description and analysis.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Editors ix
- Introduction: Naturalness and iconicity in language 1
- Philosophical naturalism and linguistic epistemology 25
- Prolegomena to a general theory of iconicity considerations on language, gesture, and pictures 47
- Semiotic foundations of natural linguistics and diagrammatic iconicity 73
- Naturalness and markedness 101
- Natural and unnatural sound patterns: A pocket field guide 121
- The iconic function of full inversion in English 149
- What is iconic about polysemy? A contribution to research on diagrammatic Transparency 167
- Iconicity in sign languages 189
- Arbitrary structure, cognitive grammar, and the partes orationis. A study in Polish paradigms 215
- Name index 241
- Subject index 245
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Editors ix
- Introduction: Naturalness and iconicity in language 1
- Philosophical naturalism and linguistic epistemology 25
- Prolegomena to a general theory of iconicity considerations on language, gesture, and pictures 47
- Semiotic foundations of natural linguistics and diagrammatic iconicity 73
- Naturalness and markedness 101
- Natural and unnatural sound patterns: A pocket field guide 121
- The iconic function of full inversion in English 149
- What is iconic about polysemy? A contribution to research on diagrammatic Transparency 167
- Iconicity in sign languages 189
- Arbitrary structure, cognitive grammar, and the partes orationis. A study in Polish paradigms 215
- Name index 241
- Subject index 245
