Spanish complex onsets and the phonetics–phonology interface
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Travis G. Bradley
Abstract
This study analyzes cross-dialectal phonetic variation in Spanish complex onsets in light of recent work on the phonetics–phonology interface. Two basic patterns of obstruent-rhotic cluster realization, vowel intrusion and coarticulation-induced rhotic assibilation, receive a phonetically-motivated explanation in terms of the temporal coordination of consonantal gestures, within the framework of Articulatory Phonology (Browman and Goldstein 1989, 1990, 1991, et seq.). Drawing upon recent developments in gestural Optimality Theory (Davidson 2003, Gafos 2002, Hall 2003), I propose an account in which the interaction among gestural alignment constraints generates the range of attested patterns. On the basis of stress restrictions, non-concatenative morphology, the universal non-contrastiveness of intersegmental gestural coordination, and sonority conditions on complex onsets, I show that vowel intrusion and rhotic assibilation are invisible to phonological processes that operate over segments and syllables. In contrast to theories which relegate gestural timing to a low-level phonetic implementation component, this study argues for a unified model in which gestural and non-gestural constraints are present in the same level of the phonology (Hall 2003). Once a representational distinction is made between segments and gestures in the phonological representation, a derivational mapping between phonology and phonetics becomes unnecessary to account for the invisibility of gestural percepts.
Abstract
This study analyzes cross-dialectal phonetic variation in Spanish complex onsets in light of recent work on the phonetics–phonology interface. Two basic patterns of obstruent-rhotic cluster realization, vowel intrusion and coarticulation-induced rhotic assibilation, receive a phonetically-motivated explanation in terms of the temporal coordination of consonantal gestures, within the framework of Articulatory Phonology (Browman and Goldstein 1989, 1990, 1991, et seq.). Drawing upon recent developments in gestural Optimality Theory (Davidson 2003, Gafos 2002, Hall 2003), I propose an account in which the interaction among gestural alignment constraints generates the range of attested patterns. On the basis of stress restrictions, non-concatenative morphology, the universal non-contrastiveness of intersegmental gestural coordination, and sonority conditions on complex onsets, I show that vowel intrusion and rhotic assibilation are invisible to phonological processes that operate over segments and syllables. In contrast to theories which relegate gestural timing to a low-level phonetic implementation component, this study argues for a unified model in which gestural and non-gestural constraints are present in the same level of the phonology (Hall 2003). Once a representational distinction is made between segments and gestures in the phonological representation, a derivational mapping between phonology and phonetics becomes unnecessary to account for the invisibility of gestural percepts.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
- Spanish complex onsets and the phonetics–phonology interface 15
- Phonological phrasing in Spanish 39
- Hiatus resolution and incomplete identity 62
- Depalatalization in Spanish revisited 74
- Upstepping vowel height 99
- The phonology of nasal consonants in five Spanish dialects 146
- Optimality-theoretic advances in our understanding of Spanish syllable structure 172
- Exceptional hiatuses in Spanish 205
- The Spanish stress window 239
- Morphological structure and phonological domains in Spanish denominal derivation 278
- Gender allomorphy and epenthesis in Spanish 312
- A paradigm account of Spanish number 339
- Prefix boundaries in Spanish varieties 358
- Optimality Theory and language change in Spanish 378
- Duration, voice, and dispersion in stop contrasts from Latin to Spanish 399
- The interaction between faithfulness constraints and sociolinguistic variation 424
- Sonority scales and syllable structure 447
- Foot, word and phrase constraints in first language acquisition of Spanish stress 470
- Acquistion of syllable structure in Spanish 497
- Constraint conflict in the acquisition of clusters in Spanish 525
- Subject index 549
- Index of constraints 559
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Introduction 1
- Spanish complex onsets and the phonetics–phonology interface 15
- Phonological phrasing in Spanish 39
- Hiatus resolution and incomplete identity 62
- Depalatalization in Spanish revisited 74
- Upstepping vowel height 99
- The phonology of nasal consonants in five Spanish dialects 146
- Optimality-theoretic advances in our understanding of Spanish syllable structure 172
- Exceptional hiatuses in Spanish 205
- The Spanish stress window 239
- Morphological structure and phonological domains in Spanish denominal derivation 278
- Gender allomorphy and epenthesis in Spanish 312
- A paradigm account of Spanish number 339
- Prefix boundaries in Spanish varieties 358
- Optimality Theory and language change in Spanish 378
- Duration, voice, and dispersion in stop contrasts from Latin to Spanish 399
- The interaction between faithfulness constraints and sociolinguistic variation 424
- Sonority scales and syllable structure 447
- Foot, word and phrase constraints in first language acquisition of Spanish stress 470
- Acquistion of syllable structure in Spanish 497
- Constraint conflict in the acquisition of clusters in Spanish 525
- Subject index 549
- Index of constraints 559
