Upstepping vowel height
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Fernando Martínez-Gil
Abstract
The main goal of this paper is to argue for a unified analysis of two stepwise vowel raising processes known as metaphony, those of Proto-Spanish and Lena Asturian, within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT). It is shown that previous serial accounts based on autosegmental spreading rules operating on vowel height features are unable to capture adquately the unitary nature of the metaphony shifts. Our OT approach stepwise vowel raising in both Proto-Spanish and Lena Asturian arises primarily in the interaction of two constraints, unranked with respect to each other. First, a markedness constraint which demands that the stressed vowel agree in vowel-height features with a following high vocoid within a word’s dominant foot; and second, a local conjunction of identity constraints on contrastive vowel height features which enforces stepwise raising by effectively restricting unfaithfulness between input and output to at most one feature. Both the agreement and the constraint conjunction constraint dominate the individual faithfulness constraints requiring input-output identity of vowel height features. Finally, it is shown that this analysis can be easily extended to handle the somewwhat different metaphonic shifts in Nalón Valley Asturian, closely related to the Lena variety, by appealing to a different ranking of the same constraints proposed for the Lena variety, a desirable result predicted by factorial typology.
Abstract
The main goal of this paper is to argue for a unified analysis of two stepwise vowel raising processes known as metaphony, those of Proto-Spanish and Lena Asturian, within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT). It is shown that previous serial accounts based on autosegmental spreading rules operating on vowel height features are unable to capture adquately the unitary nature of the metaphony shifts. Our OT approach stepwise vowel raising in both Proto-Spanish and Lena Asturian arises primarily in the interaction of two constraints, unranked with respect to each other. First, a markedness constraint which demands that the stressed vowel agree in vowel-height features with a following high vocoid within a word’s dominant foot; and second, a local conjunction of identity constraints on contrastive vowel height features which enforces stepwise raising by effectively restricting unfaithfulness between input and output to at most one feature. Both the agreement and the constraint conjunction constraint dominate the individual faithfulness constraints requiring input-output identity of vowel height features. Finally, it is shown that this analysis can be easily extended to handle the somewwhat different metaphonic shifts in Nalón Valley Asturian, closely related to the Lena variety, by appealing to a different ranking of the same constraints proposed for the Lena variety, a desirable result predicted by factorial typology.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
