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Sonority scales and syllable structure

Toward a formal account of phonological change

Abstract

This paper develops an analysis of syllable-structure changes from Latin to Proto-Romance and Spanish within the framework of recent developments in the formal treatment of OT. Some aspects of the transition in syllable structure from Classical Latin (CL) to Vulgar Latin (VL) and Spanish will be discussed and shown to lead to the following general question: Which principles guide margin-structure transformations in a particular language? After characterizing the syllable structure (the set of possible margins: onsets and codas) of Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin/Proto-Romance/Spanish, it is claimed that structural transitions from Latin to Vulgar Latin show a general tendency to create more harmonic or sonorous structures (margins). This sonority-based treatment maximizes the impact of sonority scales on syllabification, going beyond standard generative treatments combining derivational rules and sonority constraints such as the Sonority Sequencing generalization.

Abstract

This paper develops an analysis of syllable-structure changes from Latin to Proto-Romance and Spanish within the framework of recent developments in the formal treatment of OT. Some aspects of the transition in syllable structure from Classical Latin (CL) to Vulgar Latin (VL) and Spanish will be discussed and shown to lead to the following general question: Which principles guide margin-structure transformations in a particular language? After characterizing the syllable structure (the set of possible margins: onsets and codas) of Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin/Proto-Romance/Spanish, it is claimed that structural transitions from Latin to Vulgar Latin show a general tendency to create more harmonic or sonorous structures (margins). This sonority-based treatment maximizes the impact of sonority scales on syllabification, going beyond standard generative treatments combining derivational rules and sonority constraints such as the Sonority Sequencing generalization.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Spanish complex onsets and the phonetics–phonology interface 15
  5. Phonological phrasing in Spanish 39
  6. Hiatus resolution and incomplete identity 62
  7. Depalatalization in Spanish revisited 74
  8. Upstepping vowel height 99
  9. The phonology of nasal consonants in five Spanish dialects 146
  10. Optimality-theoretic advances in our understanding of Spanish syllable structure 172
  11. Exceptional hiatuses in Spanish 205
  12. The Spanish stress window 239
  13. Morphological structure and phonological domains in Spanish denominal derivation 278
  14. Gender allomorphy and epenthesis in Spanish 312
  15. A paradigm account of Spanish number 339
  16. Prefix boundaries in Spanish varieties 358
  17. Optimality Theory and language change in Spanish 378
  18. Duration, voice, and dispersion in stop contrasts from Latin to Spanish 399
  19. The interaction between faithfulness constraints and sociolinguistic variation 424
  20. Sonority scales and syllable structure 447
  21. Foot, word and phrase constraints in first language acquisition of Spanish stress 470
  22. Acquistion of syllable structure in Spanish 497
  23. Constraint conflict in the acquisition of clusters in Spanish 525
  24. Subject index 549
  25. Index of constraints 559
Optimality-Theoretic Studies in Spanish Phonology
This chapter is in the book Optimality-Theoretic Studies in Spanish Phonology
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.99.18gut

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Spanish complex onsets and the phonetics–phonology interface 15
  5. Phonological phrasing in Spanish 39
  6. Hiatus resolution and incomplete identity 62
  7. Depalatalization in Spanish revisited 74
  8. Upstepping vowel height 99
  9. The phonology of nasal consonants in five Spanish dialects 146
  10. Optimality-theoretic advances in our understanding of Spanish syllable structure 172
  11. Exceptional hiatuses in Spanish 205
  12. The Spanish stress window 239
  13. Morphological structure and phonological domains in Spanish denominal derivation 278
  14. Gender allomorphy and epenthesis in Spanish 312
  15. A paradigm account of Spanish number 339
  16. Prefix boundaries in Spanish varieties 358
  17. Optimality Theory and language change in Spanish 378
  18. Duration, voice, and dispersion in stop contrasts from Latin to Spanish 399
  19. The interaction between faithfulness constraints and sociolinguistic variation 424
  20. Sonority scales and syllable structure 447
  21. Foot, word and phrase constraints in first language acquisition of Spanish stress 470
  22. Acquistion of syllable structure in Spanish 497
  23. Constraint conflict in the acquisition of clusters in Spanish 525
  24. Subject index 549
  25. Index of constraints 559
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