Can phonological universals be emergent?: Modeling the space of sound change, lexical distribution, and hypothesis selection

Language ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. e40-e70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Morley ◽  
Rebecca L. Morley
Keyword(s):  
Sound Change ◽  
Hypothesis Selection

New morphomic patterns from old

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Maiden
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Sound Change ◽  
Making Sense

This chapter considers ways in which morphomic patterns can themselves change, yet without ceasing to be morphomic. Overall, the trend does not appear to be towards paradigmatic distributions that make sense. Rather morphomic patterns may change, giving rise to new morphomic patterns because of overlap with other morphomic patterns, accidental effects of sound change (particularly ones that produce syncretisms), or independent morphological changes. The data suggest that the predictability of distribution is superordinate to making sense in extramorphological terms.

Age-based perceptions of a reversing regional sound change

2021 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 101038
Author(s):  
Annette D'Onofrio
Keyword(s):  
Sound Change

scholarly journals Regional differences in the evolution of the merger of /ʃ/ and /ç/ in Luxembourgish

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
François Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Sound Change ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
The South ◽  
Data Set ◽  
West Germanic ◽  
The North ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Old Men ◽  
Middle Generation

The merger of post-alveolar /ʃ/ and palatal /ç/ into alveolopalatal /ɕ/ has recently gained growing interest in sociophonetic research, especially in the Middle German dialect area. In Luxembourgish, a Continental West Germanic language, the sound change has been linked to age differences, while its origins remain unclear. Two studies with a regional focus are presented in this paper. The first study examines the merger in the Centre and the South of Luxembourg. The acoustic examination of both the spectral peak and the centre of gravity of a spoken data set of five minimal pairs embedded in read and orally translated sentences from 48 speakers (three generations (old generation, 65–91 years; middle generation, 40–64 years; young generation, 20–39 years; each generation, n = 16), men and women) reveals interesting results related to their regional background. In the old generation, the merger is further advanced in the speech of old men from the former mining region in the South compared to their peers in the Centre, the former leading this sound change. On the other hand, young speakers in both regions produce only alveolopalatal /ɕ/, the merger being complete in this generation. The second study presents exploratory data from the East and the North of the country. The analysis of this smaller sample (n = 6 speakers) reveals patterns similar to the central region. Pointing to language contact with Romance in the South as cradle and/or catalyser of the merger, these results not only give further clues as to the development in Luxembourg, but also add to a deeper understanding of sound changes in process in complex sibilant systems.

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