Old Japanese Post-Nasal Non-Back Close Vowels in a Comparative Perspective

In this paper I will be comparing Old Japanese non-back close vowels /i/ (i1 or kō-rui) and /ɨ/ (i2 or otsu-rui) in a post-nasal position with their North and South Ryukyuan cognates in order to propose Proto-Japonic reconstructions of Old Japanese [+ nasal] [+ high, -back] sequences. The paper establishes and analyzes six correspondence sets, each representing a different Proto-Japonic sequence: *mi, *muj, *me, *ni, *noj, *nuj, and briefly discusses a couple of yet different relevant Proto-Japonic reconstructions. The study is concluded with a proposal of relative chronology of the discussed changes from Proto-Japonic to Proto-Ryukyuan. A reconstruction of Proto-Ryukyuan *ɨ, a sixth segment added to Thorpe’s 1983 classical five-vowel set, is argued for as a necessary development of post-nasal *oj and *uj. This is interpreted within the context of chain-shifting processes dating to Proto-Japonic as an important catalyst of mid-vowel raising in Proto-Ryukyuan.

Sonority-driven stress and vowel reduction in Uyghur

A number of authors have argued that sonority differences among vowels may interact with weight-sensitive stress placement (e.g. Kenstowicz 1994, 1997; de Lacy 2006). In previous work on sonority-sensitivity, variable stress placement has usually been assumed. In this paper, I examine the role of sonority in Uyghur, a language with fixed stress. I argue that sonority is encoded as a weight distinction in the language, which drives asymmetric lengthening of word-final high vowels. I demonstrate that a mora-based analysis also offers insight into medial vowel raising in the language, and sketch out an Optimality theoretic account of the data. Findings from this study support the recent claim made by Shih & de Lacy (2019) that sonority differences are only indirectly available to the grammar in the form of weight distinctions.

An Optimality Analysis of the Phonology of French Loanwords as Manifested in the Eastern Part of Algeria

The present study sheds lights on the French loanwords which are integrated in the Algerian Spoken Arabic (ASA), particularly the dialect spoken in the Eastern part. It identifies the phonological processes used to adapt them within an Optimality Theory (OT) framework. A thorough scrutiny of the data indicated that the French loanwords underwent a number of adaptations to fit into the phonological system of the Algerian Arabic. Moreover, the results revealed that this nativization process involves a number of phonological processes, namely unpacking of nasal vowels, nasal place assimilation, vowel deletion, front vowel raising, voicing, devoicing and stopping, in addition to lateral assimilation. The application of optimality framework as to explicate the adaptations of French loanwords has shown that they emanate from a steady conflict between the faithfulness constraints, which condition the preservation of original input forms, and the markedness constraints describing the Algerian Arabic marked phonological system.

Lexical Variation among South Florida’s Judeo-Spanish-speaking Sephardim

This study implements the Leipzig-Jakarta list as a word-elicitation task among speakers (n=20) of Judeo-Spanish in South Florida. Data demonstrate that while entirely different lexemes may be used to express similar meanings for a given token, variation is most demonstrable through phonological processes. An analysis of responses (n=2,000) reveals variation and innovation in the production of vowels (mid-vowel raising, apheresis, prothesis), consonants (de/voicing or palatalization of sibilants, preservation of etymological f–, metathesis), and stress (proparoxytonic vs. oxytonic). Data also reveal that of the basic lexicon in Judeo-Spanish (e.g., function words, body parts, living creatures, etc.), only 5% is of non-Hispanic origin. In addition, this study examines the sociolinguistic organization of Sephardim in South Florida, accounting for the vitality and endangerment of Judeo-Spanish in this diasporic community, while also exemplifying the linguistic ramifications of contact with other languages.

Innovations, distribution gaps and mirror images: The reflexes of Proto-Ryukyuan close vowels in a post-nasal position

The present paper attempts to systematize and explain the changes in Proto-Ryukyuan (PR) vowels in a post-nasal position as observed in the lexicon of five daughter languages: Ie-Kunigamian/Okinawan, Shuri-Okinawan, Hirara-Miyakoan, Shika-Yaeyaman and Yonaguni/Dunan. The changes in question are related to the mid-vowel raising, which supposedly occurred only after the split of PR, but currently bears the markings of an unconditioned change in virtually in all daughter languages. Starting with an assumption that in some environments, the post-nasal raising of the mid-vowels led to the merger of original mid- and close vowels, while in different environments changes to the original close vowels keeps the reflexes of mid- and close vowels apart, the paper analyzes and compares Ryukyuan vocabulary containing the pertinent sound sequences of *mi, *mu, *ni and *nu, contrasting it with the reflexes of *me, *mo, *ne and *no. By scrutinizing in detail as many different environments of the sound sequences in question as possible, the paper aims to discover some patterns in the behavior of these sequences, examining both shared innovations and shared retentions among the daughter languages, observing the differences in the PR distribution of post-nasal mid-and close vowels, and entertaining the implications these findings hold for the general knowledge of PR.