| ROA: | 188 |
|---|---|
| Title: | Markedness, Segment Realisation, and Locality in Spreading |
| Authors: | Maire Ni Chiosain, Jaye Padgett |
| Comment: | |
| Length: | 71 |
| Abstract: | Markedness, segment realisation, and locality in spreading Maire Ni Chiosain & Jaye Padgett University College, Dublin and University of California, Santa Cruz Accounts of feature spreading have long assumed that segments can be transparent, or skipped by the spreading. Examples of skipped segments include consonants in vowel harmony, vowels and non-coronal consonants in coronal harmony, and glottal stops in nasal harmony. This paper argues against transparency in spreading: spreading is segmentally adjacent and segments are either blockers or participants. For the afore-mentioned cases, therefore, the relevant segments are participants, overtly bearing the spreading feature. The argument depends on a far- reaching shift in conceptions of markedness and segment realisation. In particular, markedness in Dispersion Theory (Flemming 1995, after work of Lindblom) is determined by the interaction of two often conflicting families of constraints, one rooted in articulatory complexity, the other in perceptual distinctiveness. This bidimensional understanding of markedness makes possible an explanation for the cross-linguistic typology of 'transparency', in particular the asymmetry in the spreading behaviour of consonant and vowel place features. It also brings an explanatory unity to diverse cases of 'transparency', eliminating a need for any theory of locality per se. |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
| Area/Keywords: | |
| Article: | Version 1 |