Consonant Structure and Prevocalization
This monograph proposes a new interpretation of the intrasegmental structure of consonants and provides the first systematic intra- and cross-linguistic study of consonant prevocalization. The proposed model represents consonants as inherently bigestural and makes strong predictions that are automatically relevant to phonological theory at both the diachronic and synchronic levels, and also to the phonetics of articulatory evolution. It also clearly demonstrates that a wide generalization of the notion of consonant prevocalization provides a uniform account for many well-known processes generally considered independent – from asynchronous palatalization in Polish to intrusive [r] in nonrhotic English, to vowel epentheses in Avestan, and to pre-/s/ vowel prothesis in Welsh. Consonant prevocalization has not played a significant role in the development of modern phonological theory to date, and this work is the first to highlight its broad theoretical significance. It develops important theoretical insights, with a wealth of supporting data and a rich bibliography. No doubt, this book will be of great interest to phonologists, phoneticians, typologists, and historical linguists.
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 312] 2010. x, 234 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Preface & acknowledgments | pp. ix–x
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Part I. The theory
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Consonant prevocalization | pp. 3–40
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Intrasegmental consonant structure | pp. 41–72
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Related processes | pp. 73–92
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Part II. The data
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Front prevowels | pp. 95–162
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Other prevowels | pp. 163–188
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Conclusions and outlook | pp. 189–192
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Appendix I. Rosapelly’s vocaloid | pp. 217–218
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Appendix II. Languages in the survey | pp. 219–228
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Index of languages | pp. 229–232
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Index of subjects and terms | pp. 233–234
“On the basis of a wide selection of languages, Natalie Operstein proposes a model of the bigestural composition of consonants in a laudable effort to explain the hitherto understudied phenomenon of consonant prevocalization. The book will be obligatory reading for those interested in the question of how the interaction between phonology and phonetics shapes the sound structure of human language.”
Leo Wetzels, VU University Amsterdam & Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie, CNRS, Paris
Cited by (10)
Cited by ten other publications
Avram, Andrei A.
Burns, Roslyn
2021. Modeling gradient processes in Polabian vowel chain shifting and blocking. Journal of Historical Linguistics 11:1 ► pp. 102 ff.
Burns, Roslyn
2022. Persistent innovations and historical conspiracies as reanalysis and extension. Diachronica 39:1 ► pp. 39 ff.
Garellek, Marc
Silva, Mário Coelho da, Andrew Nevins & James White
Bennett, Ryan, Máire Ní Chiosáin, Jaye Padgett & Grant McGuire
Baltazani, Mary, Evia Kainada, Anthi Revithiadou & Nina Topintzi
Byun, Tara McAllister
[no author supplied]
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Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CFH: Phonetics, phonology
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General