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Part of
Sonic Signatures: Studies dedicated to John Harris
Edited by Geoff Lindsey and Andrew Nevins
[Language Faculty and Beyond 14] 2017
► pp. 33–62

Hocus bogus?

Licensing paths and voicing in Polish

| KUL Lublin

The distribution of voicing distinctions within the prosodic word in Polish can be given a uniform description by referring to laryngeal licensing which is discharged by nuclear positions. It is an inherent property of melodically filled nuclei. However, under specific structural conditions, this property can also be inherited by empty nuclei, which are generally not laryngeal licensers and trigger delaryngealization in the preceding onset. The licensing paths established for Polish coincide with those involved in the distribution of long vowels and internuclear lenition in other languages, but they call for a revision of two prominent theories which deal with the distribution of licensing within Government Phonology, that is, Licensing Inheritance and Strict CV.

Keywords: Polish, laryngeal licensing, licensing inheritance, licensing absorption, bogus cluster, Strict CV, Government Phonology, empty nuclei
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Distribution of voicing and basic voicing phenomena in Polish
  • 3.Government phonology and Lar licensing
  • 4.Strict CV and Lar licensing contexts in Polish
  • 5.Licensing Inheritance and licensing paths
  • 6.Licensing absorption
  • 7.True word-final obstruent clusters (C1C2#)
  • 8.Absorbers and blockers in Lar domains
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 30 November 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lfab.14.c3
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