Article published in:
Variation in phonologyEdited by Péter Szigetvári
[Linguistic Variation 20:1] 2020
► pp. 84–101
Special issue article
Conditions on the variable interpretation of |U| in Japanese
Phillip Backley | Tohoku Gakuin University
Kuniya Nasukawa | Tohoku Gakuin University
This paper examines the historical and phonological properties of h in Japanese. It shows that,
by analysing a specific case of segmental variation, we not only deepen our understanding of the sound which varies but also shed
light on some general characteristics of the sound system as a whole. Using an Element Theory approach (Anderson and Jones 1974; Kaye et al. 1985;
Harris and Lindsey 1995; Scheer 1999;
Nasukawa 2005; Cyran 2010; Backley 2011), the discussion focuses on the distribution of the element |U|, arguing
that |U| is naturally weak in Japanese. This helps explain two idiosyncrasies in Japanese phonology – the restricted distribution
of labial consonants and rounded vowels, and the patterning of h with labials.In modern Japanese, labiality is phonologically and phonetically weak. In vowels, u and
w are produced without lip rounding, as unrounded [ɯ] and [ɰ]. And in consonants, the labial stop
p is banned from certain contexts. These facts point to the inherent weakness of |U| in Japanese, where
weakness refers to structural headedness; following Backley and Nasukawa (2009), it is
assumed that labials are represented by headed |U| (cf. non-headed |U| in velars). To account for the restricted distribution of
labials, it is argued that labiality (headed |U|) is only realised in Japanese if a specific structural
condition is met: |U| must co-occur with (i.e. be supported by) another element from the same sub-group of ‘dark’ elements. Thus,
the paper exploits the natural division between dark elements {|A|, |U|, |L|} and light elements {|I|, |H|, |Ɂ|}.
Keywords: phonology, elements, Japanese, segmental structure, head-dependency, phonetic interpretation, consonant lenition, historical change
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Elements
- 3.Segmental patterns in Japanese
- 3.1Labiality in Japanese consonants
- 3.2Rounding in Japanese vowels
- 4.Dark versus light elements
- 5.The headedness of |U| in Japanese
- 6.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
References
Published online: 21 January 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/lv.16012.bac
https://doi.org/10.1075/lv.16012.bac
References
Anderson, John M. and Charles Jones
Backley, Phillip
Backley, Phillip and Kuniya Nasukawa
Brockhaus, Wiebke
Cyran, Eugeniusz
Golston, Chris and Harry van der Hulst
Harris, John and Geoff Lindsey
Itô, Junko and Armin Mester
Kaye, Jonathan, Jean Lowenstamm and Jean-Roger Vergnaud
Kula, Nancy
Lavoie, Lisa
Nasukawa, Kuniya
Nasukawa, Kuniya and Phillip Backley
Rennison, John
Rennison, John and Friedrich Neubarth
Ritter, Nancy
Schwartz, Geoff
Szigetvári, Péter
Takayama, Tomoaki
Williams, Geoff
Cited by
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Pöchtrager, Markus A.
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