Publications

Publication details [#30877]

Bybee, Joan. 2002. Word frequency and context of use in the lexical diffusion of phonetically conditioned sound change. Language Variation and Change 14 : 261–290.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Language as a subject
ISBN
0954-3945

Annotation

This paper outlines an alternate exemplar model that can account for lexical variation in phonetic detail. This model states that the frequency with which words are used in the contexts for change will influence how readily the word undergoes a change in progress. Data from /t, d/ deletion in American English are used to evaluate this prediction. Finally, the data indicate that instances of a bound morpheme can influence the rate of change for that morpheme overall.